On Friday evening, workers at the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) walked off the job in a legal strike. Earlier in the day, the workers had, by a 65% to 35% margin, rejected the tentative contract reached at the end of last week. There are many who are angry and frustrated that the workers walked out, but those same people who are angry don't seem to appreciate that TTC workers are also angry and frustrated. They are frustrated that the TTC has done nothing to act on the complaints of the workers about personal safety when doing their job, and that the TTC seems unwilling to give the workers job security, so that they know their jobs will not be contracted out.
Contrary to the usual "greedy workers" meme that comes out of the usual capitalist sources, this strike isn't about money. It is about security, both personal and professional. These workers haven't walked off the job to try to get more money out of the city (and thus by proxy out of the populace). They have walked out to make sure that the city doesn't outsource their jobs, replacing stable and well paying jobs, allowing the workers to contribute to the economy, with unstable, poorly paid contract jobs.
And now the Ontario government proposes to legislate the workers back to work (and to my shame the Ontario NDP has gone along with this), by slapping a fine of $2000/day on any worker who stays off the job. The government implies by taking this action, that the TTC workers are providing an essential public service. Fine, I can go along with that. The hitch is that they want to do that without actually declaring them and essential service. If they were to do that, in exchange for stripping away the right to strike, they would have to replace it with a right to binding arbitration, and they are afraid of where that might lead. This way of handling the issue is conniving and deceitful. If they are an essential service, declare them so and give the right to binding arbitration. If they aren't an essential service, let the negotiation and strike process run its course, and don't legislate and end to the strike.
The members of the Ontario provincial parliament seem intent on squelching the concerns of the workers. They are probably worried that if to many other people realise what the TTC workers are striking about, they might demand job security in their own jobs, throwing the outsourcing craze off the rails. And goodness knows that global capitalism can't have that. Capitalism is, at its very core, exploitation. Capitalists take from the workers what the capitalists have not laboured to earn. And if too many people fought for their job security, that ability to exploit workers, and to pit one against another, would be compromised. That is why this strike is being stomped upon, not any faux concern about the people beyond the possibility that they might not get to work, putting a damper on capitalism for a little while.
I stand with these workers. They have democratically decided to go on strike, and everyone who claims to respect the rights of workers must do the same, and if you live in Ontario, let your MPP know that you don't support this effort to stomp on the rights of workers, and you want them to vote against this bill. Together, the people are strong. Let's make sure that the elected representatives of the people know that.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 266
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Conservatives continue efforts to roll back women's rights
Another private members bill that would set the stage to radically roll back a woman's right to choose and to control her own body has been proposed by a Conservative member of parliament, Maurice Vellacott, MP for Saskatoon-Wanuskewin. Bill C-537 would allow health care practitioners to refuse to participate in a medical procedure that "offends a tenet of their religion."
If a person's religious beliefs prohibit them from offering a certain service, then that person should not get into a profession where they might be required to provide that service. If a person feels that their religion prevents them from giving out the 'morning after' pill, then they shouldn't be a pharmacist. If they can't perform an abortion, or prescribe emergency contraception, then the person shouldn't be a physician. If they can't perform a blood transfusion, they shouldn't practice emergency medicine. This really isn't that complex.
This bill is framed in the context of protecting religious rights, but it should tell you something that Vellacott is the chair of the "Parliamentary Pro-Life Caucus" which includes both Conservative and Liberal MPs (but thankfully no New Democrats). This nonsense would allow doctors, who are being paid by the state, to refuse to provide abortions, in effect banning a practice that the Supreme Court of Canada (in R. v. Morgentaler, 1988) said the government could not use the law to ban, because doing that violated the right of women to "security of the person" under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
This is the same philosophy that has seen women left without pharmacists willing to dispense emergency contraceptives in various parts of the United States. It is the philosophy that says that a doctor's dogmatic beliefs are more important that a woman's right to control her body. That is utter garbage and nonsense.
Furthermore, this bill follows hard on the heels of Bill C-484, which would impose extra penalties for killing a pregnant woman since the assault also terminates the fetus. That bill deems the fetus to be a person, since only a person is legally capable of being murdered, setting us back on the road to banning abortion as murder.
The Conservatives are being cagey on how they push this radical patriarchal and misogynist agenda. It is being done through private members bills, not government bills, so in the next election campaign Harper can claim his government had nothing to do with it. This is very important, because the majority of Canadians think this issue is settled, and that a woman has a right to choose. The Cons want to roll back a woman's rights, and want to take our society back to some twisted 1950s ideal, where everyone is white, everyone is straight, everyone is Christian, people don't have sex until they are thirty and a woman stays in the home, with a martini for her husband at the end of the day. That's not my Canada, and I sure as hell know it isn't any Canada I want to see. We have to remember that women's rights are human rights. If the Cons take rights away from one group, it is only a matter of time until they are taking them away from everyone else.
To everyone reading this in Canada, I encourage you to get in touch with your MP and let them know that you oppose this bill and bill C-484, and that you want them to vote against both bills. Tell your friends, make noise, be heard. Don't let the Conservatives take rights away in the dark and in silence.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 271
If a person's religious beliefs prohibit them from offering a certain service, then that person should not get into a profession where they might be required to provide that service. If a person feels that their religion prevents them from giving out the 'morning after' pill, then they shouldn't be a pharmacist. If they can't perform an abortion, or prescribe emergency contraception, then the person shouldn't be a physician. If they can't perform a blood transfusion, they shouldn't practice emergency medicine. This really isn't that complex.
This bill is framed in the context of protecting religious rights, but it should tell you something that Vellacott is the chair of the "Parliamentary Pro-Life Caucus" which includes both Conservative and Liberal MPs (but thankfully no New Democrats). This nonsense would allow doctors, who are being paid by the state, to refuse to provide abortions, in effect banning a practice that the Supreme Court of Canada (in R. v. Morgentaler, 1988) said the government could not use the law to ban, because doing that violated the right of women to "security of the person" under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
This is the same philosophy that has seen women left without pharmacists willing to dispense emergency contraceptives in various parts of the United States. It is the philosophy that says that a doctor's dogmatic beliefs are more important that a woman's right to control her body. That is utter garbage and nonsense.
Furthermore, this bill follows hard on the heels of Bill C-484, which would impose extra penalties for killing a pregnant woman since the assault also terminates the fetus. That bill deems the fetus to be a person, since only a person is legally capable of being murdered, setting us back on the road to banning abortion as murder.
The Conservatives are being cagey on how they push this radical patriarchal and misogynist agenda. It is being done through private members bills, not government bills, so in the next election campaign Harper can claim his government had nothing to do with it. This is very important, because the majority of Canadians think this issue is settled, and that a woman has a right to choose. The Cons want to roll back a woman's rights, and want to take our society back to some twisted 1950s ideal, where everyone is white, everyone is straight, everyone is Christian, people don't have sex until they are thirty and a woman stays in the home, with a martini for her husband at the end of the day. That's not my Canada, and I sure as hell know it isn't any Canada I want to see. We have to remember that women's rights are human rights. If the Cons take rights away from one group, it is only a matter of time until they are taking them away from everyone else.
To everyone reading this in Canada, I encourage you to get in touch with your MP and let them know that you oppose this bill and bill C-484, and that you want them to vote against both bills. Tell your friends, make noise, be heard. Don't let the Conservatives take rights away in the dark and in silence.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 271
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Justice Michel Bastarache to Retire
The Supreme Court of Canada has announced that Mr. Justice Michel Bastarache, a puisne justice of the Court, will retire at the end of the spring session. Bastarache J has sat on the court since 1997, and is (aside from Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin) the most senior judge of the Supreme Court. Bastarache J was the judge from the Atlantic provinces, and as such his successor will have to be drawn from the Atlantic provinces. I hope that Harper does not follow the model of the American right and appoint a partisan to the Supreme Court as he has done with some of the Provincial Courts of Appeal.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 285
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 285
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Former Vancouver Police Complaints Commissioner Was Reluctant to Investigate
The Vancouver Sun is reporting that the former Commissioner of the Vancouver Police Complaints Commission Don Morrison didn't launch investigations unless there was a media outcry. You can find the Sun story here. This story is based on testimony of Matt Adie, the former Deputy Commissioner.
This kind of thing illustrates the central problem with watchdogs that are also lapdogs. The RCMP Complaints Commission is no different. I can't remember the last time it came back with a ruling that there had been wrongdoing on the part of the police.
We need a proper, civilian run, independent oversight process for police from the smallest municipal police force to the RCMP. For too long the police have been functionally above the law, whether it be the summary execution by Taser of Robert Dziekanski, or the murder of Neil Stonechild by the Saskatoon police, nothing is ever done, or if it is done it's far too late. Frankly, I have come to the opinion that the police as an institution are so hopelessly corrupt and morally rotten that the whole lot should be scrapped and we should start from scratch. I know this isn't practical, but it needs to be done somehow.
We also need to make sure that the police are not able hold their inquiries in secret. A democracy thrives on the availability of information to citizens The police must be made to let in the light, and to allow the people to scrutinize their behaviour. If they have done nothing wrong, as they claim, they have nothing to hide. No structure that fears the light of day has any business surviving in a democracy.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 289
This kind of thing illustrates the central problem with watchdogs that are also lapdogs. The RCMP Complaints Commission is no different. I can't remember the last time it came back with a ruling that there had been wrongdoing on the part of the police.
This is horrifying. If a situation like that one doesn't qualify for an investigation, what does? I would absolutely love to see a citizen of Vancouver slap a misfeasance of public duty suit on Morrison for this."It is my perception that it would be extremely unlikely that Commissioner Morrison would order a public hearing against the Vancouver police unless the matter was in the media and there was very little other option," said former OPCC deputy commissioner Matt Adie.
This was Adie's explanation for why Morrison refused to order an public hearing into the death of Frank Paul, a homeless, alcoholic, aboriginal man who died in December 1998 after being dumped while stupefied with alcohol in a cold, wet downtown alley by Vancouver police.
We need a proper, civilian run, independent oversight process for police from the smallest municipal police force to the RCMP. For too long the police have been functionally above the law, whether it be the summary execution by Taser of Robert Dziekanski, or the murder of Neil Stonechild by the Saskatoon police, nothing is ever done, or if it is done it's far too late. Frankly, I have come to the opinion that the police as an institution are so hopelessly corrupt and morally rotten that the whole lot should be scrapped and we should start from scratch. I know this isn't practical, but it needs to be done somehow.
We also need to make sure that the police are not able hold their inquiries in secret. A democracy thrives on the availability of information to citizens The police must be made to let in the light, and to allow the people to scrutinize their behaviour. If they have done nothing wrong, as they claim, they have nothing to hide. No structure that fears the light of day has any business surviving in a democracy.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 289
Friday, April 04, 2008
Lukiwski Drama Continues
The controversy continues to swirl around Tom Lukiwski, homophobe par excellence. He continues to assert that the vile insults heaped on the LGBT community no longer represent his views. Bull. I'd be more convinced if he actually, say, repudiated his votes on same-sex marriage, and the motion to reopen SSM. In the era of polite homophobia, bigots for the most part close their mouths and work quietly to undermine the rights of those they hate. Lukiwski expressed his hatred for gays and lesbians when he voted against equal rights on the Civil Marriage Act and on the motion to reopen it. Shame on him. Unless you support equal rights for all people regardless of sexual orientation, religion, race, sex, gender identity, ethnic origin, creed and so forth, guess what, you're a bigot. You may not think so, but if you think it's okay for the government to racially profile Muslims and Arabs, then guess what, you're a bigot. If you think it is okay to deny equal access to the institution of civil marriage to LGBT folks and fob that group of society off with "separate but equal" civil unions, you're a bigot. If you think the native people should shut up and stop whining, guess what, you're a bigot. If you think women don't deserve to control their own bodies in all respects, you're a bigot. And hey, surprise, all of these things can be found in the two parties with a realistic chance of forming a government in Canada. The Conservatives (until they got elected) would take these positions openly. The Liberals would take them behind the collective back of the people. Some of these positions have even turned up in the NDP to a distressing extent. It's not as bad in the NDP, but it sure as hell is more disappointing.
Tom Lukiwski is the poster boy for the new age of polite bigotry. His voting record shows that he still hates gays and lesbians, but he knows now that he can't say what he really feels. Some on the right call this the political correctness police and call those who stand up to bigoted statements "humourless". That's ridiculous precisely because these same people will turn around and scream bloody murder if any ridicule or hatred is turned back around on them, on their institutions. They demand that others be tolerant of their intolerance. I say fuck that.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 290
Tom Lukiwski is the poster boy for the new age of polite bigotry. His voting record shows that he still hates gays and lesbians, but he knows now that he can't say what he really feels. Some on the right call this the political correctness police and call those who stand up to bigoted statements "humourless". That's ridiculous precisely because these same people will turn around and scream bloody murder if any ridicule or hatred is turned back around on them, on their institutions. They demand that others be tolerant of their intolerance. I say fuck that.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 290
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Big Surprise - Conservatives are Homophobes
Surprise, surprise. Turns out Conservative MP Tom Lukiwski is a homophobe and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is a racist and a sexist. Who would have expected that from the political heirs of the Reform Party?
The Saskatchewan NDP discovered a tape from 1991 left behind in the Official Opposition offices in the Sask. legislature, that shows a forty year old Lukiwski saying that "there's A's and there's B's. The A's are guys like me. The B's are homosexual faggots with dirt on their fingernails that transmit diseases.” Disgusting homophobic trash. But frankly not that unexpected from the bigoted dinosaurs of the Conservative Party of Canada.
As for Wall, he put on a fake Ukrainian accent and pretended to be Roy Romanow (the Sask. NDP leader of the day, who is of Ukrainian heritage) and then he made sexist fun of the Sask. Liberal leader of the day. All of this coming just days after Wall got himself worked up into a hypocritical lather about David Ahenakew (I don't excuse Ahenakew, what he said was repulsive).
Interestingly, this would never have come to light if the electorate of Saskatchewan, in a short sighted and self-destructive desire for change hadn't turfed the Sask. NDP just as the job market and economy were picking up. Apparently the Saskatchewan Party either doesn't think that homophobia, sexism and racism are important to cover up in their staffers, or they are criminally stupid and too dumb to clean out their files on the way to their new offices.
For those interested in watching the video for themselves, the relevant stuff by Lukiwski is at the end of this clip from the CBC. I haven't been able to find the stuff by Brad Wall yet.
This is yet another in a long stream of examples of Conservative/Alliance/Reform bigotry towards LGBT folks, and towards immigrants. Speak up, everyone who is surprised that Conservatives are once again shown to be haters. *Crickets*
Now, Lukiwski has apologized for this stuff, saying that it no longer represents his views. I would find it easier to believe if he didn't sit in the caucus of Canada's "we hate everyone who isn't white and male" party. After all, he has been given the opportunity to show his supposed changed views by voting for measures to give equal rights to LGBT folks, and has not done so. He voted against equal marriage in 2005, and he voted to re-open the equal marriage debate in 2006. He also has voted for Conservative budgets that have slashed funding for programmes that supported women's equality efforts, and is backing the changes to the immigration act that would allow the Immigration Minister to, by fiat, reject any immigrant arbitrarily. And given the Reform-Conservative history of being anti-immigrant, this is a Very Bad Thing. Lukiwski has shown no objective evidence of his supposed changed views, and we have only his word that he has changed them. I for one, don't believe him for a minute. He isn't sorry he said it, or that he held (and most probably still holds) such abhorrent views. He is sorry he got caught.
Lukiwski ought to resign his seat. Haters shouldn't (but unfortunately do) have a place in the House of Commons. If he won't resign, the Conservatives ought to (but, of course, won't) give him the boot from their caucus. Canadians everywhere, of every sexual orientation, sex and race should be up in arms, calling for Lukiwski's resignation, along with Brad Wall's. These people are below pond scum.
This is a classic example of why Harper is so desperate to keep a muzzle on his MPs, with some duct tape added for good measure. If he didn't we would be hearing about comments like this every other week, rather than every other year. Remember Cheryl Gallant who said abortion is like beheading hostages in Iraq? Or Randy White who said he would like to re-criminalize homosexuality? Or any of half a million things said by Conservative/Canadian Alliance/Reform MPs over the years? These people are haters through and through. Scratch a Conservative, find a bigot.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 291
The Saskatchewan NDP discovered a tape from 1991 left behind in the Official Opposition offices in the Sask. legislature, that shows a forty year old Lukiwski saying that "there's A's and there's B's. The A's are guys like me. The B's are homosexual faggots with dirt on their fingernails that transmit diseases.” Disgusting homophobic trash. But frankly not that unexpected from the bigoted dinosaurs of the Conservative Party of Canada.
As for Wall, he put on a fake Ukrainian accent and pretended to be Roy Romanow (the Sask. NDP leader of the day, who is of Ukrainian heritage) and then he made sexist fun of the Sask. Liberal leader of the day. All of this coming just days after Wall got himself worked up into a hypocritical lather about David Ahenakew (I don't excuse Ahenakew, what he said was repulsive).
Interestingly, this would never have come to light if the electorate of Saskatchewan, in a short sighted and self-destructive desire for change hadn't turfed the Sask. NDP just as the job market and economy were picking up. Apparently the Saskatchewan Party either doesn't think that homophobia, sexism and racism are important to cover up in their staffers, or they are criminally stupid and too dumb to clean out their files on the way to their new offices.
For those interested in watching the video for themselves, the relevant stuff by Lukiwski is at the end of this clip from the CBC. I haven't been able to find the stuff by Brad Wall yet.
This is yet another in a long stream of examples of Conservative/Alliance/Reform bigotry towards LGBT folks, and towards immigrants. Speak up, everyone who is surprised that Conservatives are once again shown to be haters. *Crickets*
Now, Lukiwski has apologized for this stuff, saying that it no longer represents his views. I would find it easier to believe if he didn't sit in the caucus of Canada's "we hate everyone who isn't white and male" party. After all, he has been given the opportunity to show his supposed changed views by voting for measures to give equal rights to LGBT folks, and has not done so. He voted against equal marriage in 2005, and he voted to re-open the equal marriage debate in 2006. He also has voted for Conservative budgets that have slashed funding for programmes that supported women's equality efforts, and is backing the changes to the immigration act that would allow the Immigration Minister to, by fiat, reject any immigrant arbitrarily. And given the Reform-Conservative history of being anti-immigrant, this is a Very Bad Thing. Lukiwski has shown no objective evidence of his supposed changed views, and we have only his word that he has changed them. I for one, don't believe him for a minute. He isn't sorry he said it, or that he held (and most probably still holds) such abhorrent views. He is sorry he got caught.
Lukiwski ought to resign his seat. Haters shouldn't (but unfortunately do) have a place in the House of Commons. If he won't resign, the Conservatives ought to (but, of course, won't) give him the boot from their caucus. Canadians everywhere, of every sexual orientation, sex and race should be up in arms, calling for Lukiwski's resignation, along with Brad Wall's. These people are below pond scum.
This is a classic example of why Harper is so desperate to keep a muzzle on his MPs, with some duct tape added for good measure. If he didn't we would be hearing about comments like this every other week, rather than every other year. Remember Cheryl Gallant who said abortion is like beheading hostages in Iraq? Or Randy White who said he would like to re-criminalize homosexuality? Or any of half a million things said by Conservative/Canadian Alliance/Reform MPs over the years? These people are haters through and through. Scratch a Conservative, find a bigot.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 291
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