 Good afternoon everyone. Thanks for being here today and beautiful Barry. It's a pleasure to be here alongside the president of Georgian College, Dr. Marilyn West-Moines, as well as the mayor of Barry, Jeff Lehman. Earlier today, I had a great discussion with students enrolled in a number of programs here at Georgian College. These women and men are preparing for a range of promising careers, including in the tourism industry and in environmental technology, as aviation managers, computer systems technicians and civil engineers. We chatted about our government's recent investments in skills training and the importance of getting more women into the workforce. And that last point isn't a new one. Canadians know that this is an issue I'm particularly passionate about. A few months ago, I was at the World Economic Forum. And amidst a sea of political and business leaders, I issued a challenge. I asked each and every one of those leaders to make a conscious effort to hire, promote, and retain more women. We know that the advantages are enormous, stronger economies, better decision-making, and more equitable societies. To achieve this goal and support women in the workplace, we, among other things, proposed the adoption of measures that favour salary equity. I think, fundamentally, that when women and men do the same job, they should be paid in the same way. After working hard at school and after investing in their education, students like those I met this morning should know that discrimination based on sex won't be part of their daily lives when they grow up on the job market. It's obvious, even simple, but still today, our economy is struggling to integrate this principle. For every dollar of hourly wages a man working full-time earns in Canada, a woman working full-time earns about 88 cents. Canada ranks 15th out of 29 OECD countries based on the hourly gender wage gap. This disparity persists despite the fact that pay equity is a human right entrenched in law. So making pay equity proactive rather than complaints based has been long called for by workers groups and families, women and men alike. So our government chose to listen carefully and then we got to work. A few days ago, our Minister of Finance Bill Mourno tabled Budget 2018, an ambitious plan for the future of all Canadians. Our ultimate goal is equality and growth for the middle class and people working hard to join it. And since that's our goal, Budget 2018 will see us moving forward with proactive pay equity legislation. This policy means that women and men doing work of equal value will, on average, be paid the same. And that's why we chose to visit Georgian College today. Students in the Environmental Technology Program, for example, often end up working for the federal government in departments like Environment and Climate Change Canada or Natural Resources Canada. The men and women enrolled in this program are learning the same material, being trained the same way, and if they end up working for the federal government they should be paid the same for work of equal value. And thanks to this new policy, they will be. And they're not alone. Women working at the local bank branch for airlines at telecom companies or for any other federally regulated employer will all soon be covered by robust proactive pay equity legislation too. In total 1.2 million Canadians will be covered by this new regime. Let's be clear, it's a big step in the right direction, a big step for the equality of sexes in Canada that we are proud to take. That said, it doesn't mean that the work is over. It's a first step. There are a lot that remain to be done at the provincial level and in the private sector. But we, the federal government, have chosen to give the example and we are putting our partners to the challenge of following us. Women are underappreciated and underpaid for too long. As a society, we cannot go forward if half of our citizens are victims of discrimination based on sex when they receive their pay cheque. But fortunately, change is at our door. Together, we can take the necessary steps towards closing the gender wage gap and increasing the participation of women in the workforce. And in doing so, our economies will be more resilient and our communities will be stronger.