Welcome

Another blog? Yet someone else who believes their thoughts and ideas are worth taking up more cyberspace?

In a word, yes. The world may not need another blog on cooking or home repair or parenting, but we do need a space for intelligent discussion and debate about women, equality, law and policy in Canada.

I am a feminist, and have been since my daughter was born 35 years ago, which was when I realized for the first time in my privileged, middle-class, white life that, in fact, women were not equal to men in this country. Despite much talk and some action about women’s equality in the 35 years since my initial awakening, women’s inequality remains firmly entrenched in Canada, so my feminist has not wavered.

I am also a lawyer, but that is secondary to my feminism. I went to law school in my mid-thirties because I saw the law as a tool that could be very useful in working for social justice.
I am going to use this blog to talk about issues related to women’s equality, the law and public policy that are important to me and, I hope, to others. I would like this space to advance discussion about these issues and support advocacy efforts across this country to increase women’s equality in a substantive and meaningful way.

After all, it is hard to argue that advocacy is not needed in a country where women still make just 73 cents for every dollar earned by men -- about the same as it was when my daughter was born -- and where approximately one woman a week is killed by her partner or former partner.

While I have developed a certain amount of expertise on a number of topics in the years I have worked as a feminist lawyer and law reform activist, I do not hold myself out as the final authority on anything. I am always interested in having my ideas and opinions constructively challenged, as long as the goal of the critique is to advance women’s equality.

I welcome you to my blog where we can work together for the equality of women in Canadian law and public policy.