The correlation simply is this. In the case of a couple, when it comes to deciding who's going to go into paid work and who's going to do unpaid work, the person who's pegged to go into the paid work will be the person who can earn the higher income. Because that's disproportionately male income earners, women become responsible for doing the home care work. Then when money is put into the hands of women to help close the household budget gap that will be present for many—at least the lowest 40% of the population—we're into a situation where we are literally subsidizing women to stay home and care for children in circumstances when, by virtue of their education, or their current employment opportunities, or all sorts of factors, they may actually prefer to be in paid work.
This is something that is really beyond question in terms of the data that is available. More and more women are going into unpaid work, either to care for their children's children or to care for their own children. It's because they simply cannot earn a living wage that can compete with the effect of the various child care subsidies and unpaid work subsidies that permeate the Income Tax Act, the employment insurance structures, and every fiscal statute in the country. Over 170 provisions provide either tax or direct benefits for women who are engaged in unpaid work.