The 31 strode down the tree-lined lane to Rideau Hall with smiles and children. The sun shone on this diverse group of Canadians charged with leading the rest of us through the next four years. Among the new Liberal cabinet ministers were old faces and young, the experienced and the fresh, white faces and brown, indigenous people, Easterners and Westerners, anglophones and francophones, academics, a Bay Street businessman, a former soldier, a one-time bus driver, immigrants, a doctor and a physically disabled lawyer.
Most noticeable in this crowd, however, was the highly publicized fact that 15, or half of the cabinet, aside from Justin Trudeau, are women. The new prime minister has boldly lived up to his promise of ensuring that the gender of half the cabinet represents the gender of half the population. On that point alone, it is hard to disagree. And on the surface, as we read the individual short biographies of these women, it is apparent this is one accomplished and experienced group of people.
Who better to tackle the health portfolio than humanitarian Dr. Jane Philpott who has demonstrated leadership in family medicine? Or new Justice Minister and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould who has worked as both a prosecutor at Vancouver’s Main Street courthouse and as regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations? Or Chrystia Freeland, new minister of international trade, who reported from Moscow and Eastern Europe for the Financial Times after earning degrees from Harvard and Oxford? These few names are but three people from an impressive list.
But as with any affirmative action plan, and make no mistake, this is a politically-motivated affirmative action that some might view as grandstanding, there are a few cautions. It would not be fair, as an example, for Trudeau’s critics to hold his female appointments to an impossible standard that few, if any, men could achieve in order to attack the top man.
On the other hand, in the decades since much of Canadian society has already embraced the good sense to promote women, it has also become apparent that women can also be just as good, bad or ugly in their behaviour as any man. It is only a matter of time, as with any new government, that warts and skeletons will emerge. As with any government, some flaws will be forgivable and some will not, and tough decisions may be necessary. But we should never allow the diversity of the Trudeau cabinet to be blamed for this.
Some might argue that cabinet should represent the makeup of the House of Commons, where females make up about 26 per cent of the 338 MPs. Cabinet, however, has always been a different institution, one in which regional representation has also taken on huge importance. One could only imagine the howling if Alberta, British Columbia or any other region was locked on the wrong side of the door. In the end, whatever their gender, race or sexual preference, cabinet ministers must be judged on how they do their jobs. Citizens must demand that these tough jobs go to the best people available. We can all hope for the day when that is all that matters and discussions like this become moot. Hopefully, as our new prime minister would have us believe, that day has arrived.
