Mr. Speaker, this International Women's Day, women in Manitoba and across Canada are waging a courageous battle for equality.
Today we honour the courage of Amy and Jesse Pasternak of Winnipeg who persisted over three years against incredible resistance and won the right to play hockey on an equal footing with boys; the courage of Lisa Michell and other aboriginal activists who continue organizing marches for missing and murdered women in Manitoba; and the courage of Kathy Mallett, Loa Henry, Cindy McCallum Miller, Cheryl Ann Carr, Linda Taylor and Ellen Kruger being honoured by Grassroots Women Manitoba.
The budget was the time for the Conservatives to back these courageous women with measures that would further women's equality. Instead, they are not standing up for women. They are silent and have set back the women's agenda.
Guess what? The Liberals are supporting them. Yes, the Liberals do not have the courage to stand up to the government and vote down the budget. This is the Liberal twilight zone. They allow the budget to pass one day and the next moment decry the cuts to women's programs.
Today we honour the many women fighting for equality and condemn those who do not have the courage of their convictions to stand up for women in Canada.