Canadian Boat to Gaza boarded by Greek Coast Guard

Posted: July 1, 2011 in Human Rights
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Canadian Boat to Gaza’s vessel, the Tahrir, is one of several ships attempting peacefully to end Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza. Tahrir is a part of Freedom Flotilla II, sponsored by groups from Belgium, Denmark, Australia, United States, France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, the U.K, Greece, Turkey, Malaysia, and more.  The Flotilla aims to travel to Gaza with approximately 10 vessels including both passenger and cargo ships carrying humanitarian aid.

Greek officials said today that they have banned local and foreign-flagged ships destined for Gaza from leaving the country’s ports. The Greek coast guard has boarded Tahrir in an effort to prevent it from sailing.

We can expect that Canadian solidarity organizations will be mobilizing support for the Canadian Boar to Gaza and Freedom Flotilla II. Please respond when the call goes out.

The following news release provides more information.

The blockade of Gaza reaches the shores of Greece! As it attempts to sail, the Canadian Boat to Gaza, the Tahrir, blockaded in Greece

Greek coast guard are now on board the Tahrir attempting to arrest Sandra Rush, Jewish Canadian member of the Canada boat to Gaza Steering Committee, who is refusing to surrender boat’s registration papers.

Efforts to stop Freedom Flotilla 2 – Stay Human from sailing have included diplomatic pressure and manipulation, economic blackmail, bureaucratic obstacles, baseless and slanderous allegations against the flotilla and the delegates, and sabotage of at least two vessels.

“The world watched as an intensive campaign to prevent the Tahrir and the entire Freedom flotilla II from sailing was underway.  We have been unjustly and duplicitously treated.” said Irene MacInnes of the Tahrir organizing committee. “The government of Israel, shamefully with the tacit support of the Harper government, is doing everything in its power to maintain the blockade. Today, as a result of the concerted efforts of the 4th largest military power in the world and its backers, we have been prevented from sailing to Gaza. Yet we will persevere in our attempts till the blockade is lifted.”

“Israel has in effect extended the illegal blockade of Gaza to Greek ports, using the Greece’s economic difficulties to influence the government’s position”, said David Heap of the organizing committee.

“We remain absolutely clear that the Canadian Boat to Gaza has not been, is not, and has no intention of, breaking any laws. It is the blockade of Gaza that is illegal under international law. We have a legal and moral obligation to challenge the blockade, given the failure of the international community to act”, said Dylan Penner of the organizing committee. “This is why we must continue our attempts to sail to Gaza: to challenge the illegal and immoral blockade and to equally challenge the Canadian federal government’s support for it.”

Meanwhile the US boat to Gaza, The Audacity of Hope, is at a standoff with the Greek Navy boats, refusing orders to return to shore.

For biographies of delegates aboard the Tahrir visit: www.tahrir.ca/content/delegates-board-tahrir

UPDATE: Canadian Boat to Gaza urges supporters to email/fax the governments of Canada, Greece and Israel. More information and sample letters are available here.

Video: CUPE President Paul Moist warns against the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement

Posted: June 30, 2011 in Nibbling on The Empire, Talkin' Union
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The governments of Canada and the European Union are negotiating a treaty called the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. They hope to sign it by the end of 2011.

This treaty will take power from local governments in Canada and give it to large transnational corporations headquartered in Europe. These huge companies could take over the delivery of vital public services – such as water, transit, energy and health care – whether local communities like it or not. It’s NAFTA on steroids.

The time to stop CETA is now. Paul Moist, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, speaking in Winnipeg on June 27th, explains.

The fight to block CETA is being led by the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Council of Canadians. CUPE’s Paul Moist and the Council’s Maude Barlow have been crisscrossing the country in an effort to drum up opposition to this treaty. You owe it to yourself to get informed and get involved. For more information:

Brigette DePape is Nellie’s Girl

Posted: June 26, 2011 in In Solidarity, Nibbling on The Empire
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On June 3, 2011, when Brigette DePape, a 21-year old parliamentary page from Manitoba, pulled out a “Stop Harper” sign during the opening session of Canada’s 41st Parliament, she was escorted out of the room and quickly fired from her position.

Her solitary act of civil disobedience in resistance to the policies of the Harper government not only inspired an outpouring of support, but also called to mind another Manitoba woman, Nellie McClung. In 1912, McClung helped organize the Political Equality League and throughout the 1920s championed female suffrage and a host of measures to combat the social injustices of her time.

On June 18, 2011, a few of us took a trip over to the Manitoba Legislature to express our solidarity with Brigette DePape by bringing her message to the Nellie McClung Memorial located on the grounds of the same Legislature where Nellie won, for Canadian women, the right to vote.

Oppose Harper’s draconian back-to-work legislation

Posted: June 22, 2011 in Human Rights, In Solidarity, Talkin' Union
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Winnipeggers rallied in support of locked-out CUPW members in Winnipeg June 16, 2011. Photo: Paul S. Graham

This, just in, from Derek Blackadder at LabourStart. While it is addressed to trade unionists it should resonate with anyone who believes in democracy. The Conservative government’s decision to impose back-to-work legislation strikes at the heart of democracy; it is a form of forced labour, something expressly forbidden by the International Labour Organization of which Canada is a member.

If you think the Tories will stop with postal workers, think again. We must stop Harper here.

Please support the LabourStart campaign and tell Lisa Rait and Stephen Harper what they can do with their back-to-work legislation.

As trade unionists we understand that the right to free collective bargaining without interference from the state is fundamental to what we do.

When the state interferes on behalf of an employer our rights as workers are at stake.

‘Our’ newly-elected Conservative majority government is using the Post Office lockout as the first salvo in its war on trade unions in this country.

The legislation not only forces an end to free collective bargaining, it imposes wages that are less than those Canada Post had tabled.

It is virtually unprecedented for back-to-work legislation in Canada to impose terms and conditions of employment. (You can read the bill in PDF form here.)

Our CUPW e-campaign is within sight of the 10,000 messages mark.

The Minister of Labour is saying that she has thousands of messages demanding legislation to end the strike and to impose new conditions of employment on post office workers.

Help give the union the ability to say ‘we have tens of thousands of messages demanding free collective bargaining’.

Help build not only CUPW’s fightback, but the 4 year long fightback that has just started.

Join this campaign here and pass this link along to ALL your contacts!

See also: Video: Winnipeg Solidarity with the Postal Workers

Video: Winnipeg Solidarity with the Postal Workers

Posted: June 20, 2011 in Human Rights, In Solidarity, Talkin' Union, Winnipeg
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On June 16, about 1,000 members of several Winnipeg unions rallied at the main post office in Winnipeg in solidarity with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. The rally, one of many to be held across the country, was in response to federal government plans to legislate CUPW members back to work.

The union has been waging a rotating strike that started in Winnipeg on June 2 and then moved to other cities. Canada Post locked out the workers on June 14.

On June 20, the federal Conservative government tabled back-to-work legislation that will force the two sides to accept a form of binding arbitration called final offer selection. Under FOS, each side tables their final offer and the arbitrator picks one.

When governments force an end to strikes they undermine free collective bargaining. To put it another way,  they are trampling on our democratic rights. Some call this fascism; others feudalism. In any case, F-words, such as fightback, are entirely appropriate.

More information: Canadian Union of Postal Workers

Update: Raza Family of Winnipeg granted permanent resident status in Canada

Posted: June 7, 2011 in Guest Contributors, Human Rights
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By Rev. Barb Janes, Crescent-Ft. Rouge United Church, Winnipeg

It takes a village . . .

Raza Family in 2006. Photo: CBC

Crescent Fort Rouge United Church is tickled to announce that the Raza family, who lived in sanctuary in the church from August 3, 2006 to February 29, 2008, has been granted Permanent Resident status in Canada. Our deep gratitude to legal counsel, Ken Zaifman (Zaifman Immigration Lawyers), Canadian Border Service Agency, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Manitoba Department of Labor and Immigration for finding a solution that balanced the circumstances of the Raza family and the requirements of the Immigration Act.

It has been an amazing journey for both the congregation and this family of eight – our thank you list is a long one. The members of Crescent Fort Rouge United worked diligently and persistently, as did many community members. Neighbouring churches and congregations across Canada offered financial, spiritual and moral support. Volunteers of many religions and of no religion generously stepped up to support the Raza family. Terry Borys of the Louis Riel School Division and then Minister of Education, Citizenship and Youth, the Hon. Peter Bjornson ensured that the school-aged children could return to classes at St. George School. Our then Member of Parliament, Anita Neville, visited the family numerous times, and kept the matter before the public, as did our MLA, Jennifer Howard. Deborah Gray, a Winnipegger with a big heart, made a wonderful contribution to publicize the cause. During the time the Razas were in the church, we were honoured with visits from and even a prayer service with members of Winnipeg’s Muslim community. Local musicians generously gave of their talents for a fund-raising rally.

The family sought sanctuary to avoid deportation under fear of sectarian violence in Pakistan, and for 18 challenging months the church was their benevolent prison. Parents Hassan and Kausar and the four oldest children – Rubab, Mohsin, Zain and Farva – faced potential deportation if they left the church property. (The two youngest, Mahssam and Seema, are Candian citizens.) The church’s boardroom was given over to the family as their living quarters, the second-floor kitchen became Kausar’s domain, and the Upper Hall and Nursery became make-shift classroom spaces until the children were granted permission to return to St. George School. Volunteers served as teachers, grocery-shoppers, nurses, lobbyists, security guards, language teachers, media-liaisons, fun-raisers and fund-raisers. After the family achieved Temporary Resident status and Kausar was accepted into Manitoba’s Provincial Nominee Program (thanks to Albert El Tassi of Peerless Garments), the family secured housing and began the transition back into the community. Many volunteers have continued to be in contact with the Razas, some as family friends, others running a homework club for the children.

The day the Raza family made their frightened way to Crescent Fort Rouge United Church, the baby of the family, Seema, had her first birthday. Today, she is a chatty member of her kindergarten class in the public school system. Kausar and Hassan both have jobs. Life is returning to normal, both for the family and for the congregation.

It has been an amazing journey of faith, hope, and persistence, and we at Crescent Fort Rouge United again offer our thanks to the “village” that worked so hard and gave so generously.

Previous articles

Urgent: Action needed to help Raza Family remain in Canada
Update: Raza family to remain in Canada

Living and Dying in Manitoba: Who decides?

Posted: June 7, 2011 in Human Rights
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In 2008, the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons gave its members the power to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatments from patients, even if this is contrary to the wishes of patients or their families. The process to be followed in arriving at the decision to allow a patient to die is outlined in the College’s Statement No. 1602: Withholding and Withdrawing Life Sustaining Treatment.

Short of going to court, there is no appeal. One can easily imagine situations where the clock could run out before a legal remedy could be obtained. Not surprisingly, people who live with disabilities fear this power could result in life-saving treatment being withheld from them in the mistaken belief that their disabilities justify letting them die.

Who can blame them? How often have you heard people say, in reference to someone with a severe disability: “I wouldn’t want to go on living — he/she would be better off dead.”

The College’s policy statement does not dispel this fear. It establishes a benchmark for determining whether a patient will get treatment that centres on the patient’s ability to reach what it calls the “Minimum Goal of Treatment.” According to the College, this standard is defined as:

“. . . the maintenance of or recovery to a level of cerebral function that
enables the patient to:

  • achieve awareness of self; and
  • achieve awareness of environment; and
  • experience his/her own existence.

For pediatric patients, the potential for neurological development must be factored into the assessment.”

In other words, the standard is based on the level of cognitive ability or disability. The statement does not specify objective medical criteria for determining if this “minimum goal” has been met. Hence, it is left to individual physicians to determine, subjectively, if a patient is or can achieve self-awareness.

More troubling, the College’s policy envisions situations where the “minimum goal of treatment” could be met, but where the doctor could nevertheless conclude that treatment should be withheld because of  “subjective values and judgments regarding quality of life.”

Most troubling is the lack of an appeal mechanism and the apparent unwillingness of the provincial government to insist on or to legislate one.

The Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities has been critical of this policy since its inception. On May 31, 2011, it, along with the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, outlined their perspectives at a public forum in Winnipeg.

The panelists were:

  • Rhonda Wiebe – Co-chair, Council of Canadians with Disabilities Ending of Life Ethics Committee
  • Jim Derksen – member, Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities
  • Dean Richert – Co-chair, Council of Canadians with Disabilities Human Rights Committee
  • Valerie Wolbert – People First, Manitoba
  • Catherine Rogers – People First, Canada

The speakers were informative, engaging and articulate. But don’t take my word for it. Watch the video and draw your own conclusions.

This issue ought to concern all of us. It is not solely a matter for people with disabilities. Sooner or late, all of us will die. Along that path we may find ourselves disabled and dependent on the judgements and decisions of others for our lives. Surely we should have final word on whether or not doctors will try to save our lives.

Good news for Iranian union leader Mansour Osanloo

Posted: June 2, 2011 in Human Rights, In Solidarity
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Mansour Osanloo in 2007, shortly before his arrest by the Iranian government.

Once in a while there is good news to share on the political prisoner front, and this is one of those times.

Mansour Osanloo, a bus driver and president of the Vahed Syndicate which represents bus drivers in Tehran, was freed on bail by the Iranian government today after four years of imprisonment.

According to the International Transport Workers Federation: “From its beginnings in 2005 the ITF-affiliated union was subjected to heavy repression, including repeated attacks and arrests. Mansour Osanloo was heavily targeted. As well as being beaten up and having his tongue slit he was imprisoned in 2005 and 2006. Then in 2007, just one month after visiting the London head office of the ITF and meeting trade unionists in Brussels, he was arrested. Three months later he was sentenced to five years imprisonment on charges of ‘acting against national security’ and ‘propaganda against the state’; in 2010 another year was added to his sentence. In reality his only offence was to help found a genuinely democratic trade union.” For more on his case, visit Justice for Iranian Workers.

Regrettably, Mansour Osanloo is not the only trade unionist imprisoned in Iran. Many others, such as Farzad Kamangar (murdered by the Iranian government in 2010) have not been so fortunate. As Amnesty International reported May 20, 2011, arbitrary arrests, torture and executions continue to be routine.

While expressions of international solidarity are not always successful in gaining the release of political prisoners, international silence almost guarantees a bad outcome.

Doing your part to support prisoners of conscience has never been easier. Two of my favourite organizations in this regard are LabourStart and Amnesty International-Canada. There are many others. Find one that fits your preferences and lend a hand. You may help save a life.

Canadians for Boycotting Arab and Iranian Goods Hoax

Posted: May 30, 2011 in Human Rights
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Imagine my surprise at learning that I am the treasurer of the freshly minted “Canadians for Boycotting Arab and Iranian Goods” organization – CBAIG for short. According to a news release issued May 29, 2011, we (Sid Ryan [President of the Ontario Federation of Labour], Peter Gose [Chair, Sociology and Anthropology Department at Carleton University] and Karine Macallister at the University of Montreal) are calling on Canadians to boycott Arab and Iranian tyrants “until the vicious dictatorships of the Arab Middle East and Iran are overthrown and their civilian populations are finally endowed with classical democracy.” Moreover, Sid Ryan, according to the news release, has “pleaded” with Israel “. . . to invade Syria and Iran and wipe out their respective feudal ruling classes.”

Not only that, but our “new campaign” is supported by “Emeritus Prof. Michael Chodussovsky of the University of Ottawa, the Seriously Free Speech Society, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, Adbusters Magazine, the Canadian Arab Federation, Palestine House, CUPE-Ontario Section, filmmaker John Greyson of York University, Nick Day, Rector at Queens University, the Association of Arab Students and Professors in Canada, KAIROS Canada, the Canadian Postal Workers Union,  the Libyan Workers Revolutionary Committee, Sabeel, the Free Gaza Movement,  the League for Iranian Democracy, as well as by the Ontario Federation of Labour.”

Astute readers will easily identify this as a hoax, not because any of the above named supports tyranny in any form, but because all of them have championed Palestinian rights. Many, though not all, have supported the international boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel for its brutal occupation of Palestinian territory.

The CBAIG news release appears to be a carbon copy of one issued earlier this year announcing the formation of Britons for Boycotting Arab and Iranian Goods (BBAIG). Whether they realize it or not, the perps may have done the BDS campaign a small service by drawing attention to the argument that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land is analogous to the tyranny of many Arab states. Maybe it’s time for someone to launch a new organization: Zionists against Israeli Tyranny or, ZIT!

Video: Canadian Labour in Crisis

Posted: May 16, 2011 in Talkin' Union
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On May 5, 2011, David Camfield launched his new book, Canadian Labour in Crisis – Reinventing the Workers`Movement, at the Mondragon Bookstore and Coffee House in Winnipeg, Canada. David Camfield is an associate professor in labour studies at the University of Manitoba.

More information about David’s book: http://www.fernwoodpublishing.ca/author/David/

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