Something To Brag About

Janet Dench, the executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, says the arguments are flawed because Canada — unlike many other countries, including the U.K. and U.S. — knows exactly how many illegal immigrants are living within its borders.

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National Post: No Quarter

Earlier this month, members of this editorial board sat down with the CJC to discuss this issue. As expected, no one on either side changed their mind. But we were impressed to see the CJC acknowledge that, in certain cases, the current system had been improperly exploited to advance meritless complaints. We were also impressed that the CJC is mulling the possibility of endorsing changes to Section 13(1) that would require the attorney-general’s approval before complaints could go forward.

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Racheting down agency powers under Section 13(1) and reforming the human rights commission’s staffing policies would both be welcome steps. But they are not enough: Section 13(1) must be eliminated altogether.

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Women Ski Jumpers: Ban Everybody

Well, somebody finally shows you why we’re called DWE. It’s the logical outcome of all of this human rights mumbo-jumbo. Never thought it would come from ski jumpers, though.

[Globe and Mail] The B.C. Supreme Court is being asked to issue an injunction banning men’s ski jumping events at the 2010 Winter Olympics, if women ski jumpers are barred from competing at the Games.

The shocking request was part of a sweeping legal action launched late yesterday against local Olympic organizers by a rostrum of elite women ski jumpers from around the world, including Norway, Austria, Germany, Slovenia and the United States.

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Sorry. Palestinians Have A Better Press Agent

[Israel Insider] The left and the right should champion Israel for both sentimental and rational reasons. Liberals passionate about democracy, women’s rights, gay rights, social justice, and religious freedom should rally around the only Middle Eastern country with any real civil liberties.

vs.

[Calgary Herald] The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has labelled Israel an “apartheid state” and has therefore passed a resolution to support a boycott, divestment and sanctions against it.

And How Are The Math Scores Coming Along?

[Meaford Express] SAVE Co-President Laura McDougall was also impressed with this year’s Homophobia Awareness Week.

“Kids need to realize the impacts of the things they say and how they could affect people,” she said, emphasizing the need for the event. “This year was a huge success to that effect.”

Other events throughout the week included the students creating a handprints banner of students against homophobia, a poster campaign and Pink Day on Friday, where students were encouraged to wear pink clothing.

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Wouldn’t Have Anything To Do With Winning

A movement that put a million people in the streets a month before the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and has drawn as many as half-a-million protesters to protests as recently as January 2007 has failed to mobilize anything even near those numbers since then.  Part of this is because of differences among the leadership of the two primary antiwar organizations, part of it is because many people opposed to the war have put their energies—however misplaced– into working for Barack Obama, and part of it is attributable to the belief that there is nothing one can do to stop the bloody occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Racist Canada Finally Apologizes

[World Sikh News] The Sikh community and some other sections of the Indian Diaspora have long been pressing that Canada issue such an apology to recognise the 1914 event as a sad chapter, particularly as the country takes great pride in its policy of Multiculturalism. Dhalla, in her resolution, said “The tragedy is a huge black mark in our nation’s history. It is a powerful symbol of the injustices that have occurred and the policy of exclusion that existed for immigrants entering Canada on the basis of culture, religion and skin colour.”  

“This tragedy of injustice warrants an official apology from the Canadian government. As a nation that champions human rights, democracy and freedom, this is an opportunity for all parliamentarians to put partisan politics aside and support the motion,” Dhalla added.

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Like It Matters One Way Or The Other

[CP] Adam van Koeverden makes no apologies for going to China to race his kayak. The way the paddler from Oakville, Ont., sees it, he can shed a far brighter light on China’s human rights issues from the top of the medal podium than he could if he could from his couch at home.

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The Perennial Benchmarks

[Vancouver Sun] Consumers in Europe already have such legislation. In California, where a 22-year-old voter initiative requires that consumers be warned of toxic ingredients in products, many manufacturers have voluntarily reformulated their products in order to remove any hazardous ingredients they might have to report. So labelling has provided a double benefit to consumers.

The rest.