'I felt disappointed': Local women’s advocates lament MP Karen Vecchio’s ouster as Status of Women Committee chair

Elgin Middlesex London Conservative MP Karen Vecchio speaks to CTV News London at the Elgin County Women’s Leadership Conference in Aylmer, Ont. on April 27, 2024. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)

At an event in which she was celebrated for her advocacy of women’s issues, Karen Vecchio was in no mood to speak about her removal from her role of chair of Federal Parliament’s Status of Women Committee.

“It’s over and done with,” Vecchio said.

The Elgin Middlesex London Conservative MP was ousted from the position earlier this month when Conservatives on the committee voted to replace her with Conservative MP Shelby Kramp-Neuman.

“Their voices need to be heard,” Vecchio told CTV News London Saturday while attending the event in Aylmer, Ont. She was one of the panelists at the Elgin County Women’s Leadership Conference hosted by The Jean Collective: A Women in Politics Initiative.

First elected in 2015, Vecchio began serving as chair of the committee in 2017.

She said she wants young women to have the courage to take on leadership roles.

“I think at a time when our world is so crazy and our communities need leadership, I think voices of women are more important than ever right now,” she explained. “I’m really excited to be here with so many of these young women who have started at the council level then are looking for higher up, and whatever we can do to support them.”

Elgin Middlesex London Conservative MP Karen Vecchio is greeted by the founder of The Jean Collective, Helen Cole, at the Elgin County Women’s Leadership Conference in Aylmer, Ont. on April 27, 2024. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)

While she wasn’t speaking about the recent turn of events on Parliament Hill, others at the event did not hesitate.

Kate Graham, a former leadership contender for the Ontario Liberal Party said, “I felt disappointed to see that news too.”

“We really need to celebrate the contributions that Karen has and continues to make. The Elect Her report [A Roadmap for Improving the Representation for Canadian Women in Politics] in particular is a historically important contribution when it comes to women in politics,” Graham explained.

“I was very disappointed to hear that,” added Helen Cole, who organized the Women’s Leadership Conference. She went on to laud Vecchio’s record of achievement as an MP and within her riding.

“What I will tell you is that Karen is highly regarded in her home community here, and is known for the excellent work she does for her constituents,” said Cole.

More than 120 women attended the Elgin County Women’s Leadership Conference in Aylmer, Ont. on April 27, 2024. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)

The 11-person standing committee was created in 2004. It has five Liberal MPs, four Conservative MPs, and one each from the New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois.

Over the years, the committee has studied murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls, safety in sports, intimate partner violence and access to menstrual products.

Conservative spokesman Sebastian Skamski issued a statement to The Canadian Press, describing Vecchio’s successor Kramp-Neuman as a "proud female common-sense Conservative," and said she will champion "the issues facing Canadian women who have suffered after nine years of Justin Trudeau's Liberal-NDP costly coalition."

Vecchio was among a handful of MPs who backed former Quebec premier Jean Charest in the 2022 Conservative leadership contest, which Pierre Poilievre won in a first-ballot victory.