March 08, 2005
Ottawa, Ontario

“International Women’s Day – March 8 – is a time to celebrate as well as take stock of progress achieving women’s rights in Canada and in the world.

In Canada, women’s rights are a vital part of our effort to build a society of real equality – not just for some, but for all Canadians. A society in which women no longer encounter discrimination nor are shut out from opportunities open to others.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, when equality rights were constitutionally enshrined, giving Canadians – and women in Canada – equality before and under the law, and equal protection and benefit of law.

Since then, we have achieved much in the march towards equality. Today, countless Canadian women are leaders in their communities and in the nation, inspiring a younger generation with possibilities not even dreamed of thirty years ago and more.

But despite these advances, the journey has not ended. We are not yet there. Equality, like all rights, must be made real and immediate in the everyday lives of people.

To do this means that we must all pick up the challenge and continue the advance. Canadians aspire to be a country in which all of us have equal dignity, respect, rights and freedoms – both in law and in life. It is a defining characteristic of what Canada is.

I am confident that we can, and will, achieve that noble goal. It is within our ability; it is within our reach.

On this International Women’s Day, I salute the courageous women in Canada who have brought the campaign for women’s equality ever forward, making that dream increasingly a reality. Canada is a better country because of you.
Let us all re-commit ourselves – at home and abroad – to working together towards a world in which women everywhere are treated with respect, with equality, with their rights upheld, protected in law, secure in life.”