Thanks for the question. I think it's a very important file.
The first thing we do is support the minister with our advisory council for participation of women on boards. This is an advisory council that was announced through economic action plan 2012. There have already been two meetings of the advisory council. They were asked to provide advice on how industry can increase representation on corporate boards. It suggests how the industry and government can better track and report on results. This is a very critical aspect of the issue, looking at how we monitor progress. Also, they were asked to make recommendations on how governments can recognize those who are making progress, taking action, and committing.
Apart from supporting the minister on this important government priority, we've played a very proactive role in engaging our federal, provincial and territorial forum on this issue. I'd like to mention two key initiatives in particular that we've supported over the past year in collaboration and partnership with the provinces and territories.
The first one is that we organize a very important knowledge exchange event on the issue. One of the goals, and this is something that was discussed across jurisdictions, is that people want to make sure we're all complementing one another, that we're advancing in the same direction, sharing a common understanding of what the issue is all about, what the business case is all about, and who the key stakeholders are who have to be mobilized. This was the type of discussion that we addressed.
Another important thing that was done was that we commissioned, through the FPT forum and the Conference Board of Canada, to develop a very snappy document that I recommend you all have a look at. We can send it to the clerk of the committee. It's on the business case for why it is important to have more women on boards.
There's been lots of research done on this file. I think the business case is well-informed, but we wanted to have something very snappy that could be shared with the leaders in the business community so they understand that it's in their interests to advance on this front.
We continue to support the minister, as I mentioned, but also to find ways to collaborate with the provinces and territories on moving forward on this important file. We take the pulse of what other jurisdictions are doing to inform the way forward.