Absolutely. Child care is essential to support women entrepreneurs. Without a national child care program, it is my belief that while any other strategy or policy interventions may certainly have an impact, we will always be struggling against the issue of unpaid care work and a disparity in the amount of time women entrepreneurs are able to spend on building their businesses, as well as other inequalities.
When you look regionally and within urban centres at the accessibility of child care, it's a complicated issue. There are certainly individuals and organizations that know much more specifically about child care than I do. What I'd say is national child care is incredibly important for women entrepreneurs. It is not a panacea, however. It is not the be-all and end-all solution for women business owners. It is one piece of the puzzle.
I would also add that a national child care program is of benefit to parents of all genders. Right now it's very much positioned, and we position it, as a benefit to women entrepreneurs. Simply because of gender roles, because of the amount of unpaid care work that falls on predominantly women-identified parents, it is going to be primarily of benefit for mothers and for women. Going forward, envisioning a more equal division of labour, a national child care program really is going to benefit all Canadians. It's going to benefit our children; it's going to benefit our early childhood educators; it's going to benefit employers and it's going to benefit parents of all genders.