OTTAWA: Canada's finance minister has unveiled a budget that looks to boost the number of working women to head off a looming labour shortage.
It underscores the need to knock down barriers that prevent women from fully participating in the workforce, coming as a large segment of the population heads into retirement.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau proposed legislating pay equity and offering parental leave to fathers "to make it easier for women to return to work sooner, if they so choose."
This is in addition to 7.5 billion Canadian dollar (USD 5.9 billion US) previously earmarked to create 40,000 new daycare spaces over the next three years.
"For the first time in our history, there are now more Canadians aged 65 and older than there are people under the age of 15," Morneau said in a speech to parliament.
"Who will step in to fill the gap left as more and more seniors leave the workforce? We believe that Canada's future rests on making sure that every Canadian has an opportunity to work, and to earn a good living from that work. And that includes Canada's talented, ambitious and hard-working women." The gender gap in Canada's labour market has already seen a dramatic shift in the last 40 years.
In 2017, nearly 83 per cent of women aged 25 to 54 were working, up from less than 54 per cent in 1977, according to the government statistical agency. But women on average still earn just 69 cents for every dollar earned by men, a situation the government's initiatives seek to change.
Morneau cited studies that show eliminating the gap between female and male participation rates in the labour market could increase growth by four percent, or add 150 billion Canadian dollar to the economy by 2026.
"When I draft budgets, I fight for every decimal point of growth," Morneau said.
"Even reaching half that goal -- boosting the size of our economy by a further two per cent -- would be a truly significant gain."
The government will confront sexual harassment in the workplace by increasing legal aid funding to support victims.
"Movements like the #MeToo and #TimesUp have shed light on disturbing situations and behaviours that too often go unreported," Morneau commented.
The budget offers a mere 7.6 billion Canadian dollar in new program spending and puts off new major initiatives -- such as national pharmacare -- until the next election cycle in 2019.
Canada's economy surged after Liberals took office in 2015 and unleashed a massive fiscal stimulus.
But growth is now forecast to slow from 3.0 per cent last year to 2.2 per cent in 2018, and 1.6 per cent in 2019.
Under the government's plan, the fiscal deficit would fall to 18.1 billion Canadian dollar, or 0.8 per cent of Canada's gross domestic product. The budget includes 323.4 billion Canadian dollar in revenues, and 338.5 Canadian dollar in program spending and public debt charges.
The federal debt is forecast to rise to 669.6 billion Canadian dollar (or 30.1 per cent of the economy) and keep going up, with no end in sight.
There are monies earmarked for cybersecurity, conservation, additional emergency measures to deal with an opioid crisis, indigenous communities and housing.
The budget also includes the single largest investment in fundamental research in Canadian history -- 1.7 billion Canadian dollar over five years.
Missing from the budget, however, were actions to address business concerns about recent US tax cuts undermining Canada's competitiveness and the fate of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which US President Donald Trump has threatened to void if it cannot be revamped to his liking.
Morneau said he would monitor impacts "in a responsible and careful way, letting evidence, and not emotion, guide our decisions." In a subtle show of support for NAFTA, he wore new shoes designed in Canada, but manufactured in Mexico.
Opposition parties also criticised the ruling Liberals for continuing to rack up large budget deficits at a time when the economy is strong, saying it leaves little room in a downturn to adjust to shocks.