Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Ms. Smith.
I'm also speaking against this motion. I find the words and the rhetoric in this motion to be highly speculative. It's essentially presupposing what outcomes might come from the changes. I think we need to be mindful of the terms and conditions of the women's program, a program that has not been cut in fact. In fact it has an additional $1 million dedicated to it over and above the $10.8 million that was allocated to it last time, and we recognize that the extra $1 million was for the Sisters in Spirit program. These terms and conditions were approved by the Treasury Board Secretariat. These are all part of a normal conditioning and review of government programs. And to suggest that just because this government has made changes with respect to the administrative side of Status of Women Canada and has put an emphasis on making sure that funds get to community-based organizations that are actually doing work on the ground for women in the communities, as opposed to those that would be consuming greater amounts of public dollars for things that ultimately don't end up improving access and equality for women...I believe that's an approach the government is in a good position to take.
So for those reasons, I strongly disagree with this motion, and I hope we can incorporate some of those objections into a dissenting opinion, should this motion pass the committee.