Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank the critic for status of women for coming to my riding for my round table afternoon. We had different organizations, those representing child care, those representing immigrants, those representing women's groups, people who were involved in the community, and all were working toward equality.
However, all of those groups would like advocates. They would like someone to carry their message. They would like to make sure there is change because there is not sufficient access to housing and not sufficient access to the law. The ability to do their appropriate research, to get their information at a grassroots level, to provide the appropriate statistics, and then to take that information and move it forward to the government of the day will bring about new laws.
New laws have been brought about in the past. Laws on violence against women, access to different shelters, all of these things have been brought about because women advocated for them. They are not waiting for the men of this country to give them a donation. They are not looking for handouts.
What they are looking to do is to change their position so they can go forward themselves, for their own economic independence, for their own place in society, and to have pride. They are not looking for a handout.
I have often heard things in the last couple of months from this government that seems to take pride in fixing something when it is not really breaking down the barriers. The barriers will only be broken down when we have from the grassroots a movement that can advocate toward government.
I just do not understand why this government will not provide those resources to the disenfranchised, the people who need it. It has worked in the past. It could work in the future, and I believe that we would bring that back.