Who said it: Ryan Gosling or Canada’s next Prime Minister?
We all know Ryan Gosling is a feminist. You are too? Great stuff! So, you have obviously already checked out the Up For Debate interviews, where 4 of 5 federal party leaders spoke up on a range of women’s issues. And while Stephen Harper didn’t do Up for Debate, he did do an interview with Chatelaine, so they’ve all had their chance to speak to women’s issues. The real question is, after all that debate watching, can you tell the difference between Ryan Gosling and the next PM?
-
“I think the reality is, there is such a clear desire for change amongst Canadians right now”
ANSWER: JUSTIN TRUDEAU
-
“We're always changing. And it’s important to know that there are some changes you can't control and that there are others you can.”
ANSWER: RYAN GOSLING (from the film “Half Nelson”)
Woah now Ryan, I think women are looking for some specific changes, which are very much within our control. How about how the leaked Status of Women report that surfaced early September which noted, “When it comes to the salary gap between sexes, women have hit a brick wall,”? That could do with some changing. Like, for example, the implementation of 2004’s Pay Equity Taskforce’s recommendations by Parliament. Snap.
-
“I describe myself as a feminist and I would also challenge anyone who doesn’t think they are a feminist. Do you not believe in equality for women? That’s what it means to be a feminist.”
ANSWER: ELIZABETH MAY
To be fair – feminist flag waving also happened by Thomas Mulcair and Justin Trudeau during the Up For Debate interviews. And I’m sure if we interviewed Ryan Gosling he’d say so too. While many say that raising the feminist flag shouldn’t be an automatic win (and we agree, it’s not), there is something profoundly satisfying to see 3 of 5 federal candidates putting that word on the table.
-
“I think [parliament] is still an old boy’s club, yes.”
ANSWER: GILLES DUCEPPE
-
“I don't think you can discriminate against budgets.”
ANSWER: RYAN GOSLING
But Ryan, budgets can discriminate against you! While the interviews yielded some good conversation around Parliament Hill and sexual harassment policy (which is a conversation that needs to extend to women in the workplace in general) there was little budget talk, particularly about how the country would need to invest differently in order to address gender inequality. Guess we’ll have to put that on the list for the 2019 women’s debate.
-
“The agenda of the other parties and previous governments has been to look for social explanations but not actually deal with offenders, and that’s not acceptable to us.”
ANSWER: STEPHEN HARPER
-
“I remember walking with my mother, and guys would whistle at her and cars would circle and it was very predatory.”
ANSWER: RYAN GOSLING [LA Times interview]
-
“Imagine if it was in the greater Ottawa region—which has a similar population as the Aboriginal population—with that number of missing or murdered women. We wouldn’t need the United Nations to ask us to investigate.” [tr]
ANSWER: THOMAS MULCAIR
Is violence against women tackled through creating laws and policies, or through full-blown attitude change? We know, in fact, it’s a bit of both. While we certainly need a criminal code that means violence is taken seriously, we also need solid government investment in social programs to start un-building the attitudes that make violence against women acceptable in the first place. The interviews stack up leaders responses on both these fronts. We hope you check them out.
