Voter Suppression and the Harper Government: What Kind of Canada Do You Want by Alex Snider

I want you to think about Bill C-30, the internet surveillance bill that will grant government agencies access to Canadians' personal online activity (including emails and browser history) completely warrant-free. 

And to think about Bill C-10, the crime bill which will increase mandatory sentences, mandate prison time for non-violent and minor offences and require new prisons.

Read more »

Seriously, the Tar Sands and the Northern Gateway Pipeline are Bad News by Alex Snider

The boreal forest, also known as Taiga, covers 60% of Canada stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Southern Ontario to the Arctic (and majority of Russia and northern  Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and  Japan as well as most of Northern Europe) and is the world's largest terrestrial biome. More so than even the tropical rain forests, the Taiga is the earth's greatest carbon sink meaning that the forests sequester 22% of the carbon stored on the planet's surface. This means approximately 186 billion tonnes of carbon or 27 years worth of the emissions we burned in 2003 are held in the Boreal forests, wetlands and muskeg. Obviously, if carbon emissions are held in the Taiga, they are prevented from entering the atmosphere. Basically, Boreal forests are our best friends.

Read more »

John Duncan is The Worst by Alex Snider

Current Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan has a nasty habit of saying things that serve only to highlight just how uneducated and under qualified he is for his post. At this point it's hard to tell if he's just maliciously trying to shit all over Aboriginal communities and people or if he's just really fucking stupid. 

Read more »

"We Have to Address That the Basic Rights of These Community Members are Being Denied" by Alex Snider

"The greatest resource that we have in the North is not the oil sands, it's not the diamond mines, it's not the copper mines, it's the children who come from these reserves." Holy smokes. This. 

Read more »

Mr. Government

Photo From the CBC

Tuesday evening's English debate did little to sway me: I'm still undecided on who I'm voting for, still outraged that Elizabeth May was excluded, still convinced that Harper is some kind of terminator robot sent from the future to see just how much Canadians will let one politician get away with (this one was especially not helped by the bizarre way that he avoided looking at any of his opponents and just stared directly into my soul the camera).  

I thought Layton really nailed it, handling the really low-blow from Ignatieff (the whole school-yard taunt about him forever being in opposition) gracefully; that Ignatieff is really going for record mileage with his whole Russian émigré schtick; that Harper doesn't really understand what the statement "that is simply not true" means; and to be honest I'm really frustrated that the Bloc gets a say Federally when they only represent one province. 

But, really I just felt kind of lukewarm; kind of par for the course, you know? Then I saw the above word-cloud on the CBC website of the most spoken words during the debate by the leaders and I got really, really depressed. Then I got enraged by how accurately the diagram represents Canadian politics: a bunch of old rich white dudes yelling out meaningless talking points and buzz words over one another. 

Looking at this diagram and the debate in general I can't believe how many issues, how many people are ignored.  

How long before we see a debate where one of the candidates is a person of colour? A woman? What will it take to get attention to issues outside of the realm of fear? That the gun-registry is still an on-going issue is mind-boggling. Aside from the fact that the money to put it in place has already been spent and that the upkeep is a fraction of the cost than the detractors say, despite the fact that police officers and RCMP across the country have said that it is used frequently and ignoring that long-guns are fucking weapons that should be fucking registered, the motion to dismantle has been voted down. But, no, by all means lets flog the dead horse! Yet, Aboriginal people, the first people of the country, were mentioned exactly once and only by Layton. 

Off the top of my head a few words that are missing: 

Aboriginal Rights

Women's Rights

Education

Childcare

Farmers

Fisheries

Foreign Aid

Environment

Veterans

Homeless 

Seniors

Sustainability

Pay Equity 

Canadians deserve better than this. 

Some Things to Learn from Egypt by Alex Snider

Stephen Harper, seconds before biting off the head of that innocent kitten

I find it absolutely heartening and inspiring to watch major protests in countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Albania, Zimbabwe and Iran (and many, many, many others); countries in which protesters who challenge the status quo run the risk of jail, bodily harm, death unto themselves and their families, yet there they are: standing up for what they believe in, fighting for their right to have a say in their lives, countries and futures. (more after the jump)

Read more »

Act Now!

The conservatives are at it again; this time trying to pave the way for Fox News North (Sun TV) to spew it's sure to be racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic hate speech and spread some fear Canada-style. The CRTC has been under pressure from some shadowy government committee to change the standards in Canadian broadcasting making it easier to willingly spread false information; right now, there is a ban on broadcasting "false of misleading" news. Basically, we are this close, Canada, to bidding adieu to journalistic integrity (not that all journalists come pre-programmed with integrity -- I'm looking at you, Blatchford). But, there is something that you, the Canadian lover of fact-based news, can do! Just fill out this short form here! It's so easy! I'm studying for an exam and I got er' done in about five minutes!

It closes tomorrow (Wednesday) night so go do it now. For real. We do not want to go down the path of no return, look at the US and their quagmire of 'journalism'.

For more information check out the CRTC's announcement of consultation here, this article in The Globe and Mail and this article in The (Toronto) Star. 

Really, Colbert? Really? by Alex Snider

Oh man, how disappointing is it when someone, in this huge world filled with jerks, you admire lets you down? Take for instance, last night on the Colbert Report, when Stephen Colbert talked about Obama endorsing the United Nations' Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People  (ok, horrifyingly enough, the declaration is from 2007). 

Read more »

Remember

Today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada. Twenty-one years ago, fourteen women were murdered and another ten injured by gunman, Marc Lepine. Lepine claimed he was "fighting feminism"; today is the day we remember those women and remember that there are hundreds of thousands of women worldwide who are the victims of violence everyday. From honour killings to female genital mutilation, from domestic abuse to rape, a lot of women are fighting every minute for survival and those who aren't should be fighting for those who can't.

A post over at Black Coffee Poet got me thinking that while it is incredibly important to always keep the victims of the Montreal Massacre and that violence against women knows every level of education, every creed, every race; it is equally important to remember that, in Canada, the statistics concerning violence and Aboriginal women are truly horrendous.

Over the past twenty years, over 582 Inuit, Metis and First Nations' women have gone missing or been murdered. 582. Law enforcement and the Canadian government have done precious little to find the missing women, solve the murder cases or help prevent these horrific crimes. And now, the Harper government is actually pulling back whatever tiny amount of help they did offer.

Sisters in Spirit, an initiative of the Native Women's Association of Canada, offers support to the families of victims, does research on and keeps a database of all the women affected and works to draw attention to the plight of the missing and murdered women on the national and international stage. Now, after five years, the Harper government has refused Sisters in Spirit special project status and transfered their portfolio under the umbrella of the office of Status of Women. Once again, the Canadian government has marginalized the Aboriginal community.

This issue has never been a priority before so what has changed? Taking over the Sisters in Spirit mandate and merging it with all other issues concerning all Canadian women is not going to draw more attention, is not going to prioritize the familiar tragedy constantly befalling Aboriginal communities. Keeping up with the 500+ year tradition, Indigenous people are once again being denied their right to stand up for themselves and their identity as a people.

These women were daughters, sisters, mothers, nieces, cousins, friends. They are human beings; they deserve to be treated with dignity, respect; they deserve, their families deserve closure. So, with the memory of the Montreal Massacre fresh in our minds, think also of all those lost Indigenous women, all beloved and special, still denied justice.

Links for more information and ways to get involved:

http://www.nwac.ca/programs/sisters-spirit

http://www.rabble.ca/news/2010/11/ottawas-political-needs-trump-recording-violence-against-aboriginal-women

http://www.missingjustice.ca/2009/12/sisters-in-spirit-shines-a-light/

http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2010/11/04/moon-setting-on-sisters-in-spirit/

Also, write to your MP and to Stephen Harper to express the importance of the Sisters in Spirit initiative and urge them to rethink taking away their funding.