Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his very relevant comments. I appreciate his way of making concrete proposals to the government regarding economic and wage equality, as well as other issues.
The purpose of the motion is to have the government speak up, not about intentions, but about concrete actions which it might take to improve the situation of women. The secretary of state made a comment to the effect that the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women was established because women had a lot of claims.
She argued that the situation of women has since improved within the government. Women have, indeed, made progress, in education, business, university and in other sectors. But these women are part of an elite group and not all women had the same opportunities in terms of access to such traditionally male occupations.
I wonder if the hon. member could again show, in concrete terms, how the government often takes credit for measures geared to an elite group, while forgetting poor people, women, single mothers and the young who are faced with shrinking job opportunities. What concrete action could the government take?
The government says it wants to stimulate businesses run by women, but again we are talking about an elite. This is fine, but a large percentage of women are left to fend for themselves and the government does not seem to have any concrete plan to help them.