Status of Women committee  I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understood the question. Do you mean could we provide to you the gender-based analysis that goes into advice to the minister?

Status of Women committee  As far as the gender-based analyses that come from departments are concerned, when they go into our budget process and are provided to the minister, that really becomes advice to the minister. But the department has chosen, on the tax side, to provide that information to you. If you wanted to ask departments about their gender-based analysis and how they could provide that to you, they may be able to provide that information.

Status of Women committee  Exactly.

Status of Women committee  I've read the transcripts, and you've asked this question on pension income splitting before. If I took a step back and tried to explain why this measure was put forward, it might be helpful in understanding what the policy rationale behind it was. This was put together in a package when measures were put forward to tax income trusts.

Status of Women committee  There was, and we can provide that to you, but the point of the measure is not to help women; it is to help households. Women are part of households. When the income is split, the household tax falls.

Status of Women committee  I didn't say that.

Status of Women committee  I'm not the macro fiscal policy expert, but for example, one type of measure would be a decision to pay down debt and another would be to maintain a fiscal surplus.

Status of Women committee  Of the universal child care benefit?

Status of Women committee  On the question of whether a gender-based analysis was conducted for the universal child care benefit, it was conducted. The universal child care benefit is $100 a month, provided to individuals to assist in providing support in child care. It doesn't profess to answer all the questions and doesn't profess to deal with the entire child care funding—

Status of Women committee  Did the gender-based analysis...?

Status of Women committee  No, but that's not the purpose. The purpose of the gender-based analysis is to see what the differential impacts are on men and women. You're asking, was a good policy analysis done as to whether the $100 would provide enough funding for child care? That's a completely different question from what the gender-based analysis—

Status of Women committee  Tax policy would do it on the universal child care benefit. As to funding overall, as I was saying earlier, I believe $250 million was provided to provinces to provide child care. It's a comprehensive analysis that's done. I believe that would be by HRSDC.

Status of Women committee  I am from tax policy, but this isn't a tax policy question. Providing child care is, first of all, a provincial responsibility, so the federal government, when it provided funding, provided it to the provinces to provide child care.

Status of Women committee  To the provinces.

Status of Women committee  Again, that's not my area of expertise. I don't know, but I read in the budget that $250 million was provided to the provinces. I don't know how it was provided. I'm not 100% sure. This is provincial jurisdiction, and I don't know. I know the federal government has transferred money, and our social policy people at the Department of Finance might be able to help in that respect.