On International Women’s Day, politicians from all levels of Saskatchewan governments are encouraging more females to get involved in decision making positions.
The R.M. of Edenwold has launched the Women in Government program in hopes of inspiring more women to run for municipal politics.
“We’re really trying to encourage women and support women to put their names forward so that they have the opportunities to participate in municipal elections and municipal government,” Ross Zimmermann, a planner with the R.M. of Edenwold, said. “If you don’t have everyone at the table, the decisions that are made are sometimes one sided.”
Currently the R.M. has one female councillor, six male councillors and a male reeve.
Karen Kotylak, the councillor of division four, is hoping to see more female colleagues along side her in the future.
“We’re looking at ways to remove barriers and to have women join. That’s our goal right now,” Kotylak said. “Municipal governments need more diversity. Right now I’m one of eight councillors and I think women can bring some different ideas to the table.”
The Women in Government program hopes to have 30 per cent of all municipal candidates be women going forward.
“While 30 per cent isn’t parity, it isn’t 50 per cent as we see in statistics, it is the first step towards parity,” Zimmermann said. “The Federation of Canadian Municipalities has identified 30 per cent as the bare minimum for women in government and women in municipal elections.”
In 2020, Regina elected its first official female mayor in Sandra Masters.
Masters said women should continue to support each other and confront biases in their personal and professional lives, in a video posted to her Facebook page on Tuesday.
“From little victories to big milestones, we have so many things to be proud of,” Masters said. “Women play an important role in creating a vibrant community.”
PROVINCIAL POLITICS
At the provincial level, the campaign for the next NDP leader has begun.
Nicole Sarauer, the deputy leader, said the province is ready for a female premier.
“We’ve seen many female leaders throughout the world, including many in the country and even locally, step up and lead and shine,” she said. “I think we are overdue for that frankly and I’m really excited to see a woman premier in Saskatchewan.”
She has publicly announced her support for fellow NDP MLA Carla Beck in the leadership race.
Sarauer was first elected as the MLA for Regina Douglas Park in 2016. She said since then, she has noticed a shift in politics in the province.
“We’ve definitely seen a growing level of polarization and division over the past few years. Some of that has resulted in a bit of a nastier climate than perhaps even existed back in 2016,” she said.
“In the same breath, I would say there’s also a growing level of openness and acceptance to seeing more diverse faces and voices at decision making tables, including elected officials. I think people are growing even more welcoming of women in politics, including younger women.”
To make the job more appealing to women, Sarauer said it needs to be flexible.
“The bigger issue is around making sure the job isn’t built for one specific type of family structure,” she said.
“We need to make sure that this work is one that is open and welcoming for people who have caregiving obligations outside of their work structure and understands that there isn’t somebody at home tending the home fires as maybe it traditionally used to be.”
Saskatchewan Party MLA Laura Ross, the minister responsible for the status of women, was first elected 15 years ago.
Since then, she said the number of female politicians in the province has increased. She said they have worked hard to build relationships and connect with the public.
“I think before, people looked upon women who were elected as kind of stand apart, whereas we don’t do that. We’re in the community, we’re meeting with different women organizations, with girls,” Ross said. “I think that’s where we really get to make a difference.”
Throughout her career, Ross has focused on mentoring and educating young women and girls in politics. She’s also involved in programs and workshops across the province, including self esteem workshops.
“If you see it, you can be it. We encourage our girls to grow up to be strong girls, strong girls grow up to be strong women. That’s what this province needs – strong women,” Ross said. “Once we have more women sitting around those decision making tables, we get good decisions being made.”
Although there has been growth among women in politics, Ross said more still needs to be done to reach the 50 per cent mark in the legislature.
“We’ve got a ways to go,” Ross said. “I love my job. Is it the easiest job I’ve ever done? No. However, we’re up for the challenge and I think if people understand and really realize what we get to do, and the satisfaction from this job, more women would want to do this job.”
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
