Status of Women Committee on Dec. 7th, 2023

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Good morning, everyone. I call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 90 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women. Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the Standing Orders. Members are attending in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application.

I would like to make a few comments for the benefit of the members. I'll keep it very simple.

Make sure you do not put your earpieces near the microphones. Make sure your microphones are off when you're not speaking. For those on Zoom, make sure your booms are down when you're speaking. As a reminder, if there are any comments, bring them through the chair. For members in the room, if you wish to speak, please raise your hand. For members on Zoom, use the “raise hand” function.

Pursuant to the order of reference from the House dated Thursday, November 9, 2023, and the motion adopted by the committee on Monday, November 20, 2023, we are meeting to study the subject matter of supplementary estimates (B) 2023-24 and votes 1b and 5b under the Department for Women and Gender Equality.

I would like to welcome Minister Ien, who is accompanied by officials from the Department for Women and Gender Equality.

Minister Ien, it is wonderful to have you here today. We will be granting you five minutes for your opening comments.

The clock starts now. You have the floor.

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth]

Hello, Madam Chair and honourable members.

Before we begin, I would like to acknowledge that I’m speaking with you from the traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin nation.

It’s a pleasure to be here today to discuss the Supplementary Estimates (B) for the Department for Women and Gender Equality.

It is an absolute honour to be part of this department's work and see up close the positive change that comes from the programs we offer and support. I see it when I speak to people who put their heart into helping women and children flee violent situations. I see it when I speak to organizations that are connecting women with economic opportunities and people who are breaking down systemic barriers—indigenous women, women with disabilities, members of 2SLGBTQI+ communities, newcomers, and Black and racialized women.

WAGE's role is so key at a time when people, specifically marginalized people, are feeling the strain of inflation and trying to make ends meet. These programs make sure that no one is left behind in these really tough times and that women are connected to well-paying jobs and have more money in their pockets. In our role as convenor, knowledge broker and capacity builder, we act as the glue between government departments and grassroots organizations and work alongside provincial and territorial governments to deliver on our commitment to build a more equitable country.

You've all seen this work through the national action plan to end gender-based violence that we launched just last year. We've already reached bilateral agreements with Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut, Yukon, Alberta and Northwest Territories, and an agreement for the Province of Quebec to support its strategy. The funding from these agreements is already flowing to provinces and territories. It's reaching frontline services to prevent violence and address the root causes of this issue, which we know needs to include men and boys. This is on top of the $55 million in direct federal funding to indigenous organizations to end gender-based violence.

On the economic front, we've been able to support women's organizations that play a key role in improving access to education, employment, health and social services. Earlier this fall, I had the pleasure of announcing support for the LEAP Pecaut Centre for Social Impact. It's an organization that helps not-for-profit organizations tap into private sector talent. These non-profits do so much and have so little. They connect women with well-paying jobs. They find women and children affordable housing and social supports, and help newcomers find their footing. Through partnerships, they have already unlocked $21 million in pro bono work from private corporations and positively impacted 6.4 million Canadian lives.

In the face of rising transphobia and homophobia in Canada and around the world, we launched the federal 2SLGBTQI+ action plan, supporting grassroots organizations that are focused on building safer communities.

While progress has been made, the gains we've achieved have not been enjoyed equally. The COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath have threatened to roll back decades of progress on gender equality.

We know that we must go further, faster.

Again, we are making these impactful investments to ensure that no one is falling through the cracks in their time of need. We're doing this through these supplementary estimates by requesting $6.9 million to help organizations on the front lines, such as LEAP, and $18.6 million to go towards the menstrual equity fund pilot, which is making sure that no one in this country has to choose between buying menstrual products and putting food on the table.

I’m confident that by working together we will ensure that Canada remains the best place in the world to live.

We know, and we've seen first-hand, that we all benefit when we have equal opportunities to succeed.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I am ready for questions.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thank you very much.

Joining Minister Ien today we have Frances McRae, deputy minister, as well as Alia Butt, assistant deputy minister, strategic policy. We have the minister for the first hour, from 11 a.m. until 12 p.m., and then from 12 p.m. until 1 p.m. we will continue with the department.

We will begin with our first round of questions, with Dominique Vien.

Dominique, you have the floor.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Thank you, Chair.

Good morning, Minister. Thank you for being with us today and welcome.

I’d like you to give us some information about the Menstrual Equity Fund you’ve set up. It’s a two-year, $25.3 million fund that was created for fiscal years 2022–2023 and 2023–2024.

If I understand correctly, in addition to the $25.3 million that was already requested, you are asking for additional funding to ensure the fund’s smooth operation.

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Right now, Dominique, it is actually $18.9 million in the estimates.

Am I correct, Deputy? Yes. It's not $25 million.

I'm so glad you asked that question. I got a text just a little while ago. I saw product that actually arrived at a food bank. Food Banks Canada is the umbrella organization that is rolling this out. The product is starting to roll out across the country.

I have to quickly tell you that at the food bank in my own riding of Toronto Centre, when I made this announcement initially on the $18.9 million, there was a woman who had a pad. She cut it in three—

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Minister, perhaps we can revisit distribution-related operations.

If I understood correctly this morning, the program ultimately costs less than the allotted $25.3 million. Is that correct?

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

It's not costing less. It was a pilot when it actually rolled out, Dominique. Right now, in the supplementary estimates (B), it's $18.9 million, not $25 million.

Is that making sense to you?

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Yes. How much have you spent so far?

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

I can get you that number. The deputy is working on that.

We wanted to make sure that this was a national program. It is hitting every province, including the province of Quebec. I believe Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, NDG, looked at communities that needed this most. Product will be arriving. It's already arriving and will continue to arrive, so that those who need product can get it.

This is continuing. As I said, it's a pilot, so we have to document. We have to measure. We have to see whether or not this works across the country, from Nunavut to Quebec. Does it work? Is it working? Who's partaking? Is this umbrella formula that we have actually the way we need to go?

As you know, with a pilot, if it's working, then we can request more, but right now, this is what's been tabled in supplementary estimates (B). It's $18.9 million. That's rolling out now.

As to how much we have spent so far, it's over to you, Deputy.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Please.

[Frances McRae, Deputy Minister, Department for Women and Gender Equality]

Thank you for the question.

The funds to be expended under the program amount to $17.9 million as part of the agreement the Minister reached with the fund manager.

According to our documents, the department’s internal operations will amount to $0.6 million. Those expenses are part of the total amount.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

What exactly will this $600,000 received by the department for operations be used for?

[Frances McRae]

Allow me to explain what we’ve been up to since the approval of Supplementary Estimates (B) 2022–2023, which announced the launch of the program.

Obviously, this was a project for which our department didn’t have much experience when it was announced last April. So we spent a lot of time in consultations with, among others, Minister Jenna Sudds, when she was Parliamentary Secretary, to ensure that the pilot project framework would truly work.

As you likely know, we also launched a competitive process to determine who would receive the full funding.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Did you have to hire external companies for that consultation, or was the $600,000 used exclusively to pay public servants?

[Frances McRae]

Those funds were granted to the department.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Very well.

[Frances McRae]

You have one minute left.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

The pilot project ends in March 2024 and the organization Food Banks Canada was chosen in September, wasn’t it?

If so, that doesn’t leave much time to get the work done.

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

It's not a lot of time given to them to do the work, but as the deputy pointed out, we wanted to make sure that we engaged with communities that needed it the most. Of course, it's a pilot. You know that policy comes from things that are measured, so if this works, and we get the numbers we need and see where the need is, we can go back and re-address this.

[Frances McRae]

I’d like to add something.

If you visit Food Banks Canada’s website, you’ll see that the organization has a proven track record and that it has the necessary distribution network. We chose this organization because it was ready.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

That's excellent. Thank you very much.

We're now going to pass the floor over to Sonia Sidhu. You have the floor for six minutes.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister and all the officials, for being with us and for the hard work you are doing on the ground for women and girls.

This committee, Minister, just started a study on women's economic empowerment. We are looking forward to hearing from witnesses about the challenges women face while in the workforce or starting a business, as well as the success stories of women when they break barriers in various fields that are male-dominated.

As the Minister for Women and Gender Equality, what steps are you taking to close that gender wage gap, and what are you doing to support women-owned enterprises or businesses?

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

As a federal government, we have addressed the gap. It's the private sector that has not, and we see what happens to women when they do the same job as a man and don't get paid the same amount. That is the basis for a lot of what we do here at Women and Gender Equality, also working in concert with the Minister of Small Business.

There are entrepreneurship programs. This is something that has been a bedrock, where I have seen lives changed first-hand. Also, it isn't just women helping women. I mentioned the Pecaut Centre for Social Impact. It's engaging the private sector to help women with mentorship, to get them started and to make sure they know what to do when they get to a bank and have to ask for a loan.

I also want to point out indigenous women and the $55-million capacity fund we have that supports indigenous women who lead businesses. I'll point out that this sector in particular, Sonia, is doing so very well. Indigenous women are leading when it comes to entrepreneurship in this country, and it is the funding we provide at WAGE that helps with that.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Thank you.

Yesterday, we stood together to commemorate a dark chapter in Canadian history. It has been over 30 years since the murder of 14 young women at the Polytechnique Montréal. This act of violence and misogyny shook our country and led Parliament to designate December 6 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

Yesterday, we commemorated the day—Minister, you were there—and remembered this horrifying act of misogyny.

We committed $500 million in the last budget for the national action plan to end gender-based violence. Can you update the committee on the progress of the national action plan to end gender-based violence?

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

If I might, I want to mention Andréanne Larouche here, as well as Dominique, who spoke in the chamber yesterday, as did I, on the day of remembrance. They were such powerful words.

Andréanne, you in particular said, “We're here every year doing this. What does this mean? How much work is getting done?”

Those are valid questions. As I looked at all of us women standing in that House, I thought, we need to really understand that this is not a women's issue, and that men and boys need to and have to be involved in this equation or, as Andréanne said, we are going to keep coming back and coming back.

I was so pleased to have that moment of silence. Many of you engaged, and we were there at the flame, and it really spoke so loudly to why the endorsement of this 10-year national action plan is so important. You asked for an update, and so far with the help of Lisa, our parliamentary secretary, we have signed 10 provinces and territories, along with the federal government, into agreement. That means money has rolled out. That means grassroots organizations are actually being impacted and can help people on the ground. That's 10 provinces and territories.

It also speaks to the teamwork this is going to take. This means getting provinces, territories, the federal government and municipalities all on board with regard to fighting this and ending this. Again I stress that it's men and boys. There's no way we can solve this if we don't address that. It is about prevention, and prevention is the first pillar of our action plan. When provinces and territories come up with their plans, at least 25% of those have to be on prevention. Then it's the matter of underserved communities and then it's making sure that the sector itself is secure. Those are the three tenets, and all provinces and territories need to meet them when they bring their plans. Ten of them so far are in agreement.

Thank you, Sonia.