Well, I don't have data on the uptake of women who lost jobs, on how many of them went onto the CERB, but I did think that the CERB was very effective. I thought it was very smart to bring it up really quickly.
We talk about a recession, but it wasn't so much a recession as an economic shutdown. The underlying factors of the economy didn't cause people to lose jobs. What caused people to lose jobs was a choice we made on how to fight the pandemic. I have no problem with it. It was a smart choice. To continue to have income through that period was very important for those who were pushed out of work.
As we know, the job losses for women, especially in that first month, were about two times the rate for men. We also know that women are working more precariously. They have lower incomes. More of them are in part-time jobs, with little or no benefits such as sick leave and all those kinds of things, so to be able to move onto a benefit that exceeded the minimal amount they'd get paid on EI was probably very helpful.