Today's Toronto Star has an article about battles in this city between developers and local residents over new skyscrapers. Even though Canada has a declining birthrate, the country's three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, are growing rapidly because of immigration.
At present Canada admits approximately 250,000 newcomers a year, about forty percent of which settle in the Greater Toronto Area (the City of Toronto and its outlying suburbs). The GTA receives roughly 100,000 immigrants a year, which adds up to a million each decade.
One result of this explosive growth is urban sprawl, which eats up valuable farmland and threatens environmentally sensitive areas such as the Oak Ridges Moraine.
To combat sprawl, the provincial government of Dalton McGuinty created a greenbelt around the city. However, even if McGuinty's greenbelt succeeds in stopping sprawl, immigrants are still coming and they will have to live somewhere.
If developers are prevented from building new housing in undeveloped areas, they will need to build in established communities. This means higher population densities and taller buildings, which upsets local residents who don't want to see their cozy neighbourhoods changed in this way.
Unfortunately, many of the residents who are fighting to protect their communities from overdevelopment don't see the connection between immigration and higher residential densities or they've been convinced by the totally false argument that Canada needs mass immigration to compensate for its aging population - a claim that has been debunked by Martin Collacott among others.
From the Star article (Dark dreams, by Kenneth Kidd, April 30, 2006):
Since 2000, the city has approved nearly 100 buildings of 26 storeys or more, half of them downtown. They will all cast shadows — some darkening sidewalks for much of the day, some of them long and narrow, moving rapidly across the surrounding neighbourhood.
We might plant trees for shade, but nobody invites the shadows of a nearby building into their backyard — one reason that any talk of shadowing, and how much is acceptable, becomes so emotionally charged.
But here's the thing about any shadow debate: It comes freighted with other meanings. It's a kind of shorthand for what you want Toronto to be, and what you think about the fairness of the city's growth and planning.
You start with shadows, and these other issues suddenly start piling on.
Is Toronto, especially downtown, to become another Manhattan, or is there a part of our collective mentality that really wants to be Oakville?
What are the rules; who should decide? And who among the city planners, developers and local residents should carry the most weight?
[. . .]
I, personally, vote for Oakville over Manhattan. I couldn't afford to live in Manhattan.
Read the rest of Kenneth Kidd's article here
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Toronto police defend decision not to send officers to event organized by Tamil terrorist front group
Yesterday, I blogged about the refusal of police to send paid-duty officers to attend an event organized by the World Tamil Movement, a front for the Tamil Tiger (LTTE) terrorist group.
The refusal to send officers forced the cancellation of the event and led to accusations of 'discrimination' against the police. Today's Toronto Star has another article about this controversy. (Tamil event wouldn't be appropriate use of officers: Police by Surya Bhattacharya, April 30, 2006):
Toronto police confirm they refused to let organizers of an event sponsored by the World Tamil Movement hire paid-duty officers, saying the gathering was not an appropriate use of officers.
"It did not in any way interfere with the Charter rights of the organization for freedom of association or speech," said Staff Insp. George Cowley, lawyer to the Toronto Police Service.
Supt. Bob Qualtrough of Scarborough's 41 Division assessed the request and informed Police Chief Bill Blair, who in turn supported the decision, Cowley said. Qualtrough based his decision on who was making the request and the purpose of the meeting, Cowley added.
[. . .]
Read the rest of Surya Bhattacharya's article here
The refusal to send officers forced the cancellation of the event and led to accusations of 'discrimination' against the police. Today's Toronto Star has another article about this controversy. (Tamil event wouldn't be appropriate use of officers: Police by Surya Bhattacharya, April 30, 2006):
Toronto police confirm they refused to let organizers of an event sponsored by the World Tamil Movement hire paid-duty officers, saying the gathering was not an appropriate use of officers.
"It did not in any way interfere with the Charter rights of the organization for freedom of association or speech," said Staff Insp. George Cowley, lawyer to the Toronto Police Service.
Supt. Bob Qualtrough of Scarborough's 41 Division assessed the request and informed Police Chief Bill Blair, who in turn supported the decision, Cowley said. Qualtrough based his decision on who was making the request and the purpose of the meeting, Cowley added.
[. . .]
Read the rest of Surya Bhattacharya's article here
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Toronto Sun: Friends of Andrew Stewart's killer gloat over light sentence
From the Toronto Sun (Killer's pals laugh at teen's sentence by Sam Pazzano, April 29, 2006):
Friends of a Toronto teen who fatally stabbed "hero" Andrew Stewart celebrated the 64-month sentence imposed yesterday by laughing and performing basketball body slams on each other outside the courtroom.
"Five years, four months, all right, man!" a teen said after Justice David Watt sentenced Kimo George, 18, for manslaughter in the "senseless" killing of the 16-year-old, who died defending a pregnant pal on Dec. 3, 2004.
George and his allies had gathered that day to attack a rival group known as the "Albanians." That plan was scuttled by the police presence at nearby East York Collegiate. George's group assembled at a pool hall where the conflict between them and a pregnant girl erupted. Stewart intervened to stem the violence, but instead was engulfed in it, Watt said.
He was swarmed, but escaped and ran south on Coxwell Ave., where his attackers cornered him and George killed him.
[. . .]
Here's the part I find outrageous:
"This was an unlawful killing ... of an unarmed, outnumbered youth by a first offender (George)," Watt said. "Despite the gratuitous, excessive violence in his ... senseless killing of Andrew Stewart, there's no evidence that George represents a danger to the public."
Hey the thug did say he was sorry. Geez. What more do you bloodsuckers want? Are you perfect? I'm sure you have a youthful indiscretion or two in your past.
I would like to know why this wasn't treated as a hate crime.
Friends of a Toronto teen who fatally stabbed "hero" Andrew Stewart celebrated the 64-month sentence imposed yesterday by laughing and performing basketball body slams on each other outside the courtroom.
"Five years, four months, all right, man!" a teen said after Justice David Watt sentenced Kimo George, 18, for manslaughter in the "senseless" killing of the 16-year-old, who died defending a pregnant pal on Dec. 3, 2004.
George and his allies had gathered that day to attack a rival group known as the "Albanians." That plan was scuttled by the police presence at nearby East York Collegiate. George's group assembled at a pool hall where the conflict between them and a pregnant girl erupted. Stewart intervened to stem the violence, but instead was engulfed in it, Watt said.
He was swarmed, but escaped and ran south on Coxwell Ave., where his attackers cornered him and George killed him.
[. . .]
Here's the part I find outrageous:
"This was an unlawful killing ... of an unarmed, outnumbered youth by a first offender (George)," Watt said. "Despite the gratuitous, excessive violence in his ... senseless killing of Andrew Stewart, there's no evidence that George represents a danger to the public."
Hey the thug did say he was sorry. Geez. What more do you bloodsuckers want? Are you perfect? I'm sure you have a youthful indiscretion or two in your past.
I would like to know why this wasn't treated as a hate crime.
Worth reading: Kevin Michael Grace examines the "Hitler's Pope" libel
Over at the Ambler, Kevin Michael Grace sets the record straight on the widely disseminated libel that Pope Pius XII was "Hitler's Pope". Read Grace's comments here
World Tamil Movement accuses Toronto police of 'discrimination'
Last Sunday this blog linked to a Toronto Star story about an RCMP raid on the Toronto and Scarborough offices of the World Tamil Movement, a front organization for the Tamil Tigers. The Tigers are a terrorist group that uses suicide bombers and child soldiers in its quest to create an independent Tamil state on the ethnically-divided island of Sri Lanka. Now an independent country, Sri Lanka used to be the British colony of Ceylon.
Unfortunately, the Tigers' use of terrorism doesn't stop some naive Canadians from sympathizing with them. While it's true Tamils have legitimate grievances against the Sinhalese majority, nothing justifies the atrocities the Tigers commit, especially when many of the victims are fellow Tamils. It certainly doesn't excuse abusing Canada's refugee system.
The raid in Toronto followed an earlier one in Montreal. Both occurred after the Conservative government of Stephen Harper finally outlawed the Tigers as a terrorist group. Previous Liberal governments had refused to do so in order not to alienate Tamil voters. During the last election campaign the Conservatives also downplayed the Tiger issue because some Toronto candidates hoped to make inroads among Tamil voters.
The Conservatives finally acted after Human Rights Watch issued a damning report which described how Tiger operatives extort money from Tamil-Canadians.
Today the Star reports that the Tamil group's lawyer Clayton Ruby has accused the Toronto police of unfair discrimination after the superintendent of 41 Divison refused to send officers to a World Tamil Movement event at Winston Churchill Collegiate in Scarborough.
From the Star article (Police won't staff Tamil event after raid by Surya Bhattacharya, April 29, 2006):
When the Mounties swooped down on the World Tamil Movement's Toronto headquarters last week, it had repercussions well beyond the group that has been accused of links to the controversial Tamil Tigers.
The RCMP raid also caused the temporary shutdown of a community newspaper, the confiscation of dozens of CDs and DVDs from at least one large Tamil shop, and the cancellation of an annual community gathering today after the Toronto Police Service withdrew paid-duty officers.
More than 400 people were expected to attend a WTM-sponsored event at Scarborough's Winston Churchill Collegiate tonight featuring traditional dance, drama and music. Paid-duty police officers are required as part of the event licence.
But lawyer Clayton Ruby, who is representing the WTM, says Supt. Bob Qualtrough of 41 Division refused to assign the officers after the RCMP raids, telling him, "I don't want my officers associated with people who might be guilty of criminal offences."
Ruby cited that quote from Qualtrough in a letter of complaint to Police Chief Bill Blair on Monday. Blair's office did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.
[. . .]
Read the rest of Surya Bhattacharya's Star article here
Unfortunately, the Tigers' use of terrorism doesn't stop some naive Canadians from sympathizing with them. While it's true Tamils have legitimate grievances against the Sinhalese majority, nothing justifies the atrocities the Tigers commit, especially when many of the victims are fellow Tamils. It certainly doesn't excuse abusing Canada's refugee system.
The raid in Toronto followed an earlier one in Montreal. Both occurred after the Conservative government of Stephen Harper finally outlawed the Tigers as a terrorist group. Previous Liberal governments had refused to do so in order not to alienate Tamil voters. During the last election campaign the Conservatives also downplayed the Tiger issue because some Toronto candidates hoped to make inroads among Tamil voters.
The Conservatives finally acted after Human Rights Watch issued a damning report which described how Tiger operatives extort money from Tamil-Canadians.
Today the Star reports that the Tamil group's lawyer Clayton Ruby has accused the Toronto police of unfair discrimination after the superintendent of 41 Divison refused to send officers to a World Tamil Movement event at Winston Churchill Collegiate in Scarborough.
From the Star article (Police won't staff Tamil event after raid by Surya Bhattacharya, April 29, 2006):
When the Mounties swooped down on the World Tamil Movement's Toronto headquarters last week, it had repercussions well beyond the group that has been accused of links to the controversial Tamil Tigers.
The RCMP raid also caused the temporary shutdown of a community newspaper, the confiscation of dozens of CDs and DVDs from at least one large Tamil shop, and the cancellation of an annual community gathering today after the Toronto Police Service withdrew paid-duty officers.
More than 400 people were expected to attend a WTM-sponsored event at Scarborough's Winston Churchill Collegiate tonight featuring traditional dance, drama and music. Paid-duty police officers are required as part of the event licence.
But lawyer Clayton Ruby, who is representing the WTM, says Supt. Bob Qualtrough of 41 Division refused to assign the officers after the RCMP raids, telling him, "I don't want my officers associated with people who might be guilty of criminal offences."
Ruby cited that quote from Qualtrough in a letter of complaint to Police Chief Bill Blair on Monday. Blair's office did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.
[. . .]
Read the rest of Surya Bhattacharya's Star article here
Toronto Star article paints a frightening picture of gang life in this city
I have mixed feelings about the Toronto Star. The paper is strongly biased in favour of mass immigration and multiculturalism. A lot of its reporting on these subjects is little more than propaganda. At the moment it's on a mission to promote amnesty for illegal immigrants all the while ignoring the impact illegals have on Canadian wages. The same paper that frets over Canada's working poor supports the high levels of immigration that are driving down their wages. The Star doesn't seem to see the connection between immigration and the low wages that keep many workers in poverty.
That said, I've been reading the Star since I was a child and feel a sentimental attachment towards it. The paper does, to its credit, have some good reporting on life in Toronto. Even on immigration, it occasionally prints good articles. Last year, for example, the Star published two important columns by James Travers. He showed that according to the government's own research recent immigrants have been doing poorly. This contradicted assertions by then immigration minister Joe Volpe who was arguing that immigrants were doing so well Canada should raise immigration levels from the current 200-250,000 a year to a whopping 320,000 a year or one percent of the population.
Today's edition has a feature article on Toronto's gang culture that shows the Star at its best. I think everyone worried about the growing gun violence in this formerly peaceful city should read today's story (A look inside 'The Game', by Moira Walsh, April 29, 2006). Here are some excerpts:
As the city braces for another summer of shootings, the Toronto Star interviewed young men who are in various stages of gang membership -
[. . .]
The world they reveal is harsh, leaving a wake of fatal shootings and thousands of beatings, thefts and robberies.
"The Game," as they call it, is their life: selling drugs, making money, looking good, staying alive.
[. . .]
The neighbourhoods they come from are populated by blacks and other minorities, as are the schools, in pockets of inner city St. Jamestown, Rexdale, North York and Scarborough, where Steven lives. Most neighbourhood kids will graduate from high school, get jobs or continue their education. But a smaller percentage — a handful — will join gangs and become hard-core criminals, despite often-heroic efforts to keep them out of The Game. Children here grow up immersed in the gang culture, where guns and intimidation and casual violence are normal, absorbed in many ways. In Rexdale last summer, a man was shot to death near a church picnic and kids trailing balloons had to be escorted under the yellow police tape that blocked their way home. Sometimes it is more mundane. A boy in a west-end highrise has to stare at the elevator floor when he rides with gangsters. Looking them in the eye is a sign of disrespect for which he will get a beating.
One youth worker said: "You don't ask these kids if they've ever seen a gun, but you might ask if they've ever seen a gun fired."
[. . .]
"Here" is Crips territory, where the gang has cornered the market on drug sales all along Devon's block. The Crips make the most money, which gives them the power to enforce a dress code. Crips wear blue bandanas to symbolize their loyalty. Their enemies, the Bloods, wear red.
When Jane moved into the building, they started smart-talking her, telling her how to dress her son so not to offend them. She is contemptuous of these teenage hoods, but silently so. "I have seen them walk up to old men and say, "Grandfather, don't you know you cannot wear red? Don't let us see you wearing it again."
Last summer, Devon was beaten after the Crips noticed a small patch of red on his hoodie jacket. They told him to never wear red again and warned that if he complained to police, he would be killed. But Jane talked to officers and charges were laid. Guys started coming to his school, trying to get him out of class, so they could make good on their death threat.
Read the rest of Moira Walsh's article here
That said, I've been reading the Star since I was a child and feel a sentimental attachment towards it. The paper does, to its credit, have some good reporting on life in Toronto. Even on immigration, it occasionally prints good articles. Last year, for example, the Star published two important columns by James Travers. He showed that according to the government's own research recent immigrants have been doing poorly. This contradicted assertions by then immigration minister Joe Volpe who was arguing that immigrants were doing so well Canada should raise immigration levels from the current 200-250,000 a year to a whopping 320,000 a year or one percent of the population.
Today's edition has a feature article on Toronto's gang culture that shows the Star at its best. I think everyone worried about the growing gun violence in this formerly peaceful city should read today's story (A look inside 'The Game', by Moira Walsh, April 29, 2006). Here are some excerpts:
As the city braces for another summer of shootings, the Toronto Star interviewed young men who are in various stages of gang membership -
[. . .]
The world they reveal is harsh, leaving a wake of fatal shootings and thousands of beatings, thefts and robberies.
"The Game," as they call it, is their life: selling drugs, making money, looking good, staying alive.
[. . .]
The neighbourhoods they come from are populated by blacks and other minorities, as are the schools, in pockets of inner city St. Jamestown, Rexdale, North York and Scarborough, where Steven lives. Most neighbourhood kids will graduate from high school, get jobs or continue their education. But a smaller percentage — a handful — will join gangs and become hard-core criminals, despite often-heroic efforts to keep them out of The Game. Children here grow up immersed in the gang culture, where guns and intimidation and casual violence are normal, absorbed in many ways. In Rexdale last summer, a man was shot to death near a church picnic and kids trailing balloons had to be escorted under the yellow police tape that blocked their way home. Sometimes it is more mundane. A boy in a west-end highrise has to stare at the elevator floor when he rides with gangsters. Looking them in the eye is a sign of disrespect for which he will get a beating.
One youth worker said: "You don't ask these kids if they've ever seen a gun, but you might ask if they've ever seen a gun fired."
[. . .]
"Here" is Crips territory, where the gang has cornered the market on drug sales all along Devon's block. The Crips make the most money, which gives them the power to enforce a dress code. Crips wear blue bandanas to symbolize their loyalty. Their enemies, the Bloods, wear red.
When Jane moved into the building, they started smart-talking her, telling her how to dress her son so not to offend them. She is contemptuous of these teenage hoods, but silently so. "I have seen them walk up to old men and say, "Grandfather, don't you know you cannot wear red? Don't let us see you wearing it again."
Last summer, Devon was beaten after the Crips noticed a small patch of red on his hoodie jacket. They told him to never wear red again and warned that if he complained to police, he would be killed. But Jane talked to officers and charges were laid. Guys started coming to his school, trying to get him out of class, so they could make good on their death threat.
Read the rest of Moira Walsh's article here
Friday, April 28, 2006
Economist George J. Borjas analyzes the impact of immigration on American wages
Economist George J. Borgas has written an article (Immigrants In, Wages Down) for National Review about the impact immigration has on American wages. Unfortunately, most of Borjas' commentary is only available to subscribers. The full article will appear in May 8, 2006 print edition of the magazine.
From the excerpt on the National Review website:
In the last few weeks, the academic discussion of how best to measure the wage impact of immigration has spilled over into the policy debate over tighter borders, a proposed amnesty for 11 million illegal immigrants, and the adoption of a guest-worker program that would admit around 400,000 temporary workers annually. What does economic theory have to say about the impact of immigration on wages?
The laws of supply and demand imply that, other things being equal, an increase in the number of low-skilled immigrants will lower the wages of comparable native workers, at least in the short run, because they now face stiffer competition in the labor market. In contrast, high-skilled workers may gain from the influx of immigrant labor. Not only will they pay less for the services these laborers provide, such as painting the house and mowing the lawn, but by hiring immigrant workers they will be able to specialize in producing the goods and services to which their skills are better suited…
Borjas is the author of the influential book Heaven's Door: Immigration Policy and the American Economy. According to Vdare founder Peter Brimelow, who has probably done more than anyone else to alert Americans to the dangers of unchecked immigration, "George Borjas is the outstanding immigration economist in the U.S., which has gotten him into trouble."
Another American economist, Thomas Sowell, has also described the impact of illegal immigration on American wages. In a recent column (Guests or gate crashers, March 28, 2006), he wrote:
Most of the arguments for not enforcing our immigration laws are exercises in frivolous rhetoric and slippery sophistry, rather than serious arguments that will stand up under scrutiny.
How often have we heard that illegal immigrants "take jobs that Americans will not do"? What is missing in this argument is what is crucial in any economic argument: price.
Americans will not take many jobs at their current pay levels -- and those pay levels will not rise so long as poverty-stricken immigrants are willing to take those jobs.
If Mexican journalists were flooding into the United States and taking jobs as reporters and editors at half the pay being earned by American reporters and editors, maybe people in the media would understand why the argument about "taking jobs that Americans don't want" is such nonsense.
Another variation on the same theme is that we "need" the millions of illegal aliens already in the United States. "Need" is another word that blithely ignores prices.
If jet planes were on sale for a thousand dollars each, I would probably "need" a couple of them -- an extra one to fly when the first one needed repair or maintenance. But since these planes cost millions of dollars, I don't even "need" one.
There is no fixed amount of "need," independently of prices, whether with planes or workers.
While Borjas and Sowell are analyzing the situation in the US, the law of supply and demand applies as much to Canada as the US. This is something to keep in mind when defenders of illegal immigration urge amnesty on humanitarian grounds. The "generosity" of these advocates comes at a cost that is not borne equally by everyone. Contrary to popular myth, illegal immigration is not a victimless crime. The presence of illegals in Canada drives down the wages of those Canadians at the bottom of the economic ladder and it also imposes costs on the taxpayer. In Ontario for example, the children of illegal immigrants are admitted into schools no questions asked. This at a time when schools don't have enough money to pay for badly needed teachers of English as a second language (ESL).
From the excerpt on the National Review website:
In the last few weeks, the academic discussion of how best to measure the wage impact of immigration has spilled over into the policy debate over tighter borders, a proposed amnesty for 11 million illegal immigrants, and the adoption of a guest-worker program that would admit around 400,000 temporary workers annually. What does economic theory have to say about the impact of immigration on wages?
The laws of supply and demand imply that, other things being equal, an increase in the number of low-skilled immigrants will lower the wages of comparable native workers, at least in the short run, because they now face stiffer competition in the labor market. In contrast, high-skilled workers may gain from the influx of immigrant labor. Not only will they pay less for the services these laborers provide, such as painting the house and mowing the lawn, but by hiring immigrant workers they will be able to specialize in producing the goods and services to which their skills are better suited…
Borjas is the author of the influential book Heaven's Door: Immigration Policy and the American Economy. According to Vdare founder Peter Brimelow, who has probably done more than anyone else to alert Americans to the dangers of unchecked immigration, "George Borjas is the outstanding immigration economist in the U.S., which has gotten him into trouble."
Another American economist, Thomas Sowell, has also described the impact of illegal immigration on American wages. In a recent column (Guests or gate crashers, March 28, 2006), he wrote:
Most of the arguments for not enforcing our immigration laws are exercises in frivolous rhetoric and slippery sophistry, rather than serious arguments that will stand up under scrutiny.
How often have we heard that illegal immigrants "take jobs that Americans will not do"? What is missing in this argument is what is crucial in any economic argument: price.
Americans will not take many jobs at their current pay levels -- and those pay levels will not rise so long as poverty-stricken immigrants are willing to take those jobs.
If Mexican journalists were flooding into the United States and taking jobs as reporters and editors at half the pay being earned by American reporters and editors, maybe people in the media would understand why the argument about "taking jobs that Americans don't want" is such nonsense.
Another variation on the same theme is that we "need" the millions of illegal aliens already in the United States. "Need" is another word that blithely ignores prices.
If jet planes were on sale for a thousand dollars each, I would probably "need" a couple of them -- an extra one to fly when the first one needed repair or maintenance. But since these planes cost millions of dollars, I don't even "need" one.
There is no fixed amount of "need," independently of prices, whether with planes or workers.
While Borjas and Sowell are analyzing the situation in the US, the law of supply and demand applies as much to Canada as the US. This is something to keep in mind when defenders of illegal immigration urge amnesty on humanitarian grounds. The "generosity" of these advocates comes at a cost that is not borne equally by everyone. Contrary to popular myth, illegal immigration is not a victimless crime. The presence of illegals in Canada drives down the wages of those Canadians at the bottom of the economic ladder and it also imposes costs on the taxpayer. In Ontario for example, the children of illegal immigrants are admitted into schools no questions asked. This at a time when schools don't have enough money to pay for badly needed teachers of English as a second language (ESL).
Six accused accept deal in Cardinal McGuigan high school sexual assault case
From the Globe and Mail (Six people accept deal in high-school sexual assault case by Joe Friesen, April 27, 2006):
Six of the young people accused of harassment and uttering threats in a high-school sexual assault case have accepted a deal that will see the charges against them withdrawn.
The six were among the 16 black students arrested at James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic Secondary School last November after a white female student complained of being harassed and assaulted over a period of several months.
The case has been acrimonious from the start, marked by accusations of racism directed at police and school officials by some of the parents of the accused.
[. . .]
Those who agreed to a deal yesterday will sign a peace bond, promise to be on good behaviour and stay away from the complainant and the school said to be the scene of the alleged assaults. But they will not admit any responsibility or wrongdoing. Afterward, Crown lawyer Michael Waby said police were right to make the arrests, even if they did not lead to convictions.
[. . .]
Two young men still face charges of sexual assault and forcible confinement. They will return to court May 10. Four have not decided whether to sign a peace bond. Four have accepted extra-judicial sanctions, which require an admission of some responsibility and the completion of a court-ordered program. Once the program is complete, charges will be withdrawn.
Read all of Joe Friesen's article here
Six of the young people accused of harassment and uttering threats in a high-school sexual assault case have accepted a deal that will see the charges against them withdrawn.
The six were among the 16 black students arrested at James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic Secondary School last November after a white female student complained of being harassed and assaulted over a period of several months.
The case has been acrimonious from the start, marked by accusations of racism directed at police and school officials by some of the parents of the accused.
[. . .]
Those who agreed to a deal yesterday will sign a peace bond, promise to be on good behaviour and stay away from the complainant and the school said to be the scene of the alleged assaults. But they will not admit any responsibility or wrongdoing. Afterward, Crown lawyer Michael Waby said police were right to make the arrests, even if they did not lead to convictions.
[. . .]
Two young men still face charges of sexual assault and forcible confinement. They will return to court May 10. Four have not decided whether to sign a peace bond. Four have accepted extra-judicial sanctions, which require an admission of some responsibility and the completion of a court-ordered program. Once the program is complete, charges will be withdrawn.
Read all of Joe Friesen's article here
Toronto Sun: Chief ready to tackle gangs
From today's Toronto Sun, (Chief ready to tackle gangs by Tom Godfrey, April 28, 2006):
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair says his officers are poised to move in on gangs and gunmen to prevent another bloody summer of the gun.
"In the last year we have thrown a lot of people in jail and seized a large amount of weapons," Blair said yesterday in Etobicoke to mark his first year as chief.
He said the force is adding 400 new officers this year and has beefed up its intelligence, rapid deployment teams, intervention and liaison with various communities.
[. . .]
Of the 78 murders last year, 52 were by gun.
Blair said a team of homicide officers is also making inroads to solve the slaying of Jane Creba, 15, in a Boxing Day gun battle on Yonge St.
[. . .]
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair says his officers are poised to move in on gangs and gunmen to prevent another bloody summer of the gun.
"In the last year we have thrown a lot of people in jail and seized a large amount of weapons," Blair said yesterday in Etobicoke to mark his first year as chief.
He said the force is adding 400 new officers this year and has beefed up its intelligence, rapid deployment teams, intervention and liaison with various communities.
[. . .]
Of the 78 murders last year, 52 were by gun.
Blair said a team of homicide officers is also making inroads to solve the slaying of Jane Creba, 15, in a Boxing Day gun battle on Yonge St.
[. . .]
British Muslim students are being taught to despise unbelievers
Shiite Muslim students training to be imams in a London school linked to Iran have complained they are being taught doctrines that compare non-Muslims to dogs and pigs. This according to an article from The Times (Muslim students 'being taught to despise unbelievers as filth' by Sean O'Neill, April 20, 2006) cited by Daniel Pipes in a commentary he wrote for the neoconservative website FrontPageMag.
From the Times article:
The Times has obtained extracts from medieval texts taught to the students in which unbelievers are likened to pigs and dogs. The texts are taught at the Hawza Ilmiyya of London, a religious school, which has a sister institution, the Islamic College for Advanced Studies (ICAS), which offers a degree validated by Middlesex University.
The students, who have asked to remain anonymous, study their religious courses alongside the university-backed BA in Islamic studies. They spend two days a week as religious students and three days on their university course.
In his commentary, Pipes writes:
. . . the Hawza Ilmiyya, a Shi‘i institution, teaches from the writings of Muhaqqiq al-Hilli. This scholar lived from 1240 to 1326 and wrote the authoritative work on Shi‘i law (Shara'i‘ al-Islam).
[. . .]
Although Hilli's attitudes were standard for a pre-modern Shi‘i, they are shocking for 2006 London. Indeed, several students in the Hawza Ilmiyya found them "disturbing" and "very worrying." Their spokesman told the Times that students "are being exposed to very literalist interpretations of the Koran. These are interpretations that would not be recognised by 80 or 90 per cent of Muslims, but they are being taught in this school. A lot of people in the Muslim community are very concerned about this." The spokesman concluded with an appeal urgently to re-examine "the kind of material that is being taught here and in other [Islamic] colleges in Britain."
The Tehran regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sponsors the Hawza Ilmiyya; for example, three of the eight years in the curriculum are spent at institutions in the Iranian city of Qom. Indeed, the school's 1996 founding memorandum states that "At all times at least one of the trustees shall be a representative of the Supreme Spiritual Leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
The institution that funds this school, the Irshad Trust, is a "registered charity" at the Charity Commission (see the trust's page at the commission website), a privilege that qualifies it for various tax concessions; in other words, the British taxpayer is effectively subsidizing the school. In particular, the school benefits from a program called "Gift Aid," under which the government refunds the income tax paid by the donor. Gifts made to registered charities can claim and receive a 28 percent tax refund. A gift of £100 to the Irshad Trust, for example, earns it £128.
Pipes reports that when one of his correspondents complained about the Irshad Trust to the Charity Commission, the complaint was rejected. Comments Pipes:
Ironically, even as some Muslim students attending the Hawza Ilmiyya find its teachings "disturbing" and "very worrying," mandarins at the Charity Commission deem them not causing "significant harm."
From the Times article:
The Times has obtained extracts from medieval texts taught to the students in which unbelievers are likened to pigs and dogs. The texts are taught at the Hawza Ilmiyya of London, a religious school, which has a sister institution, the Islamic College for Advanced Studies (ICAS), which offers a degree validated by Middlesex University.
The students, who have asked to remain anonymous, study their religious courses alongside the university-backed BA in Islamic studies. They spend two days a week as religious students and three days on their university course.
In his commentary, Pipes writes:
. . . the Hawza Ilmiyya, a Shi‘i institution, teaches from the writings of Muhaqqiq al-Hilli. This scholar lived from 1240 to 1326 and wrote the authoritative work on Shi‘i law (Shara'i‘ al-Islam).
[. . .]
Although Hilli's attitudes were standard for a pre-modern Shi‘i, they are shocking for 2006 London. Indeed, several students in the Hawza Ilmiyya found them "disturbing" and "very worrying." Their spokesman told the Times that students "are being exposed to very literalist interpretations of the Koran. These are interpretations that would not be recognised by 80 or 90 per cent of Muslims, but they are being taught in this school. A lot of people in the Muslim community are very concerned about this." The spokesman concluded with an appeal urgently to re-examine "the kind of material that is being taught here and in other [Islamic] colleges in Britain."
The Tehran regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sponsors the Hawza Ilmiyya; for example, three of the eight years in the curriculum are spent at institutions in the Iranian city of Qom. Indeed, the school's 1996 founding memorandum states that "At all times at least one of the trustees shall be a representative of the Supreme Spiritual Leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
The institution that funds this school, the Irshad Trust, is a "registered charity" at the Charity Commission (see the trust's page at the commission website), a privilege that qualifies it for various tax concessions; in other words, the British taxpayer is effectively subsidizing the school. In particular, the school benefits from a program called "Gift Aid," under which the government refunds the income tax paid by the donor. Gifts made to registered charities can claim and receive a 28 percent tax refund. A gift of £100 to the Irshad Trust, for example, earns it £128.
Pipes reports that when one of his correspondents complained about the Irshad Trust to the Charity Commission, the complaint was rejected. Comments Pipes:
Ironically, even as some Muslim students attending the Hawza Ilmiyya find its teachings "disturbing" and "very worrying," mandarins at the Charity Commission deem them not causing "significant harm."
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Another day, another Rwandan war criminal
On Sunday I linked to a story in the National Post about Leon Mugesera, a Rwandan Hutu implicated in the 1994 genocide carried out against Tsutsis. Mugesera has been fighting deportation for ten years. Nine months ago the Supreme Court declared Mugesera a war criminal and ordered him deported, but as in so many other cases, the man is still here.
Today brings news of another Rwandan war criminal in Canada. From the CBC:
A Quebec judge has denied bail to the first man in Canada to be charged with war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
Justice André Denis of the Quebec Superior Court says the crimes Désiré Munyaneza is accused of committing in his homeland of Rwanda are very serious.
His specific reasons for denying bail are covered by a publication ban.
Munyaneza is charged with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which an estimated 800,000 minority Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were killed over a three-month period.
[. . .]
Read the rest of the CBC story here
The CBC also has some background information about Rwanda here
Today brings news of another Rwandan war criminal in Canada. From the CBC:
A Quebec judge has denied bail to the first man in Canada to be charged with war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
Justice André Denis of the Quebec Superior Court says the crimes Désiré Munyaneza is accused of committing in his homeland of Rwanda are very serious.
His specific reasons for denying bail are covered by a publication ban.
Munyaneza is charged with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which an estimated 800,000 minority Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were killed over a three-month period.
[. . .]
Read the rest of the CBC story here
The CBC also has some background information about Rwanda here
Daniel Pipes - Media admit: no Muhammad cartoons because fearful of Islamists
From Daniel Pipes' weblog:
When asked why they did not publish the Danish cartoons of Muhammad, American media offered many high-minded reasons about mutual respect and the like, all of which begged the question why many of the same editors and producers thought it just fine to insult Jesus. But two outlets have come clean, admitting their intimidation.
First, the Boston Phoenix, a weekly, on Feb. 10, 2006, which listed the following as the first of three reasons not to publish the cartoons:
fear of retaliation from the international brotherhood of radical and bloodthirsty Islamists who seek to impose their will on those who do not believe as they do. This is, frankly, our primary reason for not publishing any of the images in question. Simply stated, we are being terrorized, and as deeply as we believe in the principles of free speech and a free press, we could not in good conscience place the men and women who work at the Phoenix and its related companies in physical jeopardy. As we feel forced, literally, to bend to maniacal pressure, this may be the darkest moment in our 40-year publishing history.
[. . .]
Read the rest of what Pipes has to say here
When asked why they did not publish the Danish cartoons of Muhammad, American media offered many high-minded reasons about mutual respect and the like, all of which begged the question why many of the same editors and producers thought it just fine to insult Jesus. But two outlets have come clean, admitting their intimidation.
First, the Boston Phoenix, a weekly, on Feb. 10, 2006, which listed the following as the first of three reasons not to publish the cartoons:
fear of retaliation from the international brotherhood of radical and bloodthirsty Islamists who seek to impose their will on those who do not believe as they do. This is, frankly, our primary reason for not publishing any of the images in question. Simply stated, we are being terrorized, and as deeply as we believe in the principles of free speech and a free press, we could not in good conscience place the men and women who work at the Phoenix and its related companies in physical jeopardy. As we feel forced, literally, to bend to maniacal pressure, this may be the darkest moment in our 40-year publishing history.
[. . .]
Read the rest of what Pipes has to say here
Uh oh. Bad news for racial purists. Report of miscegenation in Canadian north
From the CBC (Hunter shoots grolar bear – or was it a pizzly?):
An American sport hunter might end up in court after killing an odd-looking bear north of Sachs Harbour in the Northwest Territories.
Jim Martell was out hunting polar bear on the tundra near Sachs, 1,150 kilometres north of Yellowknife, when his local guide spotted the animal.
[. . .]
But now the outfitter says the animal might be a cross between a polar bear and a grizzly. The fur isn't bright white like that of a polar bear, or brown like a grizzly's. It's more a dirty blonde.
[. . .]
Ian Sterling, a research scientist who has been studying polar bears in the Beaufort Sea region for more than 30 years, says if the reports are true, the bear is unlike anything he's ever seen.
He said it's hard to say if the animal is the product of cross-species love.
"The probability of a grizzly and a polar bear actually mating is actually pretty low," he said. "Partly because polar bears mate on the sea ice and grizzly bears mate on the land."
[. . .]
Read the rest of the article here
An American sport hunter might end up in court after killing an odd-looking bear north of Sachs Harbour in the Northwest Territories.
Jim Martell was out hunting polar bear on the tundra near Sachs, 1,150 kilometres north of Yellowknife, when his local guide spotted the animal.
[. . .]
But now the outfitter says the animal might be a cross between a polar bear and a grizzly. The fur isn't bright white like that of a polar bear, or brown like a grizzly's. It's more a dirty blonde.
[. . .]
Ian Sterling, a research scientist who has been studying polar bears in the Beaufort Sea region for more than 30 years, says if the reports are true, the bear is unlike anything he's ever seen.
He said it's hard to say if the animal is the product of cross-species love.
"The probability of a grizzly and a polar bear actually mating is actually pretty low," he said. "Partly because polar bears mate on the sea ice and grizzly bears mate on the land."
[. . .]
Read the rest of the article here
Globe and Mail series about Jane and Finch neighbourhood
The Globe and Mail has a series of articles (here, here and here)by Joe Friesen about Jane and Finch, a part of Toronto known for its crime, poverty and other social problems. Of course, the Globe series is all about the heroic struggle of people trying to overcome obstacles:
The intersection of Jane Street and Finch Avenue in northwest Toronto draws reporters all too often for stories of guns and violence, but less is told about ordinary life here. To the dismay of residents, "Jane-Finch" has become a catch-all phrase that suggests poverty, gangs and racial division. Those who live here say the stereotypes obscure a complex, resilient community struggling to emerge from years of neglect. To understand the neighbourhood behind the name, The Globe and Mail's Joe Friesen will report regularly from Jane and Finch. This is his first instalment.
Naturally, there's no discussion of the immigration policies that made this neighbourhood into a notorious trouble spot. Oh, immigration is mentioned but only in the context of how the mean, nasty Canadian government deported a saintly social worker who had filed a false refugee claim:
Then, in 2004, as he was earning praise from civic leaders and other community workers, the government of Canada told him to leave.
Mr. Osei says he received bad advice when he applied for refugee status. He had gone home to Ghana years earlier, but left when old enemies threatened his life. Canadian immigration officials decided that a change in government in Ghana made it safe for him to go back. Many intervened on his behalf, including Mayor David Miller, citing the work he was doing at Jane and Finch. But the government held firm.
He was sent back to Ghana, which allowed him to reunite with his wife and son, and meet his daughter (she was born while he was in Toronto). But he thought of Jane and Finch and the youths who had come to count on him.
When he returned to Canada nearly a year later, after successfully applying to become a landed immigrant, one of the teens he worked closely with had been charged with holding up a Tim Hortons. That young man is now serving a four-year prison term for armed robbery in Kingston.
Is it my imagination or is the reporter implying that this young criminal wouldn't have gotten into trouble if only Ottawa had let Mr. Osei despite the fact he had no legal right to be here?
I admit Mr. Osei sounds like a good person who cares about his community, but I get sick and tired of the media bashing the government every time it enforces our immigration laws.
The intersection of Jane Street and Finch Avenue in northwest Toronto draws reporters all too often for stories of guns and violence, but less is told about ordinary life here. To the dismay of residents, "Jane-Finch" has become a catch-all phrase that suggests poverty, gangs and racial division. Those who live here say the stereotypes obscure a complex, resilient community struggling to emerge from years of neglect. To understand the neighbourhood behind the name, The Globe and Mail's Joe Friesen will report regularly from Jane and Finch. This is his first instalment.
Naturally, there's no discussion of the immigration policies that made this neighbourhood into a notorious trouble spot. Oh, immigration is mentioned but only in the context of how the mean, nasty Canadian government deported a saintly social worker who had filed a false refugee claim:
Then, in 2004, as he was earning praise from civic leaders and other community workers, the government of Canada told him to leave.
Mr. Osei says he received bad advice when he applied for refugee status. He had gone home to Ghana years earlier, but left when old enemies threatened his life. Canadian immigration officials decided that a change in government in Ghana made it safe for him to go back. Many intervened on his behalf, including Mayor David Miller, citing the work he was doing at Jane and Finch. But the government held firm.
He was sent back to Ghana, which allowed him to reunite with his wife and son, and meet his daughter (she was born while he was in Toronto). But he thought of Jane and Finch and the youths who had come to count on him.
When he returned to Canada nearly a year later, after successfully applying to become a landed immigrant, one of the teens he worked closely with had been charged with holding up a Tim Hortons. That young man is now serving a four-year prison term for armed robbery in Kingston.
Is it my imagination or is the reporter implying that this young criminal wouldn't have gotten into trouble if only Ottawa had let Mr. Osei despite the fact he had no legal right to be here?
I admit Mr. Osei sounds like a good person who cares about his community, but I get sick and tired of the media bashing the government every time it enforces our immigration laws.
Globe and Mail: Lawyer suspended, fined over Air-India billings
From the Globe and Mail (Lawyer suspended, fined over Air-India billings by Robert Matas, April 27, 2006):
Four years ago, it outraged the families of those who died in the Air-India bombing disaster.
The children of Inderjit Singh Reyat were put on the payroll of his publicly funded legal defence team. The head of the legal team, Vancouver lawyer David Martin, submitted bills to the government to pay the children more than $10,000 a month for minimal work.
Yesterday, the Law Society of British Columbia suspended Mr. Martin for six months and required him to pay $35,000 for the cost of his disciplinary hearing.
[. . .]
Read the rest of Robert Matas' article here
Previous entries about the Air India bombing here, here, here, here and here
Four years ago, it outraged the families of those who died in the Air-India bombing disaster.
The children of Inderjit Singh Reyat were put on the payroll of his publicly funded legal defence team. The head of the legal team, Vancouver lawyer David Martin, submitted bills to the government to pay the children more than $10,000 a month for minimal work.
Yesterday, the Law Society of British Columbia suspended Mr. Martin for six months and required him to pay $35,000 for the cost of his disciplinary hearing.
[. . .]
Read the rest of Robert Matas' article here
Previous entries about the Air India bombing here, here, here, here and here
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Ontario introduces bill to reform human rights commission
From the Canadian Press via the Toronto Star (Ontario introduces contentious rights bill, April 26, 2006 by Gillian Livingston):
Ontario is pressing ahead with legislation to revamp the province's Human Rights Commission despite vocal complaints from key groups that say the government is rushing a bill that will gut the agency.
Groups such as the Canadian Hearing Society, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance and the African Canadian Legal Clinic argue the bill weakens the commission, and they say they wanted the government to hold public hearings before crafting the legislation.
"Today's a sad day for human rights in the province of Ontario," said Margaret Parsons, executive director of the African Canadian Legal Clinic. "Our human rights have been completely dismantled."
"This bill is an illusion. It's an illusion with respect to access to justice."
Attorney General Michael Bryant denied the changes will undermine the work of the commission, and stressed that the bill will now go through full public hearings.
"We will have a process in place that's a vast improvement on the current system and will provide timely access to justice for victims of discrimination," he said.
"That's where this is coming from and that's what we are seeking to do."
[. . .]
Read the rest of the article here
I previously blogged about this story here
Ontario is pressing ahead with legislation to revamp the province's Human Rights Commission despite vocal complaints from key groups that say the government is rushing a bill that will gut the agency.
Groups such as the Canadian Hearing Society, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance and the African Canadian Legal Clinic argue the bill weakens the commission, and they say they wanted the government to hold public hearings before crafting the legislation.
"Today's a sad day for human rights in the province of Ontario," said Margaret Parsons, executive director of the African Canadian Legal Clinic. "Our human rights have been completely dismantled."
"This bill is an illusion. It's an illusion with respect to access to justice."
Attorney General Michael Bryant denied the changes will undermine the work of the commission, and stressed that the bill will now go through full public hearings.
"We will have a process in place that's a vast improvement on the current system and will provide timely access to justice for victims of discrimination," he said.
"That's where this is coming from and that's what we are seeking to do."
[. . .]
Read the rest of the article here
I previously blogged about this story here
RCMP investigates Gurmant Grewal over campaign contributions
From the Canadian Press via the National Post (Mounties confirm criminal probe into donations to former MP, April 25, 2006):
The RCMP have confirmed investigators have opened a criminal investigation into former B.C. Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal's campaign donations.
"We're investigating the handling of the campaign contributions and donations," said Insp. Kevin DeBruyckere, of the RCMP commercial crime section.
DeBruyckere said Monday thousands of dollars may be involved, but he wouldn't reveal more about the police investigation, which comes after complaints from people who said they did not receive receipts for campaign contributions.
Grewal has been battered a series of controversies, including going public with secretly recorded audio tapes of then-Liberal health minister Ujjal Dosanjh.
Grewal said he was trying to catch Dosanjh offering him a job in exchange for his vote in the House of Commons.
The former Surrey MP took stress leave last summer, right around the same time police were speaking to people who claimed they made a campaign contribution to Grewal, but didn't get a tax receipt.
He did not run in January's federal election.
[. . .]
Read the rest of the article here
Grewal is an Indo-Canadian who immigrated to Canada from Liberia under controversial circumstances. Grewal's riding of Newton-North Delta is now represented by Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal, also Indo-Canadian. Dhaliwal is a Sikh who wants Canada to apologize to Indo-Canadians for an incident in 1914 when Canadian immigration officials forced a ship with Sikh migrants to return to India.
The RCMP have confirmed investigators have opened a criminal investigation into former B.C. Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal's campaign donations.
"We're investigating the handling of the campaign contributions and donations," said Insp. Kevin DeBruyckere, of the RCMP commercial crime section.
DeBruyckere said Monday thousands of dollars may be involved, but he wouldn't reveal more about the police investigation, which comes after complaints from people who said they did not receive receipts for campaign contributions.
Grewal has been battered a series of controversies, including going public with secretly recorded audio tapes of then-Liberal health minister Ujjal Dosanjh.
Grewal said he was trying to catch Dosanjh offering him a job in exchange for his vote in the House of Commons.
The former Surrey MP took stress leave last summer, right around the same time police were speaking to people who claimed they made a campaign contribution to Grewal, but didn't get a tax receipt.
He did not run in January's federal election.
[. . .]
Read the rest of the article here
Grewal is an Indo-Canadian who immigrated to Canada from Liberia under controversial circumstances. Grewal's riding of Newton-North Delta is now represented by Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal, also Indo-Canadian. Dhaliwal is a Sikh who wants Canada to apologize to Indo-Canadians for an incident in 1914 when Canadian immigration officials forced a ship with Sikh migrants to return to India.
Al-Jazeera coming to Canada
Today's Toronto Star has a profile of two Canadian journalists who will be working for Al-Jazeera's new English-language service. From the Star article (Al-Jazeera's Canadians, April 25, 2006, by Bruce Demara):
Richard Gizbert has covered news stories on five continents, including war zones in the former Yugoslavia, Chechnya and Rwanda. But it was the unfriendly firing by ABC News which has helped chart the expatriate Canadian journalist's future.
While the painful experience is still playing out, Gizbert is looking forward to his next assignment: host of a media analysis program for the controversial Al-Jazeera network, which is set to launch its English-language version.
[. . .]
It is partly that disdain of the corporate-dominated media that led Gizbert to approach Al-Jazeera and propose Listening Post, a program that will examine news stories from a non-Western perspective.
Al-Jazeera — which, in its decade-long existence, has earned the wrath of the Bush White House and authoritarian regimes such as Saudi Arabia, as well as notice for its post-9/11 coverage — plans to launch an English-language service from Doha (Qatar), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), London and Washington by the summer.
The satellite network has just hired another Canadian, Kimberly Halkett, a correspondent for Global Television, as the network's weekend news anchor.
[. . .]
Two years ago, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved an application for cable companies to broadcast Al-Jazeera on digital television, but with conditions so restrictive and onerous the applicants never went ahead.
The strongest objections came from the Canadian Jewish Congress and B'nai Brith Canada.
Congress national executive vice-president Manuel Prutschi said the network had aired statements threatening "the security and very physical existence of members of the Jewish community as well as directed all kinds of virulent, anti-Jewish propaganda and rhetoric.
[. . .]
But Gizbert noted the Israeli government allows Al-Jazeera to operate there freely, including live broadcasts from the Knesset — Israel's parliament. Meanwhile, its reporters are banned in Saudi Arabia and have faced restrictions reporting in other Arab nations.
[. . .]
Read the rest of the article here
Richard Gizbert has covered news stories on five continents, including war zones in the former Yugoslavia, Chechnya and Rwanda. But it was the unfriendly firing by ABC News which has helped chart the expatriate Canadian journalist's future.
While the painful experience is still playing out, Gizbert is looking forward to his next assignment: host of a media analysis program for the controversial Al-Jazeera network, which is set to launch its English-language version.
[. . .]
It is partly that disdain of the corporate-dominated media that led Gizbert to approach Al-Jazeera and propose Listening Post, a program that will examine news stories from a non-Western perspective.
Al-Jazeera — which, in its decade-long existence, has earned the wrath of the Bush White House and authoritarian regimes such as Saudi Arabia, as well as notice for its post-9/11 coverage — plans to launch an English-language service from Doha (Qatar), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), London and Washington by the summer.
The satellite network has just hired another Canadian, Kimberly Halkett, a correspondent for Global Television, as the network's weekend news anchor.
[. . .]
Two years ago, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved an application for cable companies to broadcast Al-Jazeera on digital television, but with conditions so restrictive and onerous the applicants never went ahead.
The strongest objections came from the Canadian Jewish Congress and B'nai Brith Canada.
Congress national executive vice-president Manuel Prutschi said the network had aired statements threatening "the security and very physical existence of members of the Jewish community as well as directed all kinds of virulent, anti-Jewish propaganda and rhetoric.
[. . .]
But Gizbert noted the Israeli government allows Al-Jazeera to operate there freely, including live broadcasts from the Knesset — Israel's parliament. Meanwhile, its reporters are banned in Saudi Arabia and have faced restrictions reporting in other Arab nations.
[. . .]
Read the rest of the article here
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Toronto Star: Palestinian linked to terrorist PFLP fights deportation
Here's another in a seemingly endless list of stories about immigrants linked to terrorism who have managed to stave off deportation for years and even decades. From the Toronto Star (Activist fights to stay in Canada), April 20, 2006, by Tabassum Siddiqui):
Supporters of a local Palestinian activist are protesting a deportation order issued by Canadian authorities that calls for his imminent expulsion from the country.
Issam Al Yamani, head of the Mississauga-based Palestine House, has been fighting to stay in the country for 13 years. He has lived and raised a family in Canada for the past 21 years.
[. . .]
Al Yamani, a 50-year-old father of two who lives in Mississauga, says his troubles began when he applied for Canadian citizenship in 1988. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) refused to clear him due to his previous affiliation with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a group co-founded by Al Yamani's father that was known for terrorist attacks in the 1970s. Under legislation brought in after 9/11, even previous membership of a suspected terrorist group is illegal.
Al Yamani said he severed ties with the political wing of the PLFP in 1991.
[. . .]
Read the rest of the story here
Supporters of a local Palestinian activist are protesting a deportation order issued by Canadian authorities that calls for his imminent expulsion from the country.
Issam Al Yamani, head of the Mississauga-based Palestine House, has been fighting to stay in the country for 13 years. He has lived and raised a family in Canada for the past 21 years.
[. . .]
Al Yamani, a 50-year-old father of two who lives in Mississauga, says his troubles began when he applied for Canadian citizenship in 1988. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) refused to clear him due to his previous affiliation with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a group co-founded by Al Yamani's father that was known for terrorist attacks in the 1970s. Under legislation brought in after 9/11, even previous membership of a suspected terrorist group is illegal.
Al Yamani said he severed ties with the political wing of the PLFP in 1991.
[. . .]
Read the rest of the story here
CBC: Canada opens 'Guantanamo north' for terror suspects
From the CBC (Canada opens new prison facility for security suspects):
Canada's newest prison facility welcomed its first new inmates on Monday - all of them suspected militants.
Its critics call it "Guantanamo north." In reality it is a brand-new facility on the grounds of Millhaven Penitentiary in Bath, near Kingston, Ont., and it is designed to house suspects being held under Canada's new security certificates.
On Monday, Mohamed Harkat, an Algerian Canadian who was being held in Ottawa, along with Egyptians Mohammad Mahjoub and Mahmoud Jaballah and Syrian Hassan Almrei, who were all in a Toronto jail, were moved to the new prison.
All the men are being detained under security certificates, which allow authorities to hold someone who isn't a Canadian citizen, under unusual conditions.
The men are suspected of having links to militant organizations, but they haven't been formally charged, and their lawyers can't see the evidence against them.
[. . .]
Read the rest of the story here
Canada's newest prison facility welcomed its first new inmates on Monday - all of them suspected militants.
Its critics call it "Guantanamo north." In reality it is a brand-new facility on the grounds of Millhaven Penitentiary in Bath, near Kingston, Ont., and it is designed to house suspects being held under Canada's new security certificates.
On Monday, Mohamed Harkat, an Algerian Canadian who was being held in Ottawa, along with Egyptians Mohammad Mahjoub and Mahmoud Jaballah and Syrian Hassan Almrei, who were all in a Toronto jail, were moved to the new prison.
All the men are being detained under security certificates, which allow authorities to hold someone who isn't a Canadian citizen, under unusual conditions.
The men are suspected of having links to militant organizations, but they haven't been formally charged, and their lawyers can't see the evidence against them.
[. . .]
Read the rest of the story here
Another day, another stabbing
Recently I've been posting links to articles about the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Danilo Celestino in Downsview. The Toronto Star reports that another teenager has been stabbed:
A 17-year-old girl is fighting for her life after being stabbed multiple times in the chest and abdomen in the Square One area of Mississauga on Monday afternoon.
Two female residents of a co-op housing complex on Acorn Place, near Hurontario St. and Eglinton Ave. E., became involved in a fight at around 4:30 p.m., Peel police said. One of the two pulled out a knife and stabbed the other multiple times before fleeing the scene.
An 18-year-old female suspect was arrested a short time later on a Mississauga Transit bus, police said.
The victim remains in critical condition in a Mississauga hospital with wounds to the upper chest and lower abdomen.
The accused has been taken into custody and faces a number of charges, including aggravated assault.
A 17-year-old girl is fighting for her life after being stabbed multiple times in the chest and abdomen in the Square One area of Mississauga on Monday afternoon.
Two female residents of a co-op housing complex on Acorn Place, near Hurontario St. and Eglinton Ave. E., became involved in a fight at around 4:30 p.m., Peel police said. One of the two pulled out a knife and stabbed the other multiple times before fleeing the scene.
An 18-year-old female suspect was arrested a short time later on a Mississauga Transit bus, police said.
The victim remains in critical condition in a Mississauga hospital with wounds to the upper chest and lower abdomen.
The accused has been taken into custody and faces a number of charges, including aggravated assault.
Arrest in Danilo Celestino murder case
From the Toronto Star (Arrest made in slaying of high school student, Apr. 25, 2006, by Curtis Rush):
Police say an arrest has been made in the 17th homicide of the year in Toronto.
Danilo Celestino, 17, was stabbed to death at Downsview Plaza last Thursday.
He was a student at Downsview Secondary School.
[. . .]
More on this story can be found here, here and here
Police say an arrest has been made in the 17th homicide of the year in Toronto.
Danilo Celestino, 17, was stabbed to death at Downsview Plaza last Thursday.
He was a student at Downsview Secondary School.
[. . .]
More on this story can be found here, here and here
Toronto Sun: Newmarket man free on terror charge
From the Toronto Sun (GTA man free on terror charge, April 25, 2006, by Brian Gray):
A Newmarket man was ordered released from a jail yesterday after the federal government withdrew allegations he is a threat to national security.
Raja Ghulam Mustafa, who was being held under the name Murtaza, was arrested March 16 by Canadian Border Services Agency officers outside his home north of Toronto.
But CBSA lawyer Edith Ishmael-Decaire reversed course yesterday and told a detention hearing that the government was consenting to Mustafa's release.
Mustafa, 40, was alleged to have links to al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden through a Pakistani extremist organization known as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba or LET.
[. . .]
Read the whole article here
A Newmarket man was ordered released from a jail yesterday after the federal government withdrew allegations he is a threat to national security.
Raja Ghulam Mustafa, who was being held under the name Murtaza, was arrested March 16 by Canadian Border Services Agency officers outside his home north of Toronto.
But CBSA lawyer Edith Ishmael-Decaire reversed course yesterday and told a detention hearing that the government was consenting to Mustafa's release.
Mustafa, 40, was alleged to have links to al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden through a Pakistani extremist organization known as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba or LET.
[. . .]
Read the whole article here
Toronto Sun: Gang violence up in federal jails
From Sunday's Toronto Sun (Jail violence up: Stats, April 23, 2006, by Kathleen Harris):
Violent attacks and convict brawls are on the rise in Canada's federal prisons, fuelled by a sharp influx of gang members and other dangerous offenders.
[. . .]
Sylvain Martel, president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, accused the Correctional Service of Canada of "manipulating" the numbers to downplay the danger to guards who are routinely punched, kicked, slapped and spat at. Officers are also subjected to verbal abuse, threats and blackmail within the walls.
"Violence inside the institutions is on the rise," he said.
"Inmates are arming themselves a lot more than they used to with weapons like hand-made shanks and shivs.
"We also have an extreme problem with organized crime inside."
Noting that it took more than five years to persuade management to provide guards with stabbing-resistant vests, the union chief slammed the CSC, claiming it fails to equip staff adequately and does not properly charge or punish inmates.
[. . .]
Read the whole article here
Violent attacks and convict brawls are on the rise in Canada's federal prisons, fuelled by a sharp influx of gang members and other dangerous offenders.
[. . .]
Sylvain Martel, president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, accused the Correctional Service of Canada of "manipulating" the numbers to downplay the danger to guards who are routinely punched, kicked, slapped and spat at. Officers are also subjected to verbal abuse, threats and blackmail within the walls.
"Violence inside the institutions is on the rise," he said.
"Inmates are arming themselves a lot more than they used to with weapons like hand-made shanks and shivs.
"We also have an extreme problem with organized crime inside."
Noting that it took more than five years to persuade management to provide guards with stabbing-resistant vests, the union chief slammed the CSC, claiming it fails to equip staff adequately and does not properly charge or punish inmates.
[. . .]
Read the whole article here
Monday, April 24, 2006
Controversy at the Canadian War Museum: "WWII plaque an obscene summation"
Peter Worthington writes in the Toronto Sun (WWII plaque an obscene summation, April 22, 2006):
The "new" Canadian War Museum in Ottawa is in the throes of yet another controversy -- this time over their depiction of Bomber Command in World War II.
Of the 55,000 who made up Bomber Command aircrew in World War II, some 60% were killed, nearly 10,000 of them Canadian -- the highest casualty rate of the war.
The plaque at the war museum leading into the Bomber Command display reads, in part: "The value and morality of the strategic bomber offensive against Germany remains bitterly contested. Bomber command's aim was to crush civilian morale and force Germany to surrender by destroying its cities and industrial installations.
"Although Bomber Command and American attacks left 600,000 Germans dead, and more than five million homeless, the raids resulted in only small reduction in German production until late in the war."
To World War II veterans, and especially air crews, this is an obscene summation.
[. . ]
Read the rest of the column here
The "new" Canadian War Museum in Ottawa is in the throes of yet another controversy -- this time over their depiction of Bomber Command in World War II.
Of the 55,000 who made up Bomber Command aircrew in World War II, some 60% were killed, nearly 10,000 of them Canadian -- the highest casualty rate of the war.
The plaque at the war museum leading into the Bomber Command display reads, in part: "The value and morality of the strategic bomber offensive against Germany remains bitterly contested. Bomber command's aim was to crush civilian morale and force Germany to surrender by destroying its cities and industrial installations.
"Although Bomber Command and American attacks left 600,000 Germans dead, and more than five million homeless, the raids resulted in only small reduction in German production until late in the war."
To World War II veterans, and especially air crews, this is an obscene summation.
[. . ]
Read the rest of the column here
Surprise. Surprise. The man suspected of killing 17-year old Danilo Celestino is black
From the Toronto Sun:
A youth known as “Trix” is wanted for the murder of Downsview Secondary student Danilo Celestino.
Investigators released a security camera photo of the suspect, known to hang around the Wilson and Keele plaza where Celestino, 17, was stabbed to death Thursday.
Trix is black, in his late teens, 5-foot-7 and about 150 pounds. He has an average build, short black hair, a narrow face, high forehead, is clean-shaven and may have large earrings in both ears.
[. . .]
I offer the information that Trix is black as a public service to readers of the Toronto Star where the editors have decided to protect you from this sensitive information. Unlike Jack Nicholson, I believe you can handle the truth.
More about this story here and here
A youth known as “Trix” is wanted for the murder of Downsview Secondary student Danilo Celestino.
Investigators released a security camera photo of the suspect, known to hang around the Wilson and Keele plaza where Celestino, 17, was stabbed to death Thursday.
Trix is black, in his late teens, 5-foot-7 and about 150 pounds. He has an average build, short black hair, a narrow face, high forehead, is clean-shaven and may have large earrings in both ears.
[. . .]
I offer the information that Trix is black as a public service to readers of the Toronto Star where the editors have decided to protect you from this sensitive information. Unlike Jack Nicholson, I believe you can handle the truth.
More about this story here and here
The Toronto Star's shameless (and shameful) campaign on behalf of illegal immigrants
It seems you can't pick up the Toronto Star these days without seeing an article portraying illegal immigrants as victims of a nasty Conservative government which cruelly deports people who are doing Canada a favour by working here illegally. This isn't reporting that tries to understand the problem of illegal immigration. It's a propaganda campaign that uses emotional manipulation to pressure the government to amnesty lawbreakers. (Note: Immigration minister Monte Solberg denies that the new government is cracking down. Pity. A crackdown is what Canada needs.)
Here are excerpts from today's illegal immigrant sob story of the day (Family flees to stay together, April 24, 2004 by Isabel Teotonio):
Jaime Ledo and his wife, Viviane Souza, breathed a deep sigh of relief yesterday when they stepped off a plane in Lisbon, weeks after learning they were to be deported to separate countries.
"We're all together," said a jubilant Ledo, after arriving in Portugal with his wife, who is six months pregnant, and their 4-year-old son, Jimmy.
"Everything is beautiful — there were no problems coming over and we're together as a family."
The outcome could have been different had the couple not carefully planned their own destiny.
The pair, who had toiled in Toronto's underground economy for years, say they were told by immigration authorities on April 6 that they would be deported May 12 — he to his native Portugal and she to her native Brazil.
[. . .]
The language in this article is telling. Why is it that illegal immigrants always toil while Canadians merely work? Immigration enthusiasts have a habit of implying that immigrants work harder than Canadians. Do they have any evidence of that? I don't deny that many immigrants, including those who are here illegally work hard, but so do the Canadians who have to struggle to make ends meet because immigrants, both legal and illegal, have driven down their wages.
That said, not all illegal immigrants do work hard. Some scam the welfare system. Some engage in other forms of crime. Illegal immigrants aren't screened ahead of time. We don't know who all these people are. The same networks that allow foreign labourers to work in the underground economy also provide support to criminals and in some cases, terrorists. Ahmed Ressam is an example of an al Qaeda terrorist who was able to disappear into the underground world of illegal immigrants. An amnesty would make the problem of an underground economy worse, because it would encourage more illegals to come here.
More from the story:
"I had to leave everything that I had built up over 10 years in a matter of two weeks," said Ledo, who came to Canada in 1997 from the Azores to work in Toronto's construction industry. In recent years, he and a partner have been running a successful roofing company in Toronto that employs 10 people.
Are those 10 people Canadians? How much are they paid? Does the company obey local workplace standard laws? If Ledo thinks it's ok to ignore Canada's immigration laws, why should we believe he would follow workplace health and safety regulations? Is it possible his company is successful because it cuts corners which allows it to underbid companies that do obey the law? Are Canadian contractors at a competitive disadvantage because companies owned by illegal immigrants don't play by the same rules? After all, illegal immigrants seem to regard Canadian law as a nuisance that can be safely ignored.
Souza, originally from Sao Paulo, came to Canada in 1999 and worked as a hotel maid. Both entered the country as visitors and decided to stay in Toronto, where they eventually met and married in 2000.
In 2001, an immigration consultant advised the pair to apply for landed immigrant status based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. They were denied. Then, she urged them to apply for refugee status. Again, they were denied. She then told them to apply again on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, promising they'd get status. Instead, what they got was an order for removal. The bad advice ended up costing them more than $5,000.
"They'll say whatever is necessary so you believe them," said Ledo of unscrupulous immigration consultants.
"I did everything right — I paid taxes, I never got in trouble with the police, I worked hard and lived my life with my family. And for that, the government wants me out," said Ledo. "Everything I earned in Canada was kept in Canada — I rented a house, I had a car and my wife had a car. That's why I find this whole thing really stupid — the government is deporting people who are contributing to the country."
Yeah. He did everything right except obey the law. There are a lot of decent people who wait years before they come to Canada. This guy jumped ahead of the line and now complains he is a victim. I can agree he and his wife were exploited by an unscrupulous immigration consultant, but those consultants thrive because Ottawa has allowed so many people to abuse the system. Every time Ottawa allows a queue-jumper to stay on humanitarian and compassionate grounds it sends the message that illegal immigration pays off. Parasitic immigration consultants exploit the mixed signals Ottawa sends. When the government rewards people who don't play by the rules it encourages others to do the same.
Here are excerpts from today's illegal immigrant sob story of the day (Family flees to stay together, April 24, 2004 by Isabel Teotonio):
Jaime Ledo and his wife, Viviane Souza, breathed a deep sigh of relief yesterday when they stepped off a plane in Lisbon, weeks after learning they were to be deported to separate countries.
"We're all together," said a jubilant Ledo, after arriving in Portugal with his wife, who is six months pregnant, and their 4-year-old son, Jimmy.
"Everything is beautiful — there were no problems coming over and we're together as a family."
The outcome could have been different had the couple not carefully planned their own destiny.
The pair, who had toiled in Toronto's underground economy for years, say they were told by immigration authorities on April 6 that they would be deported May 12 — he to his native Portugal and she to her native Brazil.
[. . .]
The language in this article is telling. Why is it that illegal immigrants always toil while Canadians merely work? Immigration enthusiasts have a habit of implying that immigrants work harder than Canadians. Do they have any evidence of that? I don't deny that many immigrants, including those who are here illegally work hard, but so do the Canadians who have to struggle to make ends meet because immigrants, both legal and illegal, have driven down their wages.
That said, not all illegal immigrants do work hard. Some scam the welfare system. Some engage in other forms of crime. Illegal immigrants aren't screened ahead of time. We don't know who all these people are. The same networks that allow foreign labourers to work in the underground economy also provide support to criminals and in some cases, terrorists. Ahmed Ressam is an example of an al Qaeda terrorist who was able to disappear into the underground world of illegal immigrants. An amnesty would make the problem of an underground economy worse, because it would encourage more illegals to come here.
More from the story:
"I had to leave everything that I had built up over 10 years in a matter of two weeks," said Ledo, who came to Canada in 1997 from the Azores to work in Toronto's construction industry. In recent years, he and a partner have been running a successful roofing company in Toronto that employs 10 people.
Are those 10 people Canadians? How much are they paid? Does the company obey local workplace standard laws? If Ledo thinks it's ok to ignore Canada's immigration laws, why should we believe he would follow workplace health and safety regulations? Is it possible his company is successful because it cuts corners which allows it to underbid companies that do obey the law? Are Canadian contractors at a competitive disadvantage because companies owned by illegal immigrants don't play by the same rules? After all, illegal immigrants seem to regard Canadian law as a nuisance that can be safely ignored.
Souza, originally from Sao Paulo, came to Canada in 1999 and worked as a hotel maid. Both entered the country as visitors and decided to stay in Toronto, where they eventually met and married in 2000.
In 2001, an immigration consultant advised the pair to apply for landed immigrant status based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. They were denied. Then, she urged them to apply for refugee status. Again, they were denied. She then told them to apply again on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, promising they'd get status. Instead, what they got was an order for removal. The bad advice ended up costing them more than $5,000.
"They'll say whatever is necessary so you believe them," said Ledo of unscrupulous immigration consultants.
"I did everything right — I paid taxes, I never got in trouble with the police, I worked hard and lived my life with my family. And for that, the government wants me out," said Ledo. "Everything I earned in Canada was kept in Canada — I rented a house, I had a car and my wife had a car. That's why I find this whole thing really stupid — the government is deporting people who are contributing to the country."
Yeah. He did everything right except obey the law. There are a lot of decent people who wait years before they come to Canada. This guy jumped ahead of the line and now complains he is a victim. I can agree he and his wife were exploited by an unscrupulous immigration consultant, but those consultants thrive because Ottawa has allowed so many people to abuse the system. Every time Ottawa allows a queue-jumper to stay on humanitarian and compassionate grounds it sends the message that illegal immigration pays off. Parasitic immigration consultants exploit the mixed signals Ottawa sends. When the government rewards people who don't play by the rules it encourages others to do the same.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
National Post: Ottawa slow to deport Rwandan war criminal
In November, I blogged about the case of Manickavasagam Suresh, a fundraiser for the Tamil Tigers, who has been able to delay his deportation for over ten years.
Here is another story about an undesirable foreigner Canada just can't seem to get rid of. Allison Hanes writes in the April 6 edition of the National Post:
Nine months after the Supreme Court of Canada deemed Leon Mugesera a war criminal and ordered him deported for helping incite the genocide that ravaged Rwanda, the exiled ethnic Hutu hardliner remains in Canada.
The Quebec City resident's expulsion has been put on hold while the federal government determines whether his life could be in danger in Rwanda, a Canada Border Services Agency spokesman confirmed yesterday.
Members of the local Rwandan community -- who have closely monitored Mr. Mugesera's 10-year legal battle to stay in the country and celebrated last June's Supreme Court decision to remove him -- were outraged to learn he remains in Canada.
[. . .]
Sergio Karas, a Toronto immigration lawyer, said Mr. Mugesera's situation, while disappointing, is not surprising.
"This basically indicates a much larger problem," he said. "It draws attention to how bankrupt the refugee process is in Canada, where individuals who are ordered deported for having committed heinous crimes whether inside or outside Canada can continue to linger."
[. . .]
Even war criminals, terrorists or convicted felons whom Canada's highest courts have rebuked can win a "temporary" reprieve if there is a chance they will face death or torture if repatriated.
"The stay is an indefinite but temporary stay of removal," Ms. Wilson explained. "They're in a limbo situation."
Mr. Karas, the Toronto immigration expert, said it is likely Mr. Mugesera will remain in Canada for years to come.
Not only can he appeal in Federal Court if his safety is not found to be at risk, he can also apply to stay on humanitarian and compassionate grounds and appeal that decision if it is not in his favour, Mr. Karas said.
He cited the case of Palestinian Mahmoud Mohammad Issa Mohammad, a convicted airplane hijacker, who has successfully thwarted deportation from Canada since 1988.
[. . .]
Here is another story about an undesirable foreigner Canada just can't seem to get rid of. Allison Hanes writes in the April 6 edition of the National Post:
Nine months after the Supreme Court of Canada deemed Leon Mugesera a war criminal and ordered him deported for helping incite the genocide that ravaged Rwanda, the exiled ethnic Hutu hardliner remains in Canada.
The Quebec City resident's expulsion has been put on hold while the federal government determines whether his life could be in danger in Rwanda, a Canada Border Services Agency spokesman confirmed yesterday.
Members of the local Rwandan community -- who have closely monitored Mr. Mugesera's 10-year legal battle to stay in the country and celebrated last June's Supreme Court decision to remove him -- were outraged to learn he remains in Canada.
[. . .]
Sergio Karas, a Toronto immigration lawyer, said Mr. Mugesera's situation, while disappointing, is not surprising.
"This basically indicates a much larger problem," he said. "It draws attention to how bankrupt the refugee process is in Canada, where individuals who are ordered deported for having committed heinous crimes whether inside or outside Canada can continue to linger."
[. . .]
Even war criminals, terrorists or convicted felons whom Canada's highest courts have rebuked can win a "temporary" reprieve if there is a chance they will face death or torture if repatriated.
"The stay is an indefinite but temporary stay of removal," Ms. Wilson explained. "They're in a limbo situation."
Mr. Karas, the Toronto immigration expert, said it is likely Mr. Mugesera will remain in Canada for years to come.
Not only can he appeal in Federal Court if his safety is not found to be at risk, he can also apply to stay on humanitarian and compassionate grounds and appeal that decision if it is not in his favour, Mr. Karas said.
He cited the case of Palestinian Mahmoud Mohammad Issa Mohammad, a convicted airplane hijacker, who has successfully thwarted deportation from Canada since 1988.
[. . .]
Toronto Star: RCMP raids Toronto Tamil offices
From the Toronto Star (RCMP raids Toronto Tamil offices, April 23, 2006, by Surya Bhattacharya and Michelle Shephard):
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers raided the Scarborough and Toronto offices of the World Tamil Movement yesterday, sealing off the building with yellow police tape and carting off boxes of documents.
Police hit offices at 39 Consentino Dr. in Scarborough, and later yesterday the community Tamil radio station reported a similar raid on the Toronto office on Eaton Ave., near Wellesley and Parliament Sts. in downtown Toronto. The World Tamil Movement maintains a third office here at 1231 Ellesmere Rd. in Scarborough, but it's not known if police searched it.
The raids come after Canada outlawed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam — popularly known as the Tamil Tigers — earlier this month and formally listed them as a terrorist group.
The World Tamil Movement has often been called a front for the Tamil Tigers.
[. . .]
Just two days after the Conservative government listed the LTTE as a terrorist organization, a Montreal-based RCMP anti-terrorism team assisted by local police raided Montreal's WTM office for more than 12 hours. The police said they were investigating offences related to financing terrorist activity.
[. . .]
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers raided the Scarborough and Toronto offices of the World Tamil Movement yesterday, sealing off the building with yellow police tape and carting off boxes of documents.
Police hit offices at 39 Consentino Dr. in Scarborough, and later yesterday the community Tamil radio station reported a similar raid on the Toronto office on Eaton Ave., near Wellesley and Parliament Sts. in downtown Toronto. The World Tamil Movement maintains a third office here at 1231 Ellesmere Rd. in Scarborough, but it's not known if police searched it.
The raids come after Canada outlawed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam — popularly known as the Tamil Tigers — earlier this month and formally listed them as a terrorist group.
The World Tamil Movement has often been called a front for the Tamil Tigers.
[. . .]
Just two days after the Conservative government listed the LTTE as a terrorist organization, a Montreal-based RCMP anti-terrorism team assisted by local police raided Montreal's WTM office for more than 12 hours. The police said they were investigating offences related to financing terrorist activity.
[. . .]
Thomas Sowell: Amnesty would allow illegal immigrants to benefit from racial quota laws
Commenting on the American debate over illegal immigration, economist Thomas Sowell writes:
There is another aspect of the immigration issue that has received little or no attention but can have a serious impact anyway. Amnesty would mean, for many illegal immigrants, that they would not merely have the same rights as American citizens, but special privileges as well.
Affirmative action laws and policies already apply to some immigrants. Members of a multimillionaire Cuban family have already received government contracts set aside for minority businesses. During one period, an absolute majority of the money paid to construction companies in Washington, D.C., went to Portuguese businessmen under the same preferences.
Immigrant members of Latino, Asian, or other minority groups are legally entitled to the same preferential benefits accorded native-born members of minority groups.
The moment they set foot on American soil, they are entitled to receive benefits created originally with the rationale that these benefits were to compensate for the injustices minorities had suffered in this country.
The illegal status of many "undocumented workers" can at least make them reluctant to claim these privileges. But, take away the illegality and they become not only equal to American citizens, but more than equal.
There is another aspect of the immigration issue that has received little or no attention but can have a serious impact anyway. Amnesty would mean, for many illegal immigrants, that they would not merely have the same rights as American citizens, but special privileges as well.
Affirmative action laws and policies already apply to some immigrants. Members of a multimillionaire Cuban family have already received government contracts set aside for minority businesses. During one period, an absolute majority of the money paid to construction companies in Washington, D.C., went to Portuguese businessmen under the same preferences.
Immigrant members of Latino, Asian, or other minority groups are legally entitled to the same preferential benefits accorded native-born members of minority groups.
The moment they set foot on American soil, they are entitled to receive benefits created originally with the rationale that these benefits were to compensate for the injustices minorities had suffered in this country.
The illegal status of many "undocumented workers" can at least make them reluctant to claim these privileges. But, take away the illegality and they become not only equal to American citizens, but more than equal.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Canadian chicken producer makes special "Zabiha Halal" products for the Muslim market
Yesterday while searching for something completely different, I came across this old story (Maple Lodge angers Muslim group, April 7, 2004, by Scott Paradis) from the TorontObserver, a newspaper produced by Centenial College Journalism students:
After months of lobbying, a Muslim group is prepared to make an official complaint to the federal government against Canada’s largest chicken producer.
In June of 2003 Maple Lodge launched a line of Zabiha Halal products. In the Islamic religion, Zabiha Halal refers to a process by which animals are slaughtered by hand in the name of God.
A group called the Campaign for the Protection of Zabiha Halal (CPZH) is angry because Maple Lodge machine-slaughters its chickens instead of slaughtering them in the Muslim tradition by hand.
[. . .]
Maple Lodge dedicates two production lines to Zabiha Halal food products. Two Muslims stand at each production line. One ensures the machine doesn’t miss any chickens while the other is responsible for giving spoken blessings of the slaughter in the name of Allah.
CPZH repeatedly points out that the company ignores the detail of “hand-slaughter” when defending its product. But Maple Lodge spokesperson David Hunter says that scholars have been debating the meaning of hand-slaughter in the Koran for years and adds that it’s no longer a manageable practice.
[. . .]
I don't know if this dispute was ever resolved, but a Google search did find another story about the controversy here. In any case, Maple Lodge Farms still produces Zabiha Halal products.
After months of lobbying, a Muslim group is prepared to make an official complaint to the federal government against Canada’s largest chicken producer.
In June of 2003 Maple Lodge launched a line of Zabiha Halal products. In the Islamic religion, Zabiha Halal refers to a process by which animals are slaughtered by hand in the name of God.
A group called the Campaign for the Protection of Zabiha Halal (CPZH) is angry because Maple Lodge machine-slaughters its chickens instead of slaughtering them in the Muslim tradition by hand.
[. . .]
Maple Lodge dedicates two production lines to Zabiha Halal food products. Two Muslims stand at each production line. One ensures the machine doesn’t miss any chickens while the other is responsible for giving spoken blessings of the slaughter in the name of Allah.
CPZH repeatedly points out that the company ignores the detail of “hand-slaughter” when defending its product. But Maple Lodge spokesperson David Hunter says that scholars have been debating the meaning of hand-slaughter in the Koran for years and adds that it’s no longer a manageable practice.
[. . .]
I don't know if this dispute was ever resolved, but a Google search did find another story about the controversy here. In any case, Maple Lodge Farms still produces Zabiha Halal products.
Teen's murder caught on videotape
Another article about the killing of 17-year old Danilo Celestino in Downsview yesterday. From the Toronto Star (Killing caught on videotape, April 22, 2006 by John Goddard and Betsy Powell):
Surveillance videotape shows 17-year-old Danilo Celestino being stabbed to death on his way home from school, police said yesterday.
"It's only a matter of time before we put a ... name to a face," Toronto homicide Det. Stacy Gallant said of the slaying Thursday outside a Coffee Time outlet at Downsview Plaza in North York.
Without giving details of the images, Gallant said "they do reveal what happened there," and he is confident a single assailant "did the stabbing."
A pool of dried blood remained on the sidewalk a few steps from the front door of the closed coffee shop yesterday afternoon, as neighbours dropped flowers and messages at the spot, and the boy's friends stood vigil.
[. . .]
A few blocks away, tearful family members were at home making arrangements to have the boy buried at his birth village 130 kilometres north of Manila in the Philippines, next to his paternal grandfather.
[. . .]
Surveillance videotape shows 17-year-old Danilo Celestino being stabbed to death on his way home from school, police said yesterday.
"It's only a matter of time before we put a ... name to a face," Toronto homicide Det. Stacy Gallant said of the slaying Thursday outside a Coffee Time outlet at Downsview Plaza in North York.
Without giving details of the images, Gallant said "they do reveal what happened there," and he is confident a single assailant "did the stabbing."
A pool of dried blood remained on the sidewalk a few steps from the front door of the closed coffee shop yesterday afternoon, as neighbours dropped flowers and messages at the spot, and the boy's friends stood vigil.
[. . .]
A few blocks away, tearful family members were at home making arrangements to have the boy buried at his birth village 130 kilometres north of Manila in the Philippines, next to his paternal grandfather.
[. . .]
Protesters defend illegal immigrants
From the Toronto Star (Rally blasts deportations, April 22, 2006 by Isabel Teotonio):
It's far too late for Jaime Ledo and his wife, Viviane Souza.
But maybe, they hope, the government will stop deporting illegal immigrants like themselves and spare other families the fate of being separated.
The couple is scheduled to be deported May 12 — Ledo to his native Portugal, his pregnant wife to her native Brazil, and with her, the couple's 4-year-old Canadian-born son, Jimmy.
Jimmy is a Canadian anchor baby. This is something that should outrage Canadians. Visitors overstay their visas or make false refugee claims. Years later, when Ottawa finally moves to deport them, these queue-jumpers go to the media with sob stories about how their Canadian-born children will be hurt. They ignore the fact that the children wouldn't have been born here if the parents had gone home when they should have. The current system makes it almost impossible for Ottawa to exercise any control over who gets to settle here, because even when people are ordered deported the fact that they've managed to delay their deportation for years and even decades gives them a claim to humanitarian consideration. Even if the illegal immigrants lose, they win by virtue of having drawn out the process. A process which, by the way, costs taxpayers a fortune and clogs up the already overburdened legal system. The only ones who really lose are the Canadian hurt by excessive immigration.
More from the Star story:
"What the Canadian government is doing is absurd," Ledo said at a rally yesterday outside Queen's Park, where about 1,000 demonstrators called on Ottawa to stop deporting undocumented workers.
"Who are they to separate me from my family?" he asked, flanked by his wife and son. "Never in my life did I think that I'd go through something like this. We never did anything wrong. We came here to work," said Ledo, 30, who has worked in construction since entering Canada in 1997 as a visitor. His wife, 29, has worked as a hotel maid since 1999.
What unbelievable arrogance. You broke the law by overstaying your visa and you took work away from Canadians. Go home. You don't belong here.
Ledo's sentiments were echoed by community leaders, industry spokespeople and politicians who addressed the people, who waved Canadian flags and held up placards with slogans such as: "STOP! Let us work in Canada."
"The (immigration) system is broken and it must be corrected," said Tony Dionisio, of Universal Workers Union, Local 183, whose 34,000 members include many undocumented workers. He criticized the immigration point system that gives priority to the well-educated, rather than responding to labour needs.
There was a time when labour unions were the first to oppose immigration because they understood that mass immigration led to lower wages for their members. I'm sure the 'industry spokesmen' understand this.
There may be room for debate about the point system. Certainly many educated immigrants who qualify under it are having trouble finding work in their field. Maybe Canada should put more emphasis on skilled labour, but that's for Canadians to decide. No foreigner has an automatic right to come here. It's wrong to break the law just because it doesn't suit you. Immigration creates costs that are borne by the taxpayer. For example, Toronto's schools are overflowing with students who need special teachers to teach them English as a second language. Canadians have a right to decide whether the benefits of immigration are worth the cost. Foreigners who overstay their visas don't have the right to impose these costs on Canadians against their will as expressed through the democratic process. Canada's elected government has decided immigrants must meet certain criteria before they come here. If a foreigner doesn't meet those criteria he should respect our laws and stay home.
It's far too late for Jaime Ledo and his wife, Viviane Souza.
But maybe, they hope, the government will stop deporting illegal immigrants like themselves and spare other families the fate of being separated.
The couple is scheduled to be deported May 12 — Ledo to his native Portugal, his pregnant wife to her native Brazil, and with her, the couple's 4-year-old Canadian-born son, Jimmy.
Jimmy is a Canadian anchor baby. This is something that should outrage Canadians. Visitors overstay their visas or make false refugee claims. Years later, when Ottawa finally moves to deport them, these queue-jumpers go to the media with sob stories about how their Canadian-born children will be hurt. They ignore the fact that the children wouldn't have been born here if the parents had gone home when they should have. The current system makes it almost impossible for Ottawa to exercise any control over who gets to settle here, because even when people are ordered deported the fact that they've managed to delay their deportation for years and even decades gives them a claim to humanitarian consideration. Even if the illegal immigrants lose, they win by virtue of having drawn out the process. A process which, by the way, costs taxpayers a fortune and clogs up the already overburdened legal system. The only ones who really lose are the Canadian hurt by excessive immigration.
More from the Star story:
"What the Canadian government is doing is absurd," Ledo said at a rally yesterday outside Queen's Park, where about 1,000 demonstrators called on Ottawa to stop deporting undocumented workers.
"Who are they to separate me from my family?" he asked, flanked by his wife and son. "Never in my life did I think that I'd go through something like this. We never did anything wrong. We came here to work," said Ledo, 30, who has worked in construction since entering Canada in 1997 as a visitor. His wife, 29, has worked as a hotel maid since 1999.
What unbelievable arrogance. You broke the law by overstaying your visa and you took work away from Canadians. Go home. You don't belong here.
Ledo's sentiments were echoed by community leaders, industry spokespeople and politicians who addressed the people, who waved Canadian flags and held up placards with slogans such as: "STOP! Let us work in Canada."
"The (immigration) system is broken and it must be corrected," said Tony Dionisio, of Universal Workers Union, Local 183, whose 34,000 members include many undocumented workers. He criticized the immigration point system that gives priority to the well-educated, rather than responding to labour needs.
There was a time when labour unions were the first to oppose immigration because they understood that mass immigration led to lower wages for their members. I'm sure the 'industry spokesmen' understand this.
There may be room for debate about the point system. Certainly many educated immigrants who qualify under it are having trouble finding work in their field. Maybe Canada should put more emphasis on skilled labour, but that's for Canadians to decide. No foreigner has an automatic right to come here. It's wrong to break the law just because it doesn't suit you. Immigration creates costs that are borne by the taxpayer. For example, Toronto's schools are overflowing with students who need special teachers to teach them English as a second language. Canadians have a right to decide whether the benefits of immigration are worth the cost. Foreigners who overstay their visas don't have the right to impose these costs on Canadians against their will as expressed through the democratic process. Canada's elected government has decided immigrants must meet certain criteria before they come here. If a foreigner doesn't meet those criteria he should respect our laws and stay home.
Oh brother. Here we go again. Queen's University says it's too white and Anglo-centric
From the Toronto Star (Queen's U. confronts 'culture of whiteness', Apr. 22, 2006, by Louise Brown, education reporter):
Queen's University, one of Canada's most academically elite schools, admits it has allowed a "culture of whiteness" to take root that fails to welcome visible minority students and professors.
And the university vows to be more aggressive in shedding its reputation as a tony enclave of white privilege, says vice-principal Patrick Deane.
Queen's is responding to a critical report prompted by the resignation of six non-white professors several years ago — as well as recent incidents of white students going out to pubs in controversial "blackface" makeup — that suggest the Kingston school has done little to try to reflect the diversity of Canada.
"One student accused us of attracting not the best and the brightest, but the richest and whitest — and that may be not far off," says Prof. Joy Mighty, chair of the university's equity committee, which has proposed sweeping changes to boost diversity at the picturesque campus on the banks of the St. Lawrence.
[. . .]
The university's location in a relatively white part of Ontario, hours from the immigrant settlement hub of Toronto, may account for some of the racial sameness, said Deane in an interview yesterday. Too, because most students at Queen's must pay for accommodation — few come from Kingston — the university can seem expensive for students on a tight budget, despite the financial aid available.
So Deane said the university is considering a number of committee recommendations, from setting loose goals for recruiting more visible minority professors and students, to targeting scholarships and grants to students of colour and setting up a resource centre on campus for visible minorities.
The committee proposed changes from a more inclusive curriculum to more campus supports, after examining a 2004 report on the lack of diversity at Queen's written by York University professor Frances Henry, an anti-racism expert. The Henry report, made public only recently, cited deep feelings of isolation and discrimination among non-white students and professors. And it came long after a 1991 report raised similar concerns.
[. . .]
"Diversity has become a concern on many campuses — Queen's is not alone," said Ryerson professor Michael Doucet, president of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations.
But it's the first campus where diversity has erupted into the public spotlight. Queen's held a public forum on the issue last week, where a number of students spoke of alienation.
"Is there a culture of whiteness? Yes, in the sense the university mirrors the Anglo-centric culture that dominates much of Ontario — but for the intellectual good of the institution, that's just not enough to be acceptable," says Deane.
"If the purpose of a university is to turn people's minds to the most momentous issues facing humanity, we need to be inclusive."
[. . .]
Queen's University, one of Canada's most academically elite schools, admits it has allowed a "culture of whiteness" to take root that fails to welcome visible minority students and professors.
And the university vows to be more aggressive in shedding its reputation as a tony enclave of white privilege, says vice-principal Patrick Deane.
Queen's is responding to a critical report prompted by the resignation of six non-white professors several years ago — as well as recent incidents of white students going out to pubs in controversial "blackface" makeup — that suggest the Kingston school has done little to try to reflect the diversity of Canada.
"One student accused us of attracting not the best and the brightest, but the richest and whitest — and that may be not far off," says Prof. Joy Mighty, chair of the university's equity committee, which has proposed sweeping changes to boost diversity at the picturesque campus on the banks of the St. Lawrence.
[. . .]
The university's location in a relatively white part of Ontario, hours from the immigrant settlement hub of Toronto, may account for some of the racial sameness, said Deane in an interview yesterday. Too, because most students at Queen's must pay for accommodation — few come from Kingston — the university can seem expensive for students on a tight budget, despite the financial aid available.
So Deane said the university is considering a number of committee recommendations, from setting loose goals for recruiting more visible minority professors and students, to targeting scholarships and grants to students of colour and setting up a resource centre on campus for visible minorities.
The committee proposed changes from a more inclusive curriculum to more campus supports, after examining a 2004 report on the lack of diversity at Queen's written by York University professor Frances Henry, an anti-racism expert. The Henry report, made public only recently, cited deep feelings of isolation and discrimination among non-white students and professors. And it came long after a 1991 report raised similar concerns.
[. . .]
"Diversity has become a concern on many campuses — Queen's is not alone," said Ryerson professor Michael Doucet, president of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations.
But it's the first campus where diversity has erupted into the public spotlight. Queen's held a public forum on the issue last week, where a number of students spoke of alienation.
"Is there a culture of whiteness? Yes, in the sense the university mirrors the Anglo-centric culture that dominates much of Ontario — but for the intellectual good of the institution, that's just not enough to be acceptable," says Deane.
"If the purpose of a university is to turn people's minds to the most momentous issues facing humanity, we need to be inclusive."
[. . .]
Friday, April 21, 2006
Indo-Canadians demand apology for the Komagata Maru incident
Me too! Me too! If those Chinese guys get an apology we Indo-Canadians deserve one too! Geez Louise! Even those Ukies got one and they're white for crying out loud! We're brown. That automatically puts us higher on the ladder of oppressed groups deserving compensation.
From the Vancouver Sun:
The Conservative government should issue an apology and compensation to Indo-Canadians over the Komagata Maru incident if it is going to give both to Chinese-Canadians over the discriminatory head tax paid by Chinese immigrants in the early 20th century, Newton-North Delta Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal said Thursday.
"If the government is going to apologize to one group of Canadians, they should also have a similar line for other groups of Canadians who have suffered discrimination," Dhaliwal said in an interview Thursday.
He said Prime Minister Stephen Harper seemed ill-prepared for the questions from Indo-Canadian news outlets in B.C. this week about an apology over the Komagata Maru.
"I think the case for the Komagata Maru is as good as it is for those who paid the head tax," Dhaliwal said.
In May 1914, a ship from India carrying 376 would-be immigrants was refused landing in Vancouver. The mostly Sikh passengers were stuck on board in the harbour for two months in deplorable conditions. After Canadian immigration officials forced the vessel to return to India, the British army shot 26 of the passengers to death, fearing they were sympathetic to the independence movement.
[ . . .]
From the Vancouver Sun:
The Conservative government should issue an apology and compensation to Indo-Canadians over the Komagata Maru incident if it is going to give both to Chinese-Canadians over the discriminatory head tax paid by Chinese immigrants in the early 20th century, Newton-North Delta Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal said Thursday.
"If the government is going to apologize to one group of Canadians, they should also have a similar line for other groups of Canadians who have suffered discrimination," Dhaliwal said in an interview Thursday.
He said Prime Minister Stephen Harper seemed ill-prepared for the questions from Indo-Canadian news outlets in B.C. this week about an apology over the Komagata Maru.
"I think the case for the Komagata Maru is as good as it is for those who paid the head tax," Dhaliwal said.
In May 1914, a ship from India carrying 376 would-be immigrants was refused landing in Vancouver. The mostly Sikh passengers were stuck on board in the harbour for two months in deplorable conditions. After Canadian immigration officials forced the vessel to return to India, the British army shot 26 of the passengers to death, fearing they were sympathetic to the independence movement.
[ . . .]
FBI says U.S. terror suspects met with Islamic extremists in Toronto
From AP via the Toronto Star:
A 21-year-old Georgia Tech student and another man travelled to Toronto to meet with Islamic extremists to discuss ``strategic locations in the United States suitable for a terrorist strike," an affidavit made public Friday said.
Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, both U.S. citizens who grew up in the Atlanta area, met with at least three other targets of FBI terrorism investigations during a trip to Toronto in March 2005, an FBI agent's affidavit said.
The affidavit said the men discussed attacks against oil refineries and military bases and planned to travel to Pakistan for military training at a terrorist camp, which authorities said Ahmed then tried to do.
[. . .]
Ahmed, who was born in Pakistan and moved with his family to the United States about 10 years ago, said he met Sadequee at a mosque in Atlanta, the affidavit from FBI agent Michael Scherck said. Sadequee, whose family came from Bangladesh, was born in Virginia and lived with his family in Roswell, Ga.
Authorities said the two men spent several days in Canada, where they met with others being investigated by the terrorism task force.
Sadequee is accused of lying about the trip when he was interviewed at John F. Kennedy International Airport in August as he was about to leave for Bangladesh. The affidavit said Sadequee told investigators he had travelled alone in January to visit an aunt.
[. . .]
A 21-year-old Georgia Tech student and another man travelled to Toronto to meet with Islamic extremists to discuss ``strategic locations in the United States suitable for a terrorist strike," an affidavit made public Friday said.
Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, both U.S. citizens who grew up in the Atlanta area, met with at least three other targets of FBI terrorism investigations during a trip to Toronto in March 2005, an FBI agent's affidavit said.
The affidavit said the men discussed attacks against oil refineries and military bases and planned to travel to Pakistan for military training at a terrorist camp, which authorities said Ahmed then tried to do.
[. . .]
Ahmed, who was born in Pakistan and moved with his family to the United States about 10 years ago, said he met Sadequee at a mosque in Atlanta, the affidavit from FBI agent Michael Scherck said. Sadequee, whose family came from Bangladesh, was born in Virginia and lived with his family in Roswell, Ga.
Authorities said the two men spent several days in Canada, where they met with others being investigated by the terrorism task force.
Sadequee is accused of lying about the trip when he was interviewed at John F. Kennedy International Airport in August as he was about to leave for Bangladesh. The affidavit said Sadequee told investigators he had travelled alone in January to visit an aunt.
[. . .]
Royson James: Police start to barricade themselves in Fort Apache, Toronto
For years Hogtown's elites have been obsessed with making Toronto into a "world class city." More often than not their model is the Big Apple itself, New York, New York. Well, the powers that be who run our town are getting their wish. Toronto is beginning to resemble New York. Too bad we're taking after the South Bronx instead of Manhattan.
Each day's news seems to bring another sign of Toronto's growing lawlessness. Royson James writes in today's Toronto Star (Fear at Fort Apache, Toronto):
They're ugly as hell, a towering eyesore and a costly addition to the Toronto landscape.
And whatever good they do, the 2.4-metre-high cedar fences being erected around Toronto police stations do not portray a positive image of a police force that's there to serve and protect — one that is an open, accessible presence in our neighbourhoods.
For $3.7 million, the Toronto Police Service is building a fortress around its stations, turning them into barracks just when the force says it is strengthening its connections with the community. And the police board and city council approve of the outlay, even as police spending continues to consume 25 per cent of the property taxes we pay.
[. . .]
According to the explanation from police headquarters, the fencing will protect the personal vehicles of our police officers; keep out vandals; block the view of gangstas who might want to camp out in grassy knolls overlooking the stations and pick off gang rivals being brought into the stations by police; prevent hackers from tapping into police data. That last one is a bit suspect, but we won't quibble.
[. . .]
I understand James' concern that placing fences around police stations might isolate officers from the community they serve, but on the other hand, it's hard to blame the police for wanting to protect themselves in a city where gang violence is growing.
Each day's news seems to bring another sign of Toronto's growing lawlessness. Royson James writes in today's Toronto Star (Fear at Fort Apache, Toronto):
They're ugly as hell, a towering eyesore and a costly addition to the Toronto landscape.
And whatever good they do, the 2.4-metre-high cedar fences being erected around Toronto police stations do not portray a positive image of a police force that's there to serve and protect — one that is an open, accessible presence in our neighbourhoods.
For $3.7 million, the Toronto Police Service is building a fortress around its stations, turning them into barracks just when the force says it is strengthening its connections with the community. And the police board and city council approve of the outlay, even as police spending continues to consume 25 per cent of the property taxes we pay.
[. . .]
According to the explanation from police headquarters, the fencing will protect the personal vehicles of our police officers; keep out vandals; block the view of gangstas who might want to camp out in grassy knolls overlooking the stations and pick off gang rivals being brought into the stations by police; prevent hackers from tapping into police data. That last one is a bit suspect, but we won't quibble.
[. . .]
I understand James' concern that placing fences around police stations might isolate officers from the community they serve, but on the other hand, it's hard to blame the police for wanting to protect themselves in a city where gang violence is growing.
Downsview teen stabbed to death in swarming
From today's Toronto Sun:
A Toronto teen is the city's latest murder victim after he was stabbed to death in a swarming outside a Downsview coffee shop yesterday afternoon -- possibly over a bus ticket.
Danilo Celestino, 17, a student at the nearby Downsview Secondary School, was found on the ground outside the Coffee Time at Downsview Plaza on Wilson Ave., just east of Keele St., around 3:15 p.m.
[. . .]
However, students believe the victim was approached by a group of other youths, one of whom demanded a bus ticket. When he refused to hand one over, he was stabbed.
"I heard it was over a TTC ticket," said Gabriella Burgos, standing outside Madonna Catholic Secondary on the opposite side of Dubray Ave. where Celestino's blood-soaked shirt lay on the sidewalk late yesterday.
Burgos, 17, a Grade 12 student at the all-girls school, said she was outside playing soccer when the boy was stabbed.
"It's terrible. You don't feel secure any more," said Maria Camacho, 15, who also attends Madonna.
[ . . .]
A Toronto teen is the city's latest murder victim after he was stabbed to death in a swarming outside a Downsview coffee shop yesterday afternoon -- possibly over a bus ticket.
Danilo Celestino, 17, a student at the nearby Downsview Secondary School, was found on the ground outside the Coffee Time at Downsview Plaza on Wilson Ave., just east of Keele St., around 3:15 p.m.
[. . .]
However, students believe the victim was approached by a group of other youths, one of whom demanded a bus ticket. When he refused to hand one over, he was stabbed.
"I heard it was over a TTC ticket," said Gabriella Burgos, standing outside Madonna Catholic Secondary on the opposite side of Dubray Ave. where Celestino's blood-soaked shirt lay on the sidewalk late yesterday.
Burgos, 17, a Grade 12 student at the all-girls school, said she was outside playing soccer when the boy was stabbed.
"It's terrible. You don't feel secure any more," said Maria Camacho, 15, who also attends Madonna.
[ . . .]
Thursday, April 20, 2006
CBC: China denies stealing industrial secrets
From the CBC:
China rejected allegations from Ottawa that Chinese spies are stealing Canada's industrial secrets, saying the accusations are "baseless" and could hurt relations between the two countries.
"There does not exist any so-called economic espionage activities in Canada," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a news conference on Thursday in Beijing.
"The accusations are baseless and irresponsible. The Chinese side expresses grave concern," Qin said.
China was responding to comments made by Foreign Minister Peter MacKay, who said in a previous interview that the government was concerned about Chinese industrial espionage in Canada. He said he would continue to raise the issue with Chinese officials at an appropriate time.
[. . .]
China rejected allegations from Ottawa that Chinese spies are stealing Canada's industrial secrets, saying the accusations are "baseless" and could hurt relations between the two countries.
"There does not exist any so-called economic espionage activities in Canada," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a news conference on Thursday in Beijing.
"The accusations are baseless and irresponsible. The Chinese side expresses grave concern," Qin said.
China was responding to comments made by Foreign Minister Peter MacKay, who said in a previous interview that the government was concerned about Chinese industrial espionage in Canada. He said he would continue to raise the issue with Chinese officials at an appropriate time.
[. . .]
CBC: Ottawa bungles bilingualism bonus
From CBC News:
Hundreds of foreign affairs bureaucrats have been receiving $800 annual bilingual bonuses even though they were not eligible, an internal audit has found.
An internal audit conducted by the Department of Foreign Affairs revealed that it has been giving bilingual bonuses to 344 bureaucrats who were ineligible.
The bonus bungle cost the department an average of $275,000 per year.
The report blames oversight, poor co-ordination between various department services and a lack of clear rules for the confusion.
About 11 per cent of the 1,100 bureaucrats occupy bilingual foreign posts even though they have not mastered both of Canada's official languages.
[. . .]
Hundreds of foreign affairs bureaucrats have been receiving $800 annual bilingual bonuses even though they were not eligible, an internal audit has found.
An internal audit conducted by the Department of Foreign Affairs revealed that it has been giving bilingual bonuses to 344 bureaucrats who were ineligible.
The bonus bungle cost the department an average of $275,000 per year.
The report blames oversight, poor co-ordination between various department services and a lack of clear rules for the confusion.
About 11 per cent of the 1,100 bureaucrats occupy bilingual foreign posts even though they have not mastered both of Canada's official languages.
[. . .]
In Mississauga only Canadian citizens need apply
Today's Toronto Star has an interesting story about a dispute in Mississauga, a large suburban city just west of Toronto. A landed immigrant who has refused to obtain Canadian citizenship despite living here since 1978 doesn't like the fact that Mississauga doesn't allow residents without citizenship to serve on political committees and boards.
From the Star story:
Mississauga has rejected an appeal by a landed immigrant to allow residents without Canadian citizenship to serve on municipal committees and boards.
The request to general committee yesterday by Rudy Czekalla, who has been in Canada since 1978 but has not obtained citizenship, sparked a patriotic outburst from Mayor Hazel McCallion and several councillors, including three former landed immigrants.
Czekalla appeared as a delegation to comment on a review of the city's policy on appointments to boards and committees by corporate services commissioner Brenda Breault, who recommended the citizenship requirement be retained.
[. . .]
Immigrants are welcomed to Canada and encouraged to become citizens, McCallion said. "That piece of paper (citizenship document) is the most valuable piece of paper in the world."
McCallion asked Czekalla why he hasn't become a Canadian. He replied that his former country (Germany), doesn't allow dual citizenship, unlike many other countries.
"The citizenship of your (former) country is more precious to you than the one you're living in. That really bothers me," McCallion said.
[. . .]
You tell'em Hazel! His attitude bugs me too!
From the Star story:
Mississauga has rejected an appeal by a landed immigrant to allow residents without Canadian citizenship to serve on municipal committees and boards.
The request to general committee yesterday by Rudy Czekalla, who has been in Canada since 1978 but has not obtained citizenship, sparked a patriotic outburst from Mayor Hazel McCallion and several councillors, including three former landed immigrants.
Czekalla appeared as a delegation to comment on a review of the city's policy on appointments to boards and committees by corporate services commissioner Brenda Breault, who recommended the citizenship requirement be retained.
[. . .]
Immigrants are welcomed to Canada and encouraged to become citizens, McCallion said. "That piece of paper (citizenship document) is the most valuable piece of paper in the world."
McCallion asked Czekalla why he hasn't become a Canadian. He replied that his former country (Germany), doesn't allow dual citizenship, unlike many other countries.
"The citizenship of your (former) country is more precious to you than the one you're living in. That really bothers me," McCallion said.
[. . .]
You tell'em Hazel! His attitude bugs me too!
Notorious MS-13 gang setting up shop in Canada. You just gotta love our country's growing diversity.
[Update June 4 2008: Toronto police raids connected to MS-13 street gang]
[Update May 2, 2007: MS-13 - Ultra-violent Hispanic gang establishing itself in Canada]
Original post:
Regular readers of Vdare will be familiar with the ultra-violent Salvadoran gang known as Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13. According to a March 12 story in the Toronto Star, members of the gang are now living in Canada.
From the Star story (Nasty boys move north by Celeste Macken, March 12, 2006)::
MS-13 is known for gruesome killings, including prison beheadings, which led Newsweek to call it "the most dangerous gang in North America." The group is involved in all the standard gang activities, including firearms and drug smuggling, as well as trafficking humans.
Mara Salvatrucha was formed in east Los Angeles in the 1980s by people who'd fled the civil war in El Salvador. The word mara means "gang," while salvatrucha is slang for Salvadoran.
[. . .]
Hispanic gangs have also extended up the West Coast and into Vancouver, where they've been more active than in Toronto. Det. Russ Wardrop of the Vancouver police confirms the presence of 24 MS-13 members and three M-18 members in British Columbia in the past three years, as well as 12 more suspected members. He says many have claimed refugee status, while others were picked up due to criminal activity. Fifteen have been deported.
"We haven't seen infighting or turf wars," he adds.
"They bring knives and machetes along, but so far there's no sign they're bringing in guns." But with increased crackdowns in the U.S., Wardrop predicts more movement into Canada, which eventually could lead to violence.
Wardrop also notes that the Vancouver police youth squad has seen blue clothing — MS-13 members prefer blue and white garb — and doodling that seems inspired by the gang. "There's definitely an influence, but where this is coming from is another question."
[ . . .]
[Update May 2, 2007: MS-13 - Ultra-violent Hispanic gang establishing itself in Canada]
Original post:
Regular readers of Vdare will be familiar with the ultra-violent Salvadoran gang known as Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13. According to a March 12 story in the Toronto Star, members of the gang are now living in Canada.
From the Star story (Nasty boys move north by Celeste Macken, March 12, 2006)::
MS-13 is known for gruesome killings, including prison beheadings, which led Newsweek to call it "the most dangerous gang in North America." The group is involved in all the standard gang activities, including firearms and drug smuggling, as well as trafficking humans.
Mara Salvatrucha was formed in east Los Angeles in the 1980s by people who'd fled the civil war in El Salvador. The word mara means "gang," while salvatrucha is slang for Salvadoran.
[. . .]
Hispanic gangs have also extended up the West Coast and into Vancouver, where they've been more active than in Toronto. Det. Russ Wardrop of the Vancouver police confirms the presence of 24 MS-13 members and three M-18 members in British Columbia in the past three years, as well as 12 more suspected members. He says many have claimed refugee status, while others were picked up due to criminal activity. Fifteen have been deported.
"We haven't seen infighting or turf wars," he adds.
"They bring knives and machetes along, but so far there's no sign they're bringing in guns." But with increased crackdowns in the U.S., Wardrop predicts more movement into Canada, which eventually could lead to violence.
Wardrop also notes that the Vancouver police youth squad has seen blue clothing — MS-13 members prefer blue and white garb — and doodling that seems inspired by the gang. "There's definitely an influence, but where this is coming from is another question."
[ . . .]
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Trinidad-born killer apologizes for brutally murdering white student
Back in February, I blogged about the brutal murder of Andrew Stewart, a 16-year old student at East York Collegiate by a mob of largely "South Asian" students. The South Asians had gathered together to fight a group of "Albanians".
Today's Toronto Star reports that the Trinidad-born student who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in February has written a letter of apology to Stewart's parents. From theToronto Star:
A young killer says he is "very sorry" for fatally stabbing 16-year-old East York Collegiate student Andrew Stewart after chasing him from a lunch-hour pool game.
"I expect nothing but hate and disgust from you," said the letter addressed to the victim's mother, Cheryl, read out by the youth's lawyer, Daniel Brodsky, at his sentencing hearing yesterday.
"I will live with this guilt for the remainder of my life," continued the letter from the 18-year-old, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in February.
The University Ave. courtroom was filled with the friends and family of Stewart and his killer. Extra police officers were on hand to maintain order, but scuffles broke out outside the courthouse.
The apology, however, didn't impress the prosecutor:
But Crown prosecutor Robin Flumerfelt called the youth a danger to society who should be locked up for 10 years.
"The source of the danger has to be identified," he said.
A long jail term will give authorities time to determine the source of his dangerous personality, the Crown said.
The teen armed himself with a knife, planned a robbery and instigated a group beating of Stewart — a complete stranger to him — after Stewart tried to stand up for a pregnant friend, Flumerfelt said. The killer chased Stewart and stabbed him repeatedly, he added.
[. . .]
Today's Toronto Star reports that the Trinidad-born student who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in February has written a letter of apology to Stewart's parents. From theToronto Star:
A young killer says he is "very sorry" for fatally stabbing 16-year-old East York Collegiate student Andrew Stewart after chasing him from a lunch-hour pool game.
"I expect nothing but hate and disgust from you," said the letter addressed to the victim's mother, Cheryl, read out by the youth's lawyer, Daniel Brodsky, at his sentencing hearing yesterday.
"I will live with this guilt for the remainder of my life," continued the letter from the 18-year-old, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in February.
The University Ave. courtroom was filled with the friends and family of Stewart and his killer. Extra police officers were on hand to maintain order, but scuffles broke out outside the courthouse.
The apology, however, didn't impress the prosecutor:
But Crown prosecutor Robin Flumerfelt called the youth a danger to society who should be locked up for 10 years.
"The source of the danger has to be identified," he said.
A long jail term will give authorities time to determine the source of his dangerous personality, the Crown said.
The teen armed himself with a knife, planned a robbery and instigated a group beating of Stewart — a complete stranger to him — after Stewart tried to stand up for a pregnant friend, Flumerfelt said. The killer chased Stewart and stabbed him repeatedly, he added.
[. . .]
Us and them in Toronto's Catholic school system
This past weekend I had a troubling conversation with some friends whose children attend a Catholic school in Toronto. (Note: in Ontario Catholic schools are funded by the province.) This school has a large number of Filipino students, the Philippines being a Catholic country. This has led to some problems. According to my friends, there is an us and them situation in the school. There is a division between the Filipinos and the other students. I was also told there is a similar situation at another Catholic school that has a lot of Filipino students. I don't know how serious this problem is, but I would like to learn more. Canadians are constantly bombarded with messages telling us how wonderful ethnic diversity is. Not enough attention is paid to the conflicts that can result from ethnic tensions. On those occasions when something is said, native-born white Canadians almost inevitably get the blame. God forbid we question multiculturalism or our immigration policies.
National Post: Tigers use Canadian charities as 'fronts'
From the National Post (Tigers use Canadian charities as 'fronts' by Stewart Bell and Adrian Humphreys, April 18, 2006):
A "secret" RCMP intelligence report says the Tamil Tigers terrorist group has been using Canadian non-profit cultural organizations to raise money and spread propaganda.
The report, which says the Tamil Tigers "maintain ties" with several such groups in Canada, follows revelations police have raided the Montreal office of the World Tamil Movement as part of a terror financing investigation.
An Integrated National Security Enforcement Team composed of RCMP, Montreal police and Quebec provincial police spent more than 12 hours at the group's office last Wednesday and Thursday, searching for evidence related to Tamil Tigers fundraising.
There were no arrests.
"They took some files, and they took some CDs and audios and some DVDs, and our flag, our LTTE flag," said Manivannan Karunananthaswamy, a former World Tamil Movement leader who was present during the police operation.
"They didn't tell nothing, but they took all the stuff and they told me, 'Don't make any fundraising and don't use our flag.' That's it," Mr. Karunananthaswamy said.
The April 12 raid came just two days after Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day announced that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, had been added to the Canada's list of designated terrorist groups.
The World Tamil Movement has been repeatedly labelled a front organization for the Tigers and the former co-ordinator of the Toronto chapter is being deported for terrorist financing, but the group denies any involvement.
[. . .]
Read all of the National Post article.
A "secret" RCMP intelligence report says the Tamil Tigers terrorist group has been using Canadian non-profit cultural organizations to raise money and spread propaganda.
The report, which says the Tamil Tigers "maintain ties" with several such groups in Canada, follows revelations police have raided the Montreal office of the World Tamil Movement as part of a terror financing investigation.
An Integrated National Security Enforcement Team composed of RCMP, Montreal police and Quebec provincial police spent more than 12 hours at the group's office last Wednesday and Thursday, searching for evidence related to Tamil Tigers fundraising.
There were no arrests.
"They took some files, and they took some CDs and audios and some DVDs, and our flag, our LTTE flag," said Manivannan Karunananthaswamy, a former World Tamil Movement leader who was present during the police operation.
"They didn't tell nothing, but they took all the stuff and they told me, 'Don't make any fundraising and don't use our flag.' That's it," Mr. Karunananthaswamy said.
The April 12 raid came just two days after Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day announced that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, had been added to the Canada's list of designated terrorist groups.
The World Tamil Movement has been repeatedly labelled a front organization for the Tigers and the former co-ordinator of the Toronto chapter is being deported for terrorist financing, but the group denies any involvement.
[. . .]
Read all of the National Post article.
Toronto Star supports Ottawa's decision to ban Tamil Tigers
The Toronto Star agrees with Ottawa's decision to ban the Tamil Tigers from operating in Canada. An excerpt from the April 11 Star editorial:
Canada's fight against terrorism would not mean much if Ottawa allowed individual Canadians, willingly or not, to assist terrorist groups.
Yet that is exactly what has been happening in Toronto's 200,000-strong Tamil community, where fundraisers purporting to be supporting the Tamil Tigers have coerced money from community members who thought that when they came to Canada they had finally escaped Sri Lanka's brutal civil war.
Given that pressure, Safety Minister Stockwell Day did the right thing yesterday by banning the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from operating here.
In light of a report last month by Human Rights Watch that the Tigers have used intimidation and coercion to extort money from the Canadian Tamil community, Day was justified in taking prompt action.
[. . .]
Canada's fight against terrorism would not mean much if Ottawa allowed individual Canadians, willingly or not, to assist terrorist groups.
Yet that is exactly what has been happening in Toronto's 200,000-strong Tamil community, where fundraisers purporting to be supporting the Tamil Tigers have coerced money from community members who thought that when they came to Canada they had finally escaped Sri Lanka's brutal civil war.
Given that pressure, Safety Minister Stockwell Day did the right thing yesterday by banning the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from operating here.
In light of a report last month by Human Rights Watch that the Tigers have used intimidation and coercion to extort money from the Canadian Tamil community, Day was justified in taking prompt action.
[. . .]
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Ottawa finally bans Tamil Tigers
It's taken a long time, much too long, but Ottawa has finally banned the Tamil Tigers. I have to give the Conservatives credit. I don't think a Liberal government would have done this. The Toronto Star reports:
The Conservative government has made good on a promise to outlaw the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, despite some reservations within Canada's large expatriot Sri Lankan Tamil community.
The LTTE, or Tamil Tigers, were formally listed as a terrorist group effective April 8, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day announced Monday.
"The decision to list the LTTE is long overdue and something the previous government did not take seriously enough to act upon," Day said in a release.
"Our government is clearly determined to take decisive steps to ensure the safety of Canadians against terrorism."
The Tigers are notorious for having pioneered the use suicide bombers during their 23-year fight for an independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka.
More than 64,000 deaths are attributed to the quarter-century conflict, and some 300,000 Tamils have moved to Canada — almost half the estimated 600,000 to 800,000 Tamil diaspora worldwide.
Vincent Veerasuntharam, a Tamil businessman from Toronto who ran unsuccessfully as a Tory candidate in the January election, said the Tamil community "is quite confused and disappointed" by the terrorist designation.
[. . .]
The Conservative government has made good on a promise to outlaw the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, despite some reservations within Canada's large expatriot Sri Lankan Tamil community.
The LTTE, or Tamil Tigers, were formally listed as a terrorist group effective April 8, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day announced Monday.
"The decision to list the LTTE is long overdue and something the previous government did not take seriously enough to act upon," Day said in a release.
"Our government is clearly determined to take decisive steps to ensure the safety of Canadians against terrorism."
The Tigers are notorious for having pioneered the use suicide bombers during their 23-year fight for an independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka.
More than 64,000 deaths are attributed to the quarter-century conflict, and some 300,000 Tamils have moved to Canada — almost half the estimated 600,000 to 800,000 Tamil diaspora worldwide.
Vincent Veerasuntharam, a Tamil businessman from Toronto who ran unsuccessfully as a Tory candidate in the January election, said the Tamil community "is quite confused and disappointed" by the terrorist designation.
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