The Department of Finance yesterday declined comment on its appointment as feminist advisor an Alberta economist who published profane tweets about “men and their horseshit,” and ridiculed male legislators as juvenile and pathetic. “Deal with it,” tweeted Lindsay Tedds, an associate professor at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.
“There is a small number of people dominated by men who don’t like how I communicate,” wrote Tedds. “Ironically the feeling is mutual. I’ve learned that with such people, women like me can’t win. I am confident, I am opinionated. I am me. Deal with it.”
The finance department did not respond when asked for comment on Professor Tedds’ public remarks. Tedds formerly worked as an analyst for the department.
Tedds wrote in a Twitter post last December 17: “Day. A university campus. A zoom meeting. Dude says something stupid. Me: calls dude out for stupid statement. Dude: ‘Well, that is your opinion.’ Me: who the f—k else’s opinion would it be? Seriously, (what the f—k). Is this dude for ‘I know you are but what am I?’”
Tedds on February 23 accused Opposition Leader Erin O’Toole of “frat boy behaviour,” and on February 17 described Ontario Premier Doug Ford as weak and pathetic. “It is interesting how weak men react to women who challenge them. Pathetic,” she wrote.
On January 30 Tedds tweeted an image of a coffee mug stating: “A wise woman once said, ‘F–k this shit’ and she lived happily ever after.”
A separate ungrammatical January 26 tweet stated: “The School of Public Policy that acknowledges that women exist and who may be tired of men and their horseshit to give a f—k?”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland appointed Tedds to an eighteen-member Task Force on Women and the Economy. “This group will harness the best ideas from a diverse group of experts from different sectors of the economy to advise the government on a feminist, intersectional action plan that addresses issues of gender equality in the wake of the pandemic,” Freeland said in a statement.
“Over the past year we have seen the alarming impact of this pandemic on women’s economic participation,” said Minister Freeland: “Canada’s future prosperity and competitiveness depend on the ability of women to participate equally and fully in our workforce.”
The Commons finance committee earlier heard testimony of conflicting data on claims women were disproportionately affected by the pandemic and economic downturn. “If you seasonally adjusted data the loss is fifty-fifty between men and women,” Philip Cross, a former federal statistician and senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, testified at a December 3 hearing. “If you use unadjusted data it is 85:15.”
“Men and women have different seasonal patterns to their employment,” testified Cross. “Men lose their jobs in winter because they tend to work more outdoors, so they recovered more over summer.”
By Staff 
