Mayoral candidate Jane Scharf has filed a human rights complaint after her ejection from a candidates’ debate on social issues last Thursday.
Scharf, who had not been invited to participate in the debate at the Bronson Centre, refused to leave the stage and was removed by police.
She said yesterday she’s being excluded from debates and ignored by media because of her gender.
“I think it’s a threat to the male contenders … because 50 per cent of the population is female, so they work very hard to not let the public realize that there is a woman running,” she said.
Named in her complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario are the CBC, the Ottawa Citizen and Ottawa Sun, event organizers Dave Robbins and the Alliance to End Homelessness, and fellow mayoral candidate Charlie Taylor, who had suggested Scharf’s performance was aimed at getting publicity.
“The Human Rights Tribunal is there for legitimate grievances about sexual discrimination,” Taylor said yesterday of the issue. “And this just sort of trivializes it.”
