by Jackson Lafferty, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
Dear editor,
Thank-you for your June 8 editorial regarding Temporary Special Measures to increase the representation of women in the NWT Legislative Assembly.
This is exactly the type of public discussion I hoped to generate by tabling the report. In the 2015 general election, only 10 of the 57 candidates, or 18 per cent, were women. There were no women on the ballot in more than half of the NWT electoral districts. The number of women candidates was equal to the number of men in only two ridings, Range Lake and Yellowknife Centre. A woman was elected in both these ridings.
The discussion paper I tabled does not, as your editorial suggests, propose the adoption the Samoan model. It describes how that and other models might work in the NWT but makes no recommendation. You are correct that the introduction of party politics is one solution to the under-representation of women in the legislative assembly. But, this does not explain why Nunavut, the only other jurisdiction in Canada without a party system, has fared so much better than the NWT and other party-based jurisdictions on this critical measure of representation. Nor does it explain why the party-based jurisdictions in Canada rank so poorly on the representation of women compared to the rest of the world. No system is perfect.
While party politics may have some advantages over our system, it is not a magic wand. Many Northerners, myself included, are weary of the type of divisive and partisan debate that we see played out on the floor of the House of Commons and other provincial jurisdictions on a daily basis.
Strict adherence to party discipline would limit the freedom of action that MLAs currently have to represent their constituents as they see fit. It would also limit the important role standing committees play in scrutinizing and improving government legislation, policy and spending.
More to the point, party politics is no guarantee that more women will be elected. In Ontario's recent election, 32 of 124 seats went to women. This represents a decrease from 32.6 per cent to 25.8 per cent, moving Ontario out of the small list of Canadian jurisdictions that have reached the 30 per cent threshold identified by the United Nations as critical for lasting policy change.
If nothing else, my hope is that a public debate about the representation of women in our institutions of public government will encourage more women from all parts of the territory to run in future elections. That is the only viable long term solution.
Temporary special measures are one way to break the stubborn log jam that has kept the NWT stuck in last place in terms of the representation of women in our legislature.
They may not be the best option. But neither is the status quo.