During Question Period on Wednesday, when Liberal MP Ralph Goodale confronted Foreign Affairs minister Peter MacKay about the degrading comment he made about MP Belinda Stronach last week (which you can clearly hear here), MacKay staunchly denied he ever said any such thing:Goodale: Mr Speaker, Mr Speaker the Foreign minister is well aware of the offensive remark that has placed him in difficulty for the past six days. Last Thrusday, in reference to a comment about a dog, he pointed to the seat of another honourable member and said 'You already have her'. This being the minister's first opportunity to do so, will he simply withdraw that remark and offer this House an apology?
MacKay: Mr Speaker, I thank the member opposite for the question. Obviously I was travelling abroad with other members of this House of Commons on international obligations. I made no such gesture. I made no derogatory or discriminatory remark towards any member of this House Mr Speaker.
Goodale: Mr Speaker, that the offending remark was made is undeniable and it cannot be claimed that just because Hansard didn't catch it, it never happened. Members of this House witnessed it, audio tapes recorded it, the news media have repeatedly confirmed it. Every significant women's organization in this country have [sic] condemned it. The minister might want to look at an editorial in today's Montreal Gazette to assess the damage that he is doing. Would it not be wise to stop the denials, acknowledge this mistake, and avoid doing more harm to himself and this government?
The government House leader, Rob Nicholson, then rose to spout off the same old tired excuse that MPs should accept the Speaker's ruling of last week, which was met by many heckles and shouts and that was the last anyone heard from MacKay on the issue today during Question Period.
Following Question Period however, Goodale rose on a question of privilige, requesting that Speaker Milliken revisit what happened - offering signed affidavits of MPs who were present at the time along with the audio clip. He asked that it at least be referred to the House Proceedure committee. Not to get too technical as far as rules of order go, Milliken said he is prepared to review the matter since it came up this time as a matter of privilege (last week Stronach and another MP had raised a point of order, asking for an apology to which the Speaker responded that it should have been raised as a matter of privilige). Goodale argued that the incident affects the privilige of the minister and the members of the House to be believed and to maintain the integrity of their reputations as long as this issue remains unresolved. Therefore, it is in order for the Speaker to at least consider the matter again.
The opposition parties continue to call for an apology with the Liberals posting this statement from the president of the Ontario Liberal Women’s Commission, Michelle Simson, about a shameful editorial in the National Post this past week that added fuel to the fire:
Ms. Simson said that just as shocking as Mr. MacKay’s statement is the absurd defence of it by one of Canada’s leading national newspapers. In an editorial "Belinda & Puppygate" (October 21, 2006), the National Post states that the dog is the one who deserves an apology from Mr. MacKay. It goes on to say that Ms. Stronach is actually below a dog, and implies that all women should be flattered at the comparison because dogs are "celebrated animals in our society."
"And to further add insult to injury, their argument using animated, cartoon canines as examples of how endearing MacKay’s comment should be taken was the height of degradation," said Ms. Simson. "Using the Post’s inane logic, women everywhere should find it most flattering to be referred to as cows, as the cow is revered in many countries around the world.
"This is not simply artistic freedom – this borders on the spreading of hatred against women," said Ms. Simson. "The Post also owes all Canadian women an apology."
No doubt. Especially when they print sexist crap like this:
In fact, as far as we can tell, if anyone deserves an apology, it is the dogs. They are often referred to as "man's best friend," a testament to their proverbial loyalty. This is a quality in which Ms. Stronach has been found wanting, at least as a politician. She could learn a lot from the doggy set, even if it's her ex-boyfriend who's briefly in the doghouse.
Is it any surprise that so many people in our society still don't understand what discrimination against women is all about when a piece like that is printed in a national newspaper as an acceptable editorial in reaction to MacKay's disgusting behaviour?
This isn't a joke boys. This is what happens when women are seen as second class citizens and it's gone on long enough. I don't know if that is the editorial Goddale was referring to, but it is certainly an example of how viewing women as 'dogs' affects the psyche of those who would choose to abuse us.
This ain't over til it's over, no matter how much the Conservatives want to run away from what their Foreign Affairs minister said.
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