FEWO Committee Report

Bloc Québécois Dissenting Opinion

It was entirely appropriate for the Standing Committee on the Status of Women to study unpaid work, since we know that this invisible work is mostly done by women. It was reasonable to believe that the lack of recognition for unpaid work contributions to the overall economy, as well as the general undervaluation of women’s work, is detrimental to the status of women.

Moreover, as the committee’s recent study of the impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic on women found that lockdowns had increased the burden of domestic work, an examination of the value of this work was all the more due.

The study on invisible work was to be an opportunity to reflect on the value society places on female-dominated sectors of the economy and on the economic value of domestic work, which is not measured by the key economic indicators used in public decision-making.

For these reasons, the Bloc Québécois keenly participated in the committee’s work and sought to identify lessons learned. However, we do not support the majority of the committee’s recommendations, mainly because they do not take into account the distinctive nature of the Quebec nation, particularly its collective choices and policies, for example in the areas of health care, home care and parental leave. Furthermore, the majority of the recommendations do not respect the division of legislative powers under the Constitution Act, 1867.

In Canada, Quebec and the provinces administer health care establishments and provide care to the public, train and certify health care professionals, establish health benefit plans and protect the health and safety of individuals in the workplace. The Canada Health Act, which places conditions on federal funding, was enacted under Parliament’s spending power. This power is constitutionally controversial. Canada has no business dictating to Quebec how it should conduct its affairs in its own legislative jurisdiction.

As regards health care, the federal government’s responsibility is to assume its share of funding, which has fallen from 50% in the 1960s to 22% today. The federal government must respond to the united call of the provinces and increase the Canada Health Transfer (CHT). The Bloc Québécois demands that the federal share be increased to 35% of expenditures starting this year.

The government must also stop trying to impose national strategies or Canada-wide standards on the programs it puts in place. The Bloc Québécois is opposed to the federal government’s assumed right to tell Quebec and the provinces what is good for their populations. This hierarchical vision of the Canadian federation is paternalistic and contrary to the principle of asymmetrical federalism.

Recommendations

The Bloc Québécois supports recommendations 3, 5, 6, 9 and 10 of the report.

However, we oppose or question the following recommendations.

Recommendation 1

We support acknowledging that unpaid work is essential, but we refuse to allow the federal government to interfere in the quality control of health services by imposing national labour standards. This is neither the role nor the job of the federal government. The federal government must not simply collaborate but finalize health transfers, as called for by Quebec and the provinces.

Recommendation 2

The Government of Canada has neither the role, nor the power, nor the legitimacy to create a national commission to develop a health care strategy. The federal government’s responsibility is to fund its fair share of health care systems by increasing the Canada Health Transfer, which it has failed to do to date.

Recommendation 4

Quebec’s family policy is radically different from that of the rest of Canada. In Canada, maternity leave (available to women) and parental leave (which can be taken by either parent) are an Employment Insurance special benefit. Not all women have access to these benefits, and the amount of the benefit is small.

After years of struggle led primarily by women’s groups, Quebec withdrew from the federal system in 2006, 15 years ago, to create the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP).

More accessible and more generous, the Quebec plan has been a resounding success. More Quebec women have paid maternity leave than Canadian women (97.3% vs. 83.1%), and their leave lasts an average of six weeks longer (45.4 weeks vs. 39.6 weeks).

Recommendation 7

Were the federal government to undertake caregiving initiatives, we would support them being culturally sensitive and responsive to the needs of Indigenous women. However, it is not the role of the federal government to take on caregiving initiatives. It would be strange for the federal government to help women navigate health systems it does not administer.

Recommendation 8

Statistics Canada is recognized for the quality of its scientific work and is currently conducting the 2021 Census. The information collected by Statistics Canada is converted into statistics and made available to decision-makers across Canada to inform public policy. The Institut de la statistique du Québec provides reliable and objective statistical information on all aspects of Quebec society for which such information is relevant. As a government statistical agency, it represents Quebec in dealings with Statistics Canada and with statistical officials in other Canadian provinces and territories.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) is an independent, non-profit organization, not a public or government agency. We cannot give it a specific mandate.