Mr. Speaker, yesterday, as a former minister responsible for the status of women, I attended the ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of Quebec's Conseil du statut de la femme.
In the National Assembly's red room, the council's current chairwoman, Diane Lemieux, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Quebec's minister of employment and minister responsible for the status of women, Louise Harel, the opposition leader and the premier took turns at the microphone to pay tribute to the council and its successive chairwomen. In the evening, more than 400 women gathered to celebrate, reminisce and plan for the future.
In Quebec, the Conseil du statut de la femme is an important institution. In addition to providing assistance to women and women's groups in those regions where it is represented, the council conducts research, publishes information and makes policy recommendations.
Unlike the federal government, which abolished the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women, the Government of Quebec not only supports but—