Thank you, Madam Chair. It seems like I have to fight to get the floor. And this is not the first time.
I agree with my colleague that we need a schedule so that we know where we are going. First of all, I think pay equity is a crucial issue for the women of Quebec and Canada.
The proposed work plan says that there will be a follow-up to the implementation of the recommendations made in past committee reports on June 1. This could be a good time to talk about pay equity and find out what the government intends to do about this matter.
I do not know whether we can do this, but I think we should even put forward a motion calling on the government to introduce legislation on pay equity. I don't know whether the committee can put forward such a motion.
As my colleagues were saying, the time to question witnesses and discuss pay equity has passed; it is now time to act. We want to know when this government will be coming forward with this legislation. This is a fundamental issue, particularly since the work required to deal with this problem has already been done.
If we agree on a schedule... I do not think we really need to put forward motions on schedules around this table. However, if it is important, we can proceed in that way. I see no problem either way.
I think the expression “violence against women” has become very common and banal. I was reading the last report, which discussed trafficking in women. There have been many reports on human trafficking and sexual assault. We must discuss these subjects. These issues must be priorities for us. Sexual assault and trafficking in women and children are major problems. Moreover, as my colleague was saying, aboriginal women have been waiting for their rights for thousands of years. This is a problem we should be focusing on as well.
We have very little time. Let us try to organize things so that we deal with at least these three subjects before the fall. Otherwise, what will we have accomplished? We will have looked at our previous reports once again and discussed the same reports at great length. We can continue talking about the same things, but personally, I think it is time to take action, and I think we all agree on that. We want to know what the intentions of the current government are. It is very simple.
Could we ask the Department of Justice and the Department of Labour to appear before the committee? Or perhaps the Minister of Heritage could report to us on these two departments. We need to know where we are at.