When Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett decided to take up her concerns about the underrepresentation of women in the Liberal party, she got a frosty response from the Prime Minister.

On January 28 at a Woman’s Caucus meeting when Bennett brought forth her concerns, Prime Minister Chretien responded with hostility: “I got you elected,” he said.

Shortly thereafter the issue erupted in the media. Then U of T decided to get into the action. Just before reading week, Hart House Debates Committee held a formal debate called “This house believes a men’s parliament is not a people’s parliament.”

Bennett, the chair of the Liberal Party women’s caucus, attended the event. She put forth her thoughts on women in politics, and pointed out that since 1997 the percentage of women in the House of Commons has stalled at about 20 per cent.

“Men and woman socialize differently,” she said. “Women wait till they have something to say. They want to speak on something they feel passionate about. If I don’t know, I don’t try to bullshit you.”

Bennett added, “Old rules allowing a rash of new party members to be signed up just before riding nomination votes promoted sexual discrimination because female candidates lack the funding and moral predisposition for dirty tricks. If women are to be treated equal, they need to get their market share and make sure they move through their organization.”

The evening began by featuring a number of University of Toronto top debaters, followed by closing remarks from Bennett.

Arguing for the ayes, Aaron Rousseau stated, “More women should be in parliament, as they pursue leadership in a different way that can be harnessed to make the world a better place.”

“Female parliamentarians have always tended to take initiative in issues such as equal pay in the labour force, women’s reproductive health, violence in the home and legal equality rights and championed them long before they entered the policy mainstream,” added Bernadette Chung.

Poli-sci prof Sylvia Bashevkinin said later there is merit to the arguments of the ayes, saying that without changes to the nomination process or “broader reforms that would introduce an element of proportional representation to our electoral scheme, the numbers of elected women in federal and provincial politics will tend to stagnate or fall.”

Bennett ended with powerful words.

“If we are ever going to get a mixed system of proportional representation, democracy between elections will have to be taken up and structural barriers must be stopped.”