Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be standing in the House of Commons as the newly elected member of Parliament for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, located on lands covered by Treaty 13 and the Williams Treaties. Over several centuries, it has been traversed by many first nations and is currently home to indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island.
I am very honoured to be here to work for all residents of Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill. I am committed to respectfully listening to all stated viewpoints and concerns from my constituents and my fellow members of Parliament to fully consider them and address them to the best of my abilities.
I would not be sitting here today without the support of my family and, of course, the hundreds of community members who spent years with me knocking on doors and making phone calls.
My husband of 27 years, Peter, has been unwavering in his support of my pursuit to serve, even though it has turned our lives upside down. Our six children, Peter Jr., Chris, Kyle, Tristan, Nadiya and Kristina, have all been supportive of my foray into politics in different ways. However, I want to call out, in particular, our youngest daughter Kristina, who stepped outside of her comfort zone, which is working with horses, to come out and canvass door to door with me.
My parents Kate and Tom Taylor have inspired and supported me since my birth, but never more than during this past election, when at age 86 they worked tirelessly making phone calls, putting up signs, preparing food and providing me with much-needed emotional support. My sisters Theresa and India have been at my side since I first ran for the nomination in 2019, despite their own personal challenges. My brother John, already stretched as the mayor of Newmarket, came out countless times to canvass door to door with me, and always provided invaluable advice.
As everyone can see, I have a large and supportive family of which I am very proud.
I am also proud of the residents of Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill and Canadians across our great country. They have shown how they work together through difficult times.
Today, I want to focus my response to the Speech from the Throne on women. Why the focus on women today? Because this year is the 100th anniversary of the election of the first woman to our Parliament, Agnes Campbell MacPhail. Because this week, we are in the midst of 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, as 32 years ago, on December 6, 14 women were killed at the École Polytechnique in Montreal simply because they were women. Because today women are still discriminated against and under-represented in elected office and leadership positions in my community, across Canada and in this great House of the people.
The issues that our government has focused on in the Speech from the Throne are of immense importance to all Canadians. However, they are of particular importance to women, as women have felt the negative impacts of the challenges we currently face more severely than men.
In the Speech from the Throne, our government is rightly focused on ending this fight against COVID-19. This is the most important step we can take to continue rebuilding our economy and in helping women.
Let us not forget that women were 12 times more likely than men to leave the workplace during this pandemic. Women are disproportionately represented in those sectors hardest hit during this pandemic: hospitality, tourism and small retail operations.
Women, who represent the majority of personal support workers and nurses, have been on the front line during this pandemic. They have been working tirelessly and bearing the brunt of the anger and anxiety that people have felt throughout this stressful time. Likewise, women have experienced domestic violence more often throughout this pandemic, and the people who work to help them, the majority of whom are female, have been overwhelmed by the demands on shelters and services to help victims.
Women have most acutely experienced mental health challenges during this pandemic as we still carry the greatest responsibility for the care of our children and our elders, both groups that have themselves struggled with mental health throughout this pandemic. The toll the pandemic has taken on our mental health can often be overlooked in light of the terrible economic and other health consequences it has caused, but it is no less significant.
This pandemic has taught us many things. One of the most important is that we need to view every policy through a feminist lens, which is something our government is committed to doing. Our government's actions encouraging all Canadians to get vaccinated and to follow public health recommendations and travel measures will work to contain new variants, such as omicron, and end this pandemic.
In addition to this, we must also directly address the economic challenges we face as a result of the pandemic. While Canada's economy is recovering well due to our government's support for workers and small businesses, the global health crisis has led to global pressures on the cost of living. The Speech from the Throne focuses on two areas to address rising costs: child care and housing.
In my riding, parents are faced with some of the highest child care costs in the province, with average fees coming in at just under $1,600 a month. For a young family with more than one child, it is the equivalent of a second mortgage. Our government's bold, accessible and affordable universal child care and early-learning program will not only reduce costs for young families, but will result in greater workforce participation and productivity, producing significant economic benefits across our great country.
As the women's commissioner at the University of Toronto, I remember working with the National Action Committee on the Status of Women and fighting for a national child care program. This had been recommended in the Royal Commission Report on the status of women in 1971. Yes, we have been advocating for universal child care for 50 years. It is about time. It is an incredible honour to be here in the House and to see this finally come to fruition. It is the fulfilment of countless years of work from men and women, and is a significant accomplishment for this government.
The Speech from the Throne also outlines the important work our government will continue to do on increasing housing availability and affordability. It is an area of great concern for all Canadians trying to find affordable homes and for everyone who believes that all people should have a place to call home in a country as wealthy as Canada.
Once again, women are more likely to struggle to find an affordable home. Women are more likely to live in poverty, either as seniors living alone or as mothers raising a family. Lone-parent families headed by women are three times more likely to live in poverty than those headed by men. Of course, women living with disabilities, indigenous women and women in racialized communities experience even greater poverty and challenges in finding adequate affordable housing.
New Canadians and immigrants also have an incredibly hard time finding housing, and I want to recognize the work of two women. Fariha Shabazy and Sajida Habib are working tirelessly in my riding to settle newcomer families, including Afghan families, into affordable housing.
I am also pleased to see that our government has listened to the voices of Canadians on the need for increased mental health resources and supports. There are so many groups offering support for mental health in my riding, including Home on the Hill in Richmond Hill, CMHA York Region, the women's shelters and shelters such as Yellow Brick House and 360° Kids. I will continue to advocate here in Parliament to ensure they can deliver much-needed supports.
As I raise the issue of empowering women and protecting community health, I would be remiss if I left out the connection between these aspects of our lives and the very urgent climate crisis we are facing. Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill is fortunate to contain parts of Ontario's greenbelt and the beautiful Oak Ridges Moraine. These contain fragile ecosystems that we must work to protect and preserve for years to come.
In the Speech from the Throne, our government laid out how we will be taking bolder climate action and focusing on innovation and green jobs. I have heard from many in my riding who have innovative ideas to help create more resilient infrastructure. In this work, as in every other program our federal government is undertaking, we must work with the indigenous people with whom we share the land.
The path to reconciliation, truth and justice is ongoing, and there is much more to be done. I was so pleased to see our Governor General, a strong indigenous woman, deliver this throne speech and to hear part of it spoken in an indigenous language, Inuktitut, as well as our two official languages of French and English.
I am grateful to be embarking on the road ahead as a parliamentarian, and I am looking forward to working respectfully and co-operatively with all parliamentarians in the House to deliver on the priorities set forward in this Speech from the Throne and help my constituents and all Canadians.