Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Mrs. Barnett and Mrs. Désir, thank you for being with us today.
I will now turn to Ms. Haileyesus.
Let me begin by saying that the issue of women's economic empowerment is a major concern when it comes to coercive control in a situation of domestic violence. I think that making sure a woman can't earn a decent income to get out of the cycle of violence is part of that kind of control. I hope we can discuss this in committee.
Ms. Haileyesus, I'd like to hear you talk about the emergency loan that was granted to help businesses during the pandemic. Some people are currently talking about the risk of businesses going bankrupt, at a rate of 25% to 30%. Organizations like the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, or CFIB, and even farm unions are raising the red flag. The solution proposed by the government is to extend the loan by 18 days. If that doesn't happen, businesses will have to turn to banks, whose interest rates are really incredibly high.
How will these programs, which are already lacking in flexibility, hurt women even more?