Status of Women Committee on May 26th, 2009

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Irene Mathyssen]

We're very short of time.

If Mr. Wilfert will put his question, the minister can respond.

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Minister, with regard to the sharia law in Afghanistan, one of our six main objectives is the enhancement of women, and certainly through the justice system. We have someone embedded in the Ministry of Justice there. Clearly, the ball was dropped when that law was to be adopted by the Afghan government. My question is, with the whole-of-government approach, do you or your department have anything to do with the enhancement of our policy in Afghanistan? If you do, what is it? If you don't, why don't you? I guess we could have that in writing.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Irene Mathyssen]

Thank you very much.

Now, for two minutes, Madame Boucher.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Good morning, Minister. We are pleased to have you with us today. I know that you are doing a great deal of work for women and that you believe in it. We have discussed it. You believe very strongly in the equality of women. You believe strongly that women can be women of decision. A great deal of progress has been made.

Minister, funding has been increased and we recently announced several partnerships. We are very pleased with that, especially since women's groups in the field are very receptive to these partnerships. Could you give committee members some information about the Partnership Fund for Women as well as some of the partnerships it supports?

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Okay, sure, absolutely.

The one that I touched on a little bit, WEConnect Canada, is a project called “Opening Doors to Corporate Markets”. It's an education training, coaching, and mentoring program. We've put more than $600,000 in to help support this network that already exists, and create market access for small-business women. It's something that's gone on in the U.K., and it means that 5% of corporations and their purchasing is guaranteed to go to women and women-owned businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises. Now that Canada is a part of that, we have access to the database that's in the U.K. and then vice versa. I had mentioned that China and India were going to be part of that. It exists in the United States as well.

This is something that's been going on in the United States for many, many years. Corporations actually go to small-business women. There's even an example in my own riding where a woman has a maple syrup product and she wanted to be able to have market access, to put it on the grocery store shelf, even in another nation. Usually it can cost you $25,000 to put one item on the shelf. These fees are waived and the women are given opportunities. They still have to sell their product like any other business does, but the corporations make a commitment that 5% of their new purchases will go to small and medium-sized enterprises. Look at them; they're finding incredible opportunities there. So that's one of them.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Irene Mathyssen]

Thank you, Minister. I'm sorry, I know it's very short.

Madame Demers.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Minister, there is some confusion about the matter I mentioned, the CIAFT. The person in charge of the organization is still eagerly awaiting your response. That person has never had any contact with your office nor with anyone who works for you, and she has never withdrawn from the file.

Minister, this file has been on your desk since March 5, and I would appreciate your sending out a response as quickly as possible.

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Thank you, Nicole.

I can tell you what I already told you, and I'll give you my commitment that if what I've been told is not the truth, I find that unacceptable. I find it unacceptable, and I will look into it and personally let you know.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Can you look into it quickly, Minister?

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Absolutely, yes, I will.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

I will get back to you on that. Thank you very much, Minister.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Irene Mathyssen]

There is still one minute for the Bloc.

Does Monsieur Guimond have a question?

[Claude Guimond, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Good afternoon Minister. I have a question about the Community Fund for Women, that you will be announcing shortly. When will organizations be able to apply for funding?

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

I will have that ready within the next two to three weeks; the call will go out, so organizations across the country can put their applications in. I suspect, because there's such a big interest and an understanding now that we have increased the funding and that there is more opportunity, that we'll receive probably more applications than we'll be able to fund. But we'll do the best we can with the resources we have.

[Claude Guimond, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

How much of the Community Fund for Women has been allocated to Quebec?

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

It's an all-across-the-country fund, and we take the applications and those that meet the criteria—my officials go through it all and bring those proposals to me, those that have met the criteria, for my approval—I go through them line by line.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Irene Mathyssen]

Merci.

Very quickly, Minister, in the 2009-2010 report on plans and priorities you indicate departments will be targeted to increase policy effectiveness in addressing women's issues and gender equality, to sustain the capacity of these departments to apply GBA, and to increase the integration of women's issues when formulating their policies and programs.

How will you identify which departments will be targeted? Have these departments already been identified based on the Auditor General's report on GBA? And how will you measure progress towards achieving these results? How will the departments report on their progress so you can ascertain the level?

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

For gender-based analysis, for my role as the minister responsible and now around the table, you can rest assured that I do raise the flag and I ask the question through every policy conversation we have, where applicable, where gender-based analysis has been done. So this is something that is always an opportunity for me, which was not something that was always the same opportunity because you had so many different portfolios and different things to manage. So I do that at the cabinet committee table, and in addition to that we've realized, through the Auditor General's report and even through my own analysis and looking at gender-based analysis, that there does need to be some improvement made. I see we need to recognize what is the best stage to do gender-based analysis, and that's a conversation I'm continuing to have with my colleagues.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Irene Mathyssen]

Veterans Affairs and Transport Canada did not fare well in the Auditor General's report. Will you be looking at them, discussing with those ministers?

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

I'll work with my colleagues, obviously, all of them around the table, but if you'd like to speak specifically with those ministers about gender-based analysis, you would have to speak directly with them about their departments.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Irene Mathyssen]

Thank you, Minister.

Madam O'Neill-Gordon.

[Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, NB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Welcome, Minister. We're happy to have you with us here today. We certainly realize what a busy schedule you have and are appreciative that you can take time to be with us.

I'm also pleased to hear you mention in your remarks that work is continuing on the action plan for women. I'm wondering—and I just have a short time—if you can briefly speak with more detail on the action plan as to how things are going in your consultations with it.

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Sure.

Coming into this, as I said in the past, there hadn't been a lot of work done on the action plan, which I thought was good and bad because it gave me an opportunity to take hold of it from the very beginning and take ownership of it. I've enjoyed that process. We are coming to a conclusion. There will be one more aggressive round of consultations for Canadian women and Canadian organizations.

I have met with a number of Canadian women and had a conversation about what they'd like to see, from a federal perspective of what we can do in terms of the three pillars. They agree with the three pillars. They like the focus of economic security, ending violence against women—actually when I came in to this that pillar was called women's security and I made a decision to call it ending violence against women—and of course the one on leadership roles.

Even with my federal-provincial counterparts there has been significant support for the three pillars that's in line with the work they're doing provincially. I'd like to tell you more about it in depth, but I can't. But we are getting close. I'm very excited about the opportunity and what we'll be able to accomplish with this action plan.

[Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, NB]

Thank you.

I really know that Canadian women can be so proud to have you as an example for other countries and to realize the work you're doing on our behalf. I want to thank you again.

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Thanks very much, Tilly.

I can say, though, that every woman who's elected to this House is a role model. I know you agree with that.