Mr. Speaker, I have listened to many of my colleagues in the House, all different parties, speak to this motion today. We have to come back to why we are here. We are here because we want to improve the lives of women in this country. That is really important to many people in this House.
I started many years ago, in 1993, and we did make some progress. I want to go over some of those achievements which I have witnessed in this House. For example, achievements which were put in by Liberal governments which included the establishment of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women back in September 2004, to have our own standing committee so witnesses could come. They could voice their concerns, we could respond to them, we could petition our ministers, and move action forward.
In October 2005 an expert panel was created to provide advice and options to strengthen accountability mechanisms to advance gender-based analysis and gender equality issues. When we were in government, we talked about this all around the world, and in fact other countries have taken up gender budgeting, for instance South Africa. But here at home, under this government, it is still talking about it and it is not really happening.
I think about an achievement that affected many of my constituents and that was in the year 2000, where we extended the parental benefits to one year. Now, either the male or the female can take those parental benefits and they can work it to what fits their needs in their household. That was a really important change that helped the families in Canada and especially the women of Canada.
Centres of excellence for women's health in the gender and health institute were created to work on health policy issues unique to women. For example, we did not test our drugs on women, we just tested them on men. But women are a different size and creation, so now we have more of a focus on women.
There was $32 million committed on an annual basis to the national crime prevention initiative, and $7 million to the family violence initiative during our time in government. Of this money, over $1 million over 4 years was specifically to address violence against aboriginal women.
I have often heard credit taken on the opposite side for some of the things we started in 2005, and one of them was the trafficking in persons which was added as an offence to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act at that time. I think it was Bill C-49.
I was actually a parliamentary secretary at Indian and northern affairs when we had to respond to the sisters in spirit proposal which the Liberal government provided $5 million over 5 years to the Native Women's Association of Canada. These funds supported NWAC's work with other aboriginal women's organizations and the federal government on activities aimed at ending violence against aboriginal women.
We went in other places. For example, in post-secondary education we tried to make it more affordable for lower and middle income Canadians. Over $2.1 billion over 5 years was committed to improve student financial assistance.
Over 5 years, $1.3 billion was provided to improve settlement and integration services for new immigrants to Canada. The basic resettlement is so important in our communities. I was with Mary Williamson who runs a centre in my city and this money is desperately needed. I know recently there was a top-up, but it is not enough. We have to do more.
When newcomers come to Canada, they are welcomed because we need them. We know our economy will need them in the future. But this is a good grassroots organization and I have a number of these grassroots organizations in London. Sitting around the table in the last month or so, we spent an afternoon going over some of the issues which affect women and women's equality.
Right now it is just a word. It is not reality in Canada. It is not reality in a pay system. Women in Canada still earn 70¢ to every $1 a man makes. So where is the pay equity legislation from this government that it once talked about? We know that it has not been forthcoming.
We know that senior women are important in our communities, in every community. Budget 2005, when we were government, as a Liberal government, we ensured that senior women would benefit from a $2.7 billion increase over 2 years to the guaranteed income supplement, and a $15 million increase to the new horizons seniors program.
However, that is the past for today. Today, we have to move forward, but are we moving forward? That is the most important question because we are here to celebrate women this week, yet I am worried that we have not progressed as far as we should.
Have we progressed with the vehicles that allowed women to progress? For instance, the court challenges program provided a way to say to a government that it was not meeting the needs, that there was a problem, and to solve that problem. We had that program. It was cancelled under this Conservative government.
The Law Commission used to do research to help form government policies. Many times this assisted women and minority communities in Canada. Again, it was abolished under this government.
We need an enduring commitment to women's equality in order to defend women's rights, and former governments of the Liberal Party took action. There is a poster in my office saying: “Women's rights are human rights”, but is it real here in Canada today? Are we going forward or backwards?
The Conservatives ignore, I believe, the true issues facing Canadian women today. Since taking office the Conservative government has closed 12 Status of Women regional offices. There was one in my area.
The Conservatives eliminated the court challenges program and the Law Commission. They have refused to fund women's advocacy groups. This is especially important in the women's program of the Status of Women because it did work well in providing an advocacy outlet for women to change the status quo, to improve their lives and their communities from the grassroots level.
It was not, as has been said earlier today, just lobbying. It was lobbying to create change, to break down barriers, to overcome hurdles where disadvantages existed.
I do not understand why right now women's groups cannot do advocacy. We can do advocacy if we are a military organization in this country. There are more women than military organizations in this country. I believe that women should have the ability to advocate for their own equality. Remember, equality, women's rights are human rights. That should be more than a phrase.
We need to reinstate equality as the main goal of the women's program at Status of Women. We have to change the guidelines so that advocacy can be put back and utilized by the groups and organizations in this country, so they can enhance their ability to make change and improve their lives.
I would like to spend a minute or two talking about child care because this is a government that did child care through the mail. It gives a cheque of $100 a month. It is taxable. Yes, it can help families. I do not think it is right for the current Conservative government to say the Liberals will take it away if we form a government. That decision has not been made. I certainly do not know whether that would be true or not. However, I do know that child care is needed in every community in this country, whether we are an urban centre or a rural centre.
In the Conservatives' election campaign we heard they would create new child care spaces along with the cheque in the mail. In reality, what has been created? To my knowledge no new child care spaces have been created by this government.
We also have housing issues and violence against women issues. I have not had a chance in my last minute to get to these issues, but I know they exist and I know we have to do more.
When the time came for the lending of a vote to one party, we got a Conservative government that took us backwards. That is the reality. That is the fact.
We need more support for women in this country. Then, we will have real equality of women in this country. I look forward to that time and I look forward to speaking, working, studying, and helping the women of Canada and all around the world on this issue.
