Elizabeth May’s statement on International Women’s Day

Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2021-03-08 14:01 [p.4659]

Mr. Speaker, happy International Women’s Day to all of us in the House of Commons. We have now made history. As of October 2020, there are 100 women to celebrate in our Parliament across all party lines.

Today I want to celebrate the Daughters of the Vote. It was only four years ago that Daughters of the Vote first occupied the Centre Block chamber in person. They are in Ottawa virtually now. Let us celebrate across party lines the hon. member for Nunavut, who was among Daughters of the Vote just four years ago and now sits in this place and does this chamber such honour.

I want to celebrate our colleague, the first woman Minister of Finance. I am celebrating that a minister of finance is, at long last, a woman. Now I also want to celebrate some former colleagues. I want to celebrate my friend, the Hon. Pat Carney, who served as a cabinet minister, negotiated the first Atlantic accord, negotiated the first free trade agreement and is now one of my constituents.
I thank them all. Let us hold each other up and give Daughters of the Vote a future to look forward to, one with more women in the House.

An hon. member: Hear, hear!