Calgary Herald columnist Paula Arab writes:
"We want more young people and women to get involved in politics, yet when they do engage, we treat them terribly. Take MP-elect Ruth Ellen Brosseau and the vitriol she’s had to endure since her unexpected victory in a central Quebec riding between Montreal and Quebec City.
"The young, single mother has been ripped into by righteous critics who think they know better than the electorate of Berthier-Maskinonge.
"Voters elected Brosseau and they did so decidedly, handing her nearly 40 per cent of the vote and almost 6,000 more votes than her nearest opponent. That her stunning victory was a surprise caught even the candidate herself off guard, but that’s no excuse for the mean-spirited backlash toward her from the media, rival candidates and other critics outside the riding.
"The 27-year-old has successfully managed a campus pub at Carleton University. I’m pretty sure she can handle the sophomoric jeering, cat-calling and other poor behaviour typical of our parliamentarians. . . ."
(Calgary, it will be remembered, recently elected a young Moslem as mayor.)
Click on the title to read the full column.
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