The Supreme Court of Canada’s 5-2 decision in Rasouli is a clear victory for the family. Sadly, it is a loss for common sense and common humanity. It is also a blow against physician integrity and potentially damaging to the Canadian health-care system. Good ethics requires good facts. The salient
Continue readingTag: human rights
Montreal Simon: Omar Khadr and the True Horror of Harperland
It's the human rights nightmare that just goes on and on. The case of Omar Khadr, and the travesty of justice that should shame us all.And today the latest chapter in this Harperland horror story. Read more »
Continue readingLarry Hubich's Blog: Supreme Court of Canada Agrees to Hear Charter Challenge of BIlls 5 & 6
A panel of three Supreme Court Justices has decided that the Supreme Court of Canada will, in fact, hear the case of the SFL et al, in the matter of the constitutionality of the Government of Saskatchewan’s Bills 5 and 6 – so-called “essential services” legislation and amendments to Saskatchewan’s
Continue readingLarry Hubich's Blog: Supreme Court of Canada Agrees to Hear Charter Challenge of Bills 5 & 6
A panel of three Supreme Court Justices has decided that the Supreme Court of Canada will, in fact, hear the case of the SFL et al, in the matter of the constitutionality of the Government of Saskatchewan’s Bills 5 and 6 – so-called “essential services” legislation and amendments to Saskatchewan’s
Continue readingLarry Hubich's Blog: Supreme Court of Canada Agrees to Hear Charter Challenge of Bills 5 & 6
A panel of three Supreme Court Justices has decided that the Supreme Court of Canada will, in fact, hear the case of the SFL et al, in the matter of the constitutionality of the Government of Saskatchewan’s Bills 5 and 6 – so-called “essential services” legislation and amendments to Saskatchewan’s Trade Union Act.
“It is extremely unfortunate that we find ourselves in this position,” said Saskatchewan Federation of Labour President, Larry Hubich. “Obviously, we would rather not be forced into taking our government to court. Unfortunately, however, Bills 5 and 6 represent significant infringements upon the fundamental rights of Saskatchewan working people. On behalf of the people of the province, and on behalf of the generations of people that struggled for the rights we enjoy today, we believe it is our responsibility to challenge laws that appear to be unconstitutional, particularly when they concern people’s basic rights at work.”
In 2010, the United Nation’s International Labour Organization (ILO) found that Bills 5 and 6 violate Canada’s international law commitments, as well as working people’s rights. In April of this year, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal released a much-anticipated decision recognizing that Canadian law has evolved to a point where a right to strike may be protected by the Constitution. At numerous points, the Court of Appeal notes that, though it could not overturn previous Supreme Court decisions respecting a right to strike, striking could very well be a fundamental right protected by the freedom of association.
“We believe it is time for the Supreme Court of Canada to recognize that Saskatchewan people, and all Canadians, enjoy a right to strike that is constitutionally protected. We are also asking for a declaration that the 2008 changes to the Saskatchewan Trade Union Act substantially interfere with workers’ right to form unions of their own choosing, for the purpose of bargaining collectively with their employers.”
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Guantánamo Bay: The Hunger Strikes
Shutdown this, markets crashing that. Hey, if the Americans want to self-destruct their country maybe they should start with Guantanamo Bay. Filed under: Politics Tagged: Force Feeding, Guantanamo Bay, Human Rights, Hunger Strikes, Institutional Evil., Torture
Continue readingwmtc: october 10: world day against the death penalty
Al Jazeera Today is World Day Against the Death Penalty. Al Jazeera has a fascinating infographic about the use of the death penalty worldwide, as far as can be known from on available evidence. It is my fervent hope that the more people learn about the unjust, political, and often arbitrary use
Continue readingwmtc: snowden: mass surveillance threatens to be the greatest human rights challenge of our time
The heroic Edward Snowden, in his own words, via Jesselyn Radack, at the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee in Brussels. I thank the European Parliament and the LIBE Committee for taking up the challenge of mass surveillance. The surveillance of whole populations, rather than individuals, threatens to be the greatest
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that to end your weekend. – Daniel Goleman writes about the role of wealth in undermining empathy: (I)n general, we focus the most on those we value most. While the wealthy can hire help, those with few material assets are more likely to value their social assets: like
Continue readingPaul S. Graham: Winnipeggers demand justice for missing and murdered aboriginal women
Oct. 4, 2013: Winnipeggers gathered at the Manitoba Legislature to remember the lives of 600 missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada, 75 of whom came from Manitoba. Photo: Paul S. Graham Winnipeggers gathered at the Manitoba Legislature on Friday afternoon to demand an national inquiry into the causes for
Continue readingPaul S. Graham: Video: Human Rights – The Chilean Experience
Winnipeg, September 28, 2013 – In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the coup d’etat against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende, Winnipeg’s Chilean community held numerous educational and cultural events throughout September. On September 28th, the Chilean Human Rights Council of Canada held a conference at the University
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The deeper reasons for the “war on drugs”
There is a deeper reason for the war on drugs, which is the central reason for the policy, even outweighing profits from private prisons and seizure of property by law enforcement officers, both of which no doubt are also significant and strong motivations for keeping the “war on drugs” going.
Continue readingwmtc: september 28: global action for accessible, safe, and legal abortion
Today, September 28, women all over the world are taking action to demand the right to accessible, safe, and legal abortion. Women and our allies in more than 50 countries have formed a global mobilization that seeks to decriminalize abortion, provide access to safe and affordable abortion services, and end
Continue readingPaul S. Graham: Remembering the first 9/11
Salvador Allende Forty years ago, on September 11, 1973, the military forces commanded by General Augusto Pinochet, overthrew the democratically elected government of Chile led by Salvador Allende. Thousands of people were killed. Many thousands more were imprisoned. The coup d’etat was swift, brutal and merciless. It was carried out
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: PTSD Service Dogs: Not Widely Known, But Critical
Lots of stores, places, etc. have “no pets” signs up. That’s fine, but there are usually exceptions for service dogs. Preventing a visually-impaired person from entering a restaurant except without their service dog would be mean and generally intolerable. A long time ago, however, it was quite common to deem
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Stephen Harper and the Neverending Torture of Omar Khadr
I knew that something was terribly wrong when the very first thing he did when he came to power was go after the equality of women. I still remember the chill that went through me, when I realized we were now in the hands of some weird ideologue, with cold dead eyes, and a REALLY
Continue readingwmtc: hedges: "when harper passes right-to-work, you must go on a massive general strike, or you’re finished"
Last night, I heard author, journalist, and activist Chris Hedges speak at the Bloor Street United Church in Toronto, sponsored by the excellent Canadian Dimension. Hedges is a radical intellectual, in the Chomsky vein, also compassionate and fearless, in the mode of Howard Zinn. He touched on many subjects –
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