Justin Trudeau frequently promotes himself as a feminist and supporter of women in the workplace. He tells us "we need women and girls to succeed because that's how we build stronger, more resilient communities." His recent budget hyped itself as the first ever application of gender-based analysis and he gives great advice to men who want to be allies: "don't interrupt women, and notice every time women get interrupted." (Hear hear!) So perhaps when Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced major tax changes for certain small businesses that are incorporated, it was on the assumption there wouldn't be a gendered impact on the owners of health-care businesses. The shorter name for these business owners is "physicians," and they are up in arms over Morneau's suggestion that incorporated doctors are tax cheats.

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In spite of the well-worn image of a doctor as a grey-haired older man spending his free time on the golf course, a significant number of doctors are actually young to middle-aged moms, rushing straight home from the hospital or clinic to start their second shift with the kids. Fifty-two per cent of Canadian physicians under 45 are women, and this number is not static. Between 2011 and 2015 , the number of female doctors grew three times faster than male doctors. In family medicine this change is even more pronounced , with women making up 59 per cent of the under 45 group and 65 per cent of the under 35 group. Yet despite Trudeau's many feminist-friendly statements lauding working women and their contributions, not a lot of us women in medicine feel that he supports us and our work. That's why a petition was created a few days after Morneau's announcement, as physician moms nationwide looked at their finances and realized they were in danger of never retiring. Dr. Nadia Alam, president-elect of the OMA and a small-town family physician and anesthetist, writes that in addition to retirement planning, incorporation allows her to work demanding, irregular hours with four small kids and support her aging parents. I have all the responsibilities and risks of a small business, yet the federal government doesn't think I should have any of the tax treatment. Each woman in medicine is a female-owned small business that contributes to this country's heath-care infrastructure and economy. Physicians don't only provide their own labour, they fund other health-care staff, clinic space and medical equipment. A wide range of health-care infrastructure is paid for out of pocket by individual physicians, and a growing number of these physicians are women with young families like Dr. Alam and myself. Later this month my son will celebrate his first birthday. I took six months off when he was born, although I would have liked to have taken more. Like other small business owners, I couldn't simply close up shop for my maternity leave. My patients still needed a doctor, the rent still needed to be paid and my staff still needed regular paycheques. All of these costs were paid out by me (including paying the physician locum who covered my leave) and resulted in a tight financial squeeze during the months I was home with my son. I'm not complaining about my lack of maternity leave benefits, and certainly there are women in much more fragile financial positions who don't have maternity benefits, either. My point is that I have all the responsibilities and risks of a small business, yet the federal government doesn't think I should have any of the tax treatment available to other types of small businesses.

Chris Wattie / Reuters Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau walk from Trudeau's office to the House of Commons to deliver the budget on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, March 22, 2017.