Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to thank the minister and the other witnesses for being here today to talk about investments that may help women. At least, that's our hope.
During the pandemic, more women lost their jobs, particularly because they held precarious jobs. They also lost their jobs because they had to make the choice to stay home and take care of their families. We saw these realities during the pandemic.
There's also the whole issue of violence. Almost 10% of women feared being victims of violence in the home during the pandemic. In Quebec, there were five femicides in two months. Five women have already died. I'm saying this because this figure hurts. It's unacceptable in 2021.
You also spoke about senior women. They ended up isolated and alone at home. They may not have lost their jobs, but they have been hit hard by the increase in grocery costs, rent and COVID-19 taxes. All the costs have increased for these senior women, but their purchasing power hasn't increased. They had to make difficult choices at the end of the month: housing, food or medication.
You also referred to the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada's report from 50 years ago. Even then, there was talk about the importance of pay equity for women and the importance of achieving it. Legislation was passed in Parliament. We look forward to women being able to experience this equity. We look forward to the government setting an example.
These are only a few issues that have come to light as a result of the pandemic.
I want to address the supplementary estimates. Money is needed to help women. One thing that stands out in this analysis is the fact that $8.7 million set aside for women wasn't spent before the end of last year, or between March and December 2020. The amount is being carried forward in the estimates.
Why weren't we able to spend the $8.7 million?
It seems that the needs were there. Quebec may have known what to do with it, especially in cases of domestic violence.