Question Period Note: Budget 2021

Key investments in Budget 2021

• In Budget 2021, the Government of Canada demonstrated its commitment to support an inclusive response and recovery to the COVID-19 pandemic as women and other marginalized groups continue to be disproportionately impacted by the crisis.
• Key Budget investments include:
o $601.3M over 5 years to advance a new National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence. This includes $200M to support GBV organizations, $105M in GBV programming, and $11M for GBV research and knowledge mobilization.
o $15M over 3 years for a new LGBTQ2 Projects Fund to support community-informed initiatives to overcome issues facing LGBTQ2 communities, such as accessing mental health services and employment support. This will complement the $7.1M over 3 years invested through Canadian Heritage to support the work of the LGBTQ2 Secretariat, including the continued development of the LGBTQ2 Action Plan.
• Investments from Budget 2021 will continue to advance gender equality and diversity in Canada and ensure that we do not roll-back the hard-won gains that we have already made.

Budget 2021
• Budget 2021 reflects the Government of Canada’s continued efforts to promote an inclusive recovery during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Gender Results Framework (GRF), launched in Budget 2018, continues to guide decision-making on policies and programs, ensuring that they are responsive to the diverse needs of people in Canada. The Framework represents the Government of Canada’s goals with respect to gender equality, including how we will get there and how we will measure success.

Gender-Based Violence
• Budget 2021 invests $601.3 million over 5 years, starting in 2021-22, to respond to the “shadow pandemic” of gender-based violence exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and to advance the National Action Plan to end gender-based violence. Proposed funding for the Department for Women and Gender Equality includes:
o $200M over 2 years to support gender-based violence organizations.
o $105M over 5 years to enhance the GBV Program, for initiatives to engage men & boys; stop human trafficking, support at-risk populations and survivors, and provide support for testing and implementing best practices.
o $14M over 5 years for a dedicated secretariat to coordinate ongoing work towards the development & implementation of the GBV National Action Plan.
o $11M over 5 years for GBV research and knowledge mobilization.
o $55M over 5 years to bolster the capacity of Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ organizations to provide gender-based violence prevention programming aimed at addressing the root causes of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+people.
o $30M over 5 years so crisis hotlines can serve the urgent needs of more Canadians to prevent the escalation of GBV.

Supporting Greater Equality for LGBTQ2 Communities
• The Government is committed to promoting LGBTQ2 equality, protecting LGBTQ2 rights, and addressing discrimination against LGBTQ2 communities, including in the workplace.
• Budget 2021 invests $15 million over 3 years, starting in 2021-22, through the Department for Women and Gender Equality for a new LGBTQ2 Projects Fund. This funding will be dedicated to supporting community-informed initiatives to overcome key issues facing LGBTQ2 communities, such as accessing mental health services and employment support.
• Budget 2021 also proposes $7.1M over 3 years, starting in 2021-22, through Canadian Heritage to support the work of the LGBTQ2 Secretariat, including the continued development of the LGBTQ2 Action Plan.

ELCC
• Women are facing increased rates of unemployment and economic hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The economic burden has been disproportionately felt by already-vulnerable populations and those with intersecting identities.
• To drive economic growth and support women’s participation in the workforce, the Budget proposes a transformative investment to build a Canada-wide early learning and child-care system by investing $30B over 5 years and $8.3B ongoing, including:
o $27.2 B over five years to bring the federal government to a 50/50 share of child care costs with provincial and territorial governments; this will allow for a 50% reduction in fees – bringing the cost of child care to an average of $10 a day by 2025-26 – and annual growth in the number of spaces.
o $29.2M over 2 years to support child care centres as they improve their physical accessibility.
o $2.5B over 5 years and $385M ongoing to continue progress towards an early learning and child care system that meets the needs of Indigenous families.
o $34.5M over 5 years and $3.5M ongoing for a Federal Secretariat on Early Learning and Child Care.

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