[quote] Incoming Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined an elite global club Wednesday by appointing women to 50 percent of his Cabinet positions.
The self-proclaimed feminist made good his campaign promise that his governmental inner circle would be gender-equal. After initially trailing in the polls, the 43-year-old defeated incumbent Conservative Stephen Harper last month. His government was sworn-in Wednesday.
The appointment of a gender-equal Cabinet means Canada enjoys double the female representation of the United States; women make up just 25 percent of Washington's Cabinet of 16.
"Canada has never really had a gender-parity moment before so it's a big leap for us," said Jonathan Malloy, an associate professor at Ottawa's Carleton University. "Canadian politicians often talk about parity while running campaigns but it's a big deal to actually do it."
Malloy also noted that Canada "has jumped from about 20th to 3rd" in the world rankings of governmental gender equality.[/quote]
[url]http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/canadian-prime-minister-justin-trudeau-appoint-gender-equal-cabinet-n457146[/url]
So this pretty much means that at least some of them got in just so he could say it was a 50/50 split. That he just happened to appoint a "gender-equal" cabinet is pretty hard to believe. I'm also a huge fan of the claim that despite the fact that the cabinet is a 50/50 split, there are still countries that are apparently[B] more equal for having more women than men[/B].
People should be appointes based on their skill not their gender
They were, though. The women appointed to the cabinet are actually quite qualified, either directly in their field or are experienced policy-makers. They're certainly less sycophants than the women in Harper's cabinet.
[B]Carolyn Bennett - Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs
[/B][quote]MP Since 1997, former Physician and party critic for Aboriginal Affairs. She was the recipient of the coveted EVE Award for contributing to the advancement of women in politics in 2002, and in 2003 received the first ever CAMIMH Mental Health Champion Award. Bennett is also author of Kill or Cure? How Canadians Can Remake their Health Care System, published in October 2000. [/quote]
[B]Jody Wilson-Raybould - Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada[/B]
[QUOTE]Wilson-Raybould is a[B] former crown prosecutor, adviser at the B.C. Treaty Commission and First Nations chief[/B]. During her time as regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations, Wilson-Raybould focused on the advancement of First Nations governance, fair access to land and resources, and improved education and health. She is a member of the We Wai Kai Nation.[/QUOTE]
[B]
Judy Foote - Minister of Public Services and Procurement
[/B][quote]Foote has served as the MP for the riding of Random–Burin–St. George’s since 2008...She took the riding with 80 per cent of the vote. [B]She has held the positions of deputy house leader and, most recently, party whip. Foote also served as a provincial MHA for 11 years, holding numerous ministerial roles.[/B]
Fact: Foote had an extensive media and communications career before entering politics. She hosted the CBC radio show “Here & Now” and eventually left journalism to work as the director of public relations for former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Clyde Wells.[/quote]
[B]
Chrystia Freeland- Minister of International Trade
[/B][quote]The former journalist announced her resignation from her position at Thomson Reuters in 2013 to run in a byelection to replace Bob Rae in the riding of Toronto Centre. A year after that win, Freeland was appointed international trade critic for the party. Freeland [B]speaks five languages[/B]: English, French, Ukrainian, Russian and Italian.[/quote]
[B]Jane Philpott - Minister of Health
[/B][quote]Philpott has been a family doctor at the Markham Stouffville Hospital since 1988. [B]She also served as the hospitals’ chief of the Department of Family Medicine, and is an associate professor at the University of Toronto’s Department of Family and Community Medicine[/B].She worked in Niger from 1989 to 1998, where she practiced general medicine and helped develop a training program for local health workers.
[/quote]
[B]Marie-Claude Bibeau- Minister of International Development and La Francophonie
[/B][quote]Bibeau had a varied career before making the jump into politics. She started at the now-defunct Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), working in Canada and Africa. For the past 15 years, she’s co-owned a small tourism business called Camping de Compton. She is also the executive director of the Sherbrooke Museum of Nature and Science.
[/quote]
[B]Mélanie Joly - Minister of Canadian Heritage[/B]
[quote]Joly is not new to the political world. She was the runner-up in the 2013 Montreal mayoral race, losing to Denis Coderre but taking a quarter of the vote. A lawyer by trade, Joly practiced in Montreal before jumping into communications at international firm Cohn & Wolfe. Joly also helped organize Trudeau’s Liberal leadership campaign.[/quote]
[B]Diane Lebouthillier - Minister of National Revenue [/B](not minister of finance)
[quote]Before entering politics, Lebouthillier was a social worker at the Rocher Percé Health and Social Services Centre for 23 years. In 2013, she was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation by the Royal Canadian Legion for her work. [/quote]
[B]Catherine McKenna - Minister of Environment and Climate Change[/B]
[quote]Considered a star Liberal recruit, McKenna defeated longtime Ottawa-Centre NDP MP Paul Dewar on Oct. 19. [B]The international trade lawyer brings a wealth of experience to the table, including her time as a former legal adviser to the negotiator for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in East Timor.[/B] She is also a board member at the Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies and has taught at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs.[/quote]
[B]
MaryAnn Mihychuk - Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
[/B][quote]Mihychuk was elected as a member of Manitoba’s NDP government in 1995, serving as minister of industry, trade, and mines, and intergovernmental affairs during her nine years as an MLA. She joined the Liberals in 2014.[/quote]
[B]Maryam Monsef - Minister of Democratic Institutions[/B]
[quote]Monsef's family fled the Taliban in Afghanistan, moving to Peterborough. She is a graduate of Trent University and has been a member of more than 30 community-based action committees in Peterborough. In 2014, she ran for mayor of Peterborough, finishing a close second to Mayor Daryl Bennett. Monsef co-founded the Red Pashmina Campaign, which raised over $150,000 for women and girls in Afghanistan.[/quote]
[B]Carla Qualtrough - Minister of Sports and Persons with Disabilities[/B]
[quote]A lawyer by training, Qualtrough [B]has a background in human rights, inclusion and sport.[/B] She has worked as the vice-chair of the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal of B.C.and legal counsel for the B.C.Human Rights Tribunal and the Canadian Human Rights Commission. She competed in the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Paralympic Games, winning three medals in swimming. She remains involved in the world of sport, serving for four years as the president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee. Qualtrough has been visually impaired since birth.[/quote]
[B]Kirsty Duncan - Minister of Science[/B]
[quote]Duncan, a [B]medical geographer[/B], has taught at the University of Windsor, the University of Toronto and Royal Roads University. She has also served on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an organization that won the 2007 Nobel Prize with Al Gore. Duncan is the author of two books: ‘Environment and Health: Protecting our Common Future’ and ‘Hunting the 1918 Flu: One Scientist’s Search for a Killer Virus.’[/quote]
[B]
Patty Hajdu - Minister of Status of Women
[/B][quote]Hajdu is widely known for leading discussion on substance use, harm reduction, housing and public health in Thunder Bay, where she chaired the Drug Awareness Committee of Thunder Bay and authored the city’s drug strategy. She and her family have lived almost exclusively in Thunder Bay since 1980. Executive director for Shelter House, Thunder Bay’s largest homeless shelter.
[/quote]
[B]Bardish Chagger - Minister of Small Business and Tourism[/B]
[quote]Prior to her work as a special projects coorindator at the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre, Chagger worked as the executive assistant to former Kitchener-Waterloo MP Andrew Telegdi. She has volunteered with a number of community organizations, including the Interfaith Grand River, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Waterloo Rotary Club. Chagger, who has been a resident of Waterloo her whole life, was a recipient of the Waterloo Region Record’s “40 under 40” award in 2012.[/quote]
Source: [URL]http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/justin-trudeau-s-new-liberal-cabinet-full-list-and-bios-1.2642140[/URL]
[QUOTE=AtomicWaffle;49049308]They were, though. The women appointed to the cabinet are actually quite qualified, either directly in their field or are experienced policy-makers. They're certainly less sycophants than the women in Harper's cabinet.[/QUOTE]
I'm not suggesting that any of the women in particular are under-qualified, but that Trudeau didn't just happen to appoint a cabinet that has an equal number of men and women. Ultimately, the candidate's genders were definitely taken into account at some point to ensure he'd be able to snag the "gender equal" (even though women are less likely to go into politics) headline.
[QUOTE=elfbarf;49049381]I'm not suggesting that any of the women in particular are under-qualified, but that Trudeau didn't just happen to appoint a cabinet that has an equal number of men and women. Ultimately, the candidate's genders were definitely taken into account at some point to ensure he'd be able to snag the "gender equal" (even though once again, women are less likely to go into politics) headline.[/QUOTE]
Sure, but see my above post. Their abilities and qualifications were by and large a more likely factor in who he chose. Keep in mind, he had 184 MPs to choose from overall.
[QUOTE=AtomicWaffle;49049549]Sure, but see my above post. Their abilities and qualifications were by and large a more likely factor in who he chose. Keep in mind, he had 184 MPs to choose from overall.[/QUOTE]
before you start arguing against him, be aware erfbarf makes incessant threads and posts about how men being "oppressed" by "evil feminist policies" or whatever.
and your post pretty much proves everyone is qualified.
Your Minister of International Trade is a journalist, your Minister of International Development and La Francophonie ran a small tourism business, your Minister of National Revenue is a social worker, your Minister of Status of Women (a position that shouldn't exist) ran a homeless shelter, and your Minister of Small Business and Tourism didn't run a tourism company and instead managed a multiculturalism centre and has been parts of a number of charities.
Frankly, these aren't people who should be running a nation of 40 million people. Many of them do look like they were added to the cabinet to pad the number of women out.
[editline]5th November 2015[/editline]
Oh well, this is the government you voted for Canada.
[QUOTE=download;49049644]Your Minister of International Trade is a journalist, your Minister of International Development and La Francophonie ran a small tourism business, your Minister of National Revenue is a social worker, your Minister of Status of Women (a position that shouldn't exist) ran a homeless shelter, and your Minister of Small Business and Tourism didn't run a tourism company and instead managed a multiculturalism centre and has been parts of a number of charities.
Frankly, these aren't people who should be running a nation of 40 million people. Many of them do look like they were added to the cabinet to pad the number of women out.
[editline]5th November 2015[/editline]
Oh well, this is the government you voted for Canada.[/QUOTE]
Your government isn't so shit hot, in fact bearing this information in mind this is miles better than yours.
if they are qualified to do the job then cool whatever
if they are there just because they are men/women, thats dumb
How about we give them a fucking chance before we thrown them under the bus.
[QUOTE=chunkymonkey;49049706]Your government isn't so shit hot, in fact bearing this information in mind this is miles better than yours.[/QUOTE]
The quality of Australia's government has absolutely nothing to do with his post. Were it not for the flag under his name, you wouldn't have a post at all.
[QUOTE=download;49049644]Your Minister of International Trade is a journalist, your Minister of International Development and La Francophonie ran a small tourism business, your Minister of National Revenue is a social worker, your Minister of Status of Women (a position that shouldn't exist) ran a homeless shelter, and your Minister of Small Business and Tourism didn't run a tourism company and instead managed a multiculturalism centre and has been parts of a number of charities.
Frankly, these aren't people who should be running a nation of 40 million people. Many of them do look like they were added to the cabinet to pad the number of women out.
[editline]5th November 2015[/editline]
Oh well, this is the government you voted for Canada.[/QUOTE]
Hey, I didn't vote for 'em. I personally have pretty low expectations for Trudeau's government. Still, not all of the women really seem like they're put there to pad out the cabinet. Beyond that, the male members of cabinet all have varying levels of qualification in their fields. For instance, we finally have minister of defence who has actual military experience.
It's not perfect, but it's also clearly more well-thought out than our previous government, and wasn't done so on the erroneous idea that it was to be "politically correct."
[QUOTE=elfbarf;49049381]I'm not suggesting that any of the women in particular are under-qualified, but that Trudeau didn't just happen to appoint a cabinet that has an equal number of men and women. Ultimately, the candidate's genders were definitely taken into account at some point to ensure he'd be able to snag the "gender equal" (even though once again, women are less likely to go into politics) headline.[/QUOTE]
[quote]The self-proclaimed feminist made good his campaign promise that his governmental inner circle would be gender-equal. [/quote]
So he probably didn't pick these candidates solely because of their qualifications (unless he's already made plans before and those just happened to line up with something you can sell as part of a positive image/promise - which isn't impossible, but seems unlikely to me), but I trust AtomicWaffle's research that these are still top picks.
[QUOTE=Marik Bentusi;49049900]So he probably didn't pick these candidates solely because of their qualifications (unless he's already made plans before and those just happened to line up with something you can sell as part of a positive image/promise - which isn't impossible, but seems unlikely to me), but I trust AtomicWaffle's research that these are still top picks.[/QUOTE]
Ministers are rarely picked based purely on their qualifications. Those are usually ancillary extra characteristics.
Connections, party affiliation, good PR and a slew of other things are often more important. Remember that most ministries generally have employed experts which feed ministers the necessary information anyway.
[QUOTE=download;49049644]Your Minister of International Trade is a journalist, your Minister of International Development and La Francophonie ran a small tourism business, your Minister of National Revenue is a social worker, your Minister of Status of Women (a position that shouldn't exist) ran a homeless shelter, and your Minister of Small Business and Tourism didn't run a tourism company and instead managed a multiculturalism centre and has been parts of a number of charities.
Frankly, these aren't people who should be running a nation of 40 million people. Many of them do look like they were added to the cabinet to pad the number of women out.
[editline]5th November 2015[/editline]
Oh well, this is the government you voted for Canada.[/QUOTE]
What, politicians aren't supposed to have a history now? I don't understand you point.
[editline]4th November 2015[/editline]
If everyone's all equally qualified and all there is to do is pick and choose, then why not choose so that all the communities and subcultures are represented fairly and have a balanced say?
[QUOTE=download;49049644]Your Minister of International Trade is a journalist, your Minister of International Development and La Francophonie ran a small tourism business, your Minister of National Revenue is a social worker, your Minister of Status of Women (a position that shouldn't exist) ran a homeless shelter, and your Minister of Small Business and Tourism didn't run a tourism company and instead managed a multiculturalism centre and has been parts of a number of charities.
Frankly, these aren't people who should be running a nation of 40 million people. Many of them do look like they were added to the cabinet to pad the number of women out.
[editline]5th November 2015[/editline]
Oh well, this is the government you voted for Canada.[/QUOTE]
Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland - left journalism to become the liberal party's trade critic. She has relevant experience.
Minister of International Development Marie-Claude Bibeau - bachelor's degree in economics, worked for the Canadian International Development Agency. Ran the tourism business afterward. Again, plenty of relevant experience.
Minister of Status of Women Marie-Claude Bibeau - Worked in harm reduction, homelessness, and substance abuse. Head of a drug awareness committee, worked in a homeless shelter. Absolutely relevant social justice issues, although your notion that it "shouldn't exist" really shows your hand.
Minister of Small Business and Tourism Bardish Chagger - Maybe the only one you're potentially right about, but has still been involved in politics and business her whole life.
Nice bullshit spin, though.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;49050214]Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland - left journalism to become the liberal party's trade critic. She has relevant experience.
Minister of International Development Marie-Claude Bibeau - bachelor's degree in economics, worked for the Canadian International Development Agency. Ran the tourism business afterward. Again, plenty of relevant experience.
Minister of Status of Women Marie-Claude Bibeau - Worked in harm reduction, homelessness, and substance abuse. Head of a drug awareness committee, worked in a homeless shelter. Absolutely relevant social justice issues, although your notion that it "shouldn't exist" really shows your hand.
Minister of Small Business and Tourism Bardish Chagger - Maybe the only one you're potentially right about, but has still been involved in politics and business her whole life.
Nice bullshit spin, though.[/QUOTE]
I was going by the information provided by AtomicWaffle, no spin there. I stand by much of it though.
Chrystia Freeland - a critic isn't a degree nor relevant experience.
Marie-Claude Bibeau - fair enough for International Development though she could potentially be criticised for having no large business experience. I would like an explanation for how I've shown my had though. Do share.
Knew it was coming, but they're all reasonable choices nonetheless.
[QUOTE=download;49049644]Your Minister of International Trade is a journalist, your Minister of International Development and La Francophonie ran a small tourism business, your Minister of National Revenue is a social worker, your Minister of Status of Women (a position that shouldn't exist) ran a homeless shelter, and your Minister of Small Business and Tourism didn't run a tourism company and instead managed a multiculturalism centre and has been parts of a number of charities.
Frankly, these aren't people who should be running a nation of 40 million people. Many of them do look like they were added to the cabinet to pad the number of women out.
[editline]5th November 2015[/editline]
Oh well, this is the government you voted for Canada.[/QUOTE]
Haha wow man I don't know what politics you've been following but more often than not cabinet ministers don't necessarily have qualifications in the portfolio they take up. Which is why the bureaucracy underneath them exists, to guide them through decision making and give them the best information.
[editline]5th November 2015[/editline]
I mean seriously if relevant experience was an absolute requirement for cabinet ministers nothing would be filled since they're usually all lawyers
[QUOTE=Lonestriper;49050394]Haha wow man I don't know what politics you've been following but more often than not cabinet ministers don't necessarily have qualifications in the portfolio they take up. Which is why the bureaucracy underneath them exists, to guide them through decision making and give them the best information.
[editline]5th November 2015[/editline]
I mean seriously if relevant experience was an absolute requirement for cabinet ministers nothing would be filled since they're usually all lawyers[/QUOTE]
Eh, you're probably right. I generally don't take too close a look at politicians. It's not good for my health to think about it too much.
[QUOTE=download;49050303]I was going by the information provided by AtomicWaffle, no spin there. I stand by much of it though.
Chrystia Freeland - a critic isn't a degree nor relevant experience.
Marie-Claude Bibeau - fair enough for International Development though she could potentially be criticised for having no large business experience. I would like an explanation for how I've shown my had though. Do share.[/QUOTE]
A minister of women's issues has a reason to exist because there are still a lot of problems that disproportionately affect women like human trafficking, prostitution, and domestic violence. Her work with homelessness and substance abuse means she's most definitely worked with people who have been affected by these issues.
As for Freeland, she's worked with the liberal party on trade issues, it's not surprising that she is now able to continue working with the liberal party on trade issues.
[QUOTE=Exho;49049167]People should be appointes based on their skill not their gender[/QUOTE]
It doesn't matter if they were born female, they could still be like the other males. Just look at the women's Olympic weightlifting team. They're all guys born with vaginas.
Harjit Sajjan is pretty badass, slightly related. First Sikh regimental commander in the Canadian military, deployed 4 times (Bosnia once and Afghanistan three times), and an organized crime detective in Vancouver PD. He's the new Minister of Defence.
[QUOTE=Exho;49049167]People should be appointes based on their skill not their gender[/QUOTE]
Indeed they should. The 50/50 ratio sure does appear bias but whose to say there aren't many more of each gender who are just as qualified?
In a political enviroment there are countless factors to consiser in regards to an individual's worth.
do not be so quick to judge others actions my friend, I am confident that this man is not a fool.
Does the US have a Science Secretary? we should
[QUOTE=elfbarf;49049381]I'm not suggesting that any of the women in particular are under-qualified, but that Trudeau didn't just happen to appoint a cabinet that has an equal number of men and women. Ultimately, the candidate's genders were definitely taken into account at some point to ensure he'd be able to snag the "gender equal" (even though women are less likely to go into politics) headline.[/QUOTE]
Well of course he meant to do it that way. He's making a statement.
I don't think he's doing it for the headline. He's doing it to show that you can have an equal cabinet that's just as effective as cabinets most countries around the world have.
You keep saying that you think gender should have nothing to do with it and you're right, that would be the ideal situation. But in the majority of the world it's not the case. Shows of solidarity and support like this help to set a new norm in which equality means we will truly shift to a system where gender has no role in it.
Women do get certain benefits men might not and might have seemingly better representation (although I'd argue that the only reason you think the representation is skewed is because you're so used to seeing a majority of men that an equal amount of women seems unusually large), but those aren't attempts to permanently change the system in women's favour, they're to help quickly level the field so we can faster approach a place of equality.
[QUOTE=chunkymonkey;49049745]How about we give them a fucking chance before we thrown them under the bus.[/QUOTE]
We don't need to give them a chance.
They've all proved it years ago through hard diligent work.
I would've been angry if this was the same what Harper did but on a different scale, putting women/men solely because they're women/men.
I have no qualms about women, minorities and disabled getting in when they've proved that they're legitimately good and qualified at what they do.
I have qualms when they're simply the "Black friend" of a movie, where they're just there solely to look good.
Same with men. If there's a shithole climate change denialist, as what Harper was running last term, then fuck him.
Meritocracy combined with Technocracy.
Normally I'm in the camp of being blind to gender and race when it comes to hiring, but in the case of choosing political leaders, whose job it is to represent the people, it makes perfect sense to hire as diverse a cabinet as possible.
Half of Canadians are women, so I'd want half of the people representing us to have the perspectives and concerns of women too.
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