A 'fascist' essay written by an aspiring future elected official was removed from the official government website in Alberta..The "Her Vision Inspires" essay contest was recently held by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and received three submissions. It was judged by Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk, a UCP MLA and associate minister for Status of Women and Alberta rep for Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians..A judging panel of female UCP MLAs determined the winners..Albertan women between the ages of 17 and 25 were invited to submit an essay of between 250 and 500 words describing their unique vision for Alberta and, specifically, what they would do if they were a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.."Women have a unique strength: our ability to give birth. This strength cannot be justly undermined, underestimated, or demeaned, for without it none of us would be alive today, our way of life and our culture would vanish, our very species would cease to exist," The essay stated.."While it is sadly popular nowadays to think that the world would be better off without humans, or that Albertan children are unnecessary as we can import foreigners to replace ourselves, this is a sickly mentality that amounts to a drive for cultural suicide."."The first rule of health for any biological population is their (sic) ability to reproduce and pass along their way of life into the future. Women are not exactly equal to men. This biological reality is also under attack by present-day delusion. To try to promote that women break into careers that men traditionally dominate is not only misguided, but it is harmful. Such a focus detracts from the languishing unique strength and the truly important role that women have in the preservation of our community, culture, and species," the essay continued.."Unfortunately, present day government policies all-too-often have this misguided and harmful aim. Many women now realize in their late 30s they actually want a child after having been taught career was what mattered earlier in their lives, and they then regret not having done it earlier, when they were in their prime. Others couldn’t afford to have children when they were younger. Sadly, having children is an expensive burden in our modern society."."It is this way because our society has become oriented around personal greed and selfish and hedonistic goals. Families who (sic) are trying to raise children are competing for resources such as housing, and are at a disadvantage in this environment. And while there is some government assistance for people with children, it is primarily focused on the lowest income parents, so it provides little help to middle class families."."My vision of Alberta is a place that is oriented around healthy families and communities again, not around personal greed and selfishness. Recognizing children as being of the utmost importance in our society would be the cornerstone of such a future. Unity among people requires shared common values, and the importance of children and family are the most fundamental values of any healthy population, so this is also the place to start towards achieving greater unity among presently-divided Albertans."."As a future parliamentarian, I would promote healthy appreciation for the value that young Albertan women have in their ability to carry our population forward into the future. I believe the best approach would be to reward families for their reproductive service both with financial rewards to offset the financial burden they are taking on and with medals to symbolize their valuable achievement of having two-plus children."."Encouraging our society to reorient in this healthier perspective would provide the greatest good for Alberta going forward and would alleviate many of the problems that we are currently facing," the essay said..According to Alberta's NDP, the third place essay is a smorgasbord of sexism, transphobia, and anti-immigrant sentiment, suggesting Albertan women should be less focused on having careers and more focused on having babies, and that it is ”misguided” and ”harmful” to encourage women to break into careers that men traditionally dominate..“The bronze-medal-winning essay chosen by the UCP contains comments that are misogynistic, sexist, transphobic, racist, and fascist. Much of the language used within the essay is reprehensible and sends a terrible message to the young women of this province," Alberta NDP Children’s Services Critic Rakhi Pancholi..“Alberta women are working tirelessly to break through barriers in a society where sexism is prevalent and continues to keep them from achieving financial, physical and psychological security. When we encourage women to participate in traditionally male-dominated industries, it leads to better outcomes, representation and diversity in governance and leadership in all sectors, including politics.".Pancholi said, "This is yet another example of the UCP’s consistent failure to support women, which includes zero new investment in child care, underwhelming support for entrepreneurs, their refusal to stand up for women’s reproductive rights and their failure to support women’s health care, including providing accessible services for maternal health and obstetrical services.".The Western Standard reached out to Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk for comment. ."Over the last several hours, some of my caucus and cabinet colleagues have raised concerns with me about how such an essay could be selected for an award," Armstrong-Homeniuk said.."As the Minister for the Status of Women, I want to emphasize that I do not support rhetoric that in any way diminishes the importance and contributions of more than half of Alberta’s population."."It’s clear that the process failed, and I apologize for my role in that. The selection of this particular essay and awarding it with third prize was a failure on my part as the head of the judging panel."."Alberta’s government values the contributions of women and newcomers, and we will continue working towards removing barriers to equality so that all Albertans can enjoy opportunities and success in our province," Armstrong-Homeniuk said..More to come...
A 'fascist' essay written by an aspiring future elected official was removed from the official government website in Alberta..The "Her Vision Inspires" essay contest was recently held by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and received three submissions. It was judged by Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk, a UCP MLA and associate minister for Status of Women and Alberta rep for Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians..A judging panel of female UCP MLAs determined the winners..Albertan women between the ages of 17 and 25 were invited to submit an essay of between 250 and 500 words describing their unique vision for Alberta and, specifically, what they would do if they were a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.."Women have a unique strength: our ability to give birth. This strength cannot be justly undermined, underestimated, or demeaned, for without it none of us would be alive today, our way of life and our culture would vanish, our very species would cease to exist," The essay stated.."While it is sadly popular nowadays to think that the world would be better off without humans, or that Albertan children are unnecessary as we can import foreigners to replace ourselves, this is a sickly mentality that amounts to a drive for cultural suicide."."The first rule of health for any biological population is their (sic) ability to reproduce and pass along their way of life into the future. Women are not exactly equal to men. This biological reality is also under attack by present-day delusion. To try to promote that women break into careers that men traditionally dominate is not only misguided, but it is harmful. Such a focus detracts from the languishing unique strength and the truly important role that women have in the preservation of our community, culture, and species," the essay continued.."Unfortunately, present day government policies all-too-often have this misguided and harmful aim. Many women now realize in their late 30s they actually want a child after having been taught career was what mattered earlier in their lives, and they then regret not having done it earlier, when they were in their prime. Others couldn’t afford to have children when they were younger. Sadly, having children is an expensive burden in our modern society."."It is this way because our society has become oriented around personal greed and selfish and hedonistic goals. Families who (sic) are trying to raise children are competing for resources such as housing, and are at a disadvantage in this environment. And while there is some government assistance for people with children, it is primarily focused on the lowest income parents, so it provides little help to middle class families."."My vision of Alberta is a place that is oriented around healthy families and communities again, not around personal greed and selfishness. Recognizing children as being of the utmost importance in our society would be the cornerstone of such a future. Unity among people requires shared common values, and the importance of children and family are the most fundamental values of any healthy population, so this is also the place to start towards achieving greater unity among presently-divided Albertans."."As a future parliamentarian, I would promote healthy appreciation for the value that young Albertan women have in their ability to carry our population forward into the future. I believe the best approach would be to reward families for their reproductive service both with financial rewards to offset the financial burden they are taking on and with medals to symbolize their valuable achievement of having two-plus children."."Encouraging our society to reorient in this healthier perspective would provide the greatest good for Alberta going forward and would alleviate many of the problems that we are currently facing," the essay said..According to Alberta's NDP, the third place essay is a smorgasbord of sexism, transphobia, and anti-immigrant sentiment, suggesting Albertan women should be less focused on having careers and more focused on having babies, and that it is ”misguided” and ”harmful” to encourage women to break into careers that men traditionally dominate..“The bronze-medal-winning essay chosen by the UCP contains comments that are misogynistic, sexist, transphobic, racist, and fascist. Much of the language used within the essay is reprehensible and sends a terrible message to the young women of this province," Alberta NDP Children’s Services Critic Rakhi Pancholi..“Alberta women are working tirelessly to break through barriers in a society where sexism is prevalent and continues to keep them from achieving financial, physical and psychological security. When we encourage women to participate in traditionally male-dominated industries, it leads to better outcomes, representation and diversity in governance and leadership in all sectors, including politics.".Pancholi said, "This is yet another example of the UCP’s consistent failure to support women, which includes zero new investment in child care, underwhelming support for entrepreneurs, their refusal to stand up for women’s reproductive rights and their failure to support women’s health care, including providing accessible services for maternal health and obstetrical services.".The Western Standard reached out to Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk for comment. ."Over the last several hours, some of my caucus and cabinet colleagues have raised concerns with me about how such an essay could be selected for an award," Armstrong-Homeniuk said.."As the Minister for the Status of Women, I want to emphasize that I do not support rhetoric that in any way diminishes the importance and contributions of more than half of Alberta’s population."."It’s clear that the process failed, and I apologize for my role in that. The selection of this particular essay and awarding it with third prize was a failure on my part as the head of the judging panel."."Alberta’s government values the contributions of women and newcomers, and we will continue working towards removing barriers to equality so that all Albertans can enjoy opportunities and success in our province," Armstrong-Homeniuk said..More to come...
