Statement by the leader of the Official Opposition on Women’s Day

NDP and Official Opposition leader, Tom Mulcair, made this statement in honour of International Women’s Day:

“Today, we celebrate the amazing and courageous efforts of Canadian women who fought to improve the status of women over the last century. Their successes have gained access to education, civil rights, the right to vote and the right to choose.

We also honour the strength, courage and tenaciousness of our mothers, grandmothers and ancestors who worked so hard to raise their families and contribute to building our country.

On this International Women’s Day, the NDP is proud to celebrate this progress and our shared values. Of course, we also recognize that work remains to be done in order for women to reach equal status, especially in the area of income equality and female representation in politics.

The fight for equality is a major concern for the NDP and we will continue to push for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women. We are also committed to better representation of women in the public sector, establishing an affordable national childcare program, and passing proactive pay equity legislation.

This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the visionary Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for gender equality. We affirm our commitment to the Beijing agenda and its goal of “advancing the goals of equality, development and peace for all women everywhere in the interest of all humanity.”

Today, we commend the work of all the women who have contributed to building a more equitable Canada, and we remain committed to continuing our fight for women’s equality.”