A senior Conservative MP is hitting back at the Supreme Court for sowing confusion about what a “woman” is.
Melissa Lantsman, the Thornhill, Ont. MP and deputy leader of the Conservative party, took aim at a Supreme Court of Canada decision saying “woman” was a more confusing term than “person with a vagina.”
“No, there is nothing confusing about the word ‘woman’, it’s common sense,” wrote Lantsman in a post on X. “It’s not hateful, bigoted, wrong or unfair in any way. This is just complete nonsense that moves nothing forward. It’s not ‘progress.’”
Lantsman posted a picture of the definition of the word “woman” from the Oxford English Dictionary, which described it as “An adult female human being. The counterpart of man.”
The Supreme Court of Canada, in a recent decision released Friday, found the term “woman” used by a judge to describe the alleged victim as “problematic.” Instead, the case deemed that “person with a vagina” would have been a more suitable expression.
Justice Sheilah Martin, who was appointed by Justin Trudeau in 2017, noted that the trial judge’s choice to say “a woman” might have been “unfortunate and engendered confusion.”
While Martin didn’t specify why the word “woman” was potentially confusing, she used the term “person with a vagina” when referring to the complainant in her judgment. No individuals involved in the case identified as transgender, and the term “she” was consistently used to describe the complainant, according to the National Post.
The former president of Athletics Alberta and author of the book Unsporting, Linda Blade, has been one of the most vocal advocates for women’s rights, particularly in sports.
“To my knowledge this is first time a Member of Parliament in #Canada has invoked the #AdultHumanFemale definition for the word WOMAN. Thank you @MelissaLantsman,” wrote Blade in a reply to Lantsman on X. “The (Conservative Party of Canada) continues its march towards reality-based positions.”
Firearms advocate Tracey Wilson criticized the Supreme Court’s phrasing in her own post to X.
“After generations of women fighting to be equal, recognized — we have been reduced to an organ. Pathetic,” said Wilson, concluding her post with an SOS emoji.
