Madam Speaker, I hope that you are listening carefully, along with the minister and all the women in the House, because it is to the ladies that I am speaking. The gentlemen may leave because I am addressing the ladies.
The fact that the party across the way wants to withdraw the Bloc Quebecois' amendment is quite simply disgraceful and unacceptable for women. Over 50% of women and mothers work. Of these, over 50% are pregnant or nursing their newborns.
The Bloc Quebecois member's amendment, which was passed in committee and approved by the member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik, has been withdrawn. The result will be two classes of women in Canada—those covered by Quebec's labour legislation and those covered by the Canada Labour Code.
What do the women who are covered by the Quebec legislation get? What does the Quebec legislation provide for women who get pregnant while working in Quebec? As soon as they get pregnant, and upon receiving a note from their doctor, the employer must, if these women work in an unsafe environment, relocate them to a workplace that is safe for their health and that of the foetus.
This is important. It means that we take care of a pregnant woman and her foetus. Companies are required to relocate the new mother to a workplace that is safe and that will not compromise her health and that of the foetus. What happens if the company cannot relocate the expectant mother? She is told to go home and look after her pregnancy, her foetus and her health. A mother is important and so is a newborn. “You take care of yourself. Moreover, during your whole pregnancy and after, we will pay you 90% of your net salary”. In Quebec, we encourage working mothers to have children.
What does the Canadian legislation provide for women in the rest of Canada and Quebec women who are governed by it? It says “Listen, you are pregnant. That is great. If you cannot work, go home. We will give you about 50% of your salary”. However, it is not all women who can benefit from that treatment. Only those who have worked over 700 hours qualify under the Canadian legislation. This is a terrible shame.
I would like to have the attention of the minister, because the women in the Liberal Party should fight to get the Bloc Quebecois' amendment passed. Without this amendment, we end up back with the two tiered system. There is the Quebec legislation that may not be perfect but that leans toward perfection and the Canadian legislation that pushes women and mothers backwards. This is unacceptable to me, a man. How can you, Madam Speaker, and the women members sitting here, find this acceptable? It is, quite simply, unacceptable. The members should think twice about it. Their solidarity is necessary. I ask all women members to join with us and vote in favour of the amendment by the Bloc Quebecois on behalf of all their Canadian and Quebec sisters who work and who are mothers or future mothers.
In closing, we must not forget that this concerns some 50% of the Canadian population. According to Statistics Canada, some 50% of women are in the labour force. If Liberal members have something to say to their caucus, to Cabinet or to the minister, who appears to be a good grandmother and mother, but seems more interested in chatting than in listening to the important things I have to say, they should say it.
I ask that the minister use her influence to get the Bloc Quebecois amendment passed.