Dear editor,
“If one of the councillors were to make a sexist remark during a council meeting, how would you behave?” That’s a question I submitted to the mayoral candidates’ meeting last week; the question wasn’t put. It’s an important question to ask, yes, even in the 21st century, given the possible make-up of our new council and given that sexist remarks and conduct still persist, alas, as I see in my own profession and in many other workplaces too.
So I contacted all three mayoral candidates personally and posed the question to them directly. I was happy to hear their robust responses. They said that they hoped it wouldn’t arise but that if it did, they would have zero tolerance for such inappropriate conduct and would stop it dead in its tracks. All three emphasized the importance of mutual respect between councillors in every direction.
I am glad to have had the opportunity to discuss this with our mayoral candidates and glad to be able to report their robust responses to the community. If there are any lapses in conduct by our future councillors, I hope our new mayor will not be taken by surprise but will respond quickly and appropriately and thus establish respectful discourse as the norm.
Susanna Braund
