Status of Women committee  I did see the announcement that there's also $350 million for the country's charity sector to help them, but again, this isn't for the long term, and what was actually recommended by the YWCA to be effective for that sector is $8 billion. There's a big discrepancy there.

Status of Women committee  I'll build off it a little bit in terms of the CERB program too. It's partially good because it helps women earn some money while bearing the caregiving load. However, the CERB program isn't advancing or supporting gender equality, which is the goal of GBA+, and it makes it easier for families to burden women and makes it easier for women to exit the workforce.

Status of Women committee  Thank you. I think maybe one of the hardest prejudices to fight in order to advance gender equality and advance women is that of the movement in Canada that believes that this isn't a problem or that gender equality exists or that is misinformed as to what gender equality really means and thinks that it means the same treatment, exactly the same.

Status of Women committee  Sure. I think the government can play a role as a catalyst in achieving gender equality. I don't think government is necessarily the best vehicle for doing all of that change. The government has limited scope too. I think the government can definitely lead by example. I like that there is a dedicated department, WAGE.

Status of Women committee  We're still in the thick of it in Alberta and in the emergency response phase. I think it might be too soon to share anything we did that's really good and that could be replicated across the country, because Albertans are still really suffering, especially the women, but I do have some more general recommendations that I think would be applicable across the country, and that's to ensure that collection of diversity- and gender-disaggregated data in everything.

Status of Women committee  Sure. Thank you for sharing those stats about Manitoba. It's pretty similar out in Alberta as well. In terms of the Canada emergency commercial rent assistance program, I know that and I've been in communication with a lot of different women's support organizations, particularly organizations that work to advance female entrepreneurship in Canada.

Status of Women committee  Thank you. I'd like to first thank you for the invitation and the opportunity to testify before you today regarding the impact of COVID-19 on women or, as I like to reframe it, the intersectional gender impact of COVID-19. To start, I'm sure we all agree that we live in a country that isn't equal and where gender inequality persists.