Madam Speaker, it is so nice to see you in the chair as I make a statement on today, International Women's Day.
It is a day to look back and celebrate how far women have come and to look ahead to see what we still must do to achieve equality.
On this day I hope all members of the House, women and men alike, will take time to reaffirm their commitment to equality for the women of Canada: equality in decision making, equality in the workplace, equality in the economy and equality in the home.
Canada is known as one of the world's leaders in promoting women's equality. Canada helped obtain recognition of women's rights as an inalienable, integral and indivisible element of universal human rights at the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna last year.
Canada has also shown it is in the forefront of efforts to combat violence against women throughout the world. The survey conducted by Statistics Canada and the report of the Canadian Committee on Violence against Women, both published last year, were the first of their kind.
Canada was also instrumental in preparing the United Nations declaration on eliminating violence against women, adopted in December 1993. Last week, the UN Human Rights Commission announced that it would appoint a special reporter on violence against women.
Later today I will be participating in an event with my colleague, the Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa and Canadian retailer, The Body Shop, as we continue our partnering efforts in the country to put an end to violence against women.
The daisy I am supposed to be wearing has not arrived yet. I will be wearing it this afternoon as it will symbolize those efforts today.
As The Body Shop says, in the name of love let us stop the violence. That means violence against our sisters, our children,
our mothers and our elderly grandmothers. However all the words, the declarations and the research do not mean a thing if they are not supported by consensus in society, a consensus for change. The women of Canada have serious concerns about the many continuing inequities in our country.
Since 1976 the women of Canada have comprised the majority of the population, but we still represent less than 20 per cent of the members of the House. It is a record number, yes, but still not enough.
In 1975 we only averaged 60 per cent of men's full time earnings. Almost 20 years later that figure is still at only 72 per cent, largely because most women are still in low paying, insecure jobs. The salaries of immigrant women are only about 80 per cent of that of the average woman's salary in Canada. Women who are in the workforce should receive equal pay for work of equal value.
In 1975 the poverty rate for families headed by women in Canada was 40 per cent. Today that figure has increased to 62 per cent. The children, our future and theirs are at stake. I find those figures really frightening. This is one of the major challenges our social security review will have to address.
Another disturbing challenge we will address is breast cancer. One in every nine Canadian women will get this disease. It is the leading killer of women ages 35 to 54. Breast cancer, like other women's health concerns, has long been neglected in terms of research and prevention.
These few statistics speak volumes about women's inequality in Canada today. How do we move forward toward the goal the United Nations has set for equality by the year 2000? What we need are changes in attitudes, priorities and values on the part of individuals, communities, organizations and governments to give the concerns of women the attention they deserve.
Within government we must realize that our decisions have the potential to affect women very differently from men. From tax law to legislation on dangerous offenders, from health policies to immigration guidelines, the impact can be different on women because of our different socioeconomic circumstances.
I ask the members of the House to examine every issue, every policy and every program as if they were wearing gender tinted glasses, the rose tinted glass, looking at it from a woman's point of view.
My goal is to ensure that all national legislation and policies are developed with full consideration for women for their needs and aspirations. I think there is the political will in the House to do so. I am confident that the House could become a model Parliament, demonstrating that a partnership between women and men is the only way to address the issue of women's equality right across the spectrum of political ideology.
Our government is developing and implementing policies which are sensitive to the particular needs of women. I ask everyone to work together with us as we put in place a more equitable and just society for all Canadians.
Next year the world will be looking at our progress and at that of other nations at the fourth UN conference on women in Beijing, China. We should think of the consequences if we do not work to improve the situation for women in Canada. What will we say to our daughters and granddaughters who look to their elected representatives to help lead the way in this process for change? We cannot ask our daughters to hold back their aspirations until we are ready for them.
Through our work in our constituencies, our communities and our parliamentary committees, each and everyone of us can make a difference.
Today, on International Women's Day, I am counting on each and everyone of you to help me advance the cause of genuine equality for Canadian women.
In return, I can assure you that future generations of Canadians will remember the 35th Parliament of Canada as the one that made a difference, for the sake of our daughters and our sons.