During the round table, the Minister also heard from participants about the impacts of the pandemic has had on their efforts and communities.
The pandemic has disproportionately impacted women, and the Government is committed to supporting female Canadian entrepreneurs. Budget 2021 aims to support women's health and sets out a fundamentally feminist growth and jobs plan to remove systemic barriers and inequalities once and for all, instead seeking to give all Canadian women the opportunity to participate fully in the country's economy.
Amongst other things, the 2021 federal budget proposes to provide up to $146.9 million over four years to strengthen the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy. Women entrepreneurs would thus have better access to financing, mentoring and training. In addition, there is also specific assistance to promote the full economic participation of racialized people, immigrants, members of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis, LGBTQ2 + communities and people with disabilities. The Minister and the participants discussed these topics, and she listened thoughtfully to the participants who described how the pandemic is affecting them as entrepreneurs. The Minister mentioned what the Government is doing with the proposed budget to ameliorate the circumstances of Canadians facing challenges such as selling their products, obtaining tools such as machinery, and other challenges facing female entrepreneurs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Femmessor thanked Minister Lebouthillier for her support of women in Canada, and more broadly the Government of Canada for announcing measures to promote an inclusive and sustainable economic recovery.
Femmessor was founded in 1995 to facilitate women entrepreneurs' access to financing and consulting services. Since 1997, the Ministère de l'Économie et de l'Innovation has supported this local initiative, which has enabled the creation of 17 offices across Quebec. Femmessor empowers women entrepreneurs to actively participate in creating a better world. To achieve this goal, it focusses its activities on the development of women's entrepreneurship and contributes directly to the creation, growth, and acquisition of businesses operated and owned, in whole or in part, by women. Femmessor is recognized for its direct impact on the increase in the number of women-owned businesses in Quebec, and plays a leading role in entrepreneurship by actively participating in the economic vitality of our society and creating a better world.
