The Canadian Judicial Council will soon determine the fate of a judge who admonished a sex assault complainant with “sexist and disrespectful” remarks such as: “Why couldn’t you just keep your knees together?” The post Judge Robin Camp to rape complainant: “Why couldn’t you just keep your knees together?” appeared
Continue readingTag: women’s rights
The Canadian Progressive: 119 indigenous Papua New Guinea women seek UN intervention against Barrick Gold abuses
In a move that underscores the need for the Canadian government to act on complaints of human rights abuses committed by Canadian corporations operating overseas, 119 indigenous women who were sexually assaulted by security guards employed by Barrick Gold’s Porgera Joint Venture mine in Porgera, Papua New Guinea, are appealing
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Donald Trump and the Women Who Brought Him Down
With only fifteen days to go before the U.S. election, if we were on a plane this would be about the time when the pilot announces "we're now on final approach."Or if you're on the Trump plane the pilot screams "Mayday!! Mayday!! Only God can save us!!!! Hillary Clinton has vaulted to a
Continue readingAlberta Politics: If Jason Kenney’s anti-abortion views don’t matter, why are anti-choice activists supporting him so enthusiastically?
PHOTOS: The young Jason Kenney, speaking out to the San Francisco CNN station against the right of pro-choice activists even to speak in support of their views on the U.S. university campus he attended for one year. Below: St. Albert MLA Marie Renaud a…
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Ghomeshi Verdict and the Road Ahead
The trial is over, Jian Ghomeshi has been acquitted of four counts of sexual assault and one count of choking.And for those of us who support women's rights, the end couldn't have been more depressing.With the once swaggering bully going free,…
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Abortion Rights Advocates File Legal Challenge Against P.E.I
Abortion right advocates in Prince Edward Island have advised the provincial government of their intention to file a legal challenge to the province’s “discriminatory and unlawful abortion policy.”
The post Abortion Rights Advocates File Legal Challe…
Montreal Simon: The Montreal Massacre and the Never-ending Violence Against Women
At a time when the United States is going through yet another spasm of gun violence.And I see how some wing nut in that country reacted to this editorial in the New York Times. I'm glad that I live in Canada, and grateful that today is National …
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Why Peter MacKay Should Not Lead Any Canadian Party
When I saw Peter MacKay heading off into the sunset, and paying for his own flight for a change.After jumping over the side of the sinking Con ship… I was hopeful that we'd seen the last of him.But sadly it's pretty clear now, even if he won't admit it, that
Continue readingWhat are Canadian values, of what value are they, and who decides?
Prime Minister Harper, the “old stock” Canadian, recently made the odd remark, “I will never tell my young daughter that a woman should cover her face because she is a woman. That’s not our Canada.” Why such a notion should ever present itself to Mr. Harper is a mystery, but
Continue readingNiqab nonsense—much ado about nothing
I am no fan of the niqab. Hell, I’m no fan of religion. But if a Moslem woman wants to wear a niqab at a citizenship ceremony for religious reasons, I can’t think of a single reason why I, or the state on my behalf, should prevent her. As long,
Continue readingA. Picazo: The Assault On Planned Parenthood: A Long Campaign Against Reproductive Rights
In 2011, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding, a move deemed necessary to ensure no taxpayer dollars were used on abortion despite existing federal legislation which prohibits funds granted under Title X from paying for such services. This vote, a “culmination of a
Continue readingA. Picazo: The Assault On Planned Parenthood: A Long Campaign Against Reproductive Rights
In 2011, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding, a move deemed necessary to ensure no taxpayer dollars were used on abortion despite existing federal legislation which prohibits funds granted under Title X from paying for such services. This vote, a “culmination of a
Continue readingA. Picazo: Address This Code
This op-ed appeared in The Ottawa Citizen on May 25, 2015. In 2013, Kimberly Hall, Director of Women’s Ministry at All Saints Presbyterian Church, wrote an open letter to teen girls who, in her view, were tempting her sons into “impure thoughts” through social media. “If you are friends with a Hall boy on Facebook or
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Conservatives nuke motion seeking end to violence against women in Canada
Today, the Harper Conservatives voted down M-444, an NDP-sponsored motion seeking to end violence against women in Canada. The post Conservatives nuke motion seeking end to violence against women in Canada appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Dirty Sexist Game and the Woman Who Fought Back
It's a dirty game, a bestial assault on women, and one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen on TV.One that began just over a year ago with this video in Cincinnati, as a female reporter covered a train derailment. The video got more than five million views, more
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Indiana put the lie to “religious freedom.” But Canadian Evangelicals hope you didn’t notice.
Everyone’s familiar with the old adage, “be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.” Which is why the Evangelical leaders who held a press conference on Parliament Hill calling for greater religious freedom laws and schmoozing with Conservative politicians last month might do well to remember
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Indiana put the lie to “religious freedom.” But Canadian Evangelicals hope you didn’t notice.
Everyone’s familiar with the old adage, “be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.” Which is why the Evangelical leaders who held a press conference on Parliament Hill calling for greater religious freedom laws and schmoozing with Conservative politicians last month might do well to remember
Continue readingWorlds apart—women in Iran and Saudi Arabia
On receiving her Master of Architecture degree from the University of British Columbia, Leila Araghian won the UBC Architecture Alumni Henry Elder Prize. Ms. Araghian has since continued in her prize-winning ways. Her Pol-e-Tabiat, or Nature Bridge, in Tehran has won three awards in Iran as well as a Popular
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Stephen Harper and the Great War on Women
There are so many things I hate about what Stephen Harper is doing to Canada. I hate the way he is trying to scare Canadians into voting for him.I hate the way he is trying to turn us into a police state with his totalitarian Bill-C51.Or the way he is murdering
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Great Pope Francis: Not as Good As Advertised
I did have such high hopes for him. He did seem to be the best Pope I have ever seen.He did say some great things about capitalism and climate change. But it turns out Pope Francis is not as good as I thought. Just more of the same.Or just another old
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