Liberals are criticizing Tory MP Candice Hoeppner for attacking Michael Ignatieff in a committee hearing Tuesday, a day when all parties agreed to support a women’s advocacy group’s “Decorum Day” on the Hill.
Ms. Hoeppner, however, makes no apologies. A tenacious MP, she was simply trying to point out what she perceives as the hypocrisy of the Liberal Leader’s position. The Manitoba Conservative has made a name for herself on Parliament Hill as an effective communicator and for her private member’s bill to scrap the long-gun registry, which was almost successful in killing the controversial program.
So, it was a sight rarely seen on the male-dominated Hill when on Tuesday morning a committee full of elected women questioned one male witness – the Leader of the Opposition. Appearing before the all-party status of women committee to talk about his private members’ bill to make pay equity an enshrined human right, Mr. Ignatieff had an easy time answering questions from his own MPs but the tables were turned when it was Ms. Hoeppner’s turn to do the asking.
One of the Liberals – long-time B.C. MP Hedy Fry – came to his defence several times, interrupting Ms. Hoeppner, who she felt was not allowing him time to answer.
Ms. Hoeppner was concerned that Mr. Ignatieff’s bill that would undo what he had supported in the government’s 2009 budget bill, which put pay equity on the bargaining table. “You wanted to avoid an election, correct?” she charged.
Mr. Ignatieff replied that there can’t be an election every time “you have a disagreement with the government.”
He went on to explain how this was a “dumpster bill” – one that not only dealt with stimulus funding but also other issues that the government knew it could not get through on their own merit.
Ms. Hoeppner was anxious to get more of her questions in. She was cautioned by Ms. Fry, the committee chair, to let the Liberal Leader finish his answers.
“What I hoped to do, but of course seven minutes seems to fly by, was sort of tie it together because he changed his mind on EI as well,” Ms. Hoeppner told The Globe in an interview after the committee hearing. “At least I was able to ask him if he was going to change his mind on anything else. I enjoyed the exchange.”
It doesn’t appear that the Liberals did, however. “All parties agreed to support Equal Voice’s Decorum Day and it was disappointing to see Ms. Hoeppner lower the tone of debate right out of the gates,” a senior Ignatieff official said.
“More disturbing was the fact that Ms. Hoeppner – fresh off her campaign against the long-gun registry, which so many women and women’s groups support nationwide – tried to duck her own party’s responsibility for attacking pay equity in Budget 2009 at a time when women still earn only 72 cents on the dollar compared to their male colleagues.”
Ms. Hoeppner said she expected the interruptions from the Liberal MPs but appreciated that Mr. Ignatieff answered her questions.
While recognizing that many women fall behind, she said she likes to promote women who are successful. She brought up the fact that many small businesses are run by women who are just trying to bring home a paycheque, challenging Mr. Ignatieff about how he would help them.
“I think on that committee sometimes they do forget about the women who are strong and able and creating jobs. I mean it’s important that we do stand up for women who are sometimes victimized with inequitable pay or whatever the situation might be,” she said. “But sometimes I feel like we are forgetting about some of the other women so I always like to talk about them as well.”
