As you know, we identified four groups that are very important, in our view. One of those groups is women with children. There are a number of ways to meet the important challenge of encouraging an increase in the participation rate of women in the workforce in Canada. The Quebec model works quite well. Why is that so?
We could compare two figures. The workforce participation rate of women with children in Canada outside Quebec is about 86%. In Quebec, the figure is 93%. Given the size of those populations, the difference is quite significant. If we increased the participation rate outside Quebec to be identical to the one in Quebec, it would represent an additional contribution to our GDP, in the order of about an extra $13 or $14 billion per year. That is very significant.
The Quebec model, with subsidized day cares, is one way to go but there are also others. It would perhaps not be exactly the same, but you could, for example, create tax credits in order to achieve similar objectives. Clearly, the difference, the gap in the participation rate in Quebec and in the rest of Canada, reveals something.
We highlighted the program in Quebec because I feel that it is working and achieving its objective.