Month: January 2019

Comment on Security Certificates vs Human Rights by Laurel L. Russwurm

Here’s my version of the letter:

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister Goodale,

This letter is to insist on an end to deportation proceedings against the Algerian Refugee, Mohamed Harkat, who has lived in Canada for 22 years.

It is inconceivable to me that Mr. Harkat could face deportation to Algeria under the controversial security certificate regime.

How can Canada claim to operate under the rule of law if there are different laws for refugees and immigrants than there are for Canadian citizens? How can Canada claim to uphold the Charter if our Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship practices institutional discrimination against people of colour or the wrong religion anyone be imprisoned people brown people are secret courts and . Security certificate hearings take place in secret, which means neither he nor his lawyers have ever been allowed to confront and cross-examine his accusers.

Today, his fate lies with you. Your government could deport him to Algeria where he will face imprisonment, torture, and possibly death, or you could allow him to stay and continue to live a peaceful life in Ottawa with his wife Sophie, his family and friends. For them, he is simply “Moe”, a loving and soft-spoken man who contributes to his community and is always ready to help those around him. Mr Harkat’s community has lived in constant fear for his safety since the Government of Canada began deportation proceedings three years ago.

In 2002, under a problematic regime of security certificates that the Supreme Court unanimously ruled unconstitutional in 2007, Mr. Harkat was imprisoned in maximum security for 43 months. He spent years under house arrest, and was placed under some of the most severe bail conditions in Canadian history. All of this without ever having been charged with a crime. The original “evidence” against Mr. Harkat was destroyed by CSIS, and the allegations against him are based on the testimony of an informant who failed a lie detector test and was never cross-examined in court.

On October 26, 2017, Prime Minister Trudeau clearly stated: “Nobody ever deserves to be tortured. And when a Canadian government is either complicit in that or was not active enough in preventing it, there needs to be responsibility taken.”

The Harkats have also described how the conditions imposed on them and the harassment they have faced from Canada Border Services Agency agents amounts to “psychological torture.” This is unacceptable in a free country.

Today, your government has an opportunity to live up to those words by ending Mr. Harkat’s ordeal, and avoid implicating your government in his torture. I urge you to abide by both Canadian law as well as Canada’s international obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture (which outlaws deportation to torture under any circumstances, without exception).

Both the UK and Ireland have recently seen cases of deportations to Algeria being stopped because of the risk of torture. There is no reason why Canada should not follow suit. Surely we have by now learned not to throw human rights under the bus, or send anyone to torture.

Under the law, Minister Goodale has the power to allow Mr. Harkat to stay in Canada. I, along with thousands of other people both in Canada and globally, urge you to use this power today to allow Mohamed Harkat to remain in Canada and live his life, safe from fear and torture, with his wife and community.

Please do the right thing and uphold Mohamed Harkat’s human rights by immediately putting a stop to his deportation.

Sincerely,

Laurel Russwurm

CC: My Harold Albrecht, MP
CC: The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
CC: The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Canada’s 2019 New Year’s ResolutionWe need to stop this nonsense…



Canada’s 2019 New Year’s Resolution

We need to stop this nonsense and vote *for* the representation we want.
How is it Representative Democracy if we aren’t voting for Representative?

Proportional Representation is not a partisan issue, it is about providing voters with the representation they voted for.  PR is much better for voters because we can not only vote for the representation we want, most of us will actually get it.
It is not a partisan issue because there is support for PR across the spectrum. 

If you support Liberal ideals and policy, you might support Proportional Representation because although it can be hard work to achieve cross party consensus (almost always necessary in PR), the policy that gets made is policy most people can live with, it’s policy that will stand the test of time.  That’s not true on our current Winner-Take-All politics.  When the party that passed the good policy gets kicked out (which *always* happens sooner or later) the party that replaces them is likely to dump that good policy. 

That’s call Policy Lurch, and we’re seeing a lot of that in Ontario now, as the new Progressive Conservative Government is working to overturn everything their Liberal Predecessors did.  Even policy like campaign finance reform and the #BasicIncome pilot that had been supported by all parties in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario (including the PCs).  Mr Ford’s PCs are doing this, not because it is good policy.  They’re doing this because they can.

Because our First Past The Post Voting system gives the winning party disproportional power (at the expense of the other parties & the voters who vote for them).  This is why we need #ProportionalRepresentation. 

And why neither Liberal or Conservative governments will give it to us.  Vote for candidates who will deliver PR so we can stop this nonsense. 

Premier Doug Ford (416) 805-2156 “Premier Doug Ford is one…



Premier Doug Ford (416) 805-2156

“Premier Doug Ford is one of the most accessible politicians in the country,” said spokesman Simon Jefferies. “He gives his personal cellphone number out to everyone he meets and receives thousands of calls and messages on a wide range of issues.”

—After she called Doug Ford’s cellphone multiple times,
    the OPP told this autism advocate to quit it

So Premier Ford gives out his personal cellphone number then sends the Ontario Provincial Police to intimidate citizens who use it?

Until there is a law making it illegal for citizens — aka “the people”  — to call the Premier of Ontario at the cell number he himself gives out — the OPP has no business calling private citizens and telling them not to call.  

People in the real world understand that if we give our cell number to people they might actually use it to call us.  Instead of misusing police services, perhaps the Premier ought to only give out his number to people he wants to hear from.