Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 100th year of women's suffrage in Canada. On this day a century ago, a savvy group of Manitoba women succeeded in their campaign to give women the right to vote and hold political office, first in Manitoba, and three years later at the federal level, and only by the mid-twentieth century for indigenous peoples.
While we have made great strides since then, including gender parity in cabinet, in 2016 we still have glass ceilings to break. Women in this House represent 26% of all members. That places Canada at number 49 in the world, behind such countries as Afghanistan, Sudan, and Iraq. Together, with multi-party groups such as Equal Voice, we will work toward real parity in all aspects of public life.