Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

Christy Clark, Ex-B.C. Premier, Says She Saw 'Frat Boy' Behaviour In Politics

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 26 Jan, 2018 11:59 AM
    VANCOUVER — Former British Columbia premier Christy Clark has weighed in on the discussion around sexual misconduct in Canadian politics, saying she saw plenty of "frat boy behaviour" during her time in office.
     
     
    Clark, who was the first woman elected premier in B.C., posted Thursday on Facebook that politics is an often "brutally sexist" business.
     
     
    "All of us who have experienced a sexual assault, harassment, or aggressive and unwelcome advances know it's a damn hard thing to talk about," she wrote, thanking women who have come forward.
     
     
    "l was involved in politics for 25 years and saw plenty of frat boy behaviour. It made me promise myself that I would do things differently, should I ever get the chance to lead."
     

    First, to women who have come forward to report: thank you. All of us who have experienced a sexual assault, harassment,...

    Posted by Christy Clark on Thursday, 25 January 2018
     
    Patrick Brown, a former leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative party, and Kent Hehr, a Liberal MP and cabinet minister, have denied misconduct allegations in recent days.
     
     
     
     
    Clark worked behind the scenes in politics before she was elected to the legislature for the B.C. Liberal party in 1996. She served as premier from 2011 to 2017, when her minority government was defeated in a non-confidence motion.
     
     
    In 2016, she revealed in a Vancouver Sun op-ed piece that when she was 13, a stranger pulled her off a sidewalk into some bushes, but she was able to escape. She said she never told anyone about the incident or any of the other "frightening things of a sexual nature" that happened to her as a youth.
     
     
    Advocacy groups commended Clark for coming forward, but they also criticized her track record on women's issues, arguing she had not increased funding to transition houses and crisis centres after cuts by her predecessor.
     
     
    Clark touted her achievements in the Facebook post, saying her cabinet had a greater percentage of women than any in the previous decade, and she appointed the first women to serve as the province's attorney general and to lead BC Hydro.
     
     
    "It's an awful lot harder for sexist behaviour to go unnoticed or be deliberately ignored when there's a woman in the room," she said.
     
     
    "What can every citizen do to change it? Elect more women. Yes, make sure they’re qualified – not every woman is better just because she’s female - but if she’s smart and capable, give her the chance."
     
     
     
    First ministers also shouldn't load up their offices and the senior civil service with men, or use gender-balanced cabinets as a facade, she said.
     
     
    "Yes, I get it, most of you are men, but culture change starts at the top and if your 'real' cabinet is mostly male, you won't change a thing despite the window dressing," she said.
     
     
    "We are watching history being made right now. Politics is a brutal and very often brutally sexist business — one that has historically reduced women like me to a footnote in history. But, thanks to lots of brave women who are making their voices heard, change is FINALLY afoot."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Police Say Investigation Into Coquitlam Teen's Death Needs Public's Help

    Police Say Investigation Into Coquitlam Teen's Death Needs Public's Help
    Kevin Whiteside was fatally shot last Saturday night while a Coquitlam teen who was with his parents in a passing vehicle was hit by a stray bullet and died later in hospital.

    Police Say Investigation Into Coquitlam Teen's Death Needs Public's Help

    Police Investigate Sexual Assault Of Teen Girl On Abbotsford School Grounds

    Police Investigate Sexual Assault Of Teen Girl On Abbotsford School Grounds
    Investigators are seeking witnesses, CCTV and dashcam footage in relation to a sexual assault that occurred on the evening of Wednesday, January 17, 2018.

    Police Investigate Sexual Assault Of Teen Girl On Abbotsford School Grounds

    Vancouver Man Arrested After Threatening To Stab SkyTrain Worker With Used Syringe

    Vancouver Man Arrested After Threatening To Stab SkyTrain Worker With Used Syringe
    A 35 year old Vancouver man has been arrested on a warrant relating to an incident, on the SkyTrain, where a SkyTrain Attendant was allegedly confronted by a man holding a used syringe who threatened to stab him.

    Vancouver Man Arrested After Threatening To Stab SkyTrain Worker With Used Syringe

    Astronomer Says Fireball That Lit Up The Alberta Sky On Wednesday Was A Meteor

    Astronomer Says Fireball That Lit Up The Alberta Sky On Wednesday Was A Meteor
    "Even though they’re quite bright and they look like they’re relatively close, they can be many hundreds, if not thousands of kilometres away depending up on where you see them in the sky," he said. 

    Astronomer Says Fireball That Lit Up The Alberta Sky On Wednesday Was A Meteor

    Trudeau To Push Economic Ties With February Trip To California And Chicago

    Trudeau To Push Economic Ties With February Trip To California And Chicago
    As the North American Free Trade Agreement hangs in the balance, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit three major American cities next month to stress deeper economic collaboration between the two countries.

    Trudeau To Push Economic Ties With February Trip To California And Chicago

    EpiPen To Treat Life-threatening Allergic Reaction In Short Supply

    EpiPen To Treat Life-threatening Allergic Reaction In Short Supply
    Canadian distributor of the EpiPen says there is a shortage of one size of the emergency treatment for people at risk of life-threatening allergic reactions.

    EpiPen To Treat Life-threatening Allergic Reaction In Short Supply