I would say that it's both. First of all, the government says that we need a budget that allows for quick action and job creation. However, when they create jobs by way of infrastructure programs—which can be a good strategy—for the most part, the jobs are for men. You may say that both women and men are experiencing the crisis the same way, and that even jobs for men were lost. Except that in the case of women, we started off further back.
The decision to refuse to pass proactive legislation on pay equity is an ideological one. Particularly since all the figures show that women earned less before the crisis and even less during the crisis. We are still earning 70% of what men are earning, despite the fact that we women are better and better educated. And the situation is even worse if you are an immigrant woman or an aboriginal woman.
What are words worth when one is making a commitment to fight discrimination? The government must roll up its shirtsleeves very quickly and bring in budgets that have real measures to stop discrimination against women. Within the context of the current crisis, if the government ignores the status of women instead of moving towards equality, women will see no progress, or at the worst, they will lose ground. That is where ideology comes into play. Why is the government fighting pay equity? That is a good question. In our opinion, this is a totally unjustifiable step backwards, particularly since Canada—and even Mr. Harper—reiterated its commitment to respect the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
I realize that there is an economic crisis on the way and that funding must flow quickly, but the government has to realize that discrimination against women does exist in Canada. If the government does not take that into account, the status of women will deteriorate.