Mr. Speaker, when it comes to women's equality this government should hang its head in shame. Consider the fact that the United Nations has recently issued a report condemning Canada for its failure to live up to the commitment under the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. Shame on this government.
More evidence of this disgraceful position occurred yesterday with the release of the Statistics Canada report on income levels showing that as a nation we have a long way to go before realizing our objective of gender equality. While the income level has risen for single parent families predominantly headed by women, even the higher level leaves such families making less than half of the national average income.
End this disgrace. Put women's equality back on the political and public agendas. It is time the government responded to UN concerns and presented a strategy with measures to proactively address this unacceptable situation.