Good morning, everyone. Welcome to our round table. I always find it interesting to hear from you. We learn many things and, sometimes, some of them strike home.
One thing I heard was that women have been harder hit than men by the economic crisis and that this has always been the case. In early March, I read an article published in La Presse. This article appeared on March 2 and it was written by Mathieu Perreault. Let me quote from the article:
[Translation] Recessions hit men more than women. Since October, twice as many men as women have lost their jobs in Canada, even though there are about as many of them in the workforce. [...] The difference is even more striking in Quebec, where 30,000 of the 31,000 jobs lost during this period were held by men.
Today, a number of witnesses have told the committee the opposite. This is a bit problematic. I would like things explained to me. Mr. Lightman, a little earlier, you talked about infrastructure. You said that men would benefit more from infrastructure. I am a woman, I drive, I use the roads. If the roads are repaired, I benefit as well. So I have my doubts.
We have been listening to witnesses for a good while now. Given what has been said, do you believe that it would better to provide two systems, one for men and one for women? My question is for anyone who wants to answer.