Mr. Speaker, today is Persons Day, when we commemorate the fact that, in 1929, the word “person” was deemed to refer to both men and women. I would like to take this opportunity to remind the House that despite the significant gains that have been made in terms of women's rights in Canada, the fight for gender equality is unfortunately not over.
Must I remind the House that women are still disproportionately affected by poverty and violence, especially aboriginal women? Women also face substantial barriers in the labour market. Harassment seems to be part of the corporate culture in many organizations, and we do not have enough women in executive positions.
On top of all of that, we have the Conservatives' repeated attacks on women's right to choose. Fortunately, there has been some positive action. Today my colleague from Churchill has organized the very first women's forum, bringing women together from across the country. I would like to thank her for this excellent and very important initiative. As parliamentarians, we have a duty to continue this—