The meaning of STFU

Senator Elaine McCoy considers Senator Nancy Ruth’s four-letter word.

How galling it must be for one of Canada’s most outspoken feminists to come to the conclusion that the best way forward is to "shut the f*** up".  Senator Nancy Ruth (ON) has never in her life shied away from a fight.  When women stormed the barricades in 1981 to insist on including gender equality in the new Charter of Rights and Freedoms, for example, she was right there.  Ever since then, she’s dedicated herself to supporting women, and even maintains a website called Section15.ca which helps keep the Charter success alive. Now, thirty years later, she’s reduced to advocating silence for fear of escalating backlash against women’s rights.