by: by: MICHAEL GEIST | June 17, 2014 Having had the benefit of a few days to consider the implications of the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Spencer, the Senate last night proceeded to ignore the court and pass Bill S-4, the Digital Privacy Act, unchanged. The bill extends the ability to disclose subscriber
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The Canadian Progressive: Harper’s “racist” changes to health care for refugees has threatened lives
by: Adrienne Silnicki | First published by The Council of Canadians on June 12, 2014 Another June 16th, is almost upon and we’re once again offering our support and solidarity to incredible organizations like Canadian Doctors for Refugees who are organizing yet another day of rallies and protest against the racist
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Harper’s Online Surveillance Bill C‐13 Reveals “Canada’s Growing Privacy Deficit”
by: Obert Madondo | June 8, 2014 Canada’s privacy experts are gravely concerned about Bill C-13, the Conservatives’ Orwellian cybercrime bill, deceptively named “Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act“. Last week, over 30 of them expressed their concern in a scathing letter addressed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The signatories also told Harper
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Canada’s Sex Workers Dismayed by Harper’s New Prostitution Law
“Frankly, this response is heartbreaking.” – Emily Symons by: POWER | Press Release | June 4, 2014 (OTTAWA) – Today, members of POWER and other sex workers and allies across Canada expressed dismay and disappointment following the introduction of a Bill in the House of Commons that would criminalize the purchase of
Continue readingMaple-Flavoured Politics: Inching Toward China
Today, June 5, probably within the span of less than an hour, I read an article in the Globe and Mail titled Tiananmen Now (the online version is headlined Brave few return to Tiananmen Square to remember dark day in China’s History) and another principally unrelated article on the Ottawa
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Bill C-13: Harper tries to turn Canada into a surveillance state… again!
by: Obert Madondo | May 20, 2014 Call it the Harper Conservatives’ resurrection the Orwellian ghost of Vic Toews. Back in 2012, Canadians nuked the then public safety minister’s Bill C-30. The bill, deceptively christened Preventing Children from Internet Predators Act, had sought to give law enforcement agencies unlimited power to spy
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: SHAME: Harper Government Whitewashed Colombian Human Rights Abuses
by: Obert Madondo | May 20, 2014 To quote Amnesty International Canada’s Alex Neve: Canadian mining companies lead the mining world; but none aspire to lead the world in mining-related human rights abuses. That’s serious human rights abuses committed by Canadian mining companies particularly in the developing world. The Harper government had
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Senate must fix Harper’s Orwellian Fair Elections Act: Petition
by: Obert Madondo | May 16, 2014 The Harper Conservatives used their majority in the House of Commons to bulldoze their dictatorship-style “Fair Elections Act” earlier this week. The bill is now back in the Conservative-dominated Senate where it’s certain to pass. Canadians and their democracy-loving allies aren’t giving up the fight. Through
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: New CCR Report shows established refugees now face loss of status in Canada
by: Canadian Council for Refugees | Press Release | May 7, 2014 The Canadian Council for Refugees today released its report “Cessation: stripping refugees of their status in Canada”. The report provides case examples and shows that, following recent changes to the law, refugees now live in fear of loss of status and
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Amend Bill C-24 to ensure fairer and more efficient legislation: CBA
by: Canadian Bar Association | Press Release | April 30, 2014 OTTAWA — The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) says that changes are needed to Bill C-24, Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, and offers 20 recommendations that would improve key areas of the legislation. The CBA welcomes the clarification of residency requirements and provision of
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Senate Saves Canada… Again
How do you save democracy from itself? You appoint a Senate.In 1990 the democratically elected House of Commons passed Bill C-43 which would have criminalized all abortions. That bill was defeated by the appointed Senate. To this day abortions remain l…
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Senate Saves Canada… Again
How do you save democracy from itself? You appoint a Senate. In 1990 the democratically elected House of Commons passed Bill C-43 which would have criminalized all abortions. That bill was defeated by the appointed Senate. To this day abortions remain legal solely because of the Senate’s actions. In 2013
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Senate Saves Canada… Again
How do you save democracy from itself? You appoint a Senate. In 1990 the democratically elected House of Commons passed Bill C-43 which would have criminalized all abortions. That bill was defeated by the appointed Senate. To this day abortions remain legal solely because of the Senate’s actions. In 2013
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Meet two ambassadors from Canada’s indigenous tar sands resistance
by Kristin Moe | First published by YES! Magazine on March 5, 2014 In 1885, a revolutionary leader wrote, “My people will sleep for one hundred years” and then wake up. In the “genocidal” wilderness of Canada’s tar sands, that renaissance has begun. The debate over the tar sands has heated up once again
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Illegal Spying: Class action lawsuit filed against Canada’s electronic spy agency
by: BC Civil Liberties Association | Press Release | April 1, 2014 VANCOUVER – Today, lawyers for the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) filed a proposed national class action lawsuit on behalf of Canadians whose private communications and metadata information has been collected by the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) in a manner that
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Majority of Canadians Oppose Harper’s “Unfair Elections Act”: POLL
by: Council of Canadians | Press Release A new poll released today shows that a majority of Canadians oppose central features of the so-called “Fair” Elections Act, known as Bill C-23. The provisions in the Unfair Elections Act that would eliminate the voucher system, prevent Elections Canada from publicly reporting on election fraud,
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: In Open Letter, 19 Professors Denounce Harper’s Fair Elections Act
by: Various We, the undersigned, international scholars and political scientists, are concerned that Canada’s international reputation as one of the world’s guardians of democracy and human rights is threatened by passage of the proposed Fair Elections Act. We believe that this Act would prove [to] be deeply damaging for electoral
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Parliament’s Sham Report on Missing, Murdered Aboriginal Women Trashed
by: Obert Madondo Many had hoped the Special Parliamentary Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women would move Canada closer to addressing the perennial issue of more than 600 missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls. The committee’s final report, delivered in parliament last week, turned out to be another government-sponsored sham. Most
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Rights groups demand independent oversight of federal agency CBSA
by: BC Civil Liberties Association | Press Release Public inquiry recommended oversight in 2006 – no action since that time The BC Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Council for Refugees and the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers today called on the government to end its long inaction on the need for
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Harper’s Orwellian “Fair Elections” Act Violates Canadian Constitution
by: Obert Madondo Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Photo by Remy Steinegger The Harper Conservatives’ Bill C-23, the so-called “Fair Elections” Act, violates Section 3 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It’s clear the Conservatives are preparing to steal the 2015 federal election. Bill C-23 is part of their ongoing war on
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