Brown says Wynne made ‘mistake’ in calling out sexism

Patrick Brown says Premier Kathleen Wynne’s attempts to “smear” him as a sexist won’t stick.

Ontario’s Progressive Conservative leader told the Star after a speech arranged by a men’s-only club that the Liberals made “a mistake” in attacking him for it because the luncheon address was to “a coed” audience. “I think it’s easy for Kathleen Wynne to attack and smear rather than defend her own record,” Brown said Wednesday after the $40-a-ticket event at the Toronto Athletic Club in a skyscraper overlooking Toronto harbour. “It was an open event.”

His speech on “affordability” issues like hydro bills drew an audience of 70 men and four women. One was a Tory MPP, Laurie Scott, who sat in front of the podium. Another was Brown’s cousin, Rebecca Tascona.

It was part of a speakers’ series arranged by the all-male Cambridge Club, which originally advertised the speech for its Oak Room but moved the speech to a room at the athletic club, under the same ownership.

Earlier in the day, Wynne took wide aim at Brown when asked why her women’s issues minister slammed the PC leader Monday for agreeing to do the speech for a club that “doesn’t count women in.”

“There have been a few incidents,” the premier — who has spoken to women-only audiences in the past and had troubles with sex issues in her own caucus — told reporters at a west-end high school.

“Whether it’s asking a highly qualified woman who’s being interviewed by a (legislative) committee to, you know, fix the coffee in the kitchen, or whether it’s expressing doubt that zero tolerance on sexual assault is acceptable,” she said in reference to recent controversies over remarks from two of Brown’s MPPs.

“I don’t want anyone in this province to live in an environment where misogyny is somehow accepted, that somehow the advances we’ve made get taken away,” added Wynne, who is trailing Brown in public opinion polls as the June 2018 election approaches. “I’m not going to be silent on that and nor do I think any of us should be . . . it’s not OK to categorize women, to denigrate women, to take us back in time.”

Brown said he is not trying to do that. “As long as I’ve been in public service, as someone who has two younger sisters that I love and care for, I’ve always encouraged more and more women to get involved,” he told the Star.