New nanny initiative a push to make House more family friendly
NDP MP Christine Moore broke records when she gave birth during the last federal election. Now she’s the first MP to use a new on-call Hill nanny service. Ms. Moore, who represents the large rural riding of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Que., was the first MP on the Hill to try the nanny service which started on June […]
Canada’s diplomatic brass: too white, too male
The Prime Minister is a feminist and there is gender parity in cabinet, but Canada’s foreign service still has a long way to go. Sources say that the foreign service has negative gaps in regards to the number of women it employs, as well as aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities. According to a public […]
Conventions serve to inspire and celebrate change, leverage women’s engagement
WINNIPEG—At the risk of invoking the overused motherhood-and-apple-pie analogy, it was clear from both the Liberal and Conservative conventions this past weekend that the amplification of women’s voices within each party is changing the tenor and the conversation for both. While it played out somewhat differently for each, the elevation of women’s voices infused both […]
How do you solve a problem like social conservatives?
OTTAWA—Back in 2006, after Stephen Harper won his first election as head of the Conservative Party of Canada, his minority government brought forward a motion calling for legislation to restore the traditional definition of marriage. The vote was just for show, of course. The courts had already legalized gay marriage with a declaration that barring […]
Fight malnutrition
One thousand days is the time from the start of pregnancy to when the child is two years old, where proper development must occur in order to grow up healthy. In Canada, we ensure every pregnant women and each child gets all they need, from prenatal visits to vitamins and proper nutrition. Women and girls […]
Stakes high at world conference on women
The secret to achieving the world we want is not so secret after all: invest in women and girls, create more equitable societies, and everybody wins. The fact remains though that if you are a woman or a child in a developing country today, your odds of dying from a simple, preventable cause are significantly […]
Foreign-aid policy review launches, outcome expected in fall
“Women, women, women.” International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (Compton-Stanstead, Que.) has declared the focus of her portfolio loud and clear. It will be a highlight of the foreign aid policy review she’s undertaking over the next two months, which, after months of anticipation, was finally officially launched on May 18. It’s the first policy review to happen […]
High schools should teach financial literacy: Chagger
Canada’s small business and tourism minister wants to see more high schools in Canada teaching financial literacy. Minister of Small Business and Tourism Bardish Chagger (Waterloo, Ont.) told a May 10 Ottawa panel that she has been crisscrossing the country “encouraging women to take the leap into business.” She said the issue of women’s lack […]
Progress made in fight against sexism on Hill, but more must be done, say female MPs
When it comes to sexism and sexual harassment on Parliament Hill, female MPs say there has been some progress in recent years, but sexist attitudes and behaviour remain—as in society in general—and it will take efforts from all male and female MPs to change that. “Not just in Parliament, but women continue to face sexism and […]
Rempel shines light in dirty, dark corners of sexism
OTTAWA—Conservative Member of Parliament Michelle Rempel’s op-ed piece last week garnered plenty of attention. And that is a good thing. Any light shone in the dirty dark corners of sexism and harassment encourages change. But there is a conundrum in the assumption that all sexism is individual. Sexism thrives in an atmosphere of gender inequality. […]
