People have the right to run as candidates. A number of women ran for election and were not elected. I ran against two women in my riding. People have the choice to make that selection. Women have the vote the same as men and they make a choice.
The air traffic control system started talking about affirmative action because there were not enough women air traffic controllers. At the time I happened to work with a very competent female air traffic controller who was asked to participate in the affirmative action program to get more women into the air traffic control system. She agreed that she would take part in a program to attract more women to apply and to learn about the system. But nobody in the system, male or female, was prepared to alter the practices so that a woman who was less qualified than a male candidate would be chosen.
Would the hon. member see a system where for the sake of balancing quotas, and there is no other way to put it, that the system has to take someone other than best qualified candidate because there is an imbalance in the precious quota system?