NDP Statement on Gender Equality Week

Jagmeet Singh, Leader of Canada’s NDP, issued the following statement:

Harassment, violence, and inequality are still a part of daily life for women in Canada and around the world. The #MeToo campaign, the women’s march, and other movements of women, non-binary people, and their allies have highlighted this reality.

For decades, Liberal and Conservative governments have failed women and non-binary people in our communities. The current Liberal government may talk a good game, but it failed to follow through with the solutions that women need right now.

And with Conservatives openly discussing abortion rights, and people like Doug Ford promising to limit access to abortion, it’s never been more clear that we need strong policies that support gender equality.

As long as Indigenous women are over-represented in prisons, as long as older women are trapped in poverty, as long as all women are paid less than men at work, as long as women face gender violence – and as long as women still have to fear having their rights taken away – we won’t stop pressing for true gender equality.

New Democrats will never stop pushing for universal, affordable childcare, coverage for contraceptives and abortion, an end to wage discrimination through long-awaited pro-active pay equity legislation, and action to end violence against women.

Our work is led by Sheila Malcolmson and Anne Minh-Thu Quach, our Critic and Deputy Critic for Women’s Equality. In a parliament that’s just 28% women, Sheila and Anne are proving every day that having women in government and in all kinds of leadership positions is critical to making gender equality a reality in Canada. This week, as they highlight the solutions New Democrats are championing. I stand with them to demand better for all Canadian women.