Minister ready to add Mom to list of duties
A first for cabinet member in Ontario Laurel Broten expecting twins
Environment Minister Laurel Broten is about to make history by being the first Ontario cabinet member to give birth while in office.
Broten, 37, is expected to deliver her twin sons this week. .
“ I have lots of support in place,” she said Friday, referring to her husband Paul Laberge, an Alliance Atlantis executive, family members and understanding colleagues.
Indeed, her most influential supporter is her boss, Premier Dalton McGuinty, who promoted her to cabinet on June 29 knowing she would have to take some time off for the babies.
“ I’m bringing a huge amount of goodwill to the table. We will find a way to accommodate,” said McGuinty, who has four grown children. “ Every day in this province, thousands of mothers find the way to . . . juggle their workplace and family responsibilities.
“ I watched my mother have 10 kids and continue as a nurse throughout,” he said. “ There are all kinds of wonderful role models when it comes to being able to manage, and I know Laurel’s going to do that.” McGuinty said Broten’s parliamentary assistant, MPP John Wilkinson (Perth-Middlesex), will field opposition inquiries during question period and “ be very much in the loop.” But he won’t sit at the cabinet table. “ That’s a responsibility that I can assume,” the premier said.
If Broten, who will retain ministerial signing authority, can’t attend weekly cabinet meetings in person, she will be able to telecommute via a phone line.
Broten said she has not yet decided how much maternity leave to take after the pregnancy, her first.
“ I’m going to wait and see how I’m feeling after the babies come and, more importantly, see how they’re feeling,” she said.
“ It’s going to be business as usual,” added the former Bay Street lawyer. “ I can stay connected from home with email and faxes.”