Status of Women Committee on May 7th, 2026

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the department officials for being with us today.

I have a couple of quick questions. Then I'm going to share my time with Mr. Chen.

We see that tariffs are impacting small businesses incredibly.... I wonder if you have any information about whether it's worse for women-led businesses.

[Frances McRae]

There are some characteristics of women-led businesses that we know about. I know Mr. Massie can give you those. These tell us that women tend to have smaller companies. They tend to be more in the service areas. They're about self-employment, in many cases. We don't have as many women in export situations.

I'm going to turn to my colleague Étienne-René Massie to give you a little more detail.

[Etienne-René Massie]

To complement the deputy minister's answer, it is true that women-entrepreneur businesses are often about self-employment. About 37% of self-employed Canadians are women entrepreneurs. Because of size and, often, their other responsibilities, they sometimes—when there are periods of economic shock—suffer greater consequences.

The government is conscious of that. It has, through the women entrepreneurship strategy and, of course, the Business Development Bank, a range of measures for women entrepreneurs.

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

My next question is this. There's $52 million announced for victims services support. Can you tell us a little about the types of organizations that this will support?

[Frances McRae]

My understanding is that those funds were announced by the Minister of Justice, and I'm not as familiar with the details of that programming as I would be with Women and Gender Equality programming.

One thing I will say is that we do see a need for continued supports and additional supports for victims services, so we're very pleased to see that investment happen.

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

Go ahead, Mr. Chen.

[Shaun Chen, Liberal, Scarborough North, ON]

Thank you.

At a time when there are setbacks in human rights protections in some places and many gender-diverse women are reporting feeling less safe, Pride season starts next month, and members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community are raising concerns regarding their safety at Pride festivals.

Statistics Canada reported in 2023 that hate crimes targeting sexual orientation increased 69% from the previous year. This is alarming. What action is WAGE taking to better protect 2SLGBTQI+ communities across the country?

[Frances McRae]

I want to reiterate what the member has been saying about increased hate. We have significant work under way with the Department of Canadian Heritage on the Canadian anti-hate strategy, which provides over $12 million over five years to our department. In addition to that, there's $3 million over two years for Pride security. That has now been made permanent with budget 2025. We will have $1.5 million annually for Pride security.

I want to just mention that we have worked with Fierté Canada Pride on these projects. They have put significant investment not only in large Pride parades but, in fact, small ones. Eighty-four per cent of the funds that they use to support Pride events are from smaller, rural and remote communities. Those have made the difference between those events happening or not happening, because members do need to feel safe in attending.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Ms. Larouche, you have two and a half minutes.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

I would like to revisit the topic of budget constraints. All these questions from my colleagues show that a lot remains to be done. The 2026‑27 departmental plan, however, indicates a drop in funding starting in 2027‑28; total funding will go from $414 million to $206 million.

Could you explain to us how the funding set out in the 2026‑27 main estimates could interact with the anticipated drop in funding?

Which programs and funds will be eliminated?

[Frances McRae]

Thank you very much for your question.

First, I should reiterate that Women and Gender Equality Canada's funding and mandate were protected in the 2025 budget. We have been asked to reduce our expenditures by 2%, which is low compared to the bigger cuts happening elsewhere. We find this highly significant.

Also, as the minister said, the funding we have been granted is permanent. Once again, this is a first, and it's extraordinary. As you have said, stable funding is one of the biggest challenges we face in this area. That is important.

With regard to the numbers tabled in Parliament, some decisions have yet to be made, as always, and these are not necessarily reflected in the numbers. The figures you see in Parliament represent decisions made so far. The largest amount, which is still awaiting a decision, has to be approved by the end of March 2027. This is the funding for the national action plan to end gender-based violence, which accounts for the bulk of the funding.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Thank you very much, Ms. Larouche.

I thank our guests for their availability today. We greatly appreciate this. I understand the frustration that they could sometimes feel. I am the timekeeper. I hope they will understand that. The committee would like to excuse them now and to thank them once more.

As for committee members, we still have a few minor matters to resolve together, since we have to vote on the expenditures in the 2026‑27 main estimates.

WOMEN AND GENDER EQUALITY Vote 1—Operating expenditures........ $61,578,946 Vote 5—Grants and contributions.......... $345,571,095

(Votes 1 and 5 agreed to on division)

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Finally, is it the committee's wish that the chair report on the main estimates to the House of Commons?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

I would like to give you a few little friendly reminders.

First, our report on the main estimates, which we just voted on, will be tabled in the House at the same time as the report on the Criminal Code on May 28.

Next, the analysts have drafted a news release. Do the members wish to review it or leave this to the analysts and the chair?

I am told that you would like to receive it. It will therefore be sent to the members.

Now, I would like to remind you that the deadline for submitting witness lists for the study on menopause is Thursday, May 21. We plan to commence the study on June 9.

Moreover, on May 26, when we return from the two weeks in our ridings, one hour will be set aside to commence our study on women's shelters. During the second hour, we will study version 2 of the report on anti-feminist ideology and discuss drafting instructions for the report on senior women.

Finally, on May 28, two hours have been set aside for testimony as part of our study on women's shelters. This will keep us fairly busy.

Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you all a great evening. We'll see each other in two weeks.

The meeting is adjourned.