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Hedy Fry - Secretary of State

Hedy Fry, Secretary of State for the Status of Women and Multiculturalism started a firestorm on March 21st, when she announced in the House of Commons that crosses were being burned on lawns in Prince George, B.C. Ms. Fry claimed she was informed about the incident by the Mayor of Prince George. The Mayor, however, maintained that he had never said or written any such thing.

Ms. Fry was clearly confused. She thought she heard about some burning crosses somewhere. She certainly did. But not in Prince George, BC, by the KKK as she claimed, but instead, they were right in her own territory, planted by her sister feminists on International Women's Day, March 8, last year.

According to the National Post, March 9, 2000, 50 feminist activists met at Phillips Square in downtown Montreal, campaigning against sexism and for abortion rights. Afterwards, these women marched staunchly to the Catholic Cathedral, Mary Queen of the World, where they burned crosses outside the Church and then went inside to spray-paint slogans on the altar, turning over flower pots, sticking some soiled sanitary napkins on pictures and walls and throwing condoms around the Cathedral. All the while, these women yelled slogans against religion and in favour of abortion and, of course, in support of their, but not others', freedom of speech. (See Reality, May/June 2000, "Aggression Against Christians Acceptable in Canada", page 10).

At the time, however, there was not a peep from Hedy Fry about this. Apparently, she is a woman of such discernment and subtlety that she views the burning of crosses as acceptable, if it is for the proper purpose.

REAL Women was pleased to be of help to Ms. Fry though, by finding the burning crosses for her. In this regard, we were happy to send out a press release on March 27th about the location of these burning crosses.

We sent a copy of our press release to some MP's. Alliance MP Deborah Grey, as a result of our press release asked Ms Fry on March 30, whether she condoned the cross burnings in Montreal last year. Ms. Fry replied, "I will not make a comment on something I know nothing about." Peals of laughter rang out through the House of Commons, even from the Liberal benches. (Ms. Fry, by the way, did know about the Montreal cross burning, as we had sent our press release the previous day to her office, and one of her staff had phoned us back to acknowledge it had been received.)

MP Jason Kenney further questioned Ms. Fry on March 30 as to whether her department had funded the Montreal International Women's Day demonstration in Montreal which had lead to violent and antireligious bigotry. Ms. Fry of course, fervently denied this.

Newspaper editorials from across the country have demanded that Ms. Fry do the decent thing and resign her cabinet post because of her deliberate misleading of Parliament. It can't come too soon!

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