Where's Pat? Former trade minister Carney is shut out of a free trade reunion

Sen. [Pat Carney]'s greatest achievement was helping craft the FTA. Sen. Carney was trade minister when the pact became law in October 1997. She was not, however, invited to speak at the Free Trade@10 conference June 4-5 at McGill University. Conference organizers had assembled a glittery line-...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inAlberta report Vol. 26; no. 26; p. 48
Main Author Thompson, Wendy-Anne
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Edmonton United Western Communications 21.06.1999
Subjects
Carney, Pat
Conferences
Free trade & protection
Politics & government
Canada
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Sen. [Pat Carney]'s greatest achievement was helping craft the FTA. Sen. Carney was trade minister when the pact became law in October 1997. She was not, however, invited to speak at the Free Trade@10 conference June 4-5 at McGill University. Conference organizers had assembled a glittery line-up of participants from both Canada and the U.S. She first learned of the conference from the Montreal Gazette. Keynote speakers included George Bush and [Brian Mulroney], Canada's chief trade negotiator Simon Reisman and John Crosbie, who succeeded Sen. Carney as trade minister. Sen. Carney wrote to organizer Desmond Morton, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, demanding to know why she was not on the speaker's list. Professor Morton then offered Sen. Carney an opportunity to speak at a workshop. Offended by this sop, Sen. Carney (who was unavailable for an interview) took her complaint to the media and engaged in a slanging match with Prof. Morton on CBC Radio. The defiant academic explained that the conference had "picked enough egos, thank you very much." Sen. Carney saw "sexism" and told Prof. Morton she is "tired of seeing women airbrushed out of Canadian history. Men are quite willing to take credit for women's work." She concluded, "I think the old boys never thought about it. They just never thought of the woman. She was just a woman trade minister so she doesn't count."
ISSN:0225-0519