Minister, thanks for being here.
Minister, your budget is your responsibility and whether or not you succeed on the gender aspect is going to be at your feet. The word “gender” is mentioned 358 times on 368 pages, so I understand fully that this is something you are putting forward, but it's going to be your leadership and your willingness to implement that are going to matter. Otherwise we're going to have lots of very disappointed Canadian women out there.
Now, Minister, it makes sense for us to take a look at your track record when we determine whether we can trust you to implement what you say you're going to do. I would start with Morneau Shepell, where you were executive chairman, and—as you know because you know your own statistics—at most on your board, you had three out of nine positions occupied by women. In your senior management team, you had three out of 11 senior managers who were women. In your current board mandate, in your governance charters, in your nominating charters, there is no mention of diversity, inclusion, or gender. The focus is on competence, capability, and qualifications. In your annual report, going all the way back to 2011 never once in the analysis of risk to your former company did it ever mention not hiring women. I say this is important because you wrote in your budget that the main focus areas are more women in senior management positions and more company board seats held by women because it leads to better decision-making.
When did you determine that it was better decision-making to have women around the boardroom table, Minister?