Statement from Minister Bibeau on the International Day of the Girl
Statement
October 11, 2016 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, today issued the following statement:
“On this International Day of the Girl, I want to take the opportunity to reaffirm Canada’s commitment to keeping the rights and empowerment of women and girls at the very heart of all of our international development efforts.
“We know what girls can do when they have opportunities. When girls are able to stay in school, for example, they are often healthier and better able to make their own choices about their lives. They marry and have children later, and often have better jobs. When women are empowered, they become powerful agents of change capable of transforming their families, communities and countries.
“Canada is proud, with the support of Plan International Canada, to have led the international community in adopting October 11 as the International Day of the Girl. I was honoured to have been part of Plan International’s recent initiative to help girls move into leadership positions around the world. Several of my colleagues and I recently spent a day with bright, dynamic young Canadian women—to give these young women a chance to demonstrate their potential in high-profile positions of leadership and to show that they belong in positions of power.
“We want to see girls in Canada and around the world reach their full potential. Canada wants to build a world in which girls’ rights and the leadership of girls are celebrated every day and in which challenges such as gender inequality; gender-based violence; and child, early and forced marriage are a relic of the past—a world in which it is the International Day of the Girl every day.”
Contacts
Bernard Boutin
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie
343-203-5977
bernard.boutin@international.gc.ca
Media Relations Office
Global Affairs Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
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