The second petition, Mr. Speaker, also comes from hard-working families in my community of Hamilton Mountain and it comes in the year 2007 which is the 60th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.
These petitioners are outraged at the cutbacks to the Status of Women regional offices, particularly the one in Hamilton. They will be there protesting this Friday morning at 10:30. They are upset about the removal of advocacy and equality from the mandate of Status of Women Canada, long before we have achieved any such equality.
They are petitioning the Parliament of Canada to take some serious steps to ensure adequate funding and support for seven fundamental areas that need redress. These include: violence against women prevention, a national housing plan, support for women's equality seeking organizations, affordable quality public child care, pay equity, access to justice, and support for the voluntary sector agreements with the federal government.
I am pleased to say that these petitions are not just signed by women. They are also signed by many men in my community who are concerned about the future of their daughters, their granddaughters, and the standard of living of their wives, their aunts and their parents.