A gender and diversity impact statement accompanying the budget says that almost half of the budget measures, 44%, are expected to benefit women and men in equal proportions, while 42 per cent are expected to benefit directly or indirectly. indirectly men. Only a much smaller share, about 14 percent, will directly or indirectly benefit women. “This relative inequality reflects the fact that men are over-represented in some areas that benefit from many of the climate and infrastructure-related measures in this budget,” the report said. “While these measures will ultimately benefit all Canadians, the workforce in these sectors is predominantly men, who in turn will benefit indirectly from the increased financial opportunities associated with these investments.” Prime Minister Justin Trinto attends Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland at a press conference on February 24 in Ottawa. In a short interview, Freeland called the recently submitted budget “feminist.” (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press)
According to the report, changes in the construction and clean technologies sectors will indirectly benefit from the expansion of the low-carbon fund, which will invest up to $ 2 billion in green projects. Similarly, the agricultural sector, another male-dominated sector, will benefit from the expansion of the clean technology agricultural program, which hopes to drive the changes needed to achieve a low-carbon economy. The report also notes that while it could be argued that increased defense could benefit all Canadians equally, the country’s military is still predominantly male.

Freeland is behind the “feminist” budget

In an interview to be broadcast on Rosemary Barton Live on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of the Treasury Chrystia Freeland defended the budget, which was tabled on Thursday. Pointing to the $ 30 million allocated by the Liberal government for early learning and childcare, Freeland said that funds would only increase in the coming years. “This budget is the second year of Canada’s revolutionary early learning and care program,” he said. “In fact, we tabled this budget less than two weeks after reaching an agreement with the final province of Canada to join. So I would definitely say it is a feminist budget.” But men win in other ways. According to the report, they continue to have higher incomes than women on average. This means that more are able to afford zero-emission vehicles and can benefit from certain incentives as a result. Gender inequality also plays a role, with some male business owners and shareholders benefiting from various tax breaks. “This underscores the fact that gender segregation in the workforce and imbalances in control and ownership of resources continue to prevail in Canada,” the report said. Since taking office, Prime Minister Justin Trindade, a self-proclaimed feminist, has long spoken of the goal of leveling the playing field between men and women. To this end, he was the first prime minister to appoint a balanced cabinet, although these feminist credentials have come under fire in recent years. Frances Woolley, a professor of economics at Carleton University who specializes in gender and family inequality, says gender-based analysis, an analytical process used to create budgets, aims to explore the impact of policies on different groups. “Certainly, sometimes in the end, a government will end up adopting a policy that has more immediate benefits for men than for women,” Woolley wrote in an email. “Indeed, this will happen almost every time a government decides to increase defense spending, for example. “It will also happen when a government decides to devote resources to policies that reduce school dropout rates or prevent prostate cancer.”

The measures benefit women in some way

He says it is important to understand the full impact of a policy for different communities before it is adopted and that policies need to be as comprehensive as possible. And while the budget seems to disproportionately benefit men, it does benefit women in some way, according to the federal report. “Women make up almost eight out of ten dental workers and are therefore expected to benefit indirectly from investing in Dental Care for Canadians,” she said. “Other measures of the 2022 budget include features that will serve to achieve greater gender equality over time.” Ottawa Morning 9:33 Chrystia Freeland The federal budget is large enough to boost the supply of housing, but is it enough to make the house more affordable? We ask the Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland. 9:33
Women also made progress in other ways: 47 percent of mission leaders were women in 2021, up from 32 percent in 2015. Mission leaders include ambassadors, high commissioners, and consuls general. Woolley says, overall, government spending tends to help women, noting that the majority of workers in health care, education and public administration are women. He said a progressive tax system where people with higher incomes pay more helps as well, as, as mentioned, more men tend to be high-income and therefore pay a significant amount in taxes. “So the fact that there have been a significant number of new initiatives for men in the most recent budget does not change the fact that the overall budget package – including existing expenditure and tax programs – benefits women as much as, if not more than men.” , said Woolley.