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Martha Hall Findlay, on women, politics and democracy
- December 8, 2006 12:34 PM |
- By Your Voice
CBC.ca welcomed Martha Hall Findlay to our Live Chats.
Martha Hall Findlay was a recent candidate for the federal Liberal Party leadership. She was the only woman to remain in the leadership race through to the balloting stage.
Martha Hall Findlay joined us Dec. 8, 2006 to talk about the challenges of her campaign and the democracy issues around getting new people, young people and women involved — and seeing them be successful — in politics.
To follow the transcripts of the conversation, please read the comments.
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Comments (23)
Comment: Martha's speech last weekend inspired me and made me excited about what we might be able to achieve in Canada. Words that came to me as she spoke were: integrity, selflessness, connectivity and drive. I appreciate that she did not accept others labeling her as "the female candidate" but when that became the issue, she was able respond but did not surrender to the label. Excellent. I will get more involved in public affairs b/c of her.
Martha: Jasmine thank you very much for your very kind words. And the fact that you've said you'll get more involved in public affairs means I'm doing my job.
Hi Martha,
Congratulations on your run for Liberal leadership, you ran a good campaign.
My question is how much do you think the atmosphere of the House of Commons, etc affects women's desire to seek political office? By this I mean the agressive, loud nature.
Martha Jeremy, That's a great question. I think the behaviour often seen in the House of Commons is a disincentive to anybody interested in entering public office, male or female. Having worked in construction, having worked on Bay Street, having run my own business, I can tell you that in any environment, a more courteous more respectful approach is always much more effective.
Thank you so much for a stellar performance on behalf of all women who love politics and want to be more engaged.
My concern is related to grass roots participation- or lack therof (specifically, the Liberal Party rejection of the "one member one vote" concept)particularly as so many Liberal members across the country were relegated to spectator status last Saturday when the Convention drew to its unexpected conclusion. (Especially concerning if you compare the 4800+ delegates making that decision, to those people in Alberta, on the same weekend, who had an opportunity to vote for the leader of their province.
Martha: Thank you Judith for your kind words and your question. Based on our campaign of travelling across the country, we very much recognize the need for greater grassroots participation. As I said in my speech, every single one of those 23,000 km added to that re-engagement. The one member, one vote would have helped in some level of engagement as distinct from an expensive convention. On the other hand there are other ways for us to make the process more accessible. For example one concern of the convention was the cost of attending. If we can reduce the cost or minimize the cost of participation in Liberal party functions, that will help. We also would like to see more physical face-to-face engagement with Liberals across the country, more often than once every two years.
It saddens and disgusts me that the current Liberal Party, while spouting so many words about gender equality, couldn't even bring themselves to give you enough votes to place you ahead of Joe Volpe. Not even the female voters were willing to give you double digits in the first round to show the party elite their voting power and yet they say they want to encourage more women to enter politics. I feel ,whether it be male or female it's the character of the person that's important, what's your view on this?
Martha: Laurie, I understand your concerns. But don't forget when I started, there were other obstacles including lack of profile, the fact that I was not a sitting member of parliament. We actually made real inroads. When I started I made it clear that I was not asking anyone for their support because I was a woman. In fact, you're right, it is the character of the person that is the most important. Character, integrity, substance, optimism, all of those things are key, which is why I'm so pleased that Stephane Dion emerged the leader. Finally, I am extremely proud of the fact that we increased our support by 300 per cent, which meant up to 15 per cent of the ex officios gave me their support.
Hi Martha: I believe the Liberal party does not really take women's representation seriously. I will use the the recent by-election in London North-Centre as an example of this point.
The London North-Centre seat was an incumbent Liberal seat where the prior Liberal MP won by 6,000 votes. It was a safe Liberal seat, and was most likely going to stay a Liberal seat. There was no effort by the Liberal party to try and find a qualified female candidate for nomination, and instead the candidate chosen was a guy from a neighbouring riding. And after the by-election, he is now the MP.
To me, this is a prime example of a lost opportunity to really work constructively to try and increase the representation of women in politics. In the recent Liberal party "Pink book", one of the major tenets to increase women's representation is ensuring that women candidates secure nominations in ridings where parties can win.
So, given that:
- the London-North Centre was thought to be (and proven to be) a riding where the Liberal party would be electorally successful;
- the Liberal party (apparently) really wants to increase womens representation in politics;
- and given that there was no real effort to search for a female candidate for this riding and an opportunity to get another female MP elected was lost;
it does not seem to me like the Liberal party actually takes the issue of womens representation seriously. The Liberal party just 'says' that increasing women's representation is important, and then when there an opportunity to actually do something for the issue, the Liberals just do the same old thing and nominate someone of the old guard.
Can you explain this to me how you see this?
I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts on this particular issue. Thanks!
Martha: Cynthia, you are right in that we do need to do more to encourage more women candidates. I'm very pleased that Stephane Dion throughout his campaign made very clear commitments to encouraging more women candidates to stand and so I am confident you will see significant changes in how the Liberal party addresses this issue. And I hope that my involvement will also help. Cynthia, women standing as candidates is not all we need. We also need more women to participate in the process in riding associations and the like, so if you're not involved yet, please do.
Mr. Kenedy talked at length about renewing Liberal Party to the extent people thought he was running for persidency of Liberal Party. Doen renewing party means replacing the old back room boys with new back room boys, as he did it during the convention and hijacked votes?
Is his deal with Mr. Dion any different from the deal between McKay and Archer?
Martha: Gerard Kennedy and I both worked very hard to make renewal of the Liberal party a key and continuing part of our work ahead. On Saturday, we changed the face of the Liberal Party and you can be sure that real renewal will in fact be a priority for all of us. I'm not a backroom boy and I can assure you that I will continue to work with Gerard and Stephane Dion and the rest of the Liberal team for continued renewal.
Martha, I find your career fascinating. You're such a strong role model for young women wanting to get involved in public service! What do you think are the greatest challenges for young women who want to get involved in the 'boy's club' that is politics?
Martha: Jennifer, I hope your question means that you are keen to get involved in politics. There are challenges. One in particular is that women in our society still bear most of the responsibility for children and home and family care. As long as that's the case, it is simply harder for a woman with children or parental care requirements to make the commitment. It's not just the challenge of moving to Ottawa and travelling back and forth, it's that politics whether municipal, provincial or federal, is simply not a 9 to 5 job and requires considerable flexibility. There are no easy answers to that particular challenge. There are other challenges, however, that we can address such as financial support, I would like to see more formal financial support for women candidates, more attitudinal support within the party structures for example in pursuing nominations and as I said in answering another question, it's not just public office where we need more women, (although we do!) I for one will be doing my best to encourage more participation in the process in the party structure and I know that I have the support in that of our new leader. It goes beyond politics, our culture and our society still hold challenges for women in taking on different roles.
Hi, Martha. I have a question about increasing women's participation in Canadian politics. Some countries (e.g., Finland) have laws specifying that a certain percentage of candidates (or elected politicians?) must be women. Some political parties do this informally as well. In your eyes is this a possible solution to the ongoing challenge in Canada? Thanks.
Martha: Jason, great question. To be honest I have always been somewhat uneasy about quotas but there clearly is a role for them sometimes. Stephane Dion made very strong commitments indeed all of the leadership candidates made strong commitments about increasing the number of women candidates but not only that increasing the number of women members of Parliament (being a candidate is a big step and a big commitment, managing to get elected is even tougher). I fully expect that you'll see a different by the time of the next election.
Hi Martha
What do you think of Hillary Rodham-Clinton's chances of becoming President? And when do you think Canada will elect a female PM?
Martha: The fact that she has a very good chance of becoming the Democratic candidate alone is terrific. The fact that the political mood in the United States Is shifting toward Democratic sensibilities is terrific. Not to speculate but it looks very interesting. Another interesting factor in my view Condoleezza Rice will have contributed to Hillary Clinton's potential success because of her position and strength, more and more Americans are getting used to seeing capable women in positions of power
Hi Martha,
The Big Red Bus was an important symbol for political engagment, a message that has long been lost to many Canadians. Do you think that the Liberal Party of Canada should supply all future candidates with their own Big Red Bus (be it figuratively or physically)?
Cheers,
William
Martha: Hi William, great to hear from you. The Big Red Bus is now for sale so who knows?! We must, seriously, continue the political engagement that we started and if figuratively our campaign and the Big Red Bus provided a symbol for that then I'm all for continuing the symbolism if it means we continue to be truly engaged.
Congratulations on your great campaign!
What should the Liberal Party do to ensure that women are given equal opportunities by riding associations during the nomination and candidate selection process?
Martha: Thank you Jane. During the campaign all candidates provided significant detail in their platforms on the nomination and candidate selection process. I'm pleased to say that Stephane Dion's position has always been very strong. We will work with all ridings associations to ensure that full searches are done not only for possible women candidates but candidates that also represent the broader spectrum of our society.
When i look at the election of Stephane Dion as Leader of the Liberal Party, it strikes me that there has been a sea change in politics. Can you add your perspective?
Martha: David, absolutely. We changed the face of the Liberal Party this past weekend and, I hope, the face of government in Canada soon.
There has been much talk in the news lately about Quebec being a "nation within a united Canada". Do you think we have openned the proverbial floodgates allowing other ethic subnational groups within Canada to postulate similar assertions?
Martha: Michael, I have been consistent all along about my hesitation over the word "nation" due to almost limitless interpretations. As I said in my speech, it is not our labels, it is not what we call each other, it is what we do and the actions we take that must speak most loudly. I personally hope that all Canadians can focus on what unites us rather than what divides us; our common purposes as opposed to our differences.
Hi Martha,
I am not one that follows politics very often however it does concern me that I do not see very many women in positions of authority that can generally make and shape our country. I feel women have a much better knowledge of running a business than a man. Women are generally more business orientated. I do feel that most women lack the self-confidence that it takes to lead the country. Could this be as a result of our heritage? Could it be that in the past men have normally looked the part. I wonder????
Martha: Beverly, the fact that you are here participating is great and shows that maybe we are inspiring more engagement in politics. I am a businesswoman myself and know many other successful and self confident businesswomen. Our task now is to encourage more of them like me to become more involved in politics and frankly I think we more than look the part.
Hi again Martha: Not to be nitpicky, but my question wasn't really answered. I asked if it seems to you that the Liberals just 'say' it is important to ensure women's representation. It does seem to me that Liberals just talk about how important it is get women involved and elected, and then when there is an opportunity to do something about it, there is no action. If Liberals talk the talk (talk of increasing women's representation), then I think Liberals should walk the walk (nominate women in winnable ridings and increase representation). How does the recent failure to nominate a female candidate for the Liberal party in the recent by-election demonstrate a real commitment to increasing women's representation? I don't see that commitment anywhere.
Martha: Cynthia, good point and I appreciate your scepticism given our track record. But I believe the Liberal Party changed fundamentally this weekend. There are those of us there now who believe that walking the walk is far more important than simply just talking. I look forward to and will work very hard to prove to you that we will do things differently.
I have great admiration for you Martha but I do feel that of all the federal parties the Liberals have the thickest wall for woman to overcome. The Pink Book is a joke and has made women in politics the butt of jokes on the internet. Woman do not need special status, it is better to achieve through merit or we will always be looked upon as unworthy of the top positions. When a male politician with Joe Volpe's integrity beats a female with yours the system is completely broken and the pretense of solidarity will not fix it.
Martha: Laurie, I hope that my campaign and what I feel was despite not as many votes, but great success in this process, will help address some of these challenges. I also believe that the 300 per cent increase in my vote was a reflection of my merit. In Montreal this past weekend, I and everyone else there felt a sea change happened to the Liberal Party. With your help, we can continue to break down those walls.
I'm curious as to why the gun registry was included in the pink book? As far as forwarding women's rights goes, I don't see the connection. Can you explain this for me?
Martha: The gun registry was included because of the great concern over the number of women killed by guns in Canada in domestic abuse situations. It is of course not the only solution, bu the registration and tracking of guns is an important part of addressing this very serious problem.
hey Martha
speaking of the "Big Red Bus" - whatever became ot it!!
Martha: See my answer above, it's for sale but with heavy heart because it was a wonderful home on the road.
Hi Martha, Congrats on your campaign. My question pertains to women's involvement in politics. If some women can be successful in politics or business, doesn't it indicate to you that the door is open and the women who don't make it simply don't have what it takes - committment or ability wise. And if one woman can make it on her own steam after making tremendous sacrifices, why should another woman be given a free ride through some sort of social-engineered quota system?
Martha: Trust me Ron, there are no free rides for women in politics. The challenge is that notwithstanding commitment, ability, substance, there remain structural challenges. You yourself point out that making it requires tremendous sacrifices. In my view those sacrifices remain greater, generally, for woman in our current society and culture than for men. Personally I look forward to the time when we can focus on other important issues.
Hi Martha. I really appreciate your dedication to ensure a female candidate was represented in your leadership race. While I think you have been an inspiration for those who are engaged in the political process, I am concerned about the complete lack of dialogue in non political circles around the systemic dismantelling of the Status of Women offices and services. Until parliment is a better reflection of the diversity of Canadian society, what do you think it is going to take to get average people willing to speak up outside of election times to get engaged, especially when the consequences of not speaking up enables the loss of necessary institutions?
Martha: Dana, thanks for your question. I am very proud that the very first question in the House of Commons asked by our new leader was about the dismantling of the Status of Women. Your participating in this forum, and the fact that this forum provides that opportunity, is exactly what we need more of. You and I need to encourage anyone we know to speak up.
Hi Martha
Congratulations on such a strong showing at the convention last weekend! I must admit that I didn't know much about you or what you stood for before hearing you speak at the convention but I have to say I was impressed with a lot of what you had to say. Good luck in the coming election.
My question for you concerns our relationship with the United States and our involvement in Afghanistan. Do you, as most Canadians believe, feel we have a role to play in Afghanistan in helping rebuild that country but that we are getting bogged down in a war just to appese our neighbour and largest trading partner?
Martha: Thank you Mike. Our role in Afghanistan was and is first and foremost is to help the Afghan people. We must work very closely with our NATO partners and indeed do our best ot lead the discussion on reevaluating what we can accomplish and how best to accomplish it. Some of those discussions on Canada's exact role should be will be tough but critical, but a stable secure and democratic Afghanistan with opportunity for all of its people, must be our ultimate goal.
Hi Martha
First, I would like to say congrats on being an excellent candidate..not just an excellent "Female" candidate... in the leadership race.
A comment on the statments made by Cynthia from Ottawa.
I joined the Canadian Forces in 1985, when a big push was being made to recruit women into the CF. Targets/quotas were set, and the recruiting offices were given there marching orders, "sign up more women".
The fundemental problem people forget is that you have to have women willing to join. I do not believe the CF has ever met its target goal for women/visible minorities; in fact of the 7 higly motivated female officers who I went through basic training with, none stayed in past 9 years, all but 1 deciding to leave for family life reasons.
I suspect that a demanding life in politics has the same obstacles for women.
Martha: David, thank you for your comments and your insights. Politics is demanding and as we have seen and as we know, given our current society and culture, more demanding in some ways for women. For example, I did not feel able to make that commitment until my own children were grown up, thus did not run for political office until 2004. Now that I'm here, I expect to be here for a long time. We must encourage more women who are in a position to make the commitment and we must make life in politics as accessible as possible.
How do we get more young people involoved in democracy and the political process?
Martha: Thanks Eleanor, If you were at the Liberal convention this past weekend, you could not miss the tremendous numbers of young people involved, participating, engaged and excited for the future. As Liberals, this is an excellent case to build on. As Canadians, we still have more to do to address what remains a continuing high level of apathy and cynicism about politics. On issues, the environment clearly now a focus for the Liberal party, will I hope resonate with youth across this country. In terms of process and engagement, we have an opportunity to be more involved face to face in community and schools, colleges, universities across this country. Based on my experience, with our Big Red Bus campaign, we know just how much we can do to engage people in the political process.
Martha says goodbye: I want to thank CBC for hosting this forum. A number of questions dealt specifically engaging with Canadians in the process. They were great questions and a great opportunity to do just that, to provide a forum for people to engage.