Finance committee  This is why we need strong social programs.

Finance committee  My father was a doctor and he raised six of us in comfort, so yes.

Finance committee  Of course not.

Finance committee  This argues to the strengthening of the EI system.

Finance committee  Yes, I think we're done here.

Finance committee  It's an interesting framing of the question: why I didn't raise something that I didn't raise. I would say that our focus at the Canadian Women's Foundation is to move women out of violence and into empowerment and economic security. Women who are physicians are highly paid and we don't do a bulk of research on what goes on in that field.

Finance committee  Across the—

Finance committee  Not to interrupt, but the maternity benefits that exist within EI are available to women in the medical profession and strengthening them would be an excellent plan.

Finance committee  Do I agree with the quote you just read?

Finance committee  Absolutely not.

Finance committee  It's counterfactual.

Finance committee  First off, Mr. Cross addressed the terrible problems with increasing the minimum wage. The majority of minimum wage workers are women. The majority of part-time workers are women. Child care, which is one of the things the royal commission recommended back in the early seventies, is a huge barrier to women in the workplace.

Finance committee  Good morning. I'm Ann Decter from the Canadian Women's Foundation, and I thank you for the invitation to speak to you today on behalf of the foundation with regard to Bill C-86. The Canadian Women's Foundation is Canada's only public foundation dedicated to women and girls. We fund grassroots women's organizations and women-serving community programs and invest in building the women's sector through knowledge mobilization, networking, collaboration and advocacy.

Finance committee  For details on competitive advantage around universal child care, check with Martha Friendly on the next panel. I've seen her coming in and out. She's a leading expert in Canada on child care. Generally, on child care, if it's good for employees, which we know it is, then it's going to be good for businesses.

Finance committee  We've talked about a range of things. Some of them are small and immediate, and some are big and long term. I think the government is on the right track moving gender-based analysis across the entire budget. If that is done thoroughly, some of the things that we have proposed will be irresistible.