Women's equality - a centrepiece of Paul Dewar's NDP government

OTTAWA - New Democrat leadership candidate Paul Dewar has released the campaign's most comprehensive plan to advance women's equality in Canada.

"I learned politics from my mother Marion. As a strong feminist, she taught me that advancing equality is how you build a stronger and more caring country," said Dewar. "Stephen Harper's Conservatives have been attacking pay equity, drastically reducing funding to groups which advocate for the rights of women, and now proposing to weaken the Old Age Security that many senior women depend on."

Dewar co-authored his plan with NDP MP Irene Mathyssen, the Chair of the Status of Women committee and former party critic for the status of women.

"I've worked with Paul for six years. His commitment to women's equality is not just in words but in action" said Mathyssen. "From integrating equality and respect in his career as a teacher to campaigning for women’s role in peace building as a Member of Parliament, Paul's record shows that women's equality will be a centrepiece of his commitment to Canada."

Dewar's comprehensive action plan includes innovative new ideas such as:

- Creating an independent investment fund to provide start-up capital for women entrepreneurs.

- Guaranteeing that at least half the members of Cabinet will be women, while respecting regional balance and encouraging political parties to nominate women as candidates by tying public financing to the number of women each party fields as candidates.

- Launching a national inquiry into the overwhelming number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada.

- Enforcing the Canada Health Act to ensure access to safe, legal, and free abortion on demand in every province in Canada.

- Partnering with the White Ribbon Campaign to launch a national, multi-year awareness campaign encouraging men to end men’s violence against women.

- Pursuing an international campaign for the elimination of rape as a weapon of war.

"As Canada's first New Democrat Prime Minister, I will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the women's movement in advancing equality," said Dewar.

Read the complete plan here.