Thank you very much.
It's good to be back on the Hill. It seems pretty funny to be sitting on this side of the table. Rather than being the griller, I am the grilled. I want to congratulate all of you on your election. It's an incredible opportunity that few get to experience, that's for sure.
I was raised in Vancouver by a single mom in the sixties. My father was a drunk, so I understand that and the pain that goes with it. I appreciate having a fabulous role model in my mother. It's just so good.
As for barriers for women in politics, it's interesting. I probably don't see it the way many of you do. I will talk about my experiences, of course.
I was on the plane coming down here with a women who is a professional accountant. She had her eight-year-old boy with her and she was, as she said, “ditching him off” to her mother, because she had two weeks of work. She's a professional accountant and she travels.
I'd say that is a barrier for women but not necessarily in politics. There are professional women, as you know, on the planes all the time. It's difficult for them to look after their family and make sure they're all well cared for.
I was elected the first Reform Party member of Parliament on March 13, 1989. I made Canadian history. I served as Canada's first female leader of the official opposition in 2000 and made Canadian history again. It was a surprise to me for sure, and my mother was stunned by it as well.
Barriers? There were. But as someone told me also on the plane the other day, “I guess you broke through them, Deb, somehow.” And I did. That was what I knew. I spent almost 15 and a half years here as an MP. After four terms, I left on June 28, 2004, at the top of my game. I didn't want to be ushered out by the voters. That was the best way for me to go out.
I've now been out almost as long as I was in. Let me assure and comfort you all that there is life after politics, and it is good. I still do some speaking, but I'm happily semi-retired and living on Vancouver Island. I'm still riding my motorcycle, for those who want to know. I'm about to celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary in August.
I would like to tell you something about me as a woman today—what I am, what I am not—and about how I view barriers.
As to what I am, I am capable. I happen to be a woman, but I earned two university degrees. I taught school for a decade. I served here for a decade and a half. I juggled foster kids, marriage, stepchildren, and a career on the road. As you know, I was at the opposite end of the country.
I dealt with people who opposed me at every turn—Joanne, it is no fun—but as a capable woman, I learned to juggle, as many of you have. I don't do stress; I do life. That's what we call it.
Two, I'm competitive. If I play Scrabble or crib with you, I will play to the death.