Mr. Speaker, this is a curious debate. We are talking about parental leave and opportunities for women and men in the current economic context. A Liberal points out that they need to bring in this program to allow women to stay at work, and perhaps the father could take paternity leave, because of pay equity realities and the lack of pay equity in this country. The Conservatives argue against that philosophy, and the Liberals argue that philosophy.
One would maybe look to the budget to see what the Liberals have done about pay equity, if that is the problem, which they admit and identify. There is nothing in the budget to address pay equity in Canada, where women do not receive equal pay for equal work. There is not even money to study the issue, which was the most basic request from the Canadian Labour Congress.
The Liberals identify the problem but do not want to do anything about it. The Conservatives do not identify the problem at all and say it is all about choice. Canadian women are wondering where they are actually going to get someone to put legislation forward to make it illegal to pay women less than they pay men for equal work of equal value.