WINDSOR, Ont. — The hoodie worn by University of Windsor student Kareem Ellis dared anyone who might target him — a tall, young, black man — for racial profiling.
“Racism is the wrong way,” read the slogan emblazoned on Ellis’s sweater as he joined a student rally outside the university’s Faculty of Law building on Wednesday.
Dozens of students at the protest also wore hooded sweaters as a sign of solidarity with 17-year-old Trayvon Martin — the black youth who was fatally shot in Florida in February while he was clad in a hoodie. George Zimmerman, the neighbourhood watch volunteer who killed Martin, said the teen looked suspicious.
Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/news/students+their+hoods+Trayvon+Martin/6411587/story.html#ixzz1r7Ah6Gm0
A new CROP poll whose methodology and findings have been criticized is adding fuel to Québec’s language war fire. The Québec news magazine L’actualité devotes its cover story – complete with provocative cover photo – to the poll’s findings in what Lysiane Gagnon (journalist with the Globe and Mail) has termed “a call to war”.
L’actualité and the Parti Québecois have jumped on these findings in calling for a renewed conversation regarding the French language’s role in Québec society, and in Montréal in particular. The subject is never far from political center stage – a 67 year-old francophone woman who was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital following a stroke recently filed a complaint that she was unable to obtain service in her native tongue.
Public conversations on the matter are not merely vitriol. L’actualité’s website actually aggregates a diverse range of views on the subject.
The CROP polls numbers are available in PDF here.
According to Bill Frelick and Jennifer Egsgard, the deemed human smuggling bill to “protect” Canada’s immigration system will only harm the most vulnerable and desperate: the victims of human smuggling.
If there are “reasonable grounds to suspect” certain groups of individuals association with human smuggling (including, those who were themselves victims of smuggling), these individuals can be sent to jail up to one full year. This includes children who are 16 and 17 years of age.
“What would constitute a group is not defined and could technically include as few as two people travelling together. Children under age 16 in the group would either be detained with their parents or separated from them and sent to a child welfare agency. Under international law, 16 and 17 year olds are also children, yet Canada would run afoul of its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child by subjecting them to one-year detention.”
“Canadian law already provides the government with adequate procedures to deal with the concerns that C-31 purports to address. Current law allows the government to detain any foreign nationals who have not established their identity, are a flight risk, or might be a danger to the public. An independent decision maker reviews whether detention is reasonable within the first 48 hours. Officials must review detention decisions after a week and then monthly until release or deportation. C-31 would remove this scrutiny while a designated person languishes in detention.”
To read the full Op-Ed in the Toronto Star, click here.
Julian Assange is running for a seat in Australia’s senate and he purports to wanting to bring liberty back to the forefront of Australian politics.
The WikiLeaks founder also plans to be a ”fierce defender of free media” if elected to the Senate. He repeatedly advocates that he will not shy from using parliamentary privilege to hinder court suppression orders and other ”excessive constraints” on free access to information. Mr. Assange declared that he ”could be described as a libertarian” and his platform appears to highlight this.
Also, Mr. Assange’s senate platform appears to be littered with many accusations of Australia’s current political climate and how, as he claims, it is continuously disregarding the interests of the citizens. In his run for Senate bid, Assange is keeping ”all possibilities” alive. This includes running as an independent, seeking an alliance with another party, or launching a new party. While support for WikiLeaks is strongest among Greens voters, Mr Assange noted recent polling had shown 53 per cent approval across the spectrum. This is interesting considering he has pending criminal charges looming.
In addition, he repeatedly emphasized the importance of protecting small business and individuals from the power of government and large corporations. As well, with regards to social issues such as same-sex marriage and euthanasia, he acknowledged “strong arguments on all sides”. Even if he is not successful in his bid, it will be impossible for others in the Senate race to avoid offering their thoughts and answering questions regarding the tough issues Assange is bringing to the forefront of his campaign.
As per the 2012 Ontario budget, six previously approved hospital projects will be scrapped or downsized. Of these hospital cuts, however, five of the six are in Tory ridings, with only one (Sunnybrook) being in a Liberal riding. Some believe this decision stinks suspiciously of partisanship. The provincial government okayed a $100 million renovation at Kincardine and Winghman hospitals in the days leading up the 2011 provincial election for example – the project “was basically a done deal” according to Jeff Vandervort, chairman of the hospital board. The riding, at the time, was Liberal-held. During the election the Conservatives took control of the riding and, last Tuesday, the provincial government decided to scrap the previously-approved renovations. Vandervort does not believe this was a coincidence. If such allegations are true, it raises troubling questions about the provincial government’s failure to fairly and equally represent all of its constituents. The full story can be read here.
A class-action lawsuit has been filed in BC Supreme Court by lawyers representing a former Nanaimo, BC RCMP officer alleging sexual harassment against her employer. Janet Merlo claims she was subject to 20 years of sexual harassment while part of the force, including sexual pranks and comments by male supervisors.
Lawyers that filed the suit are now awaiting certification by a judge that the lawsuit is a class action (a process that could take up to two years). The suit follows the widespread allegations of sexual harassment and abuse in the RCMP that became public last fall, and is among the latest stories of unaccountability and discrimination having to do with the RCMP.
More information about the lawsuit can be found here. The notice of civil claim can be found here.
Le Nouveau-Brunswick fait face à un déficit projeté de 471 millions $ pour l’année financière 2011-2012. Au total, sa dette devrait dépasser les 10 milliards $. Bien qu’il ait promis de ne pas augmenter le taux de la taxe de vente harmonisée ou la taxe sur l’essence et de ne pas introduire un système de péage sur les routes, le gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick doit faire quelque chose afin de contrer le déficit de la province. Or, il planifie d’éliminer 4500 emplois dans la fonction publique au cours des trois prochaines années. Le budget sera annoncé cet après-midi. Pour de plus amples renseignements, cliquez ici.
Patterson Outdoor et CBS Outdoor plaident que le règlement de zonage Z-22 de la Ville de Dieppe brime leur droit constitutionnel à la liberté d’expression garantie à l’alinéa 2b) de la Charte canadienne. Un litige constitutionnel de cette magnitude représente une mini fortune pour les contribuables d’une municipalité. Bien que dans un monde idéal nous pouvions croire que la défense de nos droits ne connait aucun prix, un tel litige est, en réalité, taxant. Pour de plus ample renseignements, cliquez ici.
Update on Taser Use in Australia
A man was killed in Australia by a police taser on March 18th. The police were responding to a robbery call. The man did resist arrest but it is unclear if he was even involved in the robbery itself or if there was even a robbery taking place.
Australia is facing a dilemma with the use of tasers by the police force. As seen in a past blog, the numbers are astonishing as to how many people are killed or seriously injured by taser use each year in Australia.
A five-year study into the use of the weapons published in 2010 showed 85 per cent of cases involved a person with a mental illness and 28 per cent of those targeted were unarmed.
Over the weekend, Graham James’ mug shot emerged from Stony Mountain Institution, a federal penitentiary in Manitoba. James was sentenced to two years in prison last week for sexually abusing two former hockey players he had coached. James looks dramatically different from his days behind the bench. On his way in and out of the courthouse in Winnipeg for both the sentencing submissions and decisions, James had kept his face hidden from media cameras. His lawyer claims James as been the subject of numerous threats and has ongoing concern for his safety.
The Winnipeg Free Press reports that prison photos are not normally released to the public unless police are searching for a wanted fugitive or issuing a community warning about a convicted offender who is about to be released. James is expected to be transferred to a minimum-security institution in the coming months and will be eligible for day parole in September and full parole in November, when he has served one-third of his sentence.
Today, CBC News reported that Stony Mountain is investigating the photo’s emergence. A spokesperson said the release of the photo was in violation of the penitentiary’s policy and legislation and whoever leaked it could face disciplinary action.
