Madam Speaker, I was talking about when this study was in front of committee. The member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan obstructed the work of the committee for 18 hours, so we could not do any of the work we needed to do as the foreign affairs committee. I have to say, as well, that as a woman, being told for 18 hours what I can do with my body by a white male was extraordinarily difficult. I am sure it was very difficult for many women who were watching the proceedings in the room.
I want to talk a bit about the House and what our committee heard from the testimony. Julia Anderson of CanWaCH said Canada needed to develop a “cohesive strategy around [sexual and reproductive health and rights]” in Canada's foreign policy and that “investment alone is not enough.” Lauren Ravon of Oxfam Canada said that being effective was “a matter of combining money and voice.” Kelly Bowden of Action Canada argued that Canada “has a huge platform to stand on” because of investments made, but that we risk backsliding on women's rights if we do not leverage the opportunity to make more progress, especially through a more fulsome feminist foreign policy. Beth Woroniuk, a good friend of mine, noted that we still have not seen the government's “long-promised feminist foreign policy”, and in the absence of that document, “diplomats and aid workers are often not aware of what their responsibilities are”. Canada has not been clear, globally, with our partners. Dr. Kanem, of the UN Population Fund, told us that Canada needs to show global leadership on the issue now because the push-back on gender equality and women's and girls' rights is intensifying.