B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton dead following prison attack
Convicted B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, who preyed on women he lured from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to his rural pig farm, has died.
Voters around the world who worry about growing threats to democratic freedoms should consider electing more women in countries' national elections this year, the United Nations deputy secretary-general said Wednesday.
Amina Mohammed also said the increasing frequency of online threats made against female candidates is offsetting other gains.
“Advancing women’s participation is critical not only because women are significantly underrepresented in decision-making, but also because the future of democracy and achievement of peaceful societies depends on it,” she said.
She spoke by video link to a conference in Greece on women’s participation in politics.
More than 50 countries — home to half the planet’s population — are holding national elections in 2024, including India, Mexico and the United States, along with the European Union.
The global proportion of female lawmakers stood at 26.9 per cent in 2023, a fractional increase from the previous year, according to data published this month by the Switzerland-based Inter-Parliamentary Union.
The world average for women’s representation in legislatures stood at 11.3 per cent in 1995, but candidate quotas have helped to raise the rate in many countries over the last three decades, the IPU said.
Mohammed said the UN is currently advising more than 20 countries on how to help increase women’s participation in parliament.
More representative parliaments would help bolster democratic institutions, Ethiopia's president, Sahle-Work Zewde, told the Athens conference. She is one of a tiny number of women in leading government positions in Africa.
“The current narrative is that we are in an era of democratic backsliding,” she said.
“When democracy is under threat, it will have a negative impact on women,” she said. “In any given country, women constitute the majority of the electorate. This is a fact. (But) only a few men make it to the top position … So things have to change.”
The two-day event, organized by a global network of women politicians called Women Political Leaders, ends Thursday.
Convicted B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, who preyed on women he lured from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to his rural pig farm, has died.
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
The ex-husband of Tatjana Stefanski – the woman whose disappearance and death set the small town of Lumby, B.C., on edge last month – has been charged with her murder.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored two power-play goals as Edmonton smothered the Dallas Stars 3-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the NHL's Western Conference final on Friday.
A newborn is dead after being delivered via emergency C-section to a woman in police custody.
Jennifer Lopez has cancelled her 2024 North American tour, representatives for Live Nation confirmed to The Associated Press.
There's a luxury 'tree home' for sale in Calgary.
The Department of National Defence is moving approximately 1,000 employees out of an office building in Ottawa's Lowertown neighbourhood, citing safety concerns for its employees.
A man convicted of murdering a Toronto police officer more than four decades ago has been granted day parole for six months.
A hefty donation by a renowned local activist to the University of Winnipeg has created what is believed to be the most comprehensive two-spirit archives in all of Canada.
Leanne Van Bergen discovered a skulk of 10 baby foxes, and two mothers, had made themselves at home on her property in Beausejour.
An 81-year-old Waterloo, Ont. woman thought she’d never ride a horse again after a brain bleed led to severe physical complications.
A CP24 camera caught the moment a driver frantically got out of her car as it was being dragged by a truck on Avenue Road Wednesday afternoon.
Prince Edward Island is celebrating its first-ever International Day of Potato on Thursday.
The president of Covered Bridge Chips in New Brunswick is hoping to have his factory rebuilt for late 2025 following a devastating fire last year.
Students and staff at Winnipeg’s Westwood Collegiate had a unique problem to solve this month; how do you lead ducks to water from the school’s courtyard when 12 of them can’t fly yet?
Debby Lorinczy remembers her father as an amazing person and as a man who also made an amazing discovery.
Abigail Strate is a member of the Canadian national ski jumping team and an Olympic bronze medallist. She's also a certified beekeeper.