Thank you.
Your mandate letter states that you are to develop and work with your cabinet colleagues and their departments on ensuring that government programs and funding go through a gender-based analysis. You spoke about putting people at the centre of everything here. However, we have heard around this committee and from our stakeholders that when the pandemic hit, many of the government programs did not address the many challenges women faced, such as that faced by pregnant women who had been laid off as a result of the pandemic and had a challenge in collecting the government support.
Minister, with a budget of more than $100 million a year and over 100 staff, Canadians expected more and are sorely disappointed. How, if at all, have you addressed these failures in your departments to ensure that in future, government funding and programs are properly reviewed by a gender-based analysis?