Social media is abuzz with reports of United Conservative Party staffers and at least one UCP MLA enjoying vacations abroad notwithstanding the federal government’s pleas for Canadians to cancel all travel during the coronavirus pandemic. Most mainstream media in Alberta, however, seem to be engaging in an anguished internal debate
Continue readingTag: Ruth-Ellen Brosseau
Pushed to the Left and Loving It: The NDP Must Stop Victimizing Women if They Hope to be Taken Seriously Again
In early December 2012, the Toronto Star reported: Near-brawl erupts in Commons between Tory Peter Van Loan and NDP’s Nathan Cullen Apparently Van Loan was upset with the NDP’s delaying tactics on getting the Conservative budget measu…
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: The NDP Must Stop Victimizing Women if They Hope to be Taken Seriously Again
In early December 2012, the Toronto Star reported: Near-brawl erupts in Commons between Tory Peter Van Loan and NDP’s Nathan Cullen
Apparently Van Loan was upset with the NDP’s delaying tactics on getting the Conservative budget measures passed, and crossed the floor to the NDP caucus, pointing his finger and shouting obscenities.
In typical fashion, Thomas Mulcair began shouting obscenities back, and things could have gotten out of control, had not members of both parties stepped in to defuse the situation. Then Speaker, Andrew Scheer, did nothing.
According to Van Loan, members of his party only left their seats, fearing for his safety; and according to Nathan Cullen, his only concern was for the women folk.
Had a bench clearing brawl erupted, we can assume that only those wanting to engage would jump the boards and everyone else would scatter. He should not have dragged gender into this. What Van Loan and Mulcair did was wrong. They created an unsafe and uncomfortable working environment for everyone.
Last week we witnessed a similar situation in what has been dubbed Elbowgate.
This time the obstructionism was more evident as several NDP members tried to delay the vote on Assisted Dying legislation, by preventing Conservative Whip Gord Brown from making his way to the Speaker. Given that the clock was running out, the Prime Minister left his seat to move things along.
He was angry. He cursed. He was wrong.
During this brief encounter, NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brousseau, who had moved up behind him, got bumped. She stepped back to her bench, laughing and then made a gesture like she had been injured.
However, the issue here is not whether she was indeed hurt, or to what degree. It’s not even about whether or not she took a dive, as many believe she did.
It is about what we know did NOT happen.
She was NOT sexually assaulted. She was NOT molested. And she was NOT the victim of intentional violence. She pushed against Prime Minister Trudeau. He did not seek her out.
But that didn’t stop the Opposition members from turning this into a three ring circus, making it all about violence against women and putting the lives of female MPs in grave danger. Women must feel safe when they go to work, they insisted.
When did women become so fragile that we needed this kind of protection? When things like this occur in the workplace, they are disconcerting to everyone. Believe it or not, we’ve heard the “f” word before and many of us like contact sports, including boxing.
Our female Members of Parliament come from varied backgrounds. They are doctors, lawyers, teachers, scientists, business people et al. Many rose to the tops of their professions and no doubt took an elbow or two in the course of their careers. Singling them out as frail individuals is misogynistic. Feminism run amok.
As feminist blogger Rachel Edwards says:
“While feminists say that feminism is about equality, actions speak louder than words. These actions suggest an uncomfortable truth. Feminism is not the assumption that we are equal, but the assumption that women are weak… “
Had the NDP stuck to the narrative that Justin Trudeau should not have lost his temper and should not have left his seat to physically move Brown through the NDP wall, they would have come out on top. But by making it about violence against women, they lost all credibility and the public turned on them.
Not just Liberal supporters, but all women who know what sexual assault and violence against them really is. Also many men who are tired of always being painted as “perverts, bullies and misogynists”
Unfortunately, most of the anger was directed at Brousseau, while it should have gone to those who victimized her for political gain.
I know I also found myself upset with the MP, especially after viewing the video, but have since realized that she only played a small role in this farce. What I also noticed from the video, was how easy it would have been for Brown to go around, instead of continuing to try to go through. Sure looked liked a set up.
I also discovered from following social media, that many of the people decrying the bullying of Brousseau, are the same ones who bullied Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, just a week ago; so clearly this was not about protecting women.
NDP MP and self proclaimed feminist Niki Ashton, epitomizes what is wrong with feminism today. She led the charge against Sophie Trudeau when she asked for help in performing her duties, by suggesting that no one asked her to do anything.
Something women have heard for decades, if not centuries. “No one asked you to have those children”. “No one asked you to join a male dominated profession”. “You brought this on yourself”.
In November, Ashton had criticized the prime minister’s wife for taking her son Hadrian along on an official visit, despite the fact that he was still breast feeding.
Feminists need to step back and ask themselves what they are hoping to accomplish and pseudo-feminists need to stop assuming that they know. Only then will we be taken seriously.
What Was This Really About?
I was quite taken aback by several well known Canadian journalists and pundits, who shared stories on Twitter from international news outlets about the incident. They appeared giddy over the fact that this might tarnish Justin Trudeau’s reputation on the international stage. How is this a good thing?
Do they detest him that much that they fail to see that it would also be our country’s image that would suffer?
I doubt it will have much of an impact, but it does shed a light on the true nature of all the uproar.
So instead of #PrayForSophie #Nannygate or #elbowgate let’s just use one to cover everything.
#TrudeausJustTooDamnPopularGate
Pushed to the Left and Loving It: The NDP Must Stop Victimizing Women if They Hope to be Taken Seriously Again
In early December 2012, the Toronto Star reported: Near-brawl erupts in Commons between Tory Peter Van Loan and NDP’s Nathan Cullen Apparently Van Loan was upset with the NDP’s delaying tactics on getting the Conservative budget measures passed, and crossed the floor to the NDP caucus, pointing his finger and shouting
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Ruth Ellen Brosseau: Now She’s Not a Clown She’s a Martyr
We all saw Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the House of Commons trying to physically block the Con whip from returning to his seat.And then after getting accidentally elbowed by Justin Trudeau, carrying on as if she had been shot.Now she's being used by th…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Elbowgate Kerfuffle
While I think elbowgate is much ado about little (will Ruth-Ellen Brosseau now claim to be a ‘survivor’ of workplace violence?), the episode does raise some unsettling concerns that the old Liberal arroagance is quickly reasserting itself, doesn’t it?H…
Continue readingMontreal Simon: When Is Tom Mulcair Going to Apologize for His Disgraceful Behaviour?
It's the ugliest picture of the whole so-called elbow gate bumpgate incident. The Commons is in an uproar, Justin Trudeau has apologized as a decent person should, And there standing in the gaggle of NDP MPs is Tom Mulcair grinning like a ha…
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Happens, week 41: World notices Canada, enjoy it while you can.
Canadians, forever the neglected middle child in the family of nations, are always weirdly excited when the world pays us any attention. So worldwide reaction to the election of Justin Trudeau got media play this week, as the world is briefly paying attention to Canada in a way not seen
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Happens, week 41: World notices Canada, enjoy it while you can.
Canadians, forever the neglected middle child in the family of nations, are always weirdly excited when the world pays us any attention. So worldwide reaction to the election of Justin Trudeau got media play this week, as the world is briefly paying attention to Canada in a way not seen
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Nomination update: Yellowhead by-election, Bow River Tories vote, and Anybody but Xiao
TweetPremier Jim Prentice announced this week that five-term Conservative Member of Parliament Rob Merrifield would be appointed as Alberta’s representative in Washington D.C. Mr. Merrifield’s resignation from the House of Commons means that a federal by-election will need to be called in the Yellowhead riding by March 17, 2015. This
Continue readingThe Equivocator: The 2011 “You Go Girl!” Awards. Presented by: The Equivocator
Context: I don’t like to think of this blog as existing in a vacuum. You may not be aware of it but I am also an avid user of the twitter and the facebook (my twitter feed is there on the right side of my blog btw.) On twitter (you
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Where do they go from here?
After a week of tributes and mourning, the talk in Ottawa is sure to turn to “what now” this week, as the NDP begins the process of replacing Jack Layton.
Of course, some did not wait that long. Anonymous NDP insiders let it be known that Brian Topp w…
Continue readingAt Least Ruth-Ellen Brosseau Knows the Difference Between a Lockout and a Strike
I’ve been following the marathon debates on forcing the locked out Canada Post workers back to work on the CBC page live feed since last night and observing the debates on Twitter. The rookie NDP MPs have been actively participating and have, in my opinion, all been quite articulate. Sure some of them . . . → Read More: At Least Ruth-Ellen Brosseau Knows the Difference Between a Lockout and a Strike
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Two words put the Ruth Ellen Brosseau brouhaha in perspective: ‘Rob Anders’
Above: Ruth Ellen Brosseau in her riding. Below: Rob Anders and Peter Goldring. Need we say more?Since the media has shown such reluctance to let it go, let’s put this whole Ruth Ellen Brosseau brouhaha in perspective.Ms. Brosseau is the young wo…
Continue readingDeath By Trolley: NDP Leaders: Stop Sugar-Coating Brosseau’s Election
As a Canadian secular progressive who has followed US politics closely for a few years and is just now making a serious effort to get into Canadian politics, I have not been impressed with how I’ve seen the NDP deal with the Berthier-Maskinonge, Quebec riding. Firstly, their selection of Ruth Ellen Brosseau – a 27 […]
Continue readingRuth Ellen Brosseau and the corporate-media cowards
You remember those nasty, sadistic little pricks who used to burn ants with magnifying glasses? And then in school they used to get their kicks ganging up on younger kids? Seems they grew up, in a manner of speaking, and got jobs with newspapers.
Clea…
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: The Candidate
Like dipping a single toe into the lake from the dock before jumping in, Ruth-Ellen Brosseau robocalled her constituents yesterday. It was the first thing she has done to earn their trust as their MP since filling out (in whole or part) of her nomination papers. For many on Pro
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Ceci n’est pas un député.
I have no problem with Ruth Ellen Brosseau, she is probably very nice. However, I strongly dislike almost everything she represents. The argument that the NDP have been using to defend their accidental MP is that “she will just work … Continue reading →
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