Premier proposes women's parliament
Special session similar to elder and youth parliaments aims to encourage women to run in next territorial election
Laura Busch
Northern News Services
Published Friday, March 21, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
With two women MLAs out of 19, the Northwest Territories has the smallest percentage of female representation in its legislature of any Canadian jurisdiction.
To help address this issue, and encourage more women to run in the upcoming election for the 18th assembly, Premier Bob McLeod recently suggested a women's parliament be held for the first time in the territory.
"It's quite exciting," said Status of Women Council executive director Lorraine Phaneuf. "It gives them an opportunity to see what it would actually be like if they were in (the legislature) and how they could move forward on social change or economic change.
"It shows them the possibility that if they do run and they do get in there that they would have the opportunity to make changes in the Northwest Territories."
McLeod presented the idea during a regular bi-annual meeting between the Status of Women Council board members and Premier Bob McLeod, who is also the minister responsible for women, on Mach 7.
"I am pleased that the (Status of Women Council) board is supportive of a proposed idea to hold a women's parliament," stated McLeod in a press release following the meeting.
The proposed women's parliament would take place sometime before the next territorial election and would be similar to youth and elders' parliaments that are regularly held in the legislature.
It is believed to be the first time such a parliament would be held in the NWT.
Although women made up 48.7 per cent of the territory's population in 2013, their representation in the legislature was just 10.5 per cent.
The jurisdiction with the next lowest female representation is Nunavut, where voters recently chose three women of 22 MLAs - 13.6 per cent - to represent them in the fourth assembly. In general, women are under-represented in legislatures across the country. B.C. has the highest percentage of female MLAs with 31 of 85 seats - 36.4 per cent - held by women.
At the federal level, the 2011 election set a record with 76 women MPs elected to the House of Commons. However, with 308 seats in the House of Commons, that makes just 24.7 per cent - despite a slim majority of Canadians being female in that year, according to the 2011 census.
There was a push before the 2011 territorial election to encourage more female candidates. Out of the nine women who ended up running, incumbents Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro and Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen were the only two elected.
"In the last election, there were a fair number of women running, they just didn't get voted in," said Phaneuf. "I think women are engaged to run for politics and are very qualified to run. I think that seeing what happened in the last election, we have to focus on getting them elected."
To that end, the Status of Women Council plans to hold campaign schools before next fall to prepare potential candidates and women who are interested in being otherwise involved in the election.
'An MLA's job is
not for a female'
Bisaro told Yellowknifer she "absolutely agrees" that women are under-represented in the NWT legislature.
On why that is, she said that is a question she has struggled with for a long time.
"It seems to be alright for women to be band councillors, even to be chiefs, it's fine for them to run organizations in communities and 'look after things,'" she said. "But, in my opinion, the mindset exists in the territory that an MLA's job is not for a female."
When asked if her gender had ever impacted her job as an MLA, Bisaro said "probably, yeah," pointing to the early days of this government when she ran for cabinet and was not elected.
"That's not to say I needed to be on cabinet, but we don't have a female perspective in that room when they meet," she said. "I was particularly concerned that the social aspects of life in the NWT would not get a big enough voice.
"I feel this government is more focused on economic development than on the social issues that need to be addressed."
The recent debate over electoral boundaries and whether or not exceptions should be made to ensure as many languages and cultures are represented in the legislature is not unlike the debate over whether or not women are fairly represented by the territorial government, said Bisaro.
Traditional gender roles where women serve as the primary caregiver for children is more of a barrier for women in ridings outside of Yellowknife, as the nature of the job requires MLAs to spend a fair portion of the year in the city.
Until there is fair representation, women's voices are largely absent from the legislature, affecting more than just women's issues, said Bisaro.
She chuckled when asked what it will take to reach gender equality in the territory's elected government.
"Time, probably," she said. "I do think things are changing somewhat. We certainly have a lot of young women who are connected, who are smart, who are active in their communities and across their whole jurisdiction. They certainly could be good representatives.
"Right now, I don't think they think this is a job they either want to do or should
do. I think over time we
will get to the point where it's more acceptable."
