Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 28, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B1 IMRIS's loss is our loss / B4 CITY & BUSINESS CITY EDITOR: SHANE MINKIN 204- 697- 7292 I CITY. DESK@ FREEPRESS. MB. CA I WINNIPEGFREEPRESS. COM TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2015 B 1 T HE glass ceiling may be cracking, but city hall still has a few benchmarks to pass before it can argue it's completely broken for women in municipal politics. A woman sits on Mayor Brian Bowman's executive policy committee, a woman sits as the speaker, and for the first time since 1998, a quarter of councillors are women. Coun. Jenny Gerbasi is the longestserving councillor at city hall, and said things haven't improved much since she was elected in 1998 as councillor in Fort Rouge- East Fort Garry, but she remains hopeful it will. She recalls back in 1998 while in line to enter the chamber on her day of inauguration, a male city councillor made a " significantly demeaning" comment, which prompted her to send a letter to the unnamed councillor stating she expected to be treated with the same respect as any of the councillors would be treated. " I haven't seen a lot of change; we happen to have four women on council, which is a positive change," she said, acknowledging the new mayor has brought a more positive attitude. " As we know, for the last 10 years there have been challenges in the workplace, being disrespectful and the bullying that has been tolerated." Of the 59 candidates who ran in last year's civic election, only nine were women. " When I was first elected, people would say to me, ' Why do you want to go to that place? It is a total Old Boys club,' and I thought being a mother of three, a nurse, I thought maybe I'll bring a different type of person to city council," Gerbasi said. After extensive research, the United Nations concluded 30 per cent is the minimal percentage of women required in government for women's concerns to be met; a benchmark Winnipeg has never been able to meet. There hasn't been enough significant research at the municipal level to conclude exactly why women aren't choosing to run for municipal politics, said Angelia Wagner, a PhD candidate at the University of Alberta, who has studied women in municipal elections. Wagner notes research has pointed to men being more socialized to think about a career in politics or are more confident to run for office regardless of their financial or personal situation. " There are some differences in terms of attitude," she said. " But we really don't know enough about what is holding them back." The importance in bridging this gap is one that shouldn't be ignored, she said. For example, women have different views and needs on important areas dealt with at the municipal level such as public transit or economic development, she said. " Women have a particular set of needs and interests in a wide range of policy areas, so we need to have that perspective brought on to municipal council," Wagner said. Coun. Devi Sharma ( Old Kildonan) is the first woman to be elected Speaker at city hall. She says the obvious goal is to completely break the glass ceiling, but the right step forward is having women in visible roles such as Speaker. Meanwhile, within Bowman's inner circle, Coun. Janice Lukes sits as the lone female member of his EPC and is also chairwoman of infrastructure and public works. As a woman, she feels equally treated at city hall, and argues she can easily shut down anyone who tries to use her being a woman to question her ability. " Being the chair of public works is interesting, so I will say I have had some encounters where I feel the, ' Oh you're a woman, what do you know?' " she said, laughing at the absurdity of the idea. It's an attitude she says she quickly shuts down through her passion and extensive knowledge on everything within her complex file. Rookie Coun. Cindy Gilroy ( Daniel McIntyre) acknowledged that as a mother of two children, in the midst of separating from her husband, she had to make sure she had a support system in place before felt she could commit to such a time- consuming job. " For me, it is the work balance that is difficult; you have to be on call with you family, and then you are on call with the citizens, and I think it is balancing those priorities that might scare women away," Gilroy said. kristin. annable@ freepress. mb. ca I SPENT the weekend trying to contact Rinelle Harper's family over the phone. No answer. I was looking for them because of some potentially good news flowing from Saturday's column ( So chief, where are you now? , July 25) about the Harper family's desperate search for summer employment in the aftermath of losing their home at Garden Hill First Nation to a suspected arson two weeks ago. Parents Julie and Caesar Harper and their two teenage daughters, Rinelle and Rayne, also lost their on- reserve summer jobs in the Island Lakes area. That's left them unable to pay the rent for their home in the city. Suddenly, 16- year- old Rinelle and her family face the prospect of having nowhere to live. Prior to Rinelle's grandmother Carol Harper calling the Free Press for help, no one - including David Harper, the grand chief of the northern chiefs organization - was reaching out to support the girl who was paraded before the public last year as the nationally celebrated survivor of a brutal beating and sexual assault. As such, Rinelle became the voice of more than 1,000 voiceless missing and murdered aboriginal woman and girls, and the uncounted other victims of violence like them. It was Monday, just after 11 a. m. when I finally reached a family member, but to do it I had to drive to the grandmother's home in the city's West End. " Rinelle just got out of recovery," Carol Harper said at the front door. Her granddaughter had undergone day surgery to repair an injury that still hadn't healed eight months after the attack. That's not all that hasn't healed, in her grandmother's opinion. " I'm starting to feel that something is starting to come back to her," Carol said. " But she doesn't want to say." Carol meant memories of what happened by the downtown banks of Assiniboine River last November that the media was told Rinelle didn't remember at that time. Her grandmother senses Rinelle is remembering what happened now. Or at least some of it. That's Carol's intuition at work. And, undoubtedly, her years of experience as a crisis worker in Garden Hill. Because Rinelle hasn't told her anything. " I always talk to her," Carol said. "' Anytime you need to, you can talk to your grandmother.'" But Rinelle has said nothing to her. Rinelle was offered counselling at her high school, according to her mother, although it's not clear to me whether Rinelle accepted it, or opened up in any way if she did. Her father, Caesar Harper, told me last week his daughter is unaffected by what happened last year. " She's still the same" he said when I asked. " I think she never changed. Not one little bit." Her grandmother knows better than to believe Rinelle has been unaffected psychologically or emotionally. " She hasn't dealt with anything, yet," Carol said. " Those flashbacks will come, eventually." That's my own sense of it, too. It's highly unlikely Rinelle isn't coping in some way inwardly, even if outwardly she seems the same to her dad. Especially given the nature of an assault that left her near death and the resulting national spotlight that followed. That's the kind of public exposure sexual assault victims rarely face. Let alone a victim who is a minor. A minor whose informed consent for allowing herself to be so public with her identity was questionable at the time. And still is. But my main mission Monday was to deliver news, not gather it. Carol began by suggesting why I might have trouble reaching her son and daughter- in- law. She said their cellphone and Internet was cut off Monday and hydro and water may follow. " They have nothing." The basic rent for next month is $ 950. Carol said they're paid up for this month. It's August and maybe September, they need help with. Having heard that, it seemed like the right time to tell Carol about the good news that followed from Saturday's column. One reader wants to start an online crowd- sourcing campaign for them to pay the rent. Someone else has stepped up with potential term positions for Julie, who's hoping to be funded by her reserve to return to her school course this fall. There may be some work for Caesar, too. And there was even this unexpected email that arrived later Monday. " Good day, Mr. Sinclair. I can give Rinelle Harper summer employment, too bad it is only for a month but everything helps." That offer came from. Don Courchene, chief of staff for the Southern Chiefs' Organization. Which reminded me of David Harper - who was asked by the family if he could find a summer job for Rinelle and didn't seem interested when we spoke last week. He's the grand chief of the northern chiefs. So, you might be wondering, is the offer from the southern chiefs a coincidence? I think not. But no matter. If it is, no doubt it's a happy one for Rinelle and family. gordon. sinclair@ freepress. mb. ca GORDON SINCLAIR JR. TREVOR HAGAN / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Rinelle Harper made national headlines after speaking out about her attack. Delivering good news to a family in need The Women's Democracy Project is a series of news stories written in advance of the 100th anniversary of Manitoba women's right to vote, which occurred on Jan. 28, 1916. To commemorate this important anniversary, the Winnipeg Free Press, working with the Nellie McClung Foundation, is sponsoring the Nellie Awards, given to women who have worked tirelessly in the area of social justice, the arts and promoting democracy. For more information or to nominate, please go to wfp. to/ nellies. WOMEN'S DEMOCRACY 100 th A N N I V E R S A R Y ' Women have a particular set of needs and interests in a wide range of policy areas, so we need to have that perspective brought on to municipal council' - Angelia Wagner, a PhD candidate at the University of Alberta, who has studied women in municipal elections Looking for a breakthrough It's no longer an Old Boys club, but glass ceiling remains at city hall Kristin Annable RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Couns. Janice Lukes ( from left), Devi Sharma and Jenny Gerbasi, along with Cindy Gilroy, represent a quarter of Winnipeg's city council. B_ 01_ Jul- 28- 15_ FP_ 01. indd B1 7/ 27/ 15 9: 36: 51 PM ;