Let's Turn This Into a Win for Cape Breton Women - You Can Help

Last week, Councillor Amanda McDougall found herself in the center of a major controversy. It wasn't for anything she had done, other than stepping up once again to take a further leadership role in her community.

By the end of this article, I am going to ask for your help in turning this issue into a win for women - and all of us - in the CBRM.

The controversy came when Mayor Cecil Clarke and several senior councillors attempted to circumvent the nomination process for committee positions.

Their goal was to go to a secret written ballot in an attempt to appoint their longtime colleague, Jim MacLeod, to a role he'd already held for quite some time.

Though we could anticipate who among them would be voting to steal away McDougall's nomination, the secret ballot would hide from us the truth about who our elected councillors picked. No doubt, this is a further offense to transparency. And it's a weak strategy to hide away from accountability for their choices.

Though Clarence Prince argued McDougall needed to "work her way up" and "earn the respect"; and Deputy Mayor Eldon MacDonald warned that he'd attended these meetings and they were "heavy", the motion was defeated.

Councillors Bruckschwaiger, Doncaster, and Gillespie cast their votes against a secret ballot, and therefore ensured Councillor McDougall secured her nomination. Doncaster's vote represented a rare, but much needed, break from his pattern of voting in support of his senior colleagues.

With that, Mayor Clarke, George MacDonald, Eldon MacDonald, Clarence Prince, Blue Marshall, and Jim MacLeod all found themselves on the losing side of the vote - and their little municipal committee coup d'etat was put down with a thud.

Meanwhile, throughout the community, thousands of us were left frustrated and puzzled by who it was these senior councillors were really talking about.

Did they fail to realize that Councillor McDougall:

  • is one of only two on the entire council with a degree in Political Science,
  • has lived and travelled abroad,
  • was a key player in the MV Miner clean up,
  • has extensive experience with ACAP,
  • works with the Cape Breton Partnership on immigration strategy,
  • is a mid-career professional with an impressive resume, and
  • just so happened to have been elected to represent District 8 and the CBRM as a whole?

Was this a gender issue, or an affront of the "old boys" faction? Was it push back for the women councillors speaking to the media about pressure tactics or "bullying" on a recent port issue? Was it non-specific condescension, or just a simple lapse of "decorum" as Mayor Clarke later suggested?

 

I personally believe it's a combination of all factors, with the exception of the "decorum" excuse offered by an unapologetic mayor.

This is the same Mayor who voted with the other councillors in a losing bid to go to secret ballot and attempt to circumvent McDougall's nomination.

Clarke is also the same mayor that arranged the controversial meeting before the port vote where the new councillors said they felt pressured and even described it as "bullying".

I often say that Mayor Clarke looks and sounds like a mayor, as long as you don't listen closely to what he's actually saying. In this next video, you'll see a guest presenter get jumped by former Councillor Saccary. The mayor does tell her that she can respond after the councillor is done. However, he makes absolutely no comment about Councillor Saccary's behavior. He was accusatory, tried to put words in the woman's mouth, and then tried to deny her from an opportunity to respond and clarify.

If you find that alarming, at least we can be reassured that it was this councillor that Amanda McDougall defeated to become the Councillor for District 8.

If you followed closely, her victory wasn't unpredictable. During their candidate interview on CBC, Councillor Saccary tried to take away credit for McDougall's involvement with the MV Miner cleanup. When she challenged him to an open public debate, he made excuses, acted offended, and declined.

This is just further demonstrative of these type of issues being a part of the ongoing behavior of some council members.

These are not the only instances where questions of "decorum" or "common courtesy" enforced by Mayor Clarke are a little suspect.

When Chief Terry Paul of Membertou First Nations expressed offence at former Councillor Lowell Cormier's angry comments before council, the mayor responded with similar disinterest:

My point back to the chief is that any of the comments that (Cormier) would make were within his prerogative, and there is a set criteria and he did it within the timeline. It was his opinion as an elected official, and it was his feelings as he saw them. There was nothing to call him out of order on that.” - Mayor Cecil Clarke

Whether you voted for and support Mayor Clarke or not, you should let him know that this is not acceptable.

Why would the Mayor not entertain Councillor McDougall's recommendation of diversity training for council after multiple occurrences of such offensive displays?

Our regional media took notice and did an excellent job in their coverage. In fact, I'm going to provide a set of links to the coverage below.

This type of coverage is precisely what we need. If no attention is given to issues like these, the guilty parties have no strong incentive to change their behavior. They remain free from accountability.

The media will showcase issues that the public demonstrates is of concern. That is what happened in this case, and we need this process to continue. You can help expose issues to both the media and powerful advocacy groups that will weigh in and exert an influence.

They cannot provide any intervention until we bring it to their attention. Consider this powerful message that includes Member of Parliament, friend to Mayor Cecil Clarke, and candidate for Federal Conservative Party leadership, Lisa Raitt:

We now have an incredible opportunity to seek outside support. We must recall where we've progressed from, and continue that progress. Do you recall this Canadian Heritage Minute segment on TV? This provides a fully necessary juxtaposition.

How can you help now?

I've already begun reaching out to some of the top women's organizations in the country, the Federal Minister of the Status of Women, and some members of the media. You can see some of those tweets below.

If you use Twitter (it's ok, most don't), you can simply retweet some of these messages below. The more retweets, the more they become aware that this issue is of strong public concern here in Cape Breton. We may be able to get their support, influence, and connections to National media contacts.

For those of you who don't tweet, contacting representatives of women's groups, the media, and your elected officials at any level of government can be helpful. That only requires a quick email or a brief phone call, whichever you prefer. But it helps to ensure that this issue isn't forgotten. If we let people forget, it's certain to happen again before council, as it has in the past.

Media Coverage

Support Councillor McDougall

Councillor McDougall makes updates from her Facebook page. Please Like her page below to track her progress in our community, or to send her your messages of support for her continued professionalism and hard work on behalf of District 8 and the CBRM as a whole.

NOTE:  The views expressed above are my own and do not represent lokol (goCapeBreton.com). Read more

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madeline yakimchuk Follow Me
Great article. Just one little typo I noticed where "aboard" should be abroad. I would like to mention that your question as to whether or not this is a gender issue, followed by your listing of other possible factors, followed by your statement that it is a combination of all, does not illustrate at all that three of your listed factors are gender related, making the fourth, non-specific condescension rather unlikely based on the analysis you present. I thank you for your efforts but would like you to not get too upset when I suggest that you consult women activists to improve your analysis on what is a gender issue. That said, I think there are other factors involved, agism, anti-activism for example, but I would say that gender was by far the go to attitude that was used in the situation as you describe it.
Joe Ward My Post Follow Me
Thank you, Madeline. Typo fixed. I probably misused the term "old boys". I typically use it in reference to a group of men who hold power and influence, and exclude those who are not within their network (whether the outsiders are women or men). Push back can also come from these types of groups against others regardless of gender (re: port pressures). However, you're right. The key takeaway from this article was that we should reach out to women's groups to make them aware of such issues. They are the ones who have the expertise on gender issues, and will be able to provide a more authoritative interpretation. My comments are based on a layman's attempt at evaluating what it was I observed happen at council. I believe it may have multiple influences; though I don't believe that gender wasn't a factor. The Deputy Mayor, Eldon MacDonald's comments about how "heavy" the committee specifically gave me the feeling as though he was being dismissive towards Councillor McDougall as a woman. Hopefully, the mayor, the deputy mayor, and all councillors who voted for the secret ballot will offer her their apology at the next council meeting, on the public record.
madeline yakimchuk Follow Me
Thank you for that. I was worried you would take it the wrong way but clearly you are a good fella. Just ignore me fighting over on the other place with that old fella I always fight with, I just can't help myself. :-)

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