Johanne Deschamps

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2007]

Mr. Chair, the Conservatives take great pride in having increased the women's program budget. But the fact is that they did so by reducing women's access to Status of Women Canada offices and reducing direct assistance in the regions by closing 12 regional offices, including the office in Quebec City.

In light of your decision to slash $5 million in administrative funding for Status of Women Canada, how can closing 12 Status of Women Canada offices help women raise awareness of the reality in their community?

Do you really believe that the central offices will know enough about what is going on in the different regions of the country to take appropriate actions to help women?

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2007]

Mr. Chair, with regard to the court challenges program, although the Prime Minister said this afternoon that he preferred providing people with direct assistance to hiring lawyers, how can the minister justify that federal agencies like Canada Post have been fighting in court for years, at taxpayers' expense, to evade their pay equity obligations?

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2007]

Mr. Chair, this government has little regard for equality between men and women. The example of pay equity springs to mind, because the Conservative government is refusing to introduce proactive legislation comparable to what is in place in Quebec.

Does she, like the Bloc Québécois, recognize that Quebec's pay equity legislation is good legislation and a model for the federal government?

[Member for Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, May 14th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec members from the Conservative Party have repeatedly stated in this House that the Bloc is useless in Ottawa. Well, not only is the Bloc Québécois useful, but you will never hear one of us speak as crudely as the member for Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière did at the May 7 meeting of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources.

The member said:

Often, a father will give his son advice on how to select a heating system. That is not usually something a mother discusses with her daughter; a mother is more likely to advise her daughter on what curtains to pick. That is the reality. It may be sexist, but that is the reality.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, it is sexist. After all, your remarks simply reflect the opinion this government has of women, as evidenced by the cuts to Status of Women, the new criteria for the women's program, and the elimination of the court challenges program.

I dream of a day when the very few women in the Conservative caucus will stand up to condemn such remarks.

[Employment Insurance, May 10th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, at report stage, the House of Commons voted in favour of Bill C-269, introduced by the Bloc Québécois. This bill improves the employment insurance system. A majority of members supported the bill, which will require royal recommendation.

Will the government respect the decision of the House of Commons and grant this bill royal recommendation?

[World AIDS Orphans Day, May 7th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, today is the sixth World AIDS Orphans Day. According to FXB International, which has been working with AIDS orphans for 18 years in more than 18 countries around the world, AIDS kills one father or mother every 15 seconds, and there are over 15 million AIDS orphans.

The situation is serious in several African countries, including Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana, where AIDS has infected over one third of all adults. Canada's response to this crisis has not been worthy of a country with its financial and pharmaceutical means.

Although there is an act to increase pharmaceutical aid to countries suffering from this epidemic, Canada has sent no medicines to Africa since 2005.

The Bloc Québécois is demanding that the report on the application of this act be submitted to the committee so that medicines can finally be sent.

[Employment Insurance Act, May 3rd, 2007]

moved that the bill be concurred in at report stage.

[Pay Equity, May 3rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this week marks the third anniversary of the Pay Equity Task Force report published in May 2004. It is sad to note that despite the broad consensus for the implementation of the report's recommendations, mainly to adopt federal pay equity legislation, the Conservative government, through its Minister of Labour, simply announced the addition of minor administrative measures to the existing legislation.

Even today, women who fall under the Canada Labour Code experience wage disparity that jeopardizes their economic security and that of their families.

The Conservative government has a very poor track record on women's issues. Discrimination against women must stop. This government is responsible for guaranteeing women's equality by adopting proactive legislation.

When will this government have the courage to follow the lead of Quebec, which has proactive legislation to guarantee pay equity for women.

[Business of Supply, May 1st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his comments. He answered his own question. I completely agree with the comments of my colleague from Chambly—Borduas.

[Business of Supply, May 1st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. The answer is no. A number of aboriginal women appeared before the Standing Committee on Status of Women. During this session, we are primarily dealing with the economic security of women. I was shocked to hear these women's testimonies about their lives and their poverty. One of them, from Nunavut, told us about the isolation and lack of housing they face. In this Canadian territory, the suicide rate is 18% higher than the national average.

After hearing the testimonies of aboriginal women, it is easy to see that the communities have been abandoned by the Canadian government.