women

Saturday May 25, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday May 25, 2019

Andrew Scheer really doesn’t want to talk about abortion

“As I’ve said, many, many times before,” Andrew Scheer said on Wednesday, “a Conservative government will not reopen this debate.

May 15, 2019

“I’ve been very clear on this … I’ve made it very clear. We will not reopen this debate.”

A fair bit depends on how broadly Scheer defines the word “we.”

At any rate, the example of Stephen Harper suggests the debate over abortion isn’t one that a Conservative leader can easily avoid.

On Wednesday, Scheer was asked whether he would allow Conservative MPs to introduce legislation related to abortion and, if so, whether he would allow those MPs to vote freely on such proposals.

Such questions have been coming up a lot lately, prompted by a wave of new legislation to restrict access to abortion services in the United States and by comments Scheer himself made when he was seeking the leadership of the Conservative Party.

Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have leaned into the debate, publicly pressuring Scheer over the fact that a dozen Conservative MPs recently attended an anti-abortion rally on Parliament Hill.

Howdy Doodie Andy Scheer

On Wednesday, Scheer accused the Liberals of “trying to import a divisive issue” from the United States to split Canadians and distract from the government’s recent troubles. But he also stopped short of directly answering the questions he was asked.

Based on what he said during the Conservative leadership race, Scheer’s answer to those specific questions would seem to be “yes.” Those campaign comments suggested that, while a Scheer government would not itself introduce abortion legislation, Conservative backbenchers would be free to do so and Conservatives would be free to vote their “conscience” on those bills or motions.

That roughly corresponds with official Conservative policy on such matters and relies on a legitimate parliamentary distinction between the MPs who are part of the government (cabinet ministers, parliamentary secretaries) and those who are not (the backbenchers who are members of the governing party, but not part of the executive).

If that’s still Scheer’s position, he might just say so. But he also wouldn’t be the first Conservative leader to have second thoughts about indulging the backbench. (CBC) 

 

Wednesday May 15, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday May 15, 2019

Niagara MPP Sam Oosterhoff shows his inexperience with two bad stumbles in a week

Maybe it was youthful exuberance. Maybe youthful hubris. But it came off as youthful ignorance.

November 5, 2016

Two times in one week, Niagara West PC MPP Sam Oosterhoff blew a chance to show statesmanship and instead demonstrated his inexperience.

On May 7, staffers in his Beamsville riding office called the cops on a group of protesters: senior citizens, most of them women, some belonging to book clubs, who were gathered in silent protest against provincial cuts to libraries. The cuts affect interlibrary loans, which are especially important in small-town areas where books are not readily available and must be borrowed from other libraries.

Oosterhoff wasn’t in the office that day. But the library system in his riding is one of those dependent on interlibrary loans. How many copies of “Where the Crawdads Sing” do you think are hanging around the Grimsby library? If you guessed three, you’d be correct. But three isn’t enough to feed a book club. Oosterhoff showed in a small way he’s out of touch with an important segment of his riding.

November 18, 2016

Two days later, Oosterhoff was definitely present for a Queen’s Park anti-abortion protest where he said it was time to make abortion “unthinkable.”

What is unthinkable is that in 2019 this discussion is still happening. What is unthinkable is that a newbie backbencher would paint his boss, Doug Ford, into a corner. In the end, Ford missed an opportunity to say he supports a woman’s right to choose. Instead, he said the government would not “reopen” the debate on abortion and, in any case, the PC party tent is large enough to hold a number of opposing views.

At a time when polling shows more than three-quarters of Canadians support abortion rights, Oosterhoff showed how out of step he is. It’s not a good look. (Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Thursday December 14, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 14, 2017

Roy Moore’s defeat in Alabama marks watershed moment for #MeToo movement

Republican Roy Moore’s stunning defeat in Alabama marked a watershed moment for the national movement around the issue of sexual abuse.

November 13, 2017

The allegations that Moore had made sexual advances on girls as young as 14 decades ago, when he was in his 30s, had created a real contest out of what should have been an easy victory for any Republican candidate in ruby-red Alabama.

“Women really do seem to be wanting to make their collective voices heard on this issue, and they don’t want to see it swept under the rug one more time,” said Jessica Leeds, one of those who stepped forward last year to accuse Donald Trump, then the GOP presidential nominee, of having committed sexual misconduct.

With Trump’s election, that kind of reckoning seemed to have been pushed backward.

But the sense of grievance remained, and gained force this fall with the toppling of movie producer Harvey Weinstein and the once-revered figures in media and politics who have been taken down in his wake.

Democrat Doug Jones’ unlikely victory may also be a sign that the formula for winning in a deeply polarized political climate, perfected by Trump, may not be so reliable as it seemed.

As the #MeToo movement takes hold and matures, it is moving beyond the stage of rooting out individual bad actors to “seeking a different level of accountability,” said Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women’s Law Centre. (Continued: Toronto Star) 

 

Thursday November 16, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 16, 2017

Canada pledges to boost women peacekeepers

Canada is also offering a total of $21 million to help increase the number of women in peacekeeping, including $6 million to help with reforms at the UN and $15 million for a new trust fund.

The fund is intended to help partner together countries with good female representation in the ranks with those that want to have more women in uniform, but are facing challenges.

The officials emphasized that such partnerships would only involve countries that are genuinely interested and willing to having more women in their militaries.

The new emphasis on women in peacekeeping and military operations comes amid growing international recognition of the real operational benefits that come from female soldiers in the field.

Canada will also make dozens of trainers available to the UN and other countries to help professionalize militaries from developing countries that are often involved in peacekeeping.

Some of those trainers will be deployed to UN centres in Africa, such as Kenya, Ghana and Uganda. But officials say up to 50 could also be sent to other countries, and may even deploy on missions with their students.

That would only occur, however, when the safety of Canadian troops can be ensured, officials said. (Source: CTV News) 

 

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Thursday July 13, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday July 13, 2017

Commissioner Quits Murdered & Missing Indigenous Women Inquiry

While the national inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls continues to lose high-level staff and appears in disarray, Canada’s Minister of Indigenous Affairs is urging everyone to not lose hope in the process.

July 1, 2017

Saskatchewan lawyer Marilyn Poitras issued her resignation in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday. She is the first commissioner to resign from the inquiry.

In the letter, Poitras said she is “unable to perform my duties as a commissioner with the process designed in its current structure.”

Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett told Ottawa media that she has met with the commission, reviewed their path forward and has faith in what they have planned. “They really do have the vision, the values, the tools and the plan to get this work done,” Bennett said.

She added there is “no question that we all agree that the communication has been an issue,” and they must do a better job telling families about their plan and vision. But she believes they will.

May 16, 2017

However, not everyone feels as though the inquiry, in its current form, will be able to do all that is hoped. Many families and Indigenous leaders have openly questioned the inquiry’s direction, its methods and chastised it for not involving more grassroots activists — who have been fighting for an inquiry for years. They feel the inquiry has lost its way and are demanding it begin again.

Poitras’ resignation follows a press conference held last Thursday by the inquiry’s Chief Commissioner Marion Buller. Buller gave an update on the probe’s summer progress after several controversies including high-profile resignations. On June 30, executive director Michèle Moreau quit the inquiry. Moreau cited “personal reasons” for her resignation.

June 3, 2015

Buller has defended the inquiry and its progress to date, saying she will meet all the milestones including an interim report in November even though only a handful of families have spoken at public hearings.

Buller has said staff leaving the inquiry have all done so for “personal reasons” and that some had dream job offers. The inquiry has five commissioners who are mandated to travel the country, hearing the testimonies of families, then making recommendations on how to protect vulnerable Indigenous women and girls. An RCMP report in 2014 indicated there are 1,181 Indigenous women and girls who have been killed violently or have disappeared. Many believe that number is low.(Source: Toronto Star) 

 

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