Wildrose club fires official for equating feminism with cancer

Comments from a Wildrose club at the University of Calgary equating feminism with cancer lend ammunition to those opposed to a conservative merger in Alberta, says the executive director of the Alberta Progressive Conservative party.

An email sent Monday by a member of the campus club to promote a men’s-rights documentary film being screened at the U of C stating, “you and I both know feminism is cancer,” is more proof the social values gulf between the two parties is too wide to bridge, Troy Wason said Tuesday.

“I looked at this and just shook my head and thought, ‘this is 2017 and we’re still having this debate?’” said Wason, who’s been strongly opposed to the merger of PCs and Wildrose.

“It’s very difficult to put a round peg into a square hole.”

The club said it fired the communications director who authored the “cancer” email and has distanced itself from the film The Red Pill, which follows a feminist who sours on her allegiance to that movement after immersing herself in men’s-rights politics.

“After sending out an email without word for word oversight from the executive, our director of communications has been fired,” the club stated in a Facebook message.

“We have withdrawn from the event, however the Canadian Advocates for Freedom and Liberty are still hosting the event at the U of C.”

The CAFL confirmed the film will still be screened Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on campus.

On its Facebook page, Wildrose on Campus was being attacked by critics skeptical of its insistence the “cancer” email wasn’t indicative of its members’ attitudes.

“The theme of the film is essentially that feminism is a blight, and by showing the film it would seem that you are tacitly endorsing its message,” wrote Veronica Ota.

When that same question was posed by Postmedia, the club didn’t respond.

The email isn’t surprising, though it is outrageous, said Anika Burmeister, an ex-member of the club who said she left in disgust last fall over sexist treatment.

“There was a lot of patronizing behaviour ... it was felt women had no understanding of how a political environment was supposed to work,” said the club’s former communications director.

“It’s atrocious they’re going ahead with this on International Women’s Day.”

She said that last year, two Wildrose MLAs were club members, though she wouldn’t disclose their names.

Wildrose Leader Brian Jean has also disavowed the comment, adding he was pleased the club took action against its communications director.

“We need to encourage women to be engaged in the political process, not make them feel alienated,” he said in a tweet late Monday.

While the party said the club isn’t an official wing, NDP Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said its members identify with the Wildrose, which she said is dogged by such outbursts.

“It’s seems like another day, another need for the Wildrose to apologize for being completely out of touch,” she said.

“The leader of the official Opposition needs to step up and demonstrate that women and the fight for equality is something serious.”

The Wildrose club’s email was “unacceptable” and conflicts with The Red Pill’s message, said Justin Trottier, executive director of the group Canadian Association for Equality, which is screening the film across the country, including in Calgary.

“The point of the film is to create a dialogue ... using language like that doesn’t take us closer to having dialogue,” said Trottier, whose group advocates for men’s rights.

But he said controversy over the documentary and even its banning at one Ottawa venue has likely helped attendance at its showings.

“Sometimes that kind of attention can galvanize,” he said.