To: Grant Hill, MPP,
Leader of the Official Opposition,
Conservative Party of Canada,
#1720-130 Albert Street,
Ottawa, Ontario,
K1P 5G4
Feb. 24, 2004

Dear Mr. Hill:
We are seeking your assurances that the Conservative Party of Canada will put forward a strong contingent of women candidates in the 2004 federal election.

From what we have read, and seen so far, your new party has no particular policy for recruiting more women for nomination, although there may be quiet efforts behind the scenes of which we are unaware. We have heard party leadership candidates say that they want to reach out to all Canadians, and to present a more diverse choice to Canadian voters. We are heartened by their commitments to greater openness, and hope that applies to the slate of Conservative candidates who will seek the support of voters this Spring.

Our concern is that, without a strong effort by all parties to recruit women candidates, the next Parliament will be a reversion to the old status quo, in which male MPs hold nearly 80 per cent of seats. We represent many Canadians, from all parts of the country and all backgrounds, who deplore women's under-representation in political life, and particularly in our federal Parliament. There are many issues on which men cannot speak for the female 52 per cent of the population: our life experiences simply are too different.

We are calling on federal party leaders to intervene personally in the nomination process now under way to ensure a better result than in the past. We would like to see many more women Members of Parliament than the present 63, or 21 per cent.

As the Official Opposition, the Conservative Party has a key role to play in making a difference for women in politics. One of your leadership candidates, Belinda Stronach, holds out the possibility that one of our four major federal parties could be led by a woman. But Ms. Stronach's candidacy is not enough.

In the present House of Commons, the Conservative Party is represented by only 8 women MPs, about 10 per cent. Sincere efforts to reach out to potential women candidates must be made over the coming months if you hope to improve this record.

We understand that Conservative party nomination meetings may be called by riding associations before the leadership convention in March .Could you clarify whether there are any policies in place to recruit and encourage women candidates in the new party's nomination process now underway? Has the party's Interim Council provided riding associations with directives or guidelines for improving representation by women?

We urge you to appoint a well-known woman to head up a special team to recruit women nominees. We ask you to use your powers as Interim Leader to require riding associations to prove a sincere search has been made for women candidates before you agree to sign nomination papers. Your goal should not just be numbers of women, but qualified women seeking election under your party's banner in as many as possible of the winnable ridings coming open at this time.

Women in other countries are making exciting progress towards political equality. Canada, embarassingly, perpetuates a political status quo that relegates women to minority status. We now rank 36th in terms of the number of women in our national Parliament, behind countries that have reformed their electoral systems, or introduced pro-active measures, to ensure women get an equal chance at elected office.

It is an issue of extreme importance. Whether intended or not, the systemic discrimination in politics is damaging to women's prospects--and is a major reason why women too often hesitate to put themselves forward.

Because yours is a new party, you are in a position to start out right, and make a real difference for women. We believe many more women in your elected ranks would be good for the Conservative Party of Canada, for Parliament and the country.

Sincerely, Rosemary Speirs, chair Equal Voice

Doris Anderson, president, Fair Vote Canada
Rosemary Speirs, chair Equal VoiceLan Gien, president, and Anu Bose, executive director, National Organization of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women of Canada.
Gloria Wilkinson, chair Winning Women, Calgary
Mercedez Roberge, president, le Mouvement democratie nouvelle
Lisa Young, associate professor of political science, University of Calgary
Elaine Teofilovici, chief executive officer, YMCA of/du Canada
Jackie Steele, doctoral candidate, political science, University of Ottawa
Kirstin Lund, chairperson, Prince Edward Island Advisory Council on the Status of Women
Doreen Paris, chair, Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women
Jennifer Dickson, executive director, Pauktuutit Women’s Association
Chi Nguyen, steering committee, Young Women Vote, 2004
Patti Knight, president, Canadian Association of Women Executives and Entrepreneurs
Wendy Robbins, chair, Policy, Action and Research List
Jeannie Lea, Every Vote Counts, Prince Edward Island
Charles Coffey, executive vice-president, government and community affairs, Royal Bank of Canada
Bonnie Diamond, executive direction, National Association Women and the Law

Please reply to: Rosemary Speirs, 1815 Altona Road, Pickering, Ontario, L1V 1M6, 905-509-2777, or info@equalvoice.ca