Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: Senator Gold, yesterday I asked you about the Chinese government’s growing influence in Canada. Your answer wasn’t really satisfactory. You said, and I quote:

One must be willing to learn and change when faced with facts and situations like the one Canada . . . [is] experiencing right now. . . . [This] is why the Canadian government is taking meaningful action to protect us and to reassess many aspects of our relationship with China.

This morning, we learned that the RCMP is investigating three Chinese police stations in Longueuil and Montreal. There are already five in Toronto and there must be some in Vancouver, which has a large Chinese community.

The Prime Minister’s inaction dates back to 2018, when he wanted to allow Chinese armed forces to operate on Canadian soil and the Canadian army opposed the idea. Doesn’t it seem like the Prime Minister lacks political judgment?

Senator Boisvenu: The influence of the Communist Party in Canada is a well-known fact. A Longueuil city councillor of Chinese descent confirmed it. Clearly, the Chinese Communist Party is exerting influence in Canada.

If the Prime Minister is neither naive nor an accomplice, and if he is not showing a lack of political judgment, why is he opposed to an independent inquiry in the other place? Why won’t he let his chief of staff testify? Why is this process, in particular the appointment of a rapporteur, not taking place in cooperation with the other three political parties?

Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: Honourable colleagues, this year, I decided to speak to International Women’s Day on March 9.

You’re probably thinking I’m a bit late, or you may be wondering why I would talk about this on March 9. To me, every day of the year should be a day for talking about women’s rights. Shouldn’t we reflect on the importance of recognizing women’s rights every day of the year, instead of just one day a year?

My mother reminded me of this every day. At 18, she already had a university degree. She went on to have 10 children and taught for 35 years, until she was 65. My mother never needed to remind me or any of my brothers or sisters to respect her rights. She instilled in us the fundamental value — or duty, I would say — of respecting her as a woman and as a mother.

Ever since my daughter Julie was murdered 20 years ago, the fight for women’s rights, especially the right to be better protected, has been in my DNA. The death of my daughter Isabelle a few years later reminded me that the fight for this fundamental right to be recognized was central to women’s sense of security in our society, and that as many men as possible must be part of that fight. In my head and in my heart, I know it is not just women who must wage this fight. Above all, it must be fought by all men, by fathers, brothers, husbands, friends and all men who are important in the lives of all women and girls. Men must dedicate themselves to standing alongside their mothers, their sisters, their wives and their friends so that these women do not fight this battle alone.

The theme for International Women’s Day 2023 is “Every Woman Counts.” I’m thinking of every woman and girl who lived through the horrors of violence as a child or as an intimate partner because she was a woman who “didn’t count,” and who had injuries inflicted on her by a man because she was a woman.

Today, women are gradually taking back control over their lives because they are reclaiming the right to speak up and to speak out. This empowerment is fragile because female victims have lost trust in the justice system. That loss of trust is a deep scar that will heal if, and only if, we make it a priority in this place.

Honourable senators, let us take a moment to think about the 185 women who were murdered in 2022 because they were women. Today, let’s recognize that every one of these murdered women counted, but we failed to protect them.

To give true meaning to the theme of International Women’s Day, let’s make a commitment to make women safer in 2023. Honourable senators, we need to make this commitment, because every woman counts.