Off the wire
• Urgent: NASA suspends 2016 launch of Mars lander due to instrument leak  • Chicago grains, soybeans show weakness ahead of Christmas holiday  • Urgent: U.S. dollar declines on profit-taking, negative data  • Latvia to set up workgroup to coordinate China-CEE cooperation events in 2016  • 1st LD Writethru: U.S. oil price rises amid light holiday trading  • S. Africa tourism remains flat in festive season  • Kenya's Garissa University to re-open in January  • Croatian president to name PM-designate or call an early election on Wednesday  • Feature: Prophet's Birthday high season for Egyptian pastry shops  • Feature: Egypt marks solar phenomenon at Luxor's Karnak Temple to promote tourism  
You are here: 　 Home

Canadian PM urged to create gender-equal Senate

Xinhua, December 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

More than 80 Canadian women have signed a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, urging him to work to ensure that the new process of selecting nominees to the Senate of Canada could produce a gender-equal Senate.

"We applaud you for appointing women to hold half of your cabinet positions, thereby, creating the first gender-equal federal cabinet in Canadian history. We call on you to extend this principle to appointments to the Senate of Canada," said the letter.

Signers of the letter included former Prime Minister Kim Campbell, former Deputy Prime Minister Sheila Copps and activists.

When Prime Minister Trudeau was sworn in on Nov. 4, he appointed 15 women to his 30-minister cabinet.

In Canadian politics, the Governor General of Canada holds the power to make senatorial appointments on the advice of the prime minister. The seats in the Senate are assigned on a regional basis, with each of the four major regions receiving 24 seats and the remainder of the available seats being assigned to smaller regions. Senators hold their seats to the age of 70.

The federal government announced earlier this month that it would fill in vacancies of the Senate by applying a new process, stating in a document issued that "nominees will be considered with a view to achieving gender balance in the Senate," yet stopping short of a pledge as for how to achieve gender equality.

Under the new process, advisory Boards with federal and provincial representatives will assess potential candidates according to criteria including age, residency, independence, non-partisanship, among others.

"The proposal to create a Senate which is independent and non-partisan has the potential of increasing the importance of this institution in the governing of Canada," said Donna Dasko, one of two women who organized the letter signing campaign. "This makes it even more important that women be fairly and equally represented."

"This is an historic opportunity," claimed Ceta Ramkhalawansingh, the other organizer of the event. "We can create a Senate that includes women of diverse backgrounds and we will better reflect the incredible diversity of Canada."

At present, there are 83 sitting members on the Senate of Canada, of whom, 30 are women. There are 22 vacancies, and another four retirements scheduled for 2016. Gender equality in the Senate would be achieved if the 22 current vacancies are to be filled by women, according to Dasko. Endit