No snow pants allowed: here’s your guide to the hottest winter and spring shindigs
Just so we’re all clear, snow pants are okay for commuting, but they’re not proper party attire. The wintry outerwear has sparked a hot debate among Ottawa residents lately about whether snow pants are in fact needed to wear to work during Ottawa’s bone-chilling winters or too hideous to wear in public. Party Central is […]
Trudeau ought to go toe-to-toe with Chinese ambassador
Re: “China’s ambassador: why the double standard on justice for Canadians, Chinese?” (The Hill Times, Jan. 9, 2019, p. 11). Like most Canadians, I think Canada should not let Lu Shaye, the Chinese ambassador to Canada, fire off an article in The Hill Times claiming “Western egotism” and “white supremacy” without slamming the basketball back in […]
Using women’s growing power to combat gender-based violence
Spearheaded by women around the world, a global movement is afoot. At every level of society, it’s redefining power. Women-led movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp—and regional movements like Ni Una Menos, which challenges gender-based violence in Latin America—are moving full speed ahead to change the status quo. It’s time to talk about how we channel […]
Launch of campaign against gender-based violence comes ahead of ‘landmark’ year, says UN official
The next two years are an important “roadmap” for the international community fighting for gender equality ahead of a “landmark year” in 2020, says a United Nations Women director. Lopa Banerjee and executive director for UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka were the guests of honour last week, when Canada was home to the launch of a UN […]
Sajjan says progress made to diversify Canadian military, but work must continue
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says the Canadian military is “making progress” when it comes to recruiting women, something his government and senior military leaders have emphasized as part of a new defence policy. Mr. Sajjan (Vancouver South, B.C.), who was a speaker at the Halifax International Security Forum last weekend, said in an email Q&A interview […]
Canada working to close the gender gap for women in peace operations
One year ago, Canada hosted the United Nations Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial in Vancouver, where 80 UN member states and five international organizations came together to discuss how we can do peacekeeping better and differently. As we mark the one-year anniversary of this important summit, now is an important time to reflect upon the progress we’ve […]
Women’s rights: we still have far to go
OTTAWA—After hockey the other night, one of my fellow old-timers complained about the demand for gender equality on boards of directors. He pointed out his organization is composed of engineers, and given directors are normally fairly senior people, they would have to be drawn from people who graduated a few decades ago. However, he noted […]
Clement’s lack of judgment? More like a self-indulgent recklessness
Re: “Clement has a tough road to redemption, say strategists,” (The Hill Times, Nov. 14, p. 1). This headline might as well read, “Clement pulled a Letterman and some think he can return to the fold.” David Letterman came clean on the air as part of his monologue well before the #MeToo movement and by […]
A pink wave in Canada? Progress tends to be incremental, but ‘many young women are mobilizing’ for next election, say female politicians
The U.S. midterms saw an unprecedented number of women successfully seek office in a race that captivated many Canadians’ attention, raising questions of whether that enthusiasm will spill over and spur a “pink wave” when Canadians return to the polls in 2019. In a series of historic firsts, the U.S. will send the country’s first […]
After Democrats’ House victory, here on Parliament Hill, MPs express enthusiasm over ‘pushback’ to Trumpism
PARLIAMENT HILL—The day after Democrats dealt a political blow to the Trump presidency by re-taking the United States’ House of Representatives from the Republicans, here on Parliament Hill, some MPs expressed enthusiasm over the result, with one parliamentarian describing it as a “pushback” to the president’s style of politics. While a few MPs who spoke […]
