Thank you, Madam Chair.
It's shocking to think that Status of Women cannot get together to pass a motion that supports women, because the political differences are so different. In terms of the word “equality”, as a Canadian citizen and as a daughter of a veteran, I personally find it embarrassing that people would come into our country, and as soon as it's a woman, be told that they're not equal, when in fact our Constitution says that all citizens are equal under the law.
We have agreed there are huge barriers, and I would agree those barriers need to be addressed. There are many challenges. Today, when I listened to the Honourable Ms. Minna and Ms. Neville....
With all due respect, your government had 13 years to address these problems, and with all due respect, now you're putting barriers in front of us. There's nothing in this motion that should offend you in any way. I'm asking for your support.
With all due respect, I think this motion sends a message that is loud and clear. We should be doing this as a committee and saying yes.
If you feel very strongly, as Ms. Demers does, introduce another motion, and we can have a discussion, But this is my motion, I think it's very strong, and I ask for your support.