There's a huge impact in many of our rural communities and northern communities. This is for both male and female students. They cannot access the courses that get them into the different academic streams in university. I met high school students in Labrador who had to go online and access high school courses online to be able to get the proper courses to be able to get into university.
In terms of gender, there is a real challenge. Many in the north and in some of those communities.... Where I grew up, my brothers got jobs in the mines in the summer. They were able to make money to help pay for their university. I didn't. I wasn't able to get the jobs in the mines, so my jobs always paid way less, had long hours and were very tough. I was planting trees, babysitting, doing everything I could to make money.
There's inequity in job access in rural and northern communities. There's inequity in pay in rural and northern communities. There's inequity in access, even at the secondary level, in these communities. That inequity for high schools affects both the young men and the young women. I want to be clear on that.
Then when we look at our indigenous women in this country, we all know what they face. Many times we have let them down as a country. One of the most shameful public policy failures in our country is our support for our sisters in those indigenous communities.
I'll stop there.