Archive for the ‘Equality’ Category
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The long-form census is your civic duty
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
August 9, 2010
What does my country insist that I do? Well, it requires me to pay my taxes and respect the law. If called upon for jury duty, it generally requires me to accept that task. And of course, up until now, it has required me to answer some questions at census time. Is this really asking too much of Canadians? … because I do rely on government for a multitude of services, I feel that answering a few questions is not the end of the world. In fact, I insist on it, because I expect my government to make wise decisions based on sound information.
Tags: ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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Diefenbaker’s Bill of Rights an act worth remembering
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
Aug 10 2010
“I was struck,” Pierre Trudeau said, “by his vigorous defence of human rights and individual liberties. The Bill of Rights remains a monument to him.” August 10 is the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the Canadian Bill of Rights. Had this lifelong dream of Diefenbaker’s not become a reality, one could argue that Trudeau’s own Charter of Rights might not have come into being… “I believe the time has come for a declaration of liberties to be made by this Parliament,” he thundered in the Commons in 1946.
Tags: rights
Posted in Equality History | No Comments »
International Day of the World’s Indigenous People
Monday, August 9th, 2010
August 9, 2010
CASW draws attention to the inequitable treatment of First Nations children in our own country, demanding that the Government of Canada relent on its resistance and sign the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. “Only two countries have not signed the declaration,” stated CASW President Darlene MacDonald. “The Harper government’s refusal to sign is in itself appalling, especially given that its own Progress Report on Aboriginal Initiatives (2009-10) boasts about developing and implementing a practical and results-driven vision for Aboriginal policy.”
Tags: Indigenous, rights, standard of living
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A thin blue line, doing nothing
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Jul. 29, 2010
In the continuing debate over police tactics during the recent G20 summit in Toronto, the focus has been on whether civil liberties were violated in order to keep the peace… the more fundamental question is how the police were unable or unwilling to keep the peace… Is effective police protection a right of citizenship? It is contractually bought and paid for through tax dollars? Or is it a bonus that is to be enjoyed here and there, but not to be expected?
Tags: crime prevention, rights
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How to reform the Indian Act
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Jul 29 2010
First, the federal government needs to be more experimental in the range of approaches it is willing to consider. Many of the bottom-up, incremental approaches adopted in the past were rooted in capitalistic thinking… Second, policy-makers need to actually listen to what aboriginal groups want. This means paying attention to what aboriginal groups think is best for them and providing support… Colonialism is a stubborn stain on our nation’s history. It’s time to try a new approach to reforming the Indian Act in Canada.
Tags: Indigenous, participation, rights, standard of living
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Put an end to affirmative action
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
Jul. 24, 2010
The Conservatives may have misstepped on the census, but they have it right on affirmative action. This week, Cabinet Ministers Stockwell Day and Jason Kenney announced that the government will review discriminatory affirmative action policies that, for the last quarter-century, have given preferential hiring treatment to women, minorities, aboriginals and the disabled in the civil service. According to Mr. Kenney… “we must ensure that all Canadians have an equal opportunity to work for their government based on merit, regardless of race or ethnicity.”
Tags: ideology, participation, rights
Posted in Equality Debates | 1 Comment »
Battling aboriginal tradition
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
July 27, 2010
The ideology of contemporary aboriginal Canada is about self-government, self-determination and allowing people to remain on their traditional territories. Against this ambition are the facts… “people are running away.” Running away from reserves that are economically defunct or marginal, running toward cities, where they hope to find better education, better jobs… The overwhelming voice of aboriginal Canada, Mr. Podlasly argues, is owned by the chiefs and their councils, whose mantra of self-government is mocked by facts on the ground…
Tags: Indigenous, participation, rights, standard of living
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Scrap the Indian Act
Sunday, July 25th, 2010
Jul 25 2010
… lately, Indian leaders themselves have talked about their desire to get out from under the act and the Indian affairs department. They want to build a new relationship with the federal government as equals, not vassals. Atleo outlined several basic steps to be taken, starting with a comprehensive agreement with Ottawa that would affirm existing treaties, rights and aboriginal title and lay out the course for change in the relationship. Federal funding would be transferred directly to First Nations rather than filtered through the Indian affairs department.
Tags: Indigenous, rights
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It’s time to end the Indian Act
Saturday, July 24th, 2010
Jul 24 2010
… the question is: Do we want to continue reacting piece-by-piece, blow-by-blow to the federal agenda trying to protect a status quo we already regret? Do we want our current leadership to be quoted 60 years from now saying the same things? Or is it time to boldly suggest that within two to five years, the Indian Act will no longer be part of our lives? … an approach that would include: • A national First Nations-Crown… agreement on a comprehensive plan for change… [that] would have legal force and it would affirm our treaties, rights and aboriginal title.
Tags: Indigenous, rights, standard of living
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Job equity has old Tory roots
Saturday, July 24th, 2010
Jul 24 2010
… the Bill of Rights attempted in 1960 [but] did almost nothing to right the wrongs of exclusion in employment. That’s why the landmark report of a royal commission headed by Rosie Abella (now a Supreme Court justice) argued persuasively that affirmative action was needed to redress the imbalances — with recruitment and targeting of under-represented groups. Do Day and Kenney cling to a 1960s-era view of “equality of opportunity,” or can they accept the present-day consensus for affirmative action, which has helped make the public service more reflective of the Canadians it serves?
Tags: disabilities, immigration, Indigenous, multiculturalism, rights
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