House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2006, with 46% of the vote.
Status of Women December 5th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, in October the minister threatened that the organizations that criticized the government may lose their funding. She said, “I am surprised that certain organizations that receive our financial support criticize our support for the cause of women”.
These organizations defend women's rights and try to improve the quality of life for Canadian families. Why is the minister threatening these groups?
Status of Women December 5th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, many women in Canada cannot access legal aid for family law matters, even when they are leaving abusive relationships. The Liberal government was working with the provinces to develop a new agreement to give these women better legal access.
For the sake of these women and for their children, when will the government develop an agreement with the provinces?
Status of Women December 5th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, many women in Canada--
Status of Women May 16th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to speak to a report released yesterday by Plan Canada called “Because I Am a Girl: The State of the World's Girls 2007”.
The report examines the rights of girls throughout the world, their childhood, adolescence and as young women. An eight point action plan is outlined that would defend women's rights around the world. How does Canada measure up to this eight point plan?
Point one: Listen to girls and let them participate. Over the past year, 12 out of the 16 regional offices for the Status of Women have been closed.
Point two: Invest in girls and young women. The government has changed the mandate of the women's program and removed equality.
Point three: Change and enforce the law. The government has cut the court challenges program and funding to the National Association of Women and the Law.
Point four: Change attitudes. The government is listening to regressive groups like REAL Women and not promoting a progressive agenda focused on women's rights.
Point five: Have a safety net for girls. It also cut one-fifth of the Status of Women's operational budget before being forced to reinstate the funding.
Point six: Get specific data on girls.
Point seven: Take a life cycle approach.
Infrastructure and Communities March 22nd, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the real issue of this budget is sustainability.
The FCM has also said that this budget does not provide real long term relief to the municipal infrastructure deficit.
The mayor of Aurora has even said that this budget does little to respond to the realities faced in Aurora, “there is no big leadership commitment in this budget”.
In June 2005, the Prime Minister promised to do more for municipalities. Why has he broken this promise?
Infrastructure and Communities March 22nd, 2007
Mr. Speaker, for Canada to be globally competitive and prosperous we need our cities to be world-class and we need to reinvest in them.
Mayor Miller has said that this budget leaves our cash-strapped cities worse off than a year before and, for Toronto and other major cities, is a step backward.
Why is the government neglecting the needs of our cities by not giving them direct new funding?
Automobile Industry February 15th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, let us look at the facts. For the first time in 18 years, Canada has registered an automotive industry trade deficit of $1.2 billion.
Mounting imports and declining exports have eroded the Canadian automotive sector.
Where is the minister's long-awaited plan for competitiveness? Canadian workers need it now.
Automobile Industry February 15th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, thousands of quality jobs are disappearing under the government and there is no plan to do anything about it. The Prime Minister recently boasted about his publicity scheme, Advantage Canada, which is nothing more than a pamphlet of platitudes. Nowhere in it does it lay out a comprehensive industrial strategy for a robust manufacturing sector.
Where is the government's substantive plan to address the manufacturing sector's decline and to support the thousands of jobs that are at risk?
Passports February 14th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the U.S. law says that passengers travelling by air must now have a passport, and soon car travellers will as well.
In 2005 same-day car travel from Canada to the U.S. exceeded 22 million. According to the government's own website, passport requirements for car travellers can occur at any time between now and 2009.
The government knows this is coming. It had no plan to deal with the current crisis. What is its plan to deal with the next one?
Passports February 14th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, at no surprise to those MPs who listen to their constituents, the Auditor General said that the government had no plan to deal with the increase in applications for passports.
As constituency offices have learned, Passport Canada has been increasing its wait times. Advice last week of a 40 day wait is now a 60 day wait. The backlog is so great that we have received word today that Passport Canada is only now opening applications received December 29.
Why did the government have no plan in place to deal with this problem on its watch?