On Wednesday’s live stream, Sheila Gunn Reid and Lise Merle reacted to former prime minister Justin Trudeau facing backlash after sharing a bizarre story about his time teaching high school girls decades ago.
Trudeau told the controversial story while speaking at the 2026 Women Deliver Conference in Melbourne, Australia, earlier this week.
Speaking on a panel, he recalled his time as a teacher when a male student complained about being disciplined for dress code violations, while pointing out that female students regularly wore their skirts “too short.”
Trudeau continued by reflecting on how male teachers were “uncomfortable” pointing out the issue, which visibly squirmed his former Chief of Staff, Katie Telford, who was sitting next to him on stage.
Trudeau noted that he found the student’s perspective “really interesting” and allowed it to be published, which subsequently got the newspaper temporarily thrown out.
Lise condemned Trudeau’s remarks, noting the severely inappropriate nature of his messaging. She criticized him for letting a student publish the op-ed suggesting “[male] teachers are awkward around the [female students]. The sub context of that is that they liked it, and they were allowing it.”
By defending a student’s perspective that male teachers felt “awkward” around short skirts and allowing it to be published, Trudeau has once again placed himself at the centre of a firestorm over what many view as deeply insensitive and outdated attitudes.
Hellbound and Down 