Mr. Speaker, Canadian and Quebec women have made significant progress toward gender equality. In particular, they have gained notional rights to equality, wage equity and security.
However, there is a world of difference between theory and daily reality. Wage equity has yet to be achieved in the public service. Women are still afraid at night. Their salaries are still lower than those of men. They are still, along with their children, the most vulnerable members of our society.
The last federal budget is an insult to their intelligence. Women were asking $2 per woman and girl child to continue their progress toward equality. They got nothing, absolutely nothing.
The Bloc Quebecois reminds the government that our society's progress toward equality is everyone's business, and that the federal government has a role to play.
Therefore, the Bloc Quebecois demands that the government review and increase the budget for the advancement of women. To invest in gender equality is a public responsibility the federal government must assume.