Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is celebrated for being a good male feminist ally, but do his policies actually show that he’s all talk and no action?
Oxfam Canada has released a damning report calling into question Trudeau’s feminist-friendly stance and his inability to follow through on his talk about supporting women’s empowerment.
Oxfam Canada’s first ever “Feminist Scorecard,” which tracks the government’s actions in delivering on a feminist agenda, rated Trudeau poorly—giving him a poor grade in six out of eight criteria, and a failing grade in Trudeau’s largest cause: jobs and pay equity for women. Other issues include representation, taxation, climate, violence against women, care work, global development, and response to conflicts and crises.
Trudeau only scored well in representation and leadership, where his government has taken “several symbolic and substantive measures to support women’s representation and collective action,” by filling his cabinet with a balance of genders and restored funding for organizations that conduct social justice advocacy—previously unsupported by his predecessor Stephen Harper’s government.
But for important issues, the report condemned Trudeau for doing little for the working poor, most whom are women.
“Status of Women remains sorely underfunded and Canada’s international aid budget is at a near record-low, even as the government seeks to demonstrate global leadership on women’s rights,” reads the report. “The area where the government has made the least progress is towards its promise of inclusive growth, having taken no tangible steps to close the gender wage gap or to ensure living wages for the working poor, the majority of whom are women.”
Oxfam declared: “Words matter. Having a Prime Minister proudly proclaim that he is a feminist in an era of backlash against women’s rights sends a powerful signal. But more than words are required to make lasting progress on gender equality and to meaningfully improve the lives of women living in poverty.”
While the report is damning, its contents do not even reference the issue of missing and murdered indigenous Canadian women, as highlighted by the Toronto Sun.
Justin Trudeau may call himself a feminist, but like so many other “allies,” he and his government may actually be full of hot air.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.