NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair has called for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to replace Justice Minister Peter MacKay following a scandal over emails that critics call sexist.
Mulcair said the emails show MacKay doesn鈥檛 properly understand the rights to equality outlined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is unfit to be justice minister.
鈥淚 think that Mr. Harper鈥檚 going to have to move in and either explain things to Peter MacKay or replace him with somebody who understands the Charter of Rights and the fact that this is actually the 21st century,鈥� Mulcair said.
Mulcair added that, as opposition leader, he hesitates to frequently call for the resignation of ministers. However, he said, Mackay鈥檚 鈥渞epeat behavior鈥� on issues of equality requires a strong reaction.
鈥淔rankly, yes, I do think that Peter MacKay has to be replaced as justice minister,鈥� Mulcair said.
Mackay鈥檚 recent troubles began when he said that women aren鈥檛 interested in becoming judges on the circuit courts because they don鈥檛 want to travel away from their families. He also has faced scrutiny over Mothers鈥� and Fathers鈥� Day emails he sent to staff. The emails congratulated mothers for their work doing tasks such as changing diapers, but commended fathers for 鈥渟haping the minds and futures of the next generation.鈥�
The criticism prompted MacKay's wife, Nazanin Afshin-Jam MacKay, to speak out on Thursday.
In an open letter to a Globe and Mail columnist, Afshin-Jam MacKay wrote that the media misrepresented her husband's remarks about female judges. She also addressed the emails, writing that female staffers were behind the messages. MacKay approved them, but did not write them, she wrote.
鈥淚ronically he is presumed guilty without any evidence, only hearsay,鈥� Afshin-Jam MacKay wrote.
