June 7, 2016 by admin

Ontario cabinet minister stepping down for gender parity

TORONTO — Ontario’s minister of municipal affairs and housing says he will resign his cabinet post to help the premier achieve gender parity.
Ted McMeekin wrote in a Facebook post today that he will continue to serve as minister until Premier Kathleen Wynne names a replacement.
Speculation about a pending cabinet shuffle is rampant at the Ontario legislature, and Wynne has said that in a “hypothetical” one, she would like to have an equal number of men and women in her cabinet.
McMeekin says that he thought of his three daughters and his wife and has often dreamed of a day when the question of gender parity wouldn’t even arise.
The Hamilton-area MPP says he is a feminist and adds that sometimes the best way for a man to advance the equality of women may be to step back and make room at the table.
McMeekin says that when a new cabinet is named he will return to serving his constituents, but does not say whether he’ll run again in 2018.