Status of Women committee  The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights just slapped Nicaragua for not providing abortion services in the case of a rape of a 10-year-old girl by her stepfather. If we replicate that situation in our foreign aid, I would suggest that we should at the very least be cognizant of the fact that we're violating women's human rights.

Status of Women committee  Certainly I did a quick look at the grounds on which abortion is legal in Africa, and in light of the Maputo plan of action. In all countries of Africa, abortion is available to save the life of the woman. In about three-quarters of those countries, it's available to preserve the health of the woman.

Status of Women committee  Yes.

Status of Women committee  Okay. I'll try to be as brief as possible. I would echo my colleagues, but I would also talk again about the Maputo plan of action. Here is a card setting out the key elements of it. They say the key elements of sexual and reproductive health are adolescent sexual and reproductive health, maternal health and newborn care, abortion and post-abortion care, family planning, and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.

Status of Women committee  I would absolutely support everything my colleagues said and repeat it. I would also emphasize the fact that a piecemeal approach to this G-8 maternal and child health initiative is ineffective. It will reduce the impact of the financial investment that is made. It needs to be a comprehensive, integrated, across-the-board approach with no strings attached.

Status of Women committee  Thank you, Chair, and thank you for the opportunity to present before this committee. Around the world this past year there has been unprecedented global attention on the issue of maternal mortality as both a health issue and a human rights issue. While a woman in Canada has a one in 11,000 chance of dying from complications of pregnancy and childbirth, in Niger, pregnancy-related causes will kill one in seven women.

Finance committee  Specifically, to work with the other leaders of the G-8 and G-20 to put in a framework that would allow them to reach millenium development goal five, which is to reduce the rate of maternal mortality by three quarters between 1990 and 2015. There would have to be immediate accelerated action to fund efforts to eradicate maternal mortality.

Finance committee  Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you this afternoon on your last day of hearings. I'd like to join with other colleagues to commend you on the broad consultation process that has taken place this year during the pre-budget consultations. Wearing various hats, I have been making these presentations to the Standing Committee on Finance for longer than I care to remember, and I'm glad to see a fulsome and robust consultation process back in place.