Thank you to MP Erskine-Smith. You are absolutely right. This pandemic has hit women hardest.
Women are the majority of those in long-term care. They're the majority of those who have tested positive. They're the majority of those on the front lines of this effort. Sixty-two per cent of the jobs lost due to COVID-19 in March were women's jobs, often low-paid, and often lost by racialized women. Women have also been called out of the workforce because day cares are closed, because schools are closed. Unlike other recessions, this economic recovery is going to require supporting women specifically. Studies show that during the 2008 recession, women with children were the last to recover from that recession.
In addition to supports through the Canada child benefit, in addition to the 40-plus thousand child care spaces that we helped support in our previous mandate, the Prime Minister has mandated me and Minister Hussen to set up a child care secretariat and to build a foundation for better access to child care for all Canadians. COVID-19 further highlights the need and the urgency around that commitment.