Welcome

We can see that women have only just begun to take their rightful places in the political landscape, not only as candidates who run for or hold office but as contributors, as people who actively participate in the political process as many of you do.

We are blessed that we live at a time in a society where we do have the opportunities that we have before us today. The women who came before us could never even have imagined the freedoms and the rights we now take for granted. The real challenge for us is to decide whether all the sacrifices that were made in the past should just be honored by rhetoric or honored by action.

But among our obligations and among the debts we owe to those who came before are to be involved in the political process that makes Canadian democracy work.

Thank you for being part of making that happen. The glass ceiling is showing some cracks.

As president of the National Women’s Liberal Commission, I look forward to supporting your endeavours and working with you to address the gender gap in Canadian politics.