Status of Women Committee on Feb. 18th, 2021

Evidence of meeting #16 for Status of Women in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was caregiver.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

Women’s Unpaid Work

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Tracy Johnson Director, Health System Analysis and Emerging Issues, Canadian Institute for Health Information

Amy Coupal Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Caregiver Organization

Hélène Cornellier Director, Policy and Communications, Association féminine d'éducation et d'action sociale

Lise Courteau President, Association féminine d'éducation et d'action sociale

Marianne Pertuiset-Ferland Director, Inter-organizational Committee for the Recognition of Invisible Work

12:50 p.m.

NDP

Lindsay Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

If I can squeeze this in, in terms of that push for gender equality within care work, it is seen entirely in a gendered way. It is underpaid. It is undervalued. In addition to things like pay equity, a federal minimum wage and a livable wage that we can provide those standards for, what are the things the federal government can do to take apart that inequality?

12:50 p.m.

Director, Policy and Communications, Association féminine d'éducation et d'action sociale

Hélène Cornellier

I believe you're alluding to the guaranteed minimum income. On that issue, Afeas…

12:50 p.m.

NDP

Lindsay Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

We could talk about that too, yes.

12:50 p.m.

Director, Policy and Communications, Association féminine d'éducation et d'action sociale

Hélène Cornellier

So that's not what you were talking about.

12:50 p.m.

NDP

Lindsay Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

I was talking about potentially the minimum federal wage, a minimum wage and raising that, but a guaranteed livable income could be part of that conversation as well.

12:50 p.m.

Director, Policy and Communications, Association féminine d'éducation et d'action sociale

Hélène Cornellier

I don't want to commit myself on the guaranteed minimum income issue. We don't have a position on that.

12:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu

That's okay. We're out of time anyway.

I want to say thank you to our excellent witnesses today. We certainly could have asked you questions all day, I think. This was very good information.

I just want to give some information for next week to the folks on the committee.

On Tuesday, we'll be continuing with the rural study and then, hopefully, we can finish up the consideration of the report on COVID-19 impacts on women. We will also do any committee business drafting instructions, so start thinking about those for the two studies that we're doing right now.

On Thursday, for the first hour, we will have the Minister of Labour coming, with the officials, on pay equity. In the second hour, we have the panel on unpaid work.

That's what's coming up for us.

Now I'm looking to the committee. Is it the pleasure of the committee to adjourn—

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC

I'm sorry, Madam Chair. I just wanted to add as a bit of information that there were statistics collected in 2017. I was asking one of the witnesses about this.

I wanted to put this in because I thought it was very important. Maybe the witnesses can send us more information about this, please. Nearly 50% of fathers took five weeks or less of parental leave, whereas just over 80% of mothers took 27 to 52 weeks of maternity and/or parental leave. I thought it was very interesting, because we were discussing the inequality of men and women.

12:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu

Yes. I think that's good data to put into the study.

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC

Thank you so much.

12:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu

All right. Is it the will of the committee to adjourn? Very good.

I will see you again, then, on Tuesday next.