Bringing more women into politics an 'incredible force', says Yukon AFN chief - CBC.ca | Canada News Media
Connect with us

Politics

Bringing more women into politics an 'incredible force', says Yukon AFN chief – CBC.ca

Published

 on


Kluane Adamek knows the importance of women seeing themselves reflected in the institutions that govern them.

She is Yukon’s regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations, and she said she views upcoming elections for the territorial and federal governments and national chief as a ripe opportunity to bring more women into the political world. 

“These are the moments to question ‘If not me then who?’ Or, ‘Is there someone who I would be willing to support?’ I do really feel that when women come together, it’s this incredible force,” she said. 

In an interview with the CBC’s Leonard Linklater for International Women’s Day, Adamek spoke about the challenges of navigating patriarchy in politics and the importance of bringing more women into those institutions.

Midday Cafe15:13AFN regional chief encourages young leaders despite many hurdles

Kluane Adamek says past women leaders have encouraged her to continue to build an equal society. 15:13

Adamek says she is proud of the leadership in Yukon and women who broke trail in the political world. 

“Former regional chief Shirley Adamson, Mary Jane Jim, Grand Chief Judy Gingell, Ruth Massie … others who have held roles … have really led and charged the path forward so that it’s not something that’s new and different,” she said.

Electing women into leadership is “part of who we are in the Yukon,” she said, though that kind of representation is not necessarily seen across the country.

Matriarchal leadership is Yukon’s strength, chief says

Adamek is not the first, but third, woman to serve as regional chief. 

“That’s something, as a region, we can all be proud of. Because there are regions that have not had women as elected regional chiefs, which is surprising to many,” she said. “But … as a national organization we’ve got a long way to go.”

Adamek said now is the time to create spaces that support women when they enter leadership.

“People really need to see themselves,” she said. 

Where we come from, as Yukon First Nations people, are from matriarchs. It’s that energy … I take with me, even in the moments when I may be disrespected.”– Kluane Adamek, AFN regional chief for Yukon

“There is so much opportunity that we have, in this moment, as Indigenous peoples coming out of COVID-19, recognizing how our worldviews need to be up front and centre of rebuilding,” she said, adding that they can lead conversations about economy and climate change.

The voices of women, Elders and youth should be at the heart of those conversations, she said.

“As Indigenous peoples and specifically women … we’ve been impacted by these colonial structures that were never ours. We look at legislation like the Indian Act … very colonial, very patriarchal, and we still see a lot of that impacting communities,” she said.

Adamek said in Yukon, it is not just common practice, but an expectation that women will step forward to lead.

At the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the executive is made up of three women and eight men, she said.

Interruptions, comments about age and gender or “what do the lady chiefs think” are common in Adamek’s world.

“This is very common, and it shouldn’t be,” she said. “I take pause, but I am reminded of where I come from. And where we come from as Yukon First Nations people are from matriarchs.

“It’s that energy, that leadership and that respect that I take with me even in the moments when I may be disrespected,” she said. 

Adamek acknowledged that institutions like AFN face their own challenges with inclusivity. 

“It’s a really different dynamic when you have generational perspectives coming to the table … and you know what, it isn’t easy. It’s really hard sometimes,” she said. 

“But I will say that the trail that’s been broken for me, that was created by all the women who came before me, is really what drives and charges me to say I’ve got now a responsibility for all the women who are going to be coming behind me,” she said. 

Adamek credited her work with the Council of Yukon First Nations with expanding her interest in governance structures and how to achieve change. 

She encouraged women to enter leadership, because the more women see themselves reflected in those positions, she said, the more they will feel like they can pursue those roles.

“To every woman that is thinking about putting their name forward, that is an incredibly huge step and it’s so important that you be supported,” she said.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)



Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

Published

 on

 

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

Published

 on

 

REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

Published

 on

 

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Exit mobile version