Thank you, Madam Chair.
Good afternoon, Minister. Thank you for being here today with your officials.
In your opening remarks, you said that we need to be more competitive domestically and internationally and that the Government of Canada is putting in place measures to propel economic growth and ensure the full participation of all Canadians in this economy.
Given the current geopolitical and economic climate, our committee is looking at ways to ensure the full participation of women in the economy, among other things.
In 2018, the Government of Canada created a women entrepreneurship fund. Initially, when the women entrepreneurship strategy was put in place, the investment was $2 billion. That investment is now at nearly $7 billion.
I'd like to ask you two questions that are related not only to the study we're doing today, but also to the study aimed at finding ways to ensure the full participation of women in the economy.
First, based on your conversations with stakeholders and businesswomen you've met, is the government doing anything else to support women?
Second, what impact do you see these programs having on the rate of return for Canadian women entrepreneurs when it comes to international trade?