Thank you, Madam Chair.
I would like to thank the witnesses for joining us. We apologize to the witnesses who were here last week. We had to cut our meeting short because of the votes, while the presentation sounded like it was going to be rather interesting.
I am very happy to finally see you at the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, Madam Minister. I am saying this nicely because I feel that your being here is necessary. For all those who believe in the importance of the status of women, it is extremely important to see the leadership of the minister. We know that you have huge responsibilities with Public Works and Government Services, but Status of Women Canada should not be the department's poor cousin.
Having said that, we are here to talk about the estimates and all that. We know that the budget will be tabled on March 29. I would really like to know if we can expect to see you again. We can always learn from the past, but I am often more interested in the future. The past still helps me understand the future. Actually, I feel that 40 minutes before the committee in an entire year does not show sufficient leadership on the minister's part. That is even more true in light of what is coming up and the things we hear about the budget.
I know there is a lot of concern at Status of Women Canada and in organizations that are working in that area. We know that, when there are budget cuts, women are often the first ones to be affected.
Can we expect to see you back soon, after the budget is tabled, at least for one session, in order to see what is in store for the Status of Women Canada's budget in 2012-2013?