Evidence of meeting #20 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 chair.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Guylaine F. Roy  Deputy Minister, Department for Women and Gender Equality

11:45 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu

Very good.

Now we're going to Ms. Mathyssen for two and a half minutes.

March 11th, 2021 / 11:45 a.m.

NDP

Lindsay Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Thank you, Madam Chair.

There has been a lot of talk from your government about the delivery of a national child care system, but in all of the talk, all of the speeches and throne speeches and so on, a lot of the numbers fall short of what's actually necessary.

The key stakeholders within child care have asked for an immediate $2.5 billion, which actually your government agreed to do in a unanimous consent motion in the House, but it has failed to do so yet.

They are also asking for $10 billion over the next five years. They have also requested a piece of legislation to put forward a universal child care act.

We also heard in testimony on Tuesday from witnesses that this will only continue to create a piecemeal approach in terms of child care.

Will we be able to see that full funding in the upcoming budget?

11:45 a.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

Madam Chair, I too look forward to the upcoming budget, the first to be tabled in the House of Commons by a woman finance minister.

I would say that the $450 million set aside for skills training and the workforce development on early learning and child care workers is a significant first step in building a system that provides that quality of affordable, accessible care.

On building a secretariat within the Government of Canada, as you can appreciate, this has been mostly done within our provincial and territorial jurisdictions. That secretariat is going to create the capacity for the federal government to do its part.

We already have created more than 40,000 child care spaces in Canada. When the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister say that they have their noses to the grindstone on this one, those are words I take seriously, because never before have we seen the private sector and governments and Canadians on board with the idea of universal early learning and child care as we've seen—

11:45 a.m.

NDP

Lindsay Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

One of the key things is that while all that money is a first step, it still falls short and it doesn't get the job done. Are you willing to do what it takes to get the job done and provide the full funding being asked for by key stakeholders in the child care sector?

11:45 a.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

MP Mathyssen, we're working very closely with them. We are short of about 15,000 child care workers in Canada right now. We can't build a system without the mostly women who look after our kids, so that's a priority.

Minister Hussen has also held a federal-provincial-territorial meeting with his counterparts. I was fortunate to be there, and provinces—

11:45 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu

I'm sorry. That's your time.

Now we're going to Ms. Sahota for four minutes.

11:45 a.m.

Conservative

Jag Sahota Conservative Calgary Skyview, AB

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Minister, I'm going to build on what my colleague MP Shin had asked you. I'm going to give you some statistics.

One in three women and girls in Canada will face some sort of gender-based violence in their lifetime. That is 6,373,323 women and girls.

At your last appearance here at the committee, when you appeared for main estimates, you refused to answer my question about when we would see the national action plan to address gender-based violence. Our allies such as Australia, Belgium, Finland, France, Norway and the United Kingdom have all developed national action plans, and in some cases, are already working on versions two and three.

You've been giving a lot of fluffy answers, but fluffy answers don't solve the problems. Actions do, and we do not have a national action plan from you. You're sitting here and telling us that you're protecting women, that you're defending women, that you're standing up for women, yet there's no action plan.

Can you tell me when that action plan is coming and how, by not having that, you're protecting and standing up for women?

11:50 a.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

Madam Chair, our federal strategy to address and prevent gender-based violence was the first of its kind, so Canada is moving to phase two of its plan to address and prevent gender-based violence with a national action plan.

The last time I was here, I shared with this committee that we have to speak with our provincial and territorial counterparts. We did that, and we are moving forward. I encourage my colleague to look at the record of decision that came from that meeting.

When we put forward that federal strategy on gender-based violence, the Conservative Party of Canada voted against it. I am hopeful that this time the Conservative Party of Canada will support our measures to ensure that every woman is safe.

11:50 a.m.

Conservative

Jag Sahota Conservative Calgary Skyview, AB

Minister, you didn't answer my question, but I'm going to go on to the next one and hope you will answer that one.

With the explosive revelations of rampant sexual misconduct in the highest ranks of our military, how many conversations have you had with the Minister of National Defence and the Prime Minister about how this government is failing women who choose to serve in uniform for their country? What specific recommendations have you made?

11:50 a.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

Madam Chair, I thought I answered the previous question in a lot of detail. If my colleague would like more information, I'm happy to provide it.

I can assure her too that I'm in regular conversation with my colleagues about the need to improve processes and the culture within these institutions so that all women can feel safe and feel like they belong.

11:50 a.m.

Conservative

Jag Sahota Conservative Calgary Skyview, AB

Have you read the June 2019 committee report, “A Force for Change: Creating a culture of equality for women in the Canadian Armed Forces” and looked at the recommendations we made to the government?

11:50 a.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

Yes. We've been very fortunate that FEWO undertook that study. We appreciated it in June, and certainly we've been reviewing it further.

11:50 a.m.

Conservative

Jag Sahota Conservative Calgary Skyview, AB

Minister, following instructions from you and your deputy, Ms. Roy, at your last FEWO appearance, we've had testimony from both the PBO and Minister Tassi, the lead for gender equity pay. The PBO felt that your government could have implemented pay equity sooner than your current pace, and the minister objected to that statement when questioned.

How can your government be trusted to stand up for women in any capacity when your colleagues and the PBO aren't even on the same page?

I would also do you the favour of reminding you that the Harper government has not been in power for over six years.

11:50 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu

Unfortunately, that's your time.

Now we're going to—

11:50 a.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

Madam Chair, may I provide a quick response to that?

11:50 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu

Please provide a very brief response.

11:50 a.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

The Conservative Party of Canada voted against our pay equity legislation.

11:50 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu

Thank you.

Now we'll go to Mrs. Zahid for four minutes.

11:50 a.m.

Liberal

Salma Zahid Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for appearing before the committee today, and thank you for all the work that you are doing on behalf of all women. We really appreciate having your voice at the cabinet table.

The year 2020, the last 12 months, was difficult for all Canadians, for everyone across the world, but particularly for women. They have felt the impacts of COVID-19, and their lives have been affected adversely. They have been caregivers for their parents. They have been teachers for their children while trying to make ends meet.

Minister, can you please discuss the number of measures that our government has taken to support Canadians, especially women, through this health crisis as we work towards recovery? Particularly, can you discuss why the task force on women in the economy is such a crucial piece?

11:55 a.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

Thank you so much, MP Zahid, particularly for your leadership as chair of the immigration and citizenship committee. That work is so important to our government and to our country's economic prosperity, and we appreciate having you at the table.

In terms of the measures that have been implemented, there are the CERB, the wage subsidy, the CEBA loans, the women entrepreneurship fund, the changes in EI that have actually brought the number of women receiving EI close to 50% for the first time ever, the GBV funds that we were discussing, the supports given to increase pay for those on the front lines of the fight against the pandemic, and vaccines. My goodness, there are four vaccines now, and those vaccines are going to help women who are caring for and afraid for their loved ones and help them to get back to work. That is in addition to the $1.5 billion that Minister Qualtrough announced. The funds will go and already have gone to provinces and territories to support skills training for women in the hardest-hit sectors. Those are some of the measures that our government has put forward in addition to collecting disaggregated gender data. These are going to be important foundational pieces to get our economy back.

The women in the economy task force that Minister Freeland and Minister Fortier announced is made up of a group of women who bring a breadth of experiences to the decision-making table. Their voices are going to inform our government, particularly the ministers responsible in finance, to ensure that our recovery has the most practical and the most comprehensive understanding of how women are landing in the midst of the pandemic, but also how we get women back on their feet. How do we get women into those early learning and child care spaces? Women are needed there. Perhaps we can train the women who have been hit in the hospitality sector and lost their jobs to become ELCC workers. Beyond that, we need to get more women into STEM fields, in trades, in engineering, in math, and in science. Those fields are higher-wage fields, and they have significant labour shortages.

With all the ways that women have been hit hard by COVID, there are incredible opportunities ahead of us for women and for all Canadians. With a feminist government in charge that is listening to the voices of diverse women, women are going to be okay, but that requires all of us to work together and to, first and foremost, beat the virus and ensure that everyone who wants the vaccine gets it.

11:55 a.m.

Liberal

Salma Zahid Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON

Thank you, Minister.

11:55 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu

Thank you, Minister, very much for appearing before our committee today.

There are several routine motions that we go through to approve the supplementary and main estimates, so I'll read those out now.

DEPARTMENT FOR WOMEN AND GENDER EQUALITY

Vote 5c—Grants and contributions..........$8,700,000

(Vote 5c agreed to)

Shall I report the supplementary estimates (C) 2020-21 to the House?

11:55 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

11:55 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu

Next, on the main estimates, shall vote 1 in the amount of $45,345,445 under the Department for Women and Gender Equality carry?

11:55 a.m.

Conservative

Jag Sahota Conservative Calgary Skyview, AB

Can we have a recorded division on this, please?