Minister Qualtrough, on June 10, during the COVID special committee, I asked why GBA+ was not conducted on the programs that were rolled out by your government. You said: My goodness, Madam Chair. I'll say again how important it was from the very beginning that we took into account the needs of women and girls, and as we move forward into the economic recovery phase, how completely we make women at the core of every decision.
But we know this was not the case. Yesterday we heard from several witnesses that GBA+ was not conducted on the programs that were rolled out, as you just acknowledged, and that women could not have been core to every decision because of the significant gaps in the programs as they relate to women specifically.
If women and girls had been at the core of every decision as you said, how were there so many oversights and gaps relating to maternity leave and EI benefits? We heard yesterday that 50% of women-owned businesses are ineligible for the CEBA. There are obviously massive gaps. What steps is the government taking to ensure that more businesses can access the CEBA? May I have a short response, please.