Thank you very much. My apologies for the back and forth.
As I mentioned before, during my time as the Minister of Status of Women during the previous government, I had to present myself several times to this committee. The maintenance of transparency with respect to the mandate letter, as it is with respect to the estimates and other things, is I think very important for the Canadian public. I think it's exceptionally reasonable. I would hope that the minister understands that it's a duty of the office to be transparent to the Canadian public. I would hope that this transparency doesn't just speak to the estimates but it also speaks to the mandate. I can tell you, having sat at that end of the table as opposed to one of these seats, that it takes more than an hour to go through the estimates and it takes more than an hour to go through the mandate alone. That is if you want to be fully available to the Canadian public.
Personally, I think the clarification would be exceptionally valuable. One thing that has been added to this mandate—at least, that we understand has been added to this mandate—is the involvement of girls. I had the good fortune as the minister to put forward at the United Nations the international day of the girl on behalf of Canadians. I had the good fortune to have the first round table of just young women to present to cabinet so that they would have an opportunity to have their ideas heard. Those are very important issues, and I don't think they can be encapsulated in a two- or three-minute conversation with a cabinet minister when young women in this country are just as valuable as seniors. That's just one piece of evidence, from what we think is in the mandate, that I think should be discussed.
I would strongly encourage those on the other side to consider having the minister here to speak just to the mandate. It's a very important component of what I think the Canadian public expects. Quite frankly, I think the more than five million young Canadian women under the age of 18 alone deserve to have that degree of respect; I would just encourage them on the other side.
As I say, it's not a lot of fun sitting down at the other end of the table as a cabinet minister, but I don't think it's as terrible as you might think. I think it's actually extremely helpful for a minister to be able to speak to the Canadian public directly on what their mandate is and what they plan to achieve.
Thank you.