Many things have changed, but we don't have time to go over everything. I'll tell you two things.
I myself come from a more or less macho cultural community—let's say that in a very nice way. I was the first woman of Greek origin elected to the House of Commons. So I was a phenomenon in a way for the men in my community. There are 15 of them who would have challenged my nomination. However, Mr. Chrétien, who was open-minded, received a mandate from Liberal Party members to choose women in order to reach 30% of female candidates. We talked about this earlier. It was the members who gave him that mandate, the members of the party. He didn't decide that himself. It all helped me and the riding I had.
The barriers for women who come from cultural communities are greater, in my opinion, than for other women from—
I don't want to say from the mainstream, but usually from the anglophone population. I got elected in a francophone riding in which women were actually considered.... Seventy percent of my first riding and 80% of my second riding—I had two ridings—was francophone, and having a female representative was not an issue. It was actually an advantage to be a woman. The francophone voters saw that as an advantage. The fact that I had young children was a disadvantage in my community. They thought I had abandoned my husband and children to do something else.
I could go on and on, but I think you've dealt with some of the barriers.