Mr. Speaker, Canadians are talking about how our International Women's Day theme of women's empowerment leading to equality recognizes the need to empower women and girls as we work together to achieve gender equality.
Because achieving gender equality depends on ensuring that the diversity of women's voices is heard, the Minister of Status of Women has launched a call for proposals, with two key streams: one for projects to increase women's participation, which would strengthen the voices of indigenous women on issues of importance in their communities, and the second to promote the voices of women by amplifying their voices and enhancing their civic and political participation.
In my riding, we heard the voices of a diverse group at a Halton round table on empowering women and girls that I and my colleague, the MP for Burlington, hosted last week. When women are empowered, they are able to shape the institutions and decisions that affect their lives. Without empowerment, there can be no equality.