Let’s recap: Unemployment rates are stagnant. and Living in this country is much more expensive than, say, 30 years ago. Coins are property of the Royal Canadian Mint And with this as a backdrop, the federal and Ontario governments (see: page 8 of the linked paper on post-secondary education reform)
Continue readingTag: Social Justice
Dented Blue Mercedes: Michelle Kosilek, Barney Frank and Prisoner Sex Changes
If Barney Frank seriously wants to be an ally for trans people, the absolute first thing he could do is stop talking about anything at all to do with trans people. To be fair, the media has this bad habit of considering him a superior authority to absolutely anyone who’s
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Stephen Woodworth’s “science,” and why Canada’s far-right isn’t really interested in it.
Stephen Woodworth’s Motion M-312 is scheduled for its second hour of debate this Friday, and the vote on the following Wednesday. And over summer’s Parliamentary break, there has been an interesting change of direction from the Canadian far-right backers of Woodworth’s action. In a way, there’s some obvious desire to
Continue readingIlluminated By Street Lamps: ‘Winners’ And Losers In Quebec Asbestos Mess
Photo: Vsmith/Wikipedia Support for Canadian chrysotile asbestos is dead. First point, this: Canada should have gotten out of the asbestos game a long time ago.All asbestos causes cancer. We won’t use it. And, we’ve been out of step with our European friends.But now, the inconvenient rub.With apparently no clear plan about
Continue readingSocial justice in the OECD
Unfortunately, when nations are compared, the yardstick of comparison is usually GDP, a crude measure of a people’s well-being even by economic standards. I am, therefore, always seeking rankings by more meaningful measures. My attention was recently caught by a publication entitled Social Justice in the OECD—How Do the Member
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Tell Me Again How Progressive the US is?
‘Nuff said. Filed under: Feminism Tagged: Feminism, Materinity Leave, Social Justice, US, Women
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Montreal LGBT couple beaten in Paris
I’ve heard via Michelle Blanc that on the afternoon of Wednesday August 1st, a Montreal trans advocate (who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting) was assaulted with her partner in Paris, in view of the couple’s children. Marie-Ève is with l’association Fierté Montréal Pride and has been active within Montreal’s
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Guest Post – Chevi Rabbit: From HATE to HOPE
(On Thursday July 23rd, Chevi Rabbit was attacked by three men yelling homophobic slurs, near Edmonton’s University of Alberta campus, in what is being investigated as a hate crime. Following the attack, a march was organized to signal that hatred is not welcome in Edmonton, and over 200 residents came
Continue reading350 or bust: Transformation
What are you making for supper on this Meatless Monday? Right now we have an abundance of swiss chard, although our other greens have been slow to come in. I substituted chard for kale in this family-favourite salad yesterday, and it was deemed acceptable by the more discerning (aka “picky”)
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Canada’s Shame: Acclaimed Inuit Artist Pregnant And Homeless In Ottawa
“We CAN look after each other better than we do today” and “Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity.” – the late NDP Leader, Jack Layton Emotional by nature, I am.
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Basic human rights should not be “controversial.” Jacksonville, this means you, too.
“After dismantling Apartheid, when we sat down to write our Constitution, we quite deliberately ensured that gays, lesbians and bisexuals were included in South Africa’s Constitution. “Having ourselves suffered terribly, we did not want to inflict discrimination on any group that lived within our borders and we explicitly stated this
Continue reading350 or bust: Take Time To Renew Your Spirit
* Yes, President Eisenhower was a Republican.
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Guest Post – East Hastings: A Love Story
This guest post comes to us from Natalie Reed, who blogs at Freethought Blogs’ Sincerely, Natalie Reed. A Vancouverite and ex-pat from Nova Scotia, she writes on several subjects, including but not limited to trans, queer and feminist issues… with deep insights, like this article on urban gentrification, and support
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: On Persecution Complexes and Rage
The interplay of rage and persecution complexes works to shape trans, LGB — and in fact all — struggles against oppression. It can become an eternal feedback loop that can stymie any attempt to move progressive causes forward, if it succeeds in establishing its circuitous pattern. This translates to many
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Trans rights bill supporters being targeted. Also, a flag for you.
On Wednesday June 6th, Parliament voted to send Private Member’s Bill C-279: An Act to Amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code (gender identity and gender expression) to committee for review as part of its trek toward passage. I had expressed concerns at that time about some possible
Continue readingIlluminated By Street Lamps: Draft Chow 2014
Photograph by/Photo par Montrealais. UPDATE (Sept. 27, 2012) Olivia appears to be willing to consider the idea of running for mayor!At least, she’s not ruling it out! “We’ll see what happens down the road,” she said, when asked again by the Toronto Star if she is willing to run for
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Hypocrisy on Free Speech and “Protecting Freedom.”
On June 6th (the same night that the trans human rights Bill C-279 advanced to committee) Conservative MP for Westlock – St. Paul, Brian Storseth’s Private Member’s Bill C-304, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act (protecting freedom), passed Third Reading in the House of Commons, and advanced
Continue readingImpolitical: Two good steps on income inequality
From Scott Brison, whose motion on the issue passed in the House of Commons today with multi-partisan support: The motion I introduced simply asks that the house of commons direct the finance committee to study income inequality, an issue considered important by an overwhelming majority of Canadians. Then we can
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: One More Thing.
Oh, and, uh, here’s one more thing. This is for Albertan trans folks who filed human rights complaints following the delisting of GRS funding in 2009 and on into 2012, Who’ve been lobbying through up to (I think it’s) five tries to pass trans-inclusive human rights legislation at the federal
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: C-279: When a victory for one can be a victory for… one.
The second hour of Second Reading debate for Bill C-279: An Act to Amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code (gender identity and gender expression) occurred on Friday June 1st, and the Second Reading vote is to take place on Wednesday June 6th. I missed any indication that the
Continue reading