Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'd like to thank the four witnesses for explaining their situation very well. Basically, I could easily take five minutes with each of them, or even more, to ask them questions.
In Sudbury, in northern Ontario, the DisAbled Women's Network of Canada plays a really important role, as does the YMCA of northeastern Ontario. Other organizations are also doing an enormous amount of work, such as the one represented by Ms. Uppal and the one represented by the witnesses from Manitoba.
My first question is for Ms. Brayton.
Earlier, Ms. Hepfner and Ms. Uppal talked about child care. As you know, Ontario was the last province to sign a child care agreement with the federal government. It's only been a year, and the statistics already show an increase in the percentage of women participating in the labour market. We now have a record rate of 86%, which is unprecedented. In comparison, in the United States, it's only 77%. So we can see that it has already had an impact, even if it was just a year ago. That said, there's still work to be done.
Ms. Brayton, I was particularly touched by what you said. As far as women with disabilities are concerned, there's an agreement with Ontario and the other provinces. I'd like to give you an opportunity to elaborate on that.
How did the former Ontario program work for women with special needs? You don't seem to be seeing any difference since the funding was added. I'm wondering if you have any specific recommendations for the government, both provincially and federally, to help women with special needs participate in the workforce.