Evidence of meeting #98 for Status of Women in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was businesses.

A video is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Michelle Rempel  Calgary Nose Hill, CPC

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

Alaina Lockhart Liberal Fundy Royal, NB

Great. Thank you.

One statistic that I've learned, which I'm sure you know as well, is that more than half of small businesses are owned by women, but only 16% of total businesses are owned by women. Clearly, there are barriers to growing a small business into a medium and large one. I would suggest that those are a couple of the reasons why—just the businesses that women have traditionally chosen to be involved in.

You mentioned, too, the significance of training and mentorship. Do you feel that plays a large part in growing businesses? What will be the significance of the hubs in this?

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON

To start with the question about whether that plays a significant role, I think the research would suggest that it does. We can step back even further and think about what ways we can create incentives for girls to see role models in the places where they can aspire to be in future. That's why, as we think about funding for science and research, we've given direction that we expect to see more outcomes for younger and more female researchers so that they'll be role models. Of course, many businesses will be founded by people who go into those sorts of fields.

We're thinking as well about how we enable people at a very early age to see opportunities to go into those fields. That's why we put money both in last year's budget and similar ideas in this year's around coding for young girls. We're trying to think from an early stage how you create those opportunity sets. The idea of thinking about accelerators and business hubs is that once people actually decide where they're going to go, they need to find ways of getting the networks required for them to successfully get into those business sectors.

So it's a multi-faceted approach that we think is required, and it will be something that we'll need to stick with.

4:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

Alaina, you have about eight seconds.

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

Alaina Lockhart Liberal Fundy Royal, NB

No, thank you, Madam Chair.

4:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

Fantastic.

Now we're going to move over to Rachael Harder.

4:50 p.m.

Conservative

Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB

I will share with my colleague Ms. Rempel.

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON

Madam Chair, I need to leave as close to 5 o'clock as possible. I have something else that starts at 5 o'clock.

4:50 p.m.

Calgary Nose Hill, CPC

Michelle Rempel

Oh, I'm sure you'll want to stick around for me, Minister.

What is the relative cost burden of your carbon tax, for women as compared to men?

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON

As you likely know, we believe that for our economy to be successful over the long term we need to make sure that we're considering also the environmental challenges.

4:50 p.m.

Calgary Nose Hill, CPC

Michelle Rempel

Since you have to leave, I'll just ask whether a gender-based analysis has been completed for the carbon tax.

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON

What I was getting to is that we believe a carbon pricing approach is important. We've also said that we need to find a way to move that revenue back to the provinces.

4:50 p.m.

Calgary Nose Hill, CPC

Michelle Rempel

So has a gender-based analysis been completed for the carbon tax?

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON

As a revenue-neutral measure, you'll understand that we see this as something that's important for the long-term health of our environment and our economy.

4:50 p.m.

Calgary Nose Hill, CPC

Michelle Rempel

So has a gender-based analysis been completed for the carbon tax?

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON

As I mentioned, this is a revenue-neutral measure that we think will help our environment over the long term and enable our economy to be successful.

4:50 p.m.

Calgary Nose Hill, CPC

Michelle Rempel

Okay, then, I'll ask it a different way.

You've talked about the wage gap and these different things. Did you do any modelling? Is the price elasticity of the consumption of carbon the same for women as it is for men in Canada?

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON

As I've said, we believe that carbon pricing is important. We also believe that this—

4:50 p.m.

Calgary Nose Hill, CPC

Michelle Rempel

But you've also said, on page 219 of the budget—

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON

—revenue-neutral approach is one that allows us to do it properly.

4:50 p.m.

Calgary Nose Hill, CPC

Michelle Rempel

On page 219 of the budget, you said that you're putting in place a gender-results framework, which is a whole-of-government tool. Has that tool not been applied to the carbon tax?

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON

Again, I'll repeat that in putting in place carbon pricing, we know that it will have a long-term positive impact on the environment—

4:50 p.m.

Calgary Nose Hill, CPC

Michelle Rempel

So it has been done.

4:55 p.m.

Liberal

Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON

—for everyone. It will have an impact, of course, that is revenue-neutral from the federal government's standpoint.

4:55 p.m.

Calgary Nose Hill, CPC

Michelle Rempel

Could you table with this committee the gender-based analysis for the carbon tax?

4:55 p.m.

Liberal

Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON

I'll just repeat again, the—