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Senators doing business in anew way

» Your Question Period a way for all Canadians to ask questions of the government

lain Boekhoff

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Urccrsmonously kicked
out of the Liberal caucus,
and with the entire Senate
suffering from a series of
scandals, Liberals in Canada’s
Senate are trying to change
the culture and perception of
the chamber of “sober second
thought.”

Among the initiatives
undertaken by the opposition
senators is “Your Question
Period.” Anyone can submit a
question online and it will be
read out during the Senate’s
question period by a senator
from the submitter’s region.

Senator James Cowan,
leader of the opposition,
explained the initiative came
from an increased freedom

Justin Trudeau’s decision

to kick all senators out of
the Liberal caucus in late
January of this year. Cowan
said this gave the senators an

differently.”

Along with letting
regular Canadians have a
direct influence on senate
proceedings, the Liberals have
opened up their weekly caucus
meetings to the public.

“We're not bound by party
discipline, we’re not bound
by caucus solidarity, so we
can do things and it gives us
the freedom to do things we
wouldn't have had when we
were members of an organized

The Western Gazette |

: caucus,” Cowan said.

With only a third of young
voters casting ballots—half the

: rate of a generation ago—and a
: public perception of the Senate
: as being out of touch, the new
: initiatives are aimed at getting
: people more involved in the

: parliamentary process.

Cowan said they try to

: ask one or two submitted

: questions every session.

: People who submit a question
: are contacted beforehand

: so they know which senator

: will be asking their question

: and after they are sent a link

: to the audio and a link to the

: transcript of the question and
: the government’s answer.

“The young man who sent

: in [the first question] was very
: excited,” Cowan said.

“T think it’s a little off-

following federal Liberal leader | eee aa that this

: isn’t just me that’s asking the

: question, I’m asking your

: question, so [the government’s

: senator] might be prepared to

“opportunity to try to do things : take a shot at me and accuse
PP ty y 8 : me of being partisan or ill-

: informed but he’s really talking

: to you,” Cowan said.

Getting young people

: engaged in federal politics—

: especially the Senate—is a

: major issue and this is one way
: they can get involved directly

: with politics. They don’t have

: to write a letter or appear, they
: just have to go to the website,

: said Cowan.

Another possibility is

: bringing open caucus meetings
: to different places in the

: country, such as university

: campuses. Cowan noted their

: last meeting about prostitution
: legislation included experts in
: the field with different views

: who debated and interacted

: with public participants.

They’ve had offers from

: some universities to partner

: with them and take open

: caucus meetings off Parliament
: Hill and to Canadians.

Cowan said the Senate

: should be more critical and

: independent to keep the

: government in check, noting

: recent instances of bills that

: have been passed but struck

: down by the Supreme Court

: for contravening the Charter of
: Rights and Freedoms.

With regards to Senate

: reform, the Supreme Court

: has determined the federal

: government can recommend

: changes to the Senate, but they
: must consult and get consent

: from the provinces to amend

: the Constitution.

While larger reform has

: stalled for now, the “Your

: Question Period” initiative
: has changed the way Senate
: Operates in one small way.

“It’s been good, it’s an

experiment, we're pleased with
: the progress so far but we really
: need to broaden it, get more

: people to hear about it, the

: more people that participate,

: the better it will be.”

You can submit a

: question to the Senate at
: liberalsenateforum.ca/your-
: question-period/

HeForShe and the UN's plea for change

» Emma Watson encourages men’s involvement in gender equality campaign

Brittney MacDonald
Staff Writer

Announced September 20
at the UN in New York City,
HeForShe is a campaign led
by actress and UN Women’s
Goodwill Ambassador Emma
Watson and CNN reporter
Wolf Blitzer. The intention of
the campaign is to encourage
men to get involved in
addressing instances of
inequality and to vocalize the
rights of women and girls.
According to the website’s
(heforshe.org) mission

gender equality was originally

conceived as a struggle led only

by women for women.

 

: “Now it’s time to unify our
: efforts. HeForShe is a solidarity
: movement for gender equality

a : that brings together one half
statement, “The movement for :

: of humanity [men] in support
: of the other of humanity
[women], for the entirety of

: humanity.”

: that part of the HeForShe

: campaign’s goal is to achieve
: similar social understanding
: and justice regarding men’s

: issues as well as women’s.

: Watson cited men’s mental

: illness and soaring suicide

What makes HeForShe

Watson further explained

: rates as examples of why

; : equality is necessary for men
: different from other campaigns :
: against gender inequality

: is the focus placed on male
: participation. In her speech to :
: the UN senate, Watson called
: men the “ignored” population
: when it came to feminism and :
: gender equality, and asked for
: their participation in a “formal :
: invitation” stating that gender
: inequality is “your [men’s]

: issue too.”

and women, as historical and

: ingrained social pressures
: and stereotypes have been

detrimental to both sexes.
In the same speech

: Watson claims, “The more

I’ve spoken about feminism,

: the more I have realized that

fighting for women’s rights has

: too often become synonymous
: with man-hating. If there is

: one thing I know for certain, it
: is that this has to stop.” Watson :
: defined HeForShe’s vision of

: feminism as, “The belief that

: men and women should have

: equal rights and opportunities,
: It is the theory of the political,
: economic, and social equality

: of the sexes.”

theotherpress.ca

 

By making the issue of

: gender equality a unified effort,
: HeForShe hopes that it will

: have a greater impact on the

: world, especially in cultures or
: societies where women are not
: given political voice or agency.

HeForShe asks all men to

: sign a pledge that states that

: gender equality, “Is not only a

: women’s issue, it isa human

: rights issue,” and promise their
: “participation” in defending

: women and girls against

“violence and discrimination.”

: Their first goal was to get

: 100,000 signatures, but having
: now surpassed that number,

: they are looking towards

: worldwide participation.