Mr. Speaker, I rise in honour of International Women's Day.
Forty years ago, the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada made important recommendations in a number of areas, such as daycare and preschool education; increasing the number of female MPs and judges; and equal pay for work of equal value.
The hopes and dreams of 1970 remain the challenges of 2010.
On International Women's Day we renew our commitment to equal opportunity, now decades overdue. We salute our mothers, our daughters, our sisters, our friends, the women who built this country and keep it strong. We pledge to keep faith with their spirit and to achieve our shared ideals.
We have done some good things together, but we must do more, and we will.