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Lisa MacLeod is a young female politician who commutes to her job at Queen's Park from Ottawa and leaves her husband, Joe, and four-year-old daughter, Victoria, at home. Mr. Justice Douglas Cunningham of Ontario Superior Court said this is a big distraction for the 34-year-old woman and as a result he felt he could not accept her evidence as corroboration of the Crown's key witness in the recent high-profile, influence-peddling trial of Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien.
Judge Cunningham is 69; he was appointed to the bench in 1991.
His comments, delivered last week in his ruling dismissing the charges against Mr. O'Brien, are now drawing criticism from political strategists and activists who are shaking their heads, wondering when women will be treated as equals in politics.
“It is unfortunate that any woman in Ms. MacLeod's situation may be regarded as less reliable because of the demands placed on her life as a politician,” said Nancy Peckford, national director of Equal Voice, an organization promoting women in public office. “Would the same approach have been taken with a male politician who is commuting and has a young family at home? Probably not.”
On Monday, Ms. MacLeod, the Conservative MPP for Nepean-Carleton, called the judge's reference “pathetic” and “surreal.”
“I didn't know truth had a gender or a family,” she said.
Veteran strategist David Small, who has worked for many strong female politicians, including former Tory senator Pat Carney and former Joe Clark cabinet minister Flora MacDonald, called the judge's comments “absolutely beyond the pale.”
“It's unacceptable from a public figure. … And it doesn't help recruiting women, which I do a lot of, when they as a gender are being dissed as being not up for the job because they have responsibilities for a dependant,” Mr. Small said. “Give me a break.”
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I wonder if my work in Ottawa is not valid because I commute from Kingston? :
Lisa MacLeod is a young female politician who commutes to her job at Queen's Park from Ottawa and leaves her husband, Joe, and four-year-old daughter, Victoria, at home. Mr. Justice Douglas Cunningham of Ontario Superior Court said this is a big distraction for the 34-year-old woman and as a result he felt he could not accept her evidence as corroboration of the Crown's key witness in the recent high-profile, influence-peddling trial of Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien.
Judge Cunningham is 69; he was appointed to the bench in 1991.
His comments, delivered last week in his ruling dismissing the charges against Mr. O'Brien, are now drawing criticism from political strategists and activists who are shaking their heads, wondering when women will be treated as equals in politics.
“It is unfortunate that any woman in Ms. MacLeod's situation may be regarded as less reliable because of the demands placed on her life as a politician,” said Nancy Peckford, national director of Equal Voice, an organization promoting women in public office. “Would the same approach have been taken with a male politician who is commuting and has a young family at home? Probably not.”
On Monday, Ms. MacLeod, the Conservative MPP for Nepean-Carleton, called the judge's reference “pathetic” and “surreal.”
“I didn't know truth had a gender or a family,” she said.
Veteran strategist David Small, who has worked for many strong female politicians, including former Tory senator Pat Carney and former Joe Clark cabinet minister Flora MacDonald, called the judge's comments “absolutely beyond the pale.”
“It's unacceptable from a public figure. … And it doesn't help recruiting women, which I do a lot of, when they as a gender are being dissed as being not up for the job because they have responsibilities for a dependant,” Mr. Small said. “Give me a break.”
More on link
I wonder if my work in Ottawa is not valid because I commute from Kingston? :
