Through you, Mr. Speaker, thank you to Mississauga Centre—thank you for the question.

And thank you to the Brampton Centre constituents for trusting in me to be their voice.

I wake up every day motivated to see women in Ontario live in a social and economic landscape that they can grow in, because when women succeed, Ontario succeeds. Us women belong in all spaces, at every table and in all sectors.

That’s why, under the leadership of our Premier and our government, we have invested in empowering and supporting women entering and re-entering the workforce. As part of our proposed 2022 budget bill, we have announced we are investing an addition $6.9 million over three years into enhancing the Investing in Women’s Futures Program. This constitutes the largest—

Interjections.

We are making sure that women and girls of Ontario have well-paying, stable jobs that align with their passions—and I’ll say that again—with their passions and their skills.

I do want to acknowledge the leadership taken by the Minister of Finance and my predecessor, the Minister of Colleges and Universities, in establishing Ontario’s Task Force on Women and the Economy. That program and that task force resulted in leading initiatives that we are taking action on to see women’s full economic participation. For example, implementing the largest agreement in Canada, $13.5 billion, to lower the cost of child care—that is going to unlock many opportunities for women. Also, the skilled trades strategy: We are investing in several initiatives that support women and girls entering the world of trades, which aims to get more women and girls good-paying jobs. We are also modernizing our school science and technology curricula to better prepare students for the jobs of the future in STEM—science, technology, engineering and mechanics.

We are supporting the economic empowerment of women because, again, when women succeed, Ontario succeeds.

It is an honour to rise today to ask my very first question in this 43rd Parliament. I am humbled by the trust the voters of Mississauga Centre have put in me for a second time.

Speaker, I have spoken with many women in my riding and across Ontario who have expressed challenges with not being able to successfully enter the workforce and stay employed.

We must lift women up and empower them to excel in business, leadership roles, as entrepreneurs, and in sectors where they are under-represented, like in the skilled trades, for example. Ensuring that women are economically, physically and emotionally safe requires a broad network of support.

Our government has taken action in breaking down barriers that exist for women, including women who are Indigenous, Black or racialized, but more work needs to be done.

Can the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity please tell us about what investments our government is making to empower women in my riding and throughout the province?

As a result of COVID-19, women and girls have faced additional challenges, such as increased economic insecurity, greater burden of caregiving responsibilities, and a rise, unfortunately, in the incidence of domestic violence. Women across Ontario were disproportionately impacted by the personal effects of the pandemic, including increased needs around child care, balancing home and work responsibility with children staying home during closures.

Our government established Ontario’s Task Force on Women and the Economy to ensure that women would not be left behind in a post-pandemic economy. Can the associate minister please highlight some of the initiatives that have been launched as a result of the work of the task force?