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This isn’t the first time the Trudeau government has cast aside StatCan evidence when it conflicts with policy goals. It did the same thing with a special inflation rate for seniors’ benefits earlier in its term. But the most troubling aspect of this statistically cavalier attitude is the fact that any disagreements over the proper measurement of controversial gaps may soon be a thing of the past.

That’s because the budget also allocated $6.7 million to create the new Centre for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics within Statistics Canada. This stand-alone project is meant to keep Canadians up to date on all the gap problems. It will presumably be staffed by folks who not only believe in the necessity of this task, but also appreciate that their centre’s future success depends on uncovering a steady stream of ever-larger and more worrisome differences in outcomes between white males and everyone else. Is it overly cynical to suggest the Centre for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics could soon decide that, like Morneau, it prefers annual earnings over hourly wages as the best measure of gender earnings? OK, maybe. But if the policy prescriptions are to be the same regardless of what the numbers say, then we might as well go with the biggest possible numbers.

Despite its alleged commitment to equity, however, there are limits to Ottawa’s gap fixation: It seems that only gaps that reveal a disadvantage for women are deserving of policy interventions. Wherever women face a purported problem of inequality, such as university enrolment in STEM subjects, entrepreneurship or pay gaps, the Liberals are ready with an immediate policy remedy. The budget even notes women are less likely than men to volunteer as sports-team coaches, and proposes $30 million over three years to fix this situation. On the other hand, significant gaps in outcomes for men are treated as an unfixable status quo. The budget’s gender-analysis section blandly notes men have lower rates of high school graduation, lower rates of university enrolment and die younger than women. Oh well. Yawn.

If the budget revealed females were dying four years sooner than males, maybe then we’d see the gender death gap declared a national crisis. But worrying about men kicking off early doesn’t offer any political benefit to Liberals. But then, the 2018 budget does propose a $75 million pilot project to support senior women in New Brunswick who face the “challenge” of outliving their husbands. Long live the gap.

Peter Shawn Taylor is editor-at-large of Maclean’s. He lives in Waterloo, Ont.