There are better ways to address gender equity

Opinion

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This article was published 26/09/2024 (376 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Wab Kinew’s first big misstep is a doozy.

The Manitoba NDP’s ham-fisted decision to punish, shun and sideline an associate of Peter Nygard’s legal team is unfortunate and disappointing.

Even sexual predators like Peter Nygard deserve legal representation. That’s a foundational principle of Canada’s legal system.

Yet Nygard’s lawyer, Gerri Wiebe, has been besmirched for representing Nygard. Now Wiebe’s colleague, lawyer and Fort Garry MLA, Mark Wasyliw, has been exiled from the NDP caucus.

When I was a teen in the late 1970s, my legal secretary mother always gave the employment ads for secretarial help at fashion mogul Peter Nygard’s business offices in Winnipeg a hard pass. “Why not apply?” I demanded. “That Nygard is bad news,” she replied.

Since Mum was the soul of discretion, she wouldn’t expand on the why. Her frowning expression told me everything I needed to know: give that man a wide berth. Back in the Dark Era of the 1970s, women relied on an underground network of whispered warnings to stay safe at work.

Peter Nygard’s egregious “zipper problem” was the worst kept secret in Winnipeg. No one acted on this relevant information for decades. Now that Peter Nygard has finally been sentenced to 11 years for sexual assault, the Manitoba government is taking action. But it’s misplaced and poorly executed. It seems like a reactive decision based on punishment, not problem-solving.

Where was the Manitoba government on this issue in the mid-1990s?

In the mid-1990s, I worked at the downtown YMCA-YWCA in charge of women’s programs. I even studied public policy at U of W at night to better understand the lobbying process. A group of Winnipeg feminists, myself included, approached a legislative committee about serious workplace issues for women that remained unaddressed.

When we demanded the MLAs act on sexual harassment allegations in the workplace, we were told firmly: “That’s a federal matter.”

Is it possible to over-correct on the Nygard’s legal team file? Is it that it’s been so long coming that the Manitoba government now wants to overcompensate? A better response would be to enforce the current employment laws. And when anybody comes forward with a serious allegation, don’t make the complainant dig into their own pocket with a civil action.

#METOO went viral for a reason. Stop re-victimizing complainants who have the guts to come forward with their awful story. If the process hadn’t been so burdensome, maybe Nygard’s victims would have had restitution sooner. Once the information was officially public, other future victims could have been spared unnecessary suffering.

Progressive provincial governments have an obligation to invest more money and energy into Women and Gender Equity Manitoba. Don’t make them operate on a shoe-string and call your government feminist-friendly. That’s where your real investment starts in correcting the problem of workplace harassment — towards all Manitobans.

Public education is also key. It’s not the set of Mad Men, people. It’s a workplace. Most of these offences are about unequal power relations and sexual assault is the ugly and humiliating outcome.

Chad Kelly, Toronto Argonauts’ starter quarterback, was benched for 11 games during the 2024 season for workplace harassment. It was the right play. Five years ago, the complainant would have quietly quit. She would have struggled to get another job and walked away without a good reference.

The stakes are high in employment scenarios. Employees have bills to pay. Economics keep employees stuck in terrible situations. They often put up with intolerable behaviour to keep food on the table. To add to their trouble, Manitoba women earn 71 cents on the dollar when compared to men. It’s a serious problem that merits thoughtful consideration and pragmatic action.

Dumping an MLA from the NDP caucus is a symbolic gesture. It does nothing to help anyone. It just draws attention away from the real problem. This kind of grandstanding is empty and meaningless. It’s easier to declare an outlier MLA the “problem” than address the serious policy gaps.

Premier Wab Kinew needs to restore his colleague, Mark Wasyliw, to the NDP caucus with a public apology. The party vetted Wasyliw to run, he’s earned a seat and now he’s been unfairly maligned for his association with Gerri Wiebe.

Maybe Kinew can ask Wasyliw to head up a special committee on workplace harassment. Invite Winnipeg feminists to the table to talk policy. Take direct action to protect employees from predators like Peter Nygard.

These progressive steps would amount to a radical shift in governance. The kind of common-sense leadership the people of Manitoba were promised when they handed the keys to Manitoba to Premier Wab Kinew.

Independent journalist Patricia Dawn Robertson graduated from York University’s Women’s Studies program in 1990. But her real education started when she joined Manitoba’s workforce.