Scheer demands apology from Morneau

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are jousting over who most respects women.

The Conservative leader is demanding an apology to his deputy leader, Lisa Raitt, who was the target of what Scheer claims was an insulting and sexist remark from Finance Minister Bill Morneau.

But Trudeau says he doesn’t need to take any lessons on respect for women from a Tory leader who won’t commit to appointing a gender-balanced cabinet, as the Liberal leader has done, should he become prime minister.

Scheer retorts that there’ll be plenty of “strong Conservative women” in cabinet after next year’s federal election.

The jousting over who is the bigger defender of women comes after Raitt accused Morneau of hypocrisy, making what she called cynical vote-buying gestures towards women in his February budget while personally failing to practise what he preaches; she bemoaned the under-representation of women in the company Morneau headed before entering politics, in the senior ranks of the Finance Department and in his ministerial office.

Morneau called her line of questioning “offensive” and said the Liberal government strongly believes that promoting women into positions of leadership is a key to a successful economy; he added that the government “will drag along the Neanderthals who don’t agree with that.”