| Listen up, Belinda Stronach, Sheila Copps!
"One of the first duties of a political party before an election is to endeavour to have suitable men ‘nominated’ in every constituency, that is, to have them put forward publicly for election to the House. These men, when selected, are called ‘candidates,’" wrote R.S. Jenkins in Canadian Civics, first published in 1912.
Today, Canadian men pride themselves on a progressive belief in equal rights. However, reality shows that women have the right but they sure as hell don’t have the equal.
Flash back to November 27, 2000 – election day.
The Liberals under Prime Minister Jean Chretien are about to thrash Stockwell Day and his Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance, Joe Clark’s Progressive Conservative party, Gilles Duceppe’s Bloc Quebecois and Alexa McDonough’s New Democrats.
Aside from McDonough, no other woman will come close in the race to reside at 24 Sussex Drive, official home of the prime minister. By day’s end, election results show that McDonough was far from close.
Women have traditionally been denied success at the polls. Judging by observation of current federal politicians, it is not because women lack the requisite ability in order to serve.
In Alberta, of the 133 candidates in the 2000 election only 24 were women. Of those 24, only three succeeded in being elected. This compares to 23 men who were elected to serve in Ottawa’s House of Commons.
This makes Alberta a leader in the race to make Canada a male-dominated dominion.
"For 20 years we have sought more equitable representation at the federal level, we’ve made no progress," says Gloria Wilkinson, Calgary chair of Winning Women, a non-partisan group that teaches political skills.
Women have consistently been proportionately under-represented in the House of Commons. In the last federal contest, only 62 women were elected out of 301 ridings.
The line from "O Canada" sums it up well: "In all thy sons command."
The Liberal party in the 2000 election garnered 57.1 per cent of the eligible seats in the House of Commons after receiving slightly less than 41 per cent of total votes cast. While this party disparity is the bane of many, it pales in comparison to what women experience. Of the government’s 172 seats, 133 were captured by men.
According to Statistics Canada, women comprised 50.48 per cent of the population on July 1, 2003. Yet, women occupied only 20.6 per cent of the total seats in Parliament.
There is an explanation for the under-representation of women in Parliament and politics generally. While financial, societal and historical reasons contribute to all the negative statistics, another factor is that politics is not perceived as being women-friendly. It is perceived, justifiably perhaps, as a far-off arena filled with jackals and vermin who would eat you before breakfast. For this reason, reasonable people (of both sexes) choose to avoid such an entanglement. It may be unfair to suggest that women avoid politics because they are more reasonable than men, but there may be some truth in it.
Wilkinson insists that government could do more to encourage women to become involved in politics.
"Most mothers don’t like the idea of being away from family. The government could use video-conferencing and existing technology to make it physically easier for women," says Wilkinson, a former deputy reeve for the Municipal District of Rockyview.
The new Conservative party in its constitutional framework says they believe "in the equality of all Canadians." Great idea.
But a look at the Calgary roster of nominated candidates shows that while Conservatives may believe in equality, the proof of the pisk (jaw) is not in the pudding.
Of the eight Calgary electoral districts, veteran Calgary Nose Hill member of parliament Diane Ablonczy is the only woman candidate in the Conservative stable.
Alison Redford recently took on incumbent MP Rob Anders for the Conservative nomination in Calgary West. She lost after a close contest.
Architect Heesung Kim was another unsuccessful woman in Calgary West. In a February contest for the Liberal nomination, she lost to Justin Thompson, a talented young man who will likely give the two-term Anders a run for his money. Kim lost by 30 votes.
Are measures needed to overcome the historical, social and financial disadvantage which women have endured? Wilkinson believes steps are needed.
"The government should reinstitute adequate funding for the National Action Committee on the Status of Women," she says.
Acknowledging there had been troubles with the organization in the past, Wilkinson notes "Some of the heat has been justified." She recommends the organization have an elected head rather than an appointed person so the position reflects the ideas of average Canadian women.
Everyone seems to like the idea of gender equality. The constitution of the Communist Party of Canada offers a fairly idealistic statement on the issue.
"It shall be the duty of every Party member to work for the complete social and economic equality for women and for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. Party members shall set an example of sex equality in the social and political life and in the home and in the workplace, and must oppose all forms of patriarchy and gender discrimination."
It seems that everyone believes in equality, but at the end of the day, who is willing to give up their seat on the bus? |
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