House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2011, with 38% of the vote.
Official Languages November 22nd, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I repeat that our government is committed to the country's linguistic duality. The 2007 budget set aside an additional $430 million to help minority language communities.
As the member knows full well, the matter is before the courts. I will not comment any further.
Official Languages November 22nd, 2007
Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, we are committed to promoting the linguistic duality of Canada. In the Speech from the Throne, we clearly stated that the action plan for Official Languages will have a second phase.
For his part, my colleague has chosen to do nothing on this issue.
Justice November 19th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for this very important question. On behalf of the government and, I am sure, all Canadians, I would like to express our deep dismay at seeing a victim of multiple rape being sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in jail.
It defies belief that a woman who had been raped would be further violated by such a barbaric sentence. Our government will express our condemnation of this event to the appropriate Saudi authorities.
Status of Women November 15th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I would just like to point out to my colleague from the Bloc that her microphone is working.
Of course, since August, I have met with many groups, and women's groups in particular. Our government has done right by women, increasing by 42% the program budget for Status of Women Canada. Why? Because we are results oriented.
The fact of the matter is that, scream as she may, the Bloc Québécois member will never be able to get anything for the women of Canada.
Status of Women November 15th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, of course, the Bloc Québécois member has failed, as usual, to mention the following facts. We did look at the report she is referring to and we are continuing to examine it, but it is important to understand that Canada has not regressed. It is simply that other countries have taken more proactive measures.
That said, the same report states that Canada has been maintaining good practices to promote gender equality in the country.
Status of Women November 1st, 2007
Mr. Speaker, this government is proud of our support for Canadian women. Unlike the opposition parties, we have taken practical steps to address life's most difficult challenges: economic insecurity, lack of training, and violence against women.
A mentoring program for aboriginal women, another to prevent and combat violence against young women and young girls, and finally, a project to protect women with a developmental disability are just some of the initiatives recently announced by this government.
I am pleased to inform this House that a new call for project proposals under the program—
Sitting Resumed November 1st, 2007
Mr. Speaker, as announced by our government, we are providing the universal child care benefit and, at the same time, creating child care spaces. And there are other things we are doing.
The member spoke a great deal about the women in her riding and their needs. I would like to speak about the women in my riding. These women have told me that they would like to have a choice. They do not necessarily work set hours, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and they would like some financial assistance even if they do not have jobs with conventional schedules. That is what the women in my riding have told me and we must also listen to them. We must let them make their own choices.
Having said that, there are programs for women who would like to get out of the cycle of poverty and we are in a position to finance a number projects, especially since we increased the programming budget for Status of Women Canada. We decided to invest less in bureaucracy—as the Liberals did—and more in concrete results for Canadian women.
Sitting Resumed November 1st, 2007
Mr. Speaker, our government is funding a number of projects aimed specifically at helping these women—still too numerous—get out of the cycle of poverty.
The latest economic statement from my colleague, the hon. Minister of Finance, provides significant tax cuts, for businesses as well as all Canadians. We also announced an increase in the basic personal income.
Furthermore, I encourage women who need training to bring their ideas to us. These are the very people we wish to help and we would be happy to examine their file.
Sitting Resumed November 1st, 2007
Mr. Speaker, once again, what the member is saying about child care and Canadian women is nonsense. It is not true that Canadian women all have exactly the same needs, as the Liberals and the NDP would have us believe. Women want flexibility, because they work at a variety of jobs. It is not true that they all work from 8 to 6 and that the program the Liberals wanted to put in place suited everyone.
Women want to be free to choose the sort of child care that works best for them. That is why our government decided to help women directly rather than transfer money from one government to another that would decide for women. The government decided to give $100 for each child under six directly to families, to let them decide what is best for their children.
Moreover, major transfers to the provinces were included in the most recent budget, which the NDP voted against, even though that budget was designed mainly to improve social programs. The economic statement presented this week by my colleague, the Minister of Finance, includes record-setting tax cuts for Canadian men and women.
Women in Quebec and across Canada will benefit from these tax cuts. This is how we will give women a chance—through the cumulative effect of all the measures our government is taking to benefit women.
Sitting Resumed November 1st, 2007
Mr. Speaker, a number of the statements my colleague made are far from true. With regard to child care, we decided to introduce a universal child care benefit for Canadian families, which pays $100 a month for every child under six.
It is not true that Canadian women all have identical needs, as the Liberal Part of Canada would have us believe. Women need flexibility in child care, and above all, they need to be able to make their own decisions.
Funding for Status of Women Canada has gone up by 42% under our government. That means that our government has decided to invest less in bureaucracy, which is what the former Liberal government did, and more in projects that benefit women directly.