OTTAWA, Ont. — In silent protest over the ouster of two former cabinet ministers, as well as the Liberal government’s record on reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, more than 40 young women stood and turned their backs as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed them in the House of Commons Wednesday.
The two former ministers, Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott, had been in the gallery overlooking the Commons earlier Wednesday, offering standing ovations as young women from each of Canada’s 338 ridings — delegates in the Daughters of the Vote program, which encourages young women to get involved with politics — sat in the seats that would normally be occupied by their MPs and spoke about climate, electoral reform, equality, health, economic and Indigenous issues.
With Wilson-Raybould and Philpott was Celina Caesar-Chavannes, who quit the Liberal caucus recently in the wake of the SNC-Lavalin scandal, in which senior government figures are alleged to have put inappropriate pressure on then-attorney general Wilson-Raybould to intervene in the criminal prosecution of the Montreal engineering firm. “I was deeply moved by their passion, their enthusiasm, and the wisdom that was displayed,” Philpott said afterwards. “All these young women and young leaders, however they identify, have spoken truth about serious issues that are confronting our country, confronting politicians,” added Wilson-Raybould.
Neither would address the elephant in the room — whether there was irony in their applauding the young women for “speaking truth” after the former attorney general’s whistle-blowing, and Philpott’s resignation in solidarity with Wilson-Raybould, earned them both excommunication from their Liberal caucus.
But Caesar-Chavannes, speaking to the National Post by phone shortly after she left the room, said, “We needed that little boost today.” She said felt like the young women were taking up the same mantle the three former Liberals had. “We are in the gallery watching, having, we hope, made a mark on the 42nd Parliament. And here are young women in those seats saying, ‘Yeah, we are going to continue this.”
Dozens of young women here for Daughters of the Vote turn their backs as Trudeau speaks -in solidarity with Ms Wilson-Raybould and Ms Philpott pic.twitter.com/aAhdlDHrcS
— Peter Julian (@MPJulian) April 3, 2019
Caesar-Chavannes said she thinks more attention should be paid to the broader context, rather than to any questions about the prime minister’s feminist credentials raised by the ejection from caucus of the two former ministers. “Someone wanted to tell the truth about a situation. Not only did they say their truth, they brought the receipts,” she said. “When we say ‘We believe her,’ we don’t just do that when it’s convenient and leave her when it’s not convenient. And the situation was one that the former minister of justice was doing something that she thought was right, and to be punished for that I think is wrong.”
In a different protest, between 40 and 50 Daughters of the Vote delegates, some of the same women who protested Trudeau, walked out on Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.
Many of the Daughters of the Vote delegates who spoke with reporters after exiting the Commons, including young women from First Nations communities, expressed their lack of trust in Trudeau’s Indigenous reconciliation promises. Some of the same women said their disagreement with Scheer stemmed from similar issues. And several said they were specifically disappointed in the fact Wilson-Raybould had been kicked out of caucus after accusing Trudeau of trying to politically interfere in the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.
“There are always going to be a range of perspectives we need to listen to but ultimately diversity, as we see right here in this room, diversity only works if there is trust and within a team when that trust gets broken then we have to figure it out,” Trudeau had told them during his speech, never acknowledging those who had turned his backs on him. “I appreciate the patience everyone has had while we work through this internally.”
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, whose remarks to the delegates Wednesday did not provoke any protest, told them, “If anybody ever suggests that you are being difficult by speaking truth to power, you’re not being difficult, you’re being courageous. … Being a team player doesn’t mean following the team, it means being willing to lose it all because of your principles and your values and having the courage to do that.”
Former prime minister Kim Campbell told the young women when a “non-prototypical person” enters a position of leadership, the whole landscape changes. “And sometimes there are a few human sacrifices along the way.”
• Email: [email protected] | Twitter: mariedanielles
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
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