Debates of Dec. 5th, 2007

Karen Redman Kitchener Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to honour the release of Pink Book II. This new Pink Book is the result of countless hours of hard work by members of the national Liberal women's caucus, in consultation with women right across Canada.

The policy document addresses issues of violence against women, housing, aboriginal women, immigrant and refugee women, and rural women; policies that were developed to counter the lack of initiative to promote women's equality by the Conservative government, a government that removed the word “equality” out of the mandate of Status of Women, a government that closed 12 out of 16 Status of Women regional offices and eliminated the court challenges program and the Law Commission.

In contrast, the national Liberal women's caucus continues to work on behalf of the women of Canada, continues to protect women's interests from the Conservatives in Parliament.

We will bring forward progressive and practical policy suggestions and work with organizations that promote women's equality to ensure that their voices are not silenced.