Tory Senator to Women's Groups: "Shut The Fuck Up!"

I do wish I were exaggerating. Tory (Conservative) Senator* Nancy Ruth (a white cis woman) said on Monday morning to a meeting of international women's rights groups that she'd convened:

With the recent controversy about the government's plans to omit funding for abortion from its maternal health policy for developing countries, the panelists said it was an issue they couldn't ignore.

However, during the question and answer period, Ruth advised the room that pushing the abortion issue was not the right strategy if they really wanted progress on the maternal health issue. Her comments were caught on tape by the Toronto Star.

"We've got five weeks or whatever left until the G8 starts. Shut the f--k up on this issue," she said. "If you push it, there'll be more backlash. This is now a political football. This is not about women's health in this country."

She went on to say, "Canada is still a country with free and accessible abortion. Leave it there. Don't make this an election issue."

Let me say clearly here, for the Senator's benefit, as she seems to be a bit confused on the way this works: we don't work for you. You work for us. You're appointed to be our fucking representatives in the Senate, not to be political shills for Robin Harper and his Band of Married Men, blazing their lonely and courageous trail down a well-marked and well-travelled road, stealing from the poor, and giving to the rich.

When we come to you, at your invitation, and present current women's issues to you, you don't get to turn around and fucking tell us "No, that's not an issue, shut the fuck up." You get to shut the hell up yourself, and listen to the people you swore a fucking oath to represent.

So don't hold your breath, Senator Ruth. There won't be any shutting-the-fuck-up out here. We'll continue to raise hell, our voices, and our hopes, because we expect more. We will not rest, ever, until the fight is won. And if we go to our long rest before that day, know that our children will fight on as well. And theirs. And theirs.

You will never turn the clock back on us, Ms. Ruth. Get used to it.

EDIT: I wanted to add, yes, I'm aware that Ms. Ruth has served women's rights well in the past, with her involvement in the founding of LEAF, and various other acts. Absolutely. That doesn't mean that when she turns to the Dark Side, we can't call her out on it; and silencing women about our rights, as far as I'm concerned, makes her basically Darth Harper's Padawan.

* In Canada, the Senate is an appointed body, serving as the upper house of parliament, similar to the UK's House of Lords or the US Senate (save, in the latter case, for the "appointed" bit). It is generally toothless; whenever the Upper House threatens to block some piece of legislation, the government-of-the-time threatens to abolish it, which makes all the comfy-womfy Senators in their comfy-womfy lifelong seats go all wibbly (what the hell would they do if they had to work for a living! - that shit's for the peons!), and they back down. Effectively, we have a one-house Parliament in this country.

Tip of the CaitieCap to the inimitable James Nicoll.