Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to an incredible British Columbian and an incredible parliamentarian. Margaret Mitchell passed away yesterday, on International Women's Day.
Margaret was a champion of women's rights in her 13 years in Parliament, serving the good people of Vancouver East. From before her time here, throughout her entire existence as a member of Parliament, she fought for justice for women. She fought with other MPs from across the aisle to make sure that women's rights were enshrined in our charter, ensuring that generations of women to come would not have to fight the same battles continuously over and over again.
Margaret, if she had been able to attend yesterday and see the Daughters of the Vote take their places in these seats and have their voices heard in Parliament as they were, would have been proud of all of her accomplishments and so many of her colleagues', but she would have wanted more.
She fought for justice for Chinese Canadians and the unfortunate Chinese head tax that was placed upon them. She fought, always, for basic humanity and basic rights for all humans.