Mr. Speaker, I want to remind my hon. colleague that of those who appeared before the standing committee, 90 per cent supported employment equity.
I would also like to bring to the attention of the hon. member that Senator Pat Carney is a very staunch supporter of qualified women. At no time would anyone on this side or anyone who believes in fairness and equity suggest that factors other than quality and merit be taken into consideration. I would like to tell the hon. member that there are as many, if not more, competent, qualified women as there are men.
Last but not least, if someone has reasonable job qualifications, competence and equivalency, there is no discrimination in the ultimate selection. In short, with numerical goals a key ingredient of employment equity legislation is aimed at fighting rather than facilitating unjust discrimination and lack of representation.
Women make up 52 per cent of the population. I guarantee we can find competence among that-