Status of Women Committee on May 7th, 2026

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Minister, I'm talking about shelters. Is a shelter a safe place for an 84-year-old woman today to live, if she can even get into one?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Again, I've already answered that question. We have provided $1 billion focused on housing across the country, transitional homes and affordable homes. Shelters and transitional homes qualify for that funding, and we are working directly with provinces and territories to make sure that vital housing needs across the country will be fulfilled.

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Minister, it's not enough, because things are not getting any better.

I have the reports right here, asking us about seniors, the poor and disabled, and why Canada is euthanizing the poor. Seniors are wanting MAID rather than losing their home and their dignity.

The CEO of the Mississauga Food Bank, Meghan Nicholls, has publicly said she has clients who are asking her how to apply for MAID because they can no longer live in poverty today.

What do you have to say to these people who fear homelessness more than death?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Seniors do deserve to live in dignity and to be able to afford the cost of living, which is why the government is ensuring, again, through the old age security—

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Minister, no Canadian should feel pushed toward MAID because of poverty or housing insecurity. What are you actually doing now, today, to prevent that from happening?

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

You have 20 seconds, Minister.

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Again, going back to what I've said, we're providing financial supports. We're ensuring that we're building more homes faster, particularly to address the issues around homelessness and the issues that the member opposite—

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Minister, Canadians need answers today on where they can live safely. Do you have an answer for them right now?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

I'm happy to provide a list of resources for seniors.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Thank you very much, ladies.

Now, I understand that the time will be split between Ms. Gladu, Ms. Nguyen and Ms. Nathan.

Is that right?

[Marilyn Gladu, Liberal, Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong, ON]

Thank you, Chair. I will be splitting my time with Ms. Nguyen.

Thank you, Minister, for being here today. You are right that this committee has done amazing work. I was just on the justice committee, watching us finish the clause-by-clause on Bill C-16. That was very rewarding.

I see that we have plans to do major building, and to build houses across the country. We'll need people in the trades to do that. We're really not tapping into enough women in the trades. Perhaps you could talk a bit about what you are doing to promote women in the trades.

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Thank you for that question.

Again, I appreciate the member's statement with regard to supporting women and making sure we have more women in trades. As our government builds more homes, as our government does nation-building projects, we want to make sure that women have equal opportunity. Through the spring economic update, we've made significant new investments to strengthen our skilled trades.

We are launching team Canada strong. This is a $6-billion national initiative. We plan to make sure that young Canadians have the chance to apply. We're investing $2 billion to train young Canadians to make sure they can get access to that. Our goal is to ensure that we hire 80,000 to 100,000 new Red Seal skilled trades workers, which of course will be inclusive of women.

I was out in Windsor not too long ago, making an announcement. I met this incredible organization that empowers young women to make sure they participate in the trades. We recognize that women face a lot of those barriers. We have organizations that are ready to do the good work to make sure we're empowering young Canadians. Again, through our spring economic update, $2 billion will support paid and ready job placements that lead directly into registered apprenticeships. That will help reduce one of the biggest barriers into apprenticeships. For women, this absolutely matters so much.

I was recently with my daughter—I want to thank CAGIS, the organization out in the GTA that does great work in empowering young women and girls—and one of the exercises we got to do was virtually weld using artificial intelligence, which was really cool. It really creates opportunities for young girls to see themselves in trades, to see themselves being able to use tools and be hands-on, and to see that they can absolutely participate and help grow our economy.

[Marilyn Gladu, Liberal, Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong, ON]

Thank you.

I'll pass it to Ms. Nguyen.

[Chi Nguyen, Liberal, Spadina—Harbourfront, ON]

Thanks, Madam Gladu, and thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks very much, Minister, for being here today. I'll try to keep this tight, because I know we're short on time.

I know how critical child care is to our economy. I think of it as an economy-enabling infrastructure. This is a priority for our government, and of course for your department, when we think about women's economic security.

Could you tell us how your department is working on supporting women through entrepreneurship, etc., and helping women enter and remain in the workforce? We have great child care in my riding in particular. We have great multiservice agencies delivering this work, from St. Stephen's Community House to WoodGreen Community Services. We have great examples of how we can support women on that side, but I'd love to hear more.

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Thanks to our government's commitment through the national early learning and child care program, we have child care as low as $10 a day. We've heard time and time again from women's organizations that this support is vitally needed. Women who want to start a business or want to pursue their career can now get access to that because of affordable child care. In terms of savings, we're looking at $6,200 per year that an average family can save because of the national early learning and child care program. This absolutely matters. It creates an environment in which Canadians can participate fully.

With regard to the entrepreneurs that the member was asking about, through our women entrepreneurship strategy we've already supported 500,000 women across the country to start, scale and grow their businesses. I've met many who continue to inspire me every day.

Again, we'll continue to do everything we can to make sure that women in this country, through Women and Gender Equality, through our women's program and through leadership opportunities, can contribute and grow. I have a daughter. She's 11 years old. It's just amazing to see all the opportunities she now has thanks to our government's commitments to gender equality.

[Chi Nguyen, Liberal, Spadina—Harbourfront, ON]

In my last 30 seconds, can you share a data point on women's economic security that you think is proof that we are doing well in this space?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

The member was with me when I made an important announcement not too long ago. We recently funded the Canadian Women's Foundation with $15.5 million. Through their hard work, they are ensuring that this money goes out to the organizations on the ground that are doing all the good work to end gender inequality.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Thank you, Minister. Thank you for your answers, but I have to turn the floor over to Ms. Larouche.

Ms. Larouche, you have the floor.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Madam Chair, I have two and a half minutes, right?

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

That's right.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Minister, I want to follow up on a question on senior women from one of my colleagues. I believe it was raised by Ms. Cody. The committee is currently considering a study dedicated to the status of senior women.

We're not happy about what we're hearing, Minister. You spoke about a 10% raise for women aged 75 or older, but the problem, which is also what we're hearing from witnesses, is that poverty doesn't wait until the age of 75. Many witnesses have reminded us that financial insecurity traps many senior women in violent and coercively controlling situations. However, women aged 65 to 74 are still locked out of the rise in old age security pension granted to seniors aged 75 and above.

Has your government, and you, Minister, had any talks with your colleague responsible for seniors?

Do you acknowledge that this imbalance primarily puts senior women in a precarious position?

Are you committed to increasing the old age security pension for women aged 65 and above to give them meaningful financial security and more autonomy?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

I was speaking in regard to senior women earlier and what our government is doing. Again, we've raised old age security by 10% for seniors 75 and older.

We also recognize that seniors are very vulnerable to financial fraud and abuse. The government believes this is completely unacceptable. The Minister of Finance recently launched an anti-fraud strategy to protect seniors, prevent scams before they happen and go after those who seek to take advantage of them. We're also moving forward, with financial institutions, on establishing an economic abuse code of conduct, so that institutions can better intervene when instances of scams and economic abuse occur. That certainly helps women who are over the age of 75.

One of the organizations I am proud of, in terms of their work, is the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse. They've addressed gaps in gender-based violence responses for women aged 55 and older. Through those investments into this organization, they have developed trauma- and violence-informed tools and guidance tailored to older survivors, which the member was asking about. This includes a self-assessment tool for service providers. It directly helps those who are fleeing difficult situations.

What I do appreciate—

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Thank you, Minister. That wraps up your answer for this round of questions from Ms. Larouche.

Mrs. Goodridge, you have the floor.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for being here.

I know you're a mom, so you understand very well how expensive it is to raise a child in today's space. Does the ever-rising cost of baby formula concern you at all?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

To answer the member's question, we recognize the challenges that women and mothers are facing with regard to the cost of living in this country. That's why we're doing everything we can to make sure we're tackling the issue of affordability.