Federal Government Minister Hedy Fry also on program and did not disassociate self from comments.
OTTAWA, October 3, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Speaking at a government funded feminist conference, leading Canadian feminist Sunera Thobani, a woman’s study professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), said “the path of U.S. foreign policy is soaked in blood.” CTV reported that Thobani’s speech implied that the US brought the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on themselves. During her address, Thobani, a women’s studies professor at the University of British Columbia and former head of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC), said the United States is “the most dangerous and most powerful global force unleashing horrific levels of violence.”
The National Post reports that the Canadian federal government contributed an estimated $80,000 to fund the ‘Women’s Resistance’ conference, at which Ms. Thobani was a keynote speaker. And as she condemned the US, the 500 women in the audience interrupted Ms. Thobani with cheers and a standing ovation. Sitting on stage with Thobani at the conference was federal Liberal MP Hedy Fry, Secretary of State for Status of Women and Multiculturalism who did not disassociate herself from Thobani’s comments at the time. Federal Liberal governments have for years been the biggest supporters of radical feminist organizations.
Gwen Landolt of REAL Women Canada told LifeSite, “NAC has a long history of such radical policies and statements. It has consistently interpreted ‘equality’ in accordance with extreme Marxist policies rather than representing the views of mainstream Canadian women.” In the June 1987 issue of World Marxist Review, it was stated that the Communist Party of Canada, which is a NAC affiliate, has been highly successful in promoting its policies through NAC, such as opposition to NATO.”
Mary Ellen Douglas, National Organizer of Campaign Life Coalition commented “Sunera Thobani, president of Status of Women has the audacity to accuse the U.S. of being ‘soaked in blood’ when her organization is the leading promoter of the continual slaughter of innocent infants in their mothers’ wombs.” Karen Murawsky Director of Campaign Life Coalition Public Affairs Office said, “Hedy Fry, also a rabid promoter of the shedding of the blood of the preborn, couldn’t find the fortitude to stand up and walk out on such a diatribe against the U.S.”. Campaign Life Coalition calls for the immediate removal of the Status of Women from the taxpayers’ troughs.
Joe Wai, a member of UBC’s board of governors, said people must judge for themselves how appropriate Ms. thobani’s remarks were.
See the National Post coverage: https://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20011003/717653.html
See previous LifeSite reports on Hedy Fry https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2000/june/000605.html#3 https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/1999/march/990326.html#2 https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/1998/nov/981125.html#1