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The Harper government has shown so little interest in women's issues that provinces have decided to meet on their own to plot a national strategy without bothering to invite federal Status of Women Minister Bev Oda.

The snub follows two recent federal-provincial meetings on women's issues at which Oda put in only brief appearances and displayed "a complete lack of interest," according to Sandra Pupatello, Ontario's minister responsible for women's issues...

...Consequently, Pupatello will host a meeting of women's issues ministers - minus Oda - on Feb. 1 in Toronto.

"It clearly takes leadership at the federal level to bring us together. It is completely absent in my view and we are taking it upon ourselves to say, you know, this is either a priority or it isn't and regardless of federal involvement . . . what are we going to do about it?"...

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where'd that bug go? has a discussion going. One of the comments includes the suggestion:

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...Maybe the provincial ministers should invite female federal MPs who support SWC as well for leverage and optics.

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ETA: or an MP who might ask for an invite?

[ 11 January 2007: Message edited by: Contrarian ]

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Because we have ministers who travel literally from coast to coast to coast, a couple of them that take two days just to get there, they were really quite offended that she would come for an hour," Pupatello said in an interview Wednesday.

Their frustration deepened on Dec. 15, when a federally organized teleconference, supposedly aimed at finishing up the agenda from the October meeting, was similarly cut short.

Pupatello said Oda "attended for 20 minutes and then had to excuse herself and insisted that the meeting be over when she left the call."

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Originally posted by Pride for Red Dolores:is it just me, or does it seem like none of the Ministers in Harper's governemnt seem to have no idea what their doing (see the former enviornment minister for example) or do things that in no way reflect the will of the people ?

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No it is not just you, they have no idea how to govern, what they are doing is playing to their base, so at least they might get their votes again. Then they followed US style actions in Afghanistan, that has simply put all the Canadian soldiers there lives at risk, now they are trying to back track there before it really falls apart. And the rest of the time they are bashing the Liberals.

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Originally posted by Contrarian:
Any of you political types know a provincial minister on women's issues?

ETA: or an MP who might ask for an invite?

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I read the article and it's basically quotes from the Ontario Liberal minister of women's issues versus the federal Conservative minister or women's issues staff person, who says it's all just a party political thing.

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The Harper government has shown so little interest in women's issues that provinces have decided to meet on their own to plot a national strategy without bothering to invite federal Status of Women Minister Bev Oda.

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Well hey! I'm sure waiting to see how the Harpsichord and his favourite corporate flack rag the Nazi Post try to serenade their way out of this slap!

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is it just me, or does it seem like none of the Ministers in Harper's governemnt seem to have no idea what their doing

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No it's not just you. It's obvious most of them don't have a clue. But it's also obvious that some of them actually do know what they are doing and also know it's rotten. So they go out of their way not to tell anyone.

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Any of you political types know a provincial minister on women's issues?

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Well, here in BC we DID have a ministry for women's equality during the NDP government years. How effective it was is certainly a matter of debate. But at least we had one, and in so doing gave the whole idea of equality a much higher profile.

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Originally posted by DavidMR:
...I don't see mention of any other provincial minister beside Pupatello...

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...She said "every minister across the board" concurred with her assessment of the situation.

Indeed, another minister from a province not usually considered adversarial with the Harper government, privately expressed virtually identical criticisms...

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Originally posted by Contrarian:
Read it more carefully:

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...She said "every minister across the board" concurred with her assessment of the situation.
Indeed, another minister from a province not usually considered adversarial with the Harper government, privately expressed virtually identical criticisms...

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Excuse me? You're telling me to read it more carefully? Is that an order?

I have already read it carefully. As I said in my post, "I don't see mention of any other provincial minister beside Pupatello.", and indeed not one other provincial minister is named and certainly none are quoted, as anyone can plainly see. There are only two identified sources, Pupatello and Oda's assistant. As for the excerpt concerning the various mystery ministers it sounds like spin to me.

[ 15 January 2007: Message edited by: DavidMR ]

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Originally posted by DavidMR:

Excuse me? You're telling me to read it more carefully? Is that an order?

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You know, I've read the article and DavidMR's analysis, and I think Bev Oda is maybe getting a bum rap.

I figure this way: Pupatello is a Liberal. Right? Oda, on the other hand, is a Conservative. With me so far? So if Pupatello is hammering Oda, it must be for the wrong reasons. Probably she's just envious that the Conservatives got into power federally. So maybe Oda means well after all. See what I mean?

Ok.

Now to DavidMR's question, "Is that an order?"

I checked this out, and in some British dialects, the word "order" would be pronounced almost exactly like "Oda". So I think I know where DavidMR is coming from now, although it did take a fair bit of research.

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Originally posted by Contrarian:
Are you trying to be odious?

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Originally posted by Michelle:
Wow. That's really gutsy and awesome on the part of the provincial ministers. Good for them! What a slap in the face to Oda. And how deserved.

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In Ontario, Pupatello and McGuinty have very little to brag about. Women on social assistance are still waiting for an end to the clawback. Women facing human rights abuses will find the Human Rights Commission doesn't do pursue human rights violations anymore. etc etc etc

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Originally posted by Contrarian:
Are you trying to be odious?

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Originally posted by Scott Piatkowski:

I think he's being odiferous.

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That's very odacious of you to misspell odoriferous.

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I checked this out, and in some British dialects, the word "order" would be pronounced almost exactly like "Oda". So I think I know where DavidMR is coming from now, although it did take a fair bit of research.

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Actually, that's kind of how it would sound in New York City or Boston as well--as in, "Eh, cun A take yoh Oda?"

Is This It said:

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It's far easier to dump on Harper than to explain your own failures.

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Michelle responded:

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Well, there is that too, Is This It?. You've got a good point there.

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Originally posted by Is this it?:
In Ontario, Pupatello and McGuinty have very little to brag about. Women on social assistance are still waiting for an end to the clawback. Women facing human rights abuses will find the Human Rights Commission doesn't do pursue human rights violations anymore. etc etc etc

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Originally posted by unionist:
That's very odacious of you to misspell odoriferous.

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I didn't.

There oda be no criticism of the Federal policies ever. I mean DavidMR oda not allow it. He oda take offense if you don't like the oda number of vicious cuts to women's issues, minorities, literacy, the court challenges program. Why we oda string those provincial women up for even having the oda-city to dare to bring this up. Why, when oda the fed's just quit the meetings, and the provinces just oda shut up eh David? Why anyone who criticizes the Conservatives oda get told.

Sadly, women's issues oda be important, and who oda give a damn who or how many times the provinces try to bring this up. Oh, but it's not like the Conservatives want to be re-elected Federally, why, they wouldn't oda play to their ideological base, or to the Conservative Party extremists who oppose daycare and believe women oda stay home and have lots of babies.

Why it's oda than you can fictionalize, this picking on those poor little Conservatives just because they want to trounce women and still keep control of the public purse for their sick $60 Billion (more on the way) in single source U.S. military contracts that is more than the Canadian budget can afford. Those provincial women oda get the message: There's plenty more cuts where those came from once the Cons oda get done with their massive military spending priorities. Who says the RepubliCons oda keep their promises to spend only about $17 Billion, which was already set to cause a deficit with their other massive spending promises from the last election.

We oda get used to it right David. We oda brace ourselves for unimaginable cuts, cause we oda not have enough money to pay for this military extreme agenda. Canadians oda get some more surprises when we find out what this big 'advanced' military expansion will be used for.