Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Ballard, I do not know if you are aware of the Quebec program called For a safe maternity experience. It is a flexible program that has proved its worth. In Quebec, it is possible for a mother to be assigned to different work that is not dangerous.
Just now, we were talking about SMEs, but they are compensated. Pregnant women actually keep the same salaries that they had before, even if the position to which she is re-assigned has a lower salary, and employers are compensated accordingly. If a woman has to stop working, she receives 90% of her salary until she gives birth. Then she has maternity benefits for 50 weeks. So she is protected for longer.
You also emphasized the difficulty of receiving only 55% of one's salary. I believe that it is important to emphasize that the Quebec program is funded exclusively by employers, who pay a contribution of 2.2% of their payroll. That is much less than the employment insurance program requires.
Given the story you told us, I would like your perception. How would things have gone in your case if you had been able to take advantage of a program like that?