The Canadian Scene
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CPA Activities The Canadian Scene New Ontario Speaker On July 11, 2018, Ontario MPPs elected Progressive Conservative MPP Ted Arnott as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. Elected on the first ballot, Arnott sought the role alongside Progressive Conservative MPPs Randy Hillier, Jane McKenna and Rick Nicholls. The MPP for Wellington-Halton Hills was first elected to the Assembly in 1990 and has served continuously since. A former Deputy Speaker, Arnott has been on the Assembly’s Presiding Officers team for 13 of the past 15 years. In remarks to MPPs prior to the vote, Arnott noted he had past experience in the Chair and had sat in the House as a government member, an opposition member, and a third-party member. “I have ‘seen it from all sides,’” he said. “I have sought to be fair and impartial and demonstrate appropriate respect for all members while seeking to maintain decorum in the chamber.” Replacing outgoing Speaker Dave Levac, who did not run for re-election in the recent general election, Arnott told his colleagues he looks forward to serving Hon. Ted Arnott the House just as he has served his constituents. “I’m well aware of the challenges and the responsibility that’s entailed by being the Speaker and I truly want Guided by strategic planning facilitator Vicki Lass, to be fair and impartial as I discharge the duties of this CWP chair Laura Ross said the workshop was office,” he said. necessary to help the organization focus on turning its discussions into action. The goal was to build a list of A graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, action items so that each delegate could work on one prior to his own election Arnott served as executive to help the CWP fulfill its mission to “assist Canadian assistant to former Waterloo MPP Jack Johnson from women and girls to discover their political potential 1987-1990. experience the fulfillment of a career in public service and create a better society.” CPA Canadian Regional Meeting Among the participants, goals included: creating From July 22-27, 2018, parliamentarians from across a digital campaign school to help women in rural or the country gathered in Ottawa for the Commonwealth remote communities, changing media portrayals of Parliamentary Association’s 56th Canadian Regional women leaders, focussing on economic barriers that Conference. discourage or prevent women from participating in politics, and preventing partisanship from diluting Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) what CWP wants to achieve. Meeting Although CWP envisions women as equal partners On July 22, the CWP Canada steering committee met in the Canadian Parliament and provincial and to participate in a half-day strategic action workshop. territorial legislatures, participants noted that ‘equal CANADIAN PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW/AUTUMN 2018 29 adding that visual posts produce 650 per cent higher engagement than text only posts. A business meeting in the afternoon included a report on a Regional Outreach program in Yukon by MLA Geraldine Van Bibber, a presentation on the new CWP Canada web site, and reports on the chair’s visit to CPA International events. On July 23, following opening remarks by the Chair, the CWP business session began. Ms. Ross, CPA Executive Committee Chair Emilia Monjowa Lifaka and CWP Canada secretary Remi Bourgault officially launched the group’s new web site. Other Will Stos Will notable business included: CWP Canada Chair Laura Ross and CPA Executive • Northwest Territories MLA Julie Green Committee Chair Emilia Monjowa Lifaka officially volunteering to head up CWP Canada’s social launch CWP Canada’s new web site as CWP Canada media accounts secretary Remi Bourgault looks on. • A review of how CWP Canada used strengthening funding from 2017-2018 to create banners for all provinces and territories to bring to events and partners’ does not just mean ‘equal numbers.’ There the new website has to be respect, engagement, and meaningful • Reports from Ms. Ross and Ontario MP Yasmin collaboration. Ratansi on news coming out of international meetings they attended on behalf of CWP Canada Ms. Lass talked about the concept of a tipping point when creating a movement – the point where there’s a In the day’s first session, Ms. Lifaka spoke of her critical mass and the movement doesn’t take as much mandate as CPA Chair to increase the number of effort to sustain itself. She advocated mentoring one women parliamentarians in the Commonwealth. woman to help expand the movement. Saskatchewan In order to promote women’s leadership, she MLA Nadine Wilson noted it’s also important to said it is imperative to continue using successful mentor boys to help them become good men who strategies (leadership training programs, promoting support women. women’s economic empowerment, implementing or expanding a successful quota system, education) Ms. Lass explained that in transforming words into and encouraging new innovative strategies. She also action it is important to share success stories in your mentioned plans to create a CPA and CWP Awareness constituency, participate in networking activities, Week in March each year. In a Q&A session following and broaden outreach efforts. She led participants her presentation, Ms. Lifaka was asked about best in a goal choosing activity which looked at ease of practices to encourage women’s participation in implementation and impact. In order to get some parliamentary politics. She explained that while ‘quick wins’ to build a movement, immediate goals there are plenty of promises for new conventions and should be ones with high impact and high ease. supports, instruments of implementation are lacking. She also contended that a quota system is important She concluded by suggesting the CWP “create a when women do not have the same resources as men repository” to share stories and wins with all women, (seats reserved for only women to compete). while being careful about over-emphasizing ‘war stories’ regarding things like social media trolls or In a second session, Red Deer Mayor Tara Veer discrimination that can discourage people. Ms. Lass spoke of how #MeToo and social media are affecting highlighted that when using social media to share municipal politics. Ms. Veer recounted Sheldon success stories, visual media (such as Instagram) are Kennedy’s story of abuse because it had become Red especially effective. “People remember 80 per cent Deer’s community story and greatly influenced how of what they see, 20 per cent of what they read, and the city has responded to #MeToo. She suggested only about 10 per cent of what they hear,” she said, that social media offers opportunities and challenges 30 CANADIAN PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW/AUTUMN 2018 House of Commons/ 2018-0723-CD-01-007 CWP Canada delegates to the 2018 conference in Ottawa. simultaneously. She was not an early adopter, but she will not comment on the post or thread further. she has increasingly used it to deliver information as Instead she encourages the user to contact her office mayor in a timely way. Greater accessibility of officials formally if they want to discuss it further. Usually means there is greater accountability. However, it other thread readers will support her. In a third also removes the formality of government. Ms. Veer tier of posts, she will respond to misinformation explained that some people think a tweet is a formal (particularly in cases of public safety) even if it’s request. She also noted how sometimes it can give disrespectful. credibility to what would otherwise be coffee shop gossip. During a third session on “Evolution of Ethics in Parliament,” Senator Raynell Andreychuk noted Part of the challenge of #MeToo for legislators is that that parliamentary privilege is an important concept it can undermine rule of law (the burden of proof). It to understand when examining ethics within is also nearly impossible to both take all accusations parliament. Parliamentary privilege in Canada dates seriously while still providing due process. Red from 1867, but ethics and conflicts of interest were not Deer’s community response has been built around talked about much then. Respectability was assumed several principles: supporting individuals who by genteel gentlemen: “My word is my honour.” disclose; establishing a culture of respect; adopting (and enforcing) a code of conduct; establishing Senator Andreychuk suggested that context (time whistleblower legislation and/or ethical protective and culture) is important in defining conflict of mechanisms; and empowering the bystander. This interest and ethics. It depends on the people you’re final principle is attributed to Sheldon Kennedy’s serving and their value judgments/expectations. story and requires a cultural response (everyone These must be constantly reviewed, she added. suspected the abuse, but no one said anything that Should parliamentarians be held to a higher standard? could have stopped it.) The senator contended that debate is ongoing and unfinished. She says many parliamentarians are in During a Q&A session, Ms. Veer outlined how she awe and humble when first elected, but over time they handles abuse on social media by explaining the use can lose the ability for self-criticism that’s needed to of a tiered response. If there are egregiously offensive evaluate their actions. posts by a user, she blocks them – especially if there’s a pattern. For lesser offenses, she will respond, note Turning to the Senate’s Conflict of Interest Code, her objections to the language or tone used and say created in the early 2000s, Senator Andreychuk CANADIAN PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW/AUTUMN 2018 31 explained that much of the code focussed on money and sources the journalists had gathered. Ms. Batra and influence, but there was little emphasis on referenced a current story on allegations made against harassment and in terms of ethics there was some the prime minister from years ago.