My name, ethnic diversity don’t need to be hidden
I am not in favour of the Liberal government’s pilot project of “name-blind hiring,” with the rationale that Anglo- and Franco-Canadian names should not get hiring preference. I am Roman (Slovak) Mukerjee (East Indian-Bengal). I am proud of this expressed diversity. I have nothing to hide, with my full place in Canadian society. I came […]
Trudeau can’t fake feminism
OTTAWA—At the cost of up to US$350 a head, guests got to see Prime Minister Justin Trudeau again take to the international spotlight this month to discuss women’s rights at the Women in the World Summit in New York City. There, Trudeau conveyed what he seems to have haphazardly appropriated as “feminism.” We saw a […]
‘She challenged us’: MPs praise Malala Yousafzai’s Parliament speech, opposition urges more funding for girls’ education
Pakistani activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai made a clear pitch to the Canadian government to lead on global education and women’s rights when she spoke to Members of Parliament and Senators in a special joint session of Parliament on April 12. MPs from several parties called it inspiring. “To hear a speech like […]
Educate new Senators on how to report sexual harassment: Sen. Hartling
Independent Senator Nancy Hartling says the findings of ethical misconduct against Senator Don Meredith have raised questions for her about what she might do if faced with sexual harassment on the Hill. “I think there needs to be more awareness of what [we] could do. Supposing it happened to me, supposing it happened to one […]
‘It’s still very much a man’s world,’ female Hill staffers still face double standards, sexism, harassment
PARLIAMENT HILL—Progress continues, but female staffers on Parliament Hill continue to face double standards, sexism, and harassment, both in their daily jobs and during the evening receptions that are part of Hill life, say current and former female staffers. But they also say the more women there are on the Hill—whether working “behind the curtain” […]
Why the world isn’t in as bad a state as you think
The bursts of terrorism, bombings, and political turmoil in today’s world have convinced many people that peace is impossible. I dissent from this view. We are not having a “clash of civilizations.” There are many reasons to express a realistic hope that a safer world can be built. We must be able to see beyond […]
By bringing back abortion issue, government risks rankling Liberal MPs
MONTREAL—Depending on how one looks at it, former prime minister Kim Campbell is either the last federal minister to have tried to recriminalize abortion in Canada or the first to have conceded that the federal government had to leave women free to choose whether to carry a pregnancy to term. As Brian Mulroney’s attorney general, […]
Amid death threats and hate over her anti-Islamophobia motion, Liberal MP Khalid takes the high road
PARLIAMENT HILL—When rookie Liberal MP Iqra Khalid tabled her private member’s motion, M-103, last December, she said she was looking to start a conversation about systemic racism and religious discrimination in Canada. But before it even came up for debate in Parliament, she got a first-hand look at the darkest side of the issue. Since […]
Canada’s leadership on sexual and reproductive health must be matched by healthy development budget
On International Women’s Day, Prime Minister Trudeau made an important pledge towards supporting a key set of rights that so often go neglected—sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, alongside Minister of International Development and La Francophonie Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced that the government would be committing $650-million in funding over three […]
Can Geert Wilders win the Dutch election à la Trump?
LONDON, U.K.—The Dutch political system may not have been deliberately designed to produce middle-of-the-road outcomes, but it certainly works that way in practice: many small parties, multi-party coalitions, and perpetual compromise. It is almost impossible to radicalize a system like this, but Geert Wilders is going to try. Wilders is the founder and leader of […]
