Mr. Speaker, I am outraged by the draconian cuts to Status of Women Canada as we approach the 25th anniversary of the ratification by Canada of the UN Convention on the elimination of discrimination against women on December 10. What rhetoric will the Harper government use to justify wrecking the foundation of an organization still needed to improve the well-being of women?
In the Upper North Shore, the Sacré-Coeur and Forestville women's centres are affected by these cuts. But it is all women in my riding, as well as throughout Quebec and Canada, who are wronged when they are so clearly not yet on an equal footing with men.
To deprive women of the means to defend their rights is to be indifferent to their claims. To deny them the main means of waging their battle is to be disrespectful. With Ottawa accumulating a surplus, the Harper government cannot—