Toronto Star

Critical gains for women could be lost

- Tiffany Gooch Tiffany Gooch is a Liberal strategist at public affairs firms Enterprise and Ensight and an advocate for increased cultural and gender diversity in Canadian politics.

In a few short days, Ontario voters will head to the polls to elect our next government. This has been an election for the history books, and there is a great deal at stake. In the wake of #MeToo and #TimesUp, all across the province we’ve seen an influx of young women entering the political arena. These women have bravely put their names on ballots, knocked on thousands of doors and brought fresh perspectiv­es and innovative solutions to the political discourse.

I’ve met many extraordin­ary women on the campaign trail, dedicating their time and energy to impacting the outcome of the upcoming election — many of them for the first time. Feminists who care deeply for our communitie­s, work- ing tirelessly together to ensure the next government continues to build on and protect the gains seen under the leadership of Premier Kathleen Wynne.

Wynne proactivel­y planned, prioritize­d and moved the dial on issues uniquely impacting women.

She partnered with researcher­s and front-line workers providing supports for victims of gender-based violence in a sincere effort to ensure the government was providing sufficient support.

Her focus resulted in much-needed increases to sexual-assault crisis-centre budgets as they struggle to meet local demands for services, more safe beds for women and families in need of transition­al housing as they take steps to rebuild their lives following abuse, and improvemen­ts to supports in rural communitie­s, while addressing a need for culturally appropriat­e and safe services.

She met with student leaders to support their work on campuses across the province, creating sexual-violence prevention and support strategies. While there is no way to measure the impact of her #WhoWillYou­Help and #ItsNeverOK campaigns, we can be certain they contribute­d to sparking much-needed conversati­ons across industries about the role we each play in shifting a toxic culture and providing better supports to victims of gender-based violence.

She empowered her caucus and cabinet to identify how each of their portfolios and initiative­s could contribute to her women’s economic empowermen­t and gender-based violence prevention agenda. Stemming from this, her team piloted and expanded free legal advice for survivors of sexual assault, made great strides toward addressing the ever-persistent gender pay gap with legislatio­n that came into effect this past April, and set mandatory targets to ensure more women have a seat at the table at provincial boards and agencies.

Her record on measures put in place to combat a culture of harassment and violence against women is unpreceden­ted. These are all important steps forward, and there is much more work ahead.

We don’t know exactly what Doug Ford intends to do if elected as premier, as he’s chosen not to produce a fully costed platform. However, from the commitment­s made on his website we can see that he intends to take the province backward on many of these gains.

We know he has promised to turn back the clock on the modernized sexual-ed curriculum, which includes a critical focus on consent and healthy relationsh­ips. He has committed to rolling back legislatio­n passed with the aim to ensure women are able to access abortion services without facing harassment.

I’m extraordin­arily proud of the work accomplish­ed under Wynne’s leadership. She has led with a refusal to settle for the status quo with a transparen­t, visionary and activist government. We can’t afford to go backward.

We often get caught up searching for “the real thing” in politics. We want the Jed Bartlet of political leaders — authentic, charismati­c, principled, brilliant and witty. The truth is, there is no perfect candidate. Political leaders are regular people, like you and me, striving for better in both themselves and their communitie­s.

I place political leaders into two categories — those who believe themselves to be dignitarie­s wielding power, and those who prove themselves as functionar­ies for progressiv­e change.

Wynne has proven herself to be a true functionar­y in Canadian politics.

Despite her best efforts, Ontarians have made it clear that they want change. Come Thursday, I hope Ontario will elect a government committed to building on her legacy rather than looking for ways to repeal her hardfought work in support of the women of this great province.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada