Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Sarnia—Lambton for her speech.
I know the member for Sarnia—Lambton very well, since we sat together on the Standing Committee on Health and the Standing Committee on Status of Women. I believe her comments are sincere. However, I wonder if the member realizes that for the third time now, in the third Speech from the Throne that her government has presented, women are virtually ignored. Women are referred to only a few times, and even then, only in reference to the “men and women” of this country.
I find it odd that when the government addresses a whole community, a whole nation, a whole people, when it addresses Quebeckers and Canadians, that it makes no mention of 52% of the population, a group that is very deserving, if not more deserving, since it is even more vulnerable to the current economic crisis. The speech did not provide for any measures or incentives to ensure that women will not suffer from the economic crisis.
I would like to know why my colleague thinks this the case.