Israel's Actions Destabilize The Middle East

Mr. Stephen Harper was quick in his early days to show his displeasure with the election of Hamas (a result no one wanted or expected in the West) by cutting off aid to the Palestinian Authority and restrict cash flow into the impoverished area. Many right wing commentators had mouthed that election of Hamas was like declaring war on Israel, as Hamas did not recognize the country.

Today, in response to the kidnapping of a 19 year-old Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, Israeli forces have invaded the Gaza Strip - cutting off electricity and water, at the height of summer, to some 1.3 million people. That's 1.3 MILLION of the poorest people on earth without electricity and water in 45 degrees heat. Many of them, employees of the civil service, will be seriously short of cash as all aid had been restricted. Israel also destroyed three main bridges that connect to the Gaza strip, thus preventing any subsequent relief to reach the area. And in what could be tantamount to a declaration of war, Israel has captured the cabinet members of another government [Star].

Is the targeting of and destroying the lives of 1.3 million justified, for the sake of 1 soldier's life? And not to forget, actions such as these of Israel's breeds terrorism, which in turn affects the capability and safety of our soldiers in Afghanistan. Canadian soldiers who would have struck a cordial relation with many Afghans will now have to distance themselves from Israel (our ally)'s actions. Previous Liberal governments had succeeded in cementing a balanced position of Canada in the Middle East conflict. By aligning ourselves with the US and Israel, Mr. Harper runs the risk it entails for Canada.

All this ofcourse, to secure the release of a soldier. And what were the demands of the insurgents who captured the soldier in the first place?

Arab blogger Sabbah informs us:

"... are now asking for the release of Palestinian women prisoners and Palestinian children under the age of 18. And in case you don't know, as of April 2006, the latest numbers of Palestinian women prisoners and Palestinian children is 342 Palestinian children and 122 women. I wonder how much attention the Western media gave to this fact, if they did in first place. Do the Western media mention the demands of the Palestinian militia? Did you hear about the Palestinian Women and Children in the Israeli prisons?"

Another blogger, Avari writes:

"Of course, this did not start with the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit. It started when Israeli shells led to the deaths of Palestinians, including women, on a Gaza beach; predictably enough, Israel claimed it released a report ... that showed no Israeli involvement, though TIME Magazine, in its June 26, 2006 issue, questioned such a report, citing Human Rights Watch's impartial report."

Even though the language used by some of these bloggers may be harsh, the truth in asking for fair coverage of Israel's actions and its implications cannot be denied. Mr. Stephen Harper should now ask Israel to withdraw and return to negotiations for the release of its solder.

Liberals Should Concentrate On Basics

The Conservative Party will win the next election. Unless the Liberal party members and its candidates change their tactics - that is my conclusion. The Conservative Party has focused its attention onto a few basics - and this is what the people will remember come voting time. Let's see what the Conservatives have done for ethnic communities (a Liberal stronghold in Toronto and other cities) recently:

• Opened a public enquiry into the worst terrorist act on Canadians. Yes, I am talking about the Air India bombing. I can say rest assured had most of the targets been white, the public enquiry, outrage and condemnation would have been super fast. The Liberals had 13 years to solve the crisis. They didn't.
  
  
• Most immigrants credit Pierre E. Trudeau and his liberal policies for helping them come to Canada. This is the no. 1 reason why they keep voting Liberal. However, in recent times, the feeling has set in that we Liberals only bring in immigrants to secure a vote bank, and do not care about their looking helplessly at the job banks.
  
  Last month, the prime minister announced the creation of an agency to help ensure the overseas credentials of immigrants are recognized by Canadian employers. Many foreign-trained doctors, accountants and other professionals are forced to take low-paying jobs because their credentials aren't recognized here. Harper said the agency will help new immigrants "navigate the bureaucratic labyrinth of credentials." The agency will receive $18 million in funding over the next two years.
  
  
• Most telling was the vice president (South Asian Market, RBC)'s comment at a recent awards gala "The Liberals came and went (in government), but they never showed up at this event". Added one member, "Indians by nature are a conservative people. And they like to back a winning horse."
  
  
• Thousands of skilled immigrants who struggle to be licensed by Ontario's regulatory bodies could be helped by a new law that would target unfair barriers to employment. [link] My parents who are first generation immigrants and face numerous hurdles to get their degrees recognized positively cheered this announcement. We don't know how it will help but it's doing something.
  
  
• The Liberals in their debates are focusing on abstract dreams. "Big Canada Big Dreams", "One World", "Green Economy", blah blah blah blah blah. Only Scott Brison, Stephane Dion and Gerrard Kennedy (especially him) gave some concrete steps on how they would deal with BASIC problems. Like it or not we are taxed too much and it is time the party realized that throwing money at (some) useless social programs is not working.
  
  
• There seems to be a basic tendency amongst the candidates to be too leftist or too right. Yes, we know street racing is already banned (maybe) or tougher sentencing for crimes does not solve crimes. But it makes for good politics and you guys are POLITICIANS. Remember Jean Chretien's quote "Politics is a game and I am a good player"? Well, get back to politics. We are not in power anymore, and we should realize it.

Signed: A Frustrated Liberal.

Tags: Liberal Party Canada

Please Protect Us From South Toronto

A Canadian blogger warned today that USA, and in particular the enclave of "South USA", was a breeding ground for "Christian" extremists and that Canada will be under threat as long as passports are not required of all Americans crossing the border.

"South USA, like those parts of Birmingham that are host to the radical homeschooled children who influenced the Oklahoma building attacks and the abortion clinic bombing, has people who adhere to a militant understanding of Christian values," said ---, chairman of the blogging subcommittee, dealing with topics of immigration and border security, noting that USA has a very large North American community.

...

What I wrote above could be classified as racist. Wrong. Or plain bigotry.

What a moron. Is it that easy to get elected there, wherever that is?

Tags: Toronto Canada

Canada Not Doing Enough For Sports

The World Cup of football (soccer) is one true global sporting event. Forget Olympics or the Superbowl, the World Cup beats all comers combined. Over 200 countries participate, with 32 in the finals, watched by over 3 billion people (that's 1 in every 2 persons on earth), this is the world fiesta of sports. Amongst all the flags that will be flying high in diverse Toronto over the next month, one flag will be sorely missed. Canada's.

It seems unbelievable that a poor country with a population of a million people (Trinidad) can qualify from CONCACAF for the World Cup, but Canada cannot. Soccer is also not Trinidad's main sport, cricket being the primary while basketball comes second. Yet they made it. Is it just the culture?

I feel Canadian kids do not place too much value in any sports except hockey. There is nothing wrong with loving hockey too much, but our government should encourage other sports as well. They do nothing of that sort.

We do not even have a dedicated Ministry of Sports (unlike many other Commonwealth nations) - it's grouped under the Ministry of Heritage. Canada, with a rich source of immigrants, should excel in three world sports - football, cricket and tennis. Yet, we suck.

Sports requires enormous dedication. Athletes have to train hard, dedicate time, and their parents their money. Once they reach high school, most kids abandon sports. If the sport is not big and does not have a winning team, there are no sponsors, and therefore the team members have to take other jobs to sustain themselves, thus they cannot train or practice full time, and therefore they cannot win - ergo the cycle continues.

Although this news may surprise ice hockey fans, cricket has a long history in Canada. The Toronto Cricket Club was established in 1827 and the Canadian Cricket Association was formed in 1892. Cricket was the national game of Canada in the 1900s. The Canadian team has qualified for the last World Cup as well as the next. Yet most of the team are amateurs and weekend players with regular week jobs.

For sports such as soccer and cricket, where Canada has potential, the Government of Canada and the governing bodies of the sports must sit down and work out a funding formula for the team so that they can practice full time, play full time, and do not have to worry about paying out of their own pockets for equipment, travel and so on. This can continue until the sports get popular and obtains enough sponsors to sustain themselves. For all the money spent on the sponsorship fiasco in Quebec to promote Canada, nothing raises your patriotic fervour than watching your national team on the pitch.

Tags: Canada Sports

Who's Afraid?

Warren Kinsella and Cerberus both posted a 'We Are Not Afraid' post. I decided to join too, and made up my own 'made-in-Canada' solution (to paraphrase our Minister of Environment).



Tags: Toronto Canada

Toronto Arrests

Following this very, very bad news story with morbid curiosity. The Star, the CBC, the Post and even the BBC have all made this their lead story of the hour (check out BBC's really old stock photo of Toronto - no condos around the CN tower). Most reports are talking about how the people nabbed are 'homegrown'.

As a Torontonian this is ofcourse bad news for us, and for Muslims as a whole, if only because an RCMP source says it "anticipates more arrests". Although the men are innocent until proven guilty (remember not a single successful conviction has so far resulted from RCMP arrests in this arena lately), the Muslim community of Canada must take its head out of the sandbox and realize that there are some Canadian Muslims who don't feel the love of Canada the same way as the rest of us do, and they will not care what happens to Canadians (and their fellow Muslims) as long as they can blow up something.

The black community seemed to be in denial for a long time about the 'gangsta' and thug culture that led to many young black men choosing a life of crime, and the consequences are not pretty. Thankfully, statements such as these was only the start. Time and again I have gone to the mosque to hear the imam preach that as Canadians it is our duty to stop terrorism and protecting Canada is a holy duty. Yet you will see many older immigrant Muslims pretending the problem does not exist or is a vast conspiracy. Thankfully the younger generation (homegrown Muslims) are more aware of the dangers. Most of them blame illegal immigration, propose a tougher line on immigration than many Conservatives I know, and are more likely to question radical views than the older folk.

"Islamic extremists" as mentioned by the news reports are an oxymoron, any more than Mc Veigh was a "Christian extremist" or an IRA member was a "Catholic extemist". However, the Western world themselves were Christians, so could understand that the IRA did not represent Christian values (just as Iraqi Muslims blown up by other Iraqi Muslims never blame 'Islamic' bombers - just bombers). Muslims in the West are a minority and not enough is known about us. As such, people can be ready to assume the worst about us - that's why Muslims in the West will face a greater burden to explain themselves to their neighbours and friends when such issues crop up. That can only be resolved when more and more young Canadian Muslims (and other immigrants) are ready to involve themselves in the Canadian society politically, or in the media.

Having said all of this, I condemn Mr. Harper's act of issuing a statement on the issue. This is a law-and-order arrest situation, the men have not yet been convicted, this is just a photo-op and another political opportunism on his part.

Tags: Toronto

Interviewing Mr. Dion

Thanks to Rob (and Denise?) for organizing the blogger-Dion conference/interview.

Mr. Stephane Dion impressed me as a person of integrity, sincerity and hard work. I think he has a clear vision of the Canada he wants to build, and is willing to listen to others and is open to debate, in making Canada work. He is proud of Canada as she is now, is proud of Canada under the previous Liberal governments, but acknowledges many things can be improved. Although I have not heard enough from the other candidates to make an endorsement yet, Mr Dion looks to me to be a capable man. He tried to be diplomatic about the other candidates but stressed that what sets him apart from the other candidates vying to be Canada's most successful party's new leader is experience. Some of his answers were very impressive - and even after a long time in politics he is yet to be touched by a scandal.

"I have 10 years of experience as a minister." He repeatedly stressed. "I would not be ready 10 years ago. I am ready now." He pointed out some of his achievements (Clarity Act being the most important, followed by various treaties and agreements between the federal and provincial governments). In his words, he 'brought the world together in Montreal to save the environment while Mr Harper is breaking the world apart'.

The conference started with him praising the bloggers and many of us thanking him for taking time out to speak to us - average common Joes (albeit with a website). Over the hour, many topics were discussed such as Kyoto, immigration and French Canada. I will recap the two questions that I got to ask him, and summarize the others.

Q:We have so many foreign professional doctors/nurses immigrating to Canada yet we have a doctor/nurse shortage in the rural communities and cities because these doctors are working odd jobs and cannot practice medicine. If elected leader, what will you do to rectify that?

Mr. Dion acknowledged that this is one area Canada should vastly improve its record in. For immigrants to be fully productive and contributing to the economy, he would speed up recognition of their credentials. While many candidates say the same thing, Mr. Dion offered three processes that he wants to implement.

First, he wants to boost the Canadian embassies abroad to process the immigrants faster, recognize their credentials on the spot and lobby for them. In my opinion this approach immediately decentralizes the processing of credentials, making it faster and more efficient, while giving the immigrants a solid idea of where they will start on entering Canada. It's a good idea.

Second, Mr. Dion told me at the moment - Canada has no inventory of shortages of jobs. We do not know where are the jobs that are not being filled, where are immigrants being missed. He said this is something he would work on with the provinces.

Third, he would encourage immigrants (perhaps by providing incentives - Mezba) to move away from the big three (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver) where they have helpful communities to smaller cities such as Winnipeg where they are needed and also would face less competition.

Q: There is no help for young people in Canada, as it seems they don't usually vote so politicians don't usually care. We graduate with a huge student debt, earn lower starting salaries, pay higher taxes and get few (if any) deductible benefits. Do you have any plans to help us out?

When I asked this question I also pointed out that Mr. Scott Brison (another candidate) had said he would change personal taxes to eliminate the welfare trap and help young Canadians by making the first $25,000 a year earned during the first twelve years of their working life tax free.

Mr. Dion did not commit to a similar idea, but said he would provide incentives for young couples to buy energy-efficient homes and appliances (green products). However, rather than promise help for young people as a whole, he said he would increase the Child Tax Benefit as much as possible (without going to deficit) to help needy families with kids.

On the topic of environment, Mr. Dion said had Mr. Gore been the next President of the United States, the world would have been in a much better state (environmentally) and we all would have been closer to meeting our Kyoto targets (as Mr. Clinton was a big supporter of the treaty). He said 'it is never too late for the environment'.

On healthcare, Mr. Dion believed it a constitutional right for Canadians to have access to health care. However, with costs going up 5%, he was open to new ideas to innovate the management, as long as your wealth did not affect the health care you are eligible to receive. He also said drug approval in Canada is too slow, and even pointed us that Canada did not have the scientific ability to quickly test new pesticides to inform the cabinet whether the pesticide would be harmful to the environment.

On electoral reform, Mr. Dion preferred the German model (which he tried to explain but I did not get). He recognized the problem with proportional representation as too many parties, unstable minorities and frequent elections. On senate reform, he was not in favour of an elected senate (which would lead to stalemates) but would support term limits (6 years, he said).

On being a team player, Mr. Dion said even while the famous Chretien/Martin fight was going on, he himself faced a nomination challenge as some people wanted him out of his riding. Yet, he said he managed to resolve the issue without bringing it to the front pages, as that would have 'hurt the party'. He said while personal convictions are important, it is equally important to be a team player.

He also stressed that he wanted ordinary Canadians to help him out.

"When you have a vision it doesn't mean you have the answer to everything," he said. "I am open to ideas."

On aboriginal issues he said it was a shame the Kelowna agreement was cancelled. Lawyers were the ones making the most out of land disputes, according to him. On national debt he alerted us that by 2010, we could have a ratio of 2.5 workers supporting 1 retired person if problems are not resolved. On crime, he refused to acknowledge Canada has a serious problem with violent crime, calling it a false propaganda. He said while crime has increased, we still have very safe streets. He criticized Mr. Harper for playing games with a serious issue, calling his recent proposal to criminalize street racing a photo-op, when, as Mr. Dion pointed out, we already have a similar law on the books.

He criticized Mr. Ignatieff for voting to extend the Afghan mission, for reasons I mentioned here and here.

On the whole, I was impressed with what I saw and heard. I did not find his English too hard to follow. He would need to make shorter speeches and provide sound bites for the TVs during an election. I also perceived him to be the 'greenest' candidate so far. I would encourage everyone to examine his record and experience when voting for a candidate. After all, as he said, he did not just 'come out of the academy and try to be a leader'.

Bloggers who participated in the conference:
A Canadian Leaf
A View from the Left
Crescent Canuck
Liberal Country
Miles' Blog
Next Face
The Steel City Grit
Views from the Left
Younger Liberals

Tags: Stephane Dion Liberal Party Canada

The TTC Wildcat Strike

I have just got to work. What is usually a 40 minutes carefree drive listening to my favourite CDs became a nightmare 2 hour drive. Yes, the Toronto Transit Commission, a slow, cumbersome way to travel at the best of times, decided to go on a wildcat strike.

This was an illegal strike. In Canada, when your work contract is up, your union is allowed to on strike if there is no new deal. However, while in the middle of the duration of your contract, you CANNOT go on strike. The transit workers decided to cherry pick an issue and stage a strike. They should all be fired AND jailed.

This is the time for some tough action. In Canada it seems our elected officials have no spine. Aboriginal protestors dig up a road in Caledonia and all the government can do is urge everyone to be nice. The TTC union went on strike because they knew there would be no consequences for their actions, except causing an inconvenience to millions of people (but what do they care). The government should arrest the union leaders, as well as every third driver or worker on strike (since you cannot arrest everyone). And they should stick to their guns and remain firm, and throw those guys in jail for a month or two. And repeat for other illegal strikes.

If they do that, the next time a union decides to hold a city hostage by an illegal strike, they will think again.

Tags: Toronto TTC Illegal Strike

The New Citizenship Act

Monty Solberg, our new Citizenship and Immigration Minister from Medicine Hat (a place that is almost devoid of immigrants - only 98 foreign students as of 2004, compared to 32,908 from Toronto alone) was recently asked about a plan to revise the Citizenship Act (something the Conservatives supported previously). Peter Worthington of the Toronto Sun (a 'right'-leaning writer who I would hardly claim to be Liberal-biased) comments, "Solberg seemed a bit out of his depth".

One of the factors of the issue was the following:

Naturalized Canadians are somehow "secondary Canadians" because their citizenship can be revoked by a secret cabinet committee and they can be deported without getting a fair trial, as guaranteed under the Charter of Rights. The new Citizenship Act would have removed that clause, taking the powers away from the Cabinet and granting them to a judge (a non-partisan). As Waterloo-Kitchener Liberal MP Andrew Telegdi, former chair of the committee, mentioned, the Citizenship Act has been on the order paper for years and was adopted unanimously by the House of Commons last fall.

And what does Solberg now claim? That there is no consensus across the country on them. That is blatantly unjust, in my opinion.

"Judging from presentations heard coast to coast," Telegdi had replied [I am quoting the Sun column], "and in all my years in Parliament, I have never (seen) anything closer to a virtual unanimous consensus."

The only groups opposing the Act are a few associations that want to punish some Nazi collaborators who are now here, as citizens, having lied on their application to Canada some 50 years ago. They want those guys (some are allegedly mere camp guards or conscripts and are now over 80 years old) to be instantly deported from Canada without a trial. Well, just because some citizens may have lied on their application form 50 years ago is no reason to deny NEW Canadians their basic rights as Canadians, in my opinion.

Support the new Citizenship Act, Mr. Solberg.

Tags: Canada Immigration Citizenship

David Orchard on Afghanistan

I received a newsletter today containing David Orchard's latest article on Afghanistan. Let me post the article first [all emphasis mine], and then discuss a bit.

We are wrong in Afghanistan
By David Orchard

Canadians are fighting and dying in an undeclared war in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Harper has stated that Canada will not "cut and run" in the face of increasing casualties. Foreign Affairs Minister MacKay says Canada will "finish the job." Chief of Defence Staff, Rick Hillier, is quoted as saying "Canada needs to be in Afghanistan for the long haul… at least a decade -- and probably a lot longer."

But why is Canada in Afghanistan?

We’ve been told that Afghanistan was a haven for terrorists and therefore its government needed to be overthrown to protect the rest of the world.

However, in international law, labelling a country a haven for terrorists is not sufficient grounds to justify an invasion of, or an attack on, that country. A long list could be compiled of nations that have harboured, willingly or otherwise, those who could be called terrorists. International law allows the use of military force only if one’s nation is under direct and ongoing attack itself or if it is authorized by the Security Council of the United Nations.

Canada has not experienced an attack by Afghanistan.

As for the Security Council, the U.N. resolutions on Afghanistan prior to the U.S. invasion in October 2001, contained not even an implied authorization of military force. Today Canada is not in Afghanistan under UN command. Our soldiers are not wearing blue helmets. We are operating in Afghanistan under U.S. command, as part of U.S. "Operation Enduring Freedom."

Ah, but at least we are there to do good things, our government replies. To help a war-torn nation stabilize itself, to bring democracy to a country badly in need of such and to help liberate women and girls who suffered under the iron heel of the Taliban.

Yet history shows that "democracy" is rarely imposed on a country by the barrel of a gun. Nations that attempt to force their system of government on others invariably create resistance. Many colonial wars can be cited as examples, including those in Afghanistan’s own past.

As for the west’s influence on Afghan society, a report by the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) stated shortly after the invasion that conditions in Afghanistan for women were worse under the control of our allies, the Northern Alliance, than previously under the Taliban. According to the RAWA, "These [the Northern Alliance] are the very people who immediately upon usurping power… proclaimed -- amongst other sordid restrictions -- the compulsory veiling of all women. The people of the world need to know that in terms of widespread raping of girls and women from ages 7 to 70, the track record of the Taliban can in no way stand up against that of these very same ‘Northern Alliance’ associates…" It should be noted that these are women who opposed the Taliban and were lauded in the U.S. media prior to the invasion for having done so.

Canada is now in Afghanistan as part of a foreign occupation and a very real, hot war that took, by conservative estimates, 20,000 Afghan lives within the first six months alone.

With its 1991 war on Iraq the U.S., for the first time in history, began using depleted uranium munitions. It has since used large amounts of DU weaponry in the former Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan. The contamination from depleted uranium remains deadly for hundreds of thousands of years. Dr. Rosalie Bertell states in her Update on Depleted Uranium and Gulf War Syndrome, the use of DU in war is a "a clear violation of the Geneva Protocol on the Use of Gas in War." She writes: "DU generates a poison gas, known commonly as a metal fume, which is highly toxic when inhaled. It can also be classed as a radiological weapon of indiscriminate destruction which does not respect national boundaries, and which persists long after a conflict is over." The effect of DU on both Afghan citizens and returning Canadian and American soldiers has been almost completely ignored.

Perhaps it’s worth looking beyond the official reasons given for this war. Prominent American writer Gore Vidal in his book Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace writes: "We need Afghanistan because it is the gateway to Central Asia, which is full of oil and natural gas… That’s what it’s all about. We are establishing our control over Central Asia."

It’s time for some serious questions about Canada’s deepening Afghan involvement. If Canada wished to undertake a role in Afghanistan as a peace keeper, the U.S. would first have to pull out. Then Canada could, if asked by the U.N., perhaps consider a role in stabilizing the country. Being part of a U.S. military operation to subdue the country is by definition the opposite of peacekeeping.

The ongoing threats by the U.S. to attack Iran speak clearly of an escalating scenario ahead -- one in which Canada may well be drawn further into a vortex of events which cannot be justified legally, morally or practically.

David Orchard is the author of The Fight for Canada -- Four Centuries of American Expansionism and farms in Borden, SK. He ran twice for the leadership of the former Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and is now a member of the Liberal Party.

I almost agree fully with the above comments. I read now that Harper, facing the very real threat of his 'give us two more years' bill failing (due to the Bloc, NDP and some Liberals) saying he will ignore the vote.

A defiant Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday he would ignore his minority opponents, extend Canada's military mission in Afghanistan by one year and ask Canadian voters to back a two-year extension in an election.

Basically, it comes down to what I said in the last post - grant 1 year extension only. The Liberals should vote to support the mission for one year and then examine whether we are achieving our objectives.

Afghanistan is not Serbia, where we can overthrow the regime and expect the new government to take over and keep things hunky dory. Afghanistan does not have a culture of democracy. It has high levels of poverty, illiteracy and corruption - besides having armed warlords ruling the countryside.

Tags: Afghanistan Canada

We Cannot Be In Afghanistan Forever

What is our mission in Afghanistan? Is it to eradicate the remnants of local militants and insurgents, to train and strengthen the local security forces, and to leave once democracy takes root? Sounds an awful lot like another country in the news.

We have been there since 2001. What have we been doing till now, that while it cannot be finished by February, will be done in two more years? We cannot remain there indefinitely, everyone agrees. The government of Canada should provide a timetable to Members of Parliament as to what the military has accomplished so far and what we hope to do in two years, as well as what will be our benchmark for exiting the country.

We cannot just say "we have to be there until the job is done". How do we measure if the 'job' is 'done'? What are the benchmarks, the qualifiers, the indicators that our job is being done?

The Liberal Party of Canada should not vote to extend the mission for two years carte blanche. We should extend it for a year only, and another year provisionally. We cannot be in Afghanistan for 'decades'.

UPDATE: Joe Volpe is the first to officially state his views on our Afghan mission. (h/t: TLLC)

Tags: Afghanistan Canada

Discussing Joe Volpe

I have been following the reports of the LPC(O) AGM on Liblogs, as well as reading up on Cerberus's blogger endorsements of the various candidates. At this stage, I am not ready to commit to anyone, but will probably decide near the end who to vote for (or whose delegate to vote for). No one has yet given very specific policies they would like to implement, so it is tough to judge.

Let me talk about Joe Volpe. While he was Minister of Citizenship and Immigration for Canada, he did one very good thing. He tabled legislation that allowed international students to work anywhere in Canada (not just their campuses) while they were students, and eased the path to their working in Canada after graduation, provided they stay away from the big cities.

He didn't have to do this. International students don't vote and are a cash cow for universities. I had a few friends who were international students, and I can tell you that obtaining money for tuition was always a concern. Many had to work under the table (gas stations, bus boys etc. for $4/hr). This law helped fight those illegal jobs, genuinely helped students (which in turn helps universities) and provided a way for Canada to harvest the talents of the brightest of them. The law was common sense, yet such a law had not been passed before. Besides, targetting smaller cities helped spread the wealth (and congestion) away from Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

Why am I wary of him?

"We don't need to re-invent the Party. We just need to give it back to the people who are its rightful owners. We need to take it back from the backroom players who hide behind new faces." - from his website.

Yet according to Carolyn Parrish, ex-Liberal MP, on CTS a few days back, it was Mr. Volpe who campaigned to not allow her back into the party, who was a core Martinite, and who was always a key player behind the scenes. I don't know if that is true, but I remember another incident about Mr. Volpe.

He was asked, on a visit to our mosque, by a young kid whose father was held by the government of Canada for years without a trial, on a security certificate. He detailed his life without his father, and asked Mr. Volpe when he could see his father again, and why Canada does not charge him or let him go. As Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, I felt Mr. Volpe had no answer.

Darfur Rally At Queen's Park

I had to come downtown yesterday, and on my way back I walked by Queen's Park, where a large gathering was rallying to decry the 'genocide' at Darfur. Led by turncoat MP David Kilgour, many in the crowd urged the government to stop what he called the "21st century's first genocide".

As it is when I attend rallies, I observe the makeup of the crowd. Last year's anti-Sharia rallies contained few Muslims who were concerned about their rights being falsely interpreted by some culturally biased clerics, and was primarily, to what appeared to me, led by Iranian pro-Shah monarchists. Even though I did not want Sharia in Canada, for the reasons I wrote in the blogpost, none of that was discussed, rather, the crowd (with a few 'confused' NDP-ers), I thought, were most intent on bashing Islam and Muslims.

This year, the same can be said about the Darfur rally. With a few exceptions (notably some of the speakers who lost their loved ones in the conflict), the crowd was anglo, young, and probably had no deeper understanding of the conflict than what was mentioned in the national media.

"It's the Arabs," one latte-sipping student sporting a hippie look told me. "They are killing the native Sudanese. It's like Bosnia."

I see. Where did the Arabs come from, I asked him. He didn't know. Another said the minority Arabs formed the government and were killing the Christian black majority.

Never mind its Muslim-on-Muslim violence, Arab-on-Arab violence, black-on-black violence. Most people never heard of Sudan before. They won't know where Darfur is in Sudan. All they want is the Canadian army there to do 'something'. To go where we are not wanted to do what we are not meant to do and to pick sides in a conflict we don't have a stake in.

To read an 'Arab' take on the situation, read Abu Sinan.

My position: we must strongly encourage the local and neighbouring countries (including Gulf and other Muslim countries) to send their troops in and try to mediate the dispute. We can put some social programs to support a few refugees. But when Mr. Harper is cutting our social programs and environmental programs to pay for tax cuts, we cannot fund any more unnecessary foreign military adventures.

Tags: Sudan Darfur Canada

Doctors And Paralegals

Ontario is set to change laws regarding the medical and paralegal positions, and I support both those changes.

In the first instance, in an attempt to make it easier for 'foreign' doctors to practice in Canada, Ontario is allowing 'foreign' doctors to apply for residency or on-the-job training spots previously reserved for Canadian graduates.

Note my quotes around the word 'foreign' in the paragraph above. The Star's article [link] has the words foreign. A deeper reading would tell you these are immigrants to Canada, who are not foreign but our own - only they have been trained abroad. They have been allowed to immigrate to Canada because they were doctors - educated and will presumably not be a drain on our welfare. They why do we not allow them to practice? Is it not better for us to have doctors practicing medicine (particularly when there is a shortage in rural areas) rather than drive taxis or deliver pizzas? If we bring them here and then forbid them from working, we are lying when we bring them here.

Why should Canadian educated medical grads object? They have no valid reason to do so. The first round of applications is still reserved for them. No, they object because in my opinion doctors here are an elite bunch and they want to keep it that way.

The next group is paralegals. Across Canada, paralegals provide a variety of services for a fraction of the price lawyers charge, but they do it with no training standards, no regulations and no professional body to license or discipline them. Again, Ontario is set to pass Bill 14 that would regulate paralegals for the first time in Canada [Star link].

According to the article, most paralegals are not opposed to the idea of regulation. However, some think the bill is flawed. I just hope they are not given the power to regulate themselves. That will just make them exactly like the doctors. I want the government to regulate all these professions - doctors, lawyers, paralegals. Then the government can impose penalties, sets of standards and permit others to join the profession if they are capable.

Tags: Doctors Paralegals Ontario

Bring Back The Draft And Pray

With the US being overstretched in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to forget its other commitments in South Korea, Europe and Asia, one would think the 'bring back the draft' movement would be stronger in US than Canada. However, this week, a columnist in one of Canada's leading newspapers, The Toronto Sun, called for mandatory service in the army for high school graduates. When a reader wrote in a Letter to the Editor to complain, the response was 'Several democracies have mandatory service for youth'.

Yes, I remember reading in the Toronto Star a long time ago that some Liberals were worrying about a conservative shift in Canada. They had pointed to the conservative think-tanks being setup, the various conservative personalities installed in the media, and so on. A parallel was pointed at the conservative movement in the States - when Clinton took over first time, the momentum was with the left. Even after the sex scandal, the right was enraged by voter apathy to the President's antics.

Today, Canada is engaged in a similar battle. In another article on the Toronto Sun, a columnist says the way to solve crimes is prayer. A typical right response. While I have nothing against prayer (and in fact do it five times a day), the government's job is to solve crimes - by crime fighting methods - not by prayer. To solve the problem of crime, they would have to commit sources to prevent crime in the first place (social programs) as well as beef up the punishment. Not just pray. Similarly, when Rachel calls for the draft, she wants it because 'kids nowadays are lazy and fat'. Yes, don't deal with why kids are fat, just put them in the military.

As usual, while the right sounds right, a deeper inspection of the policies will confirm they have no substance.

Tags: Draft Crime

The Afghanistan Debate

I called for a debate on our Afghanistan mission sometime back. After initially resistant to the idea, the Cons flip-flopped and the debate was held today. I watched the debate and came back with a sense of disappointment. The real issues facing the mission, namely consequences of our actions over there reverberating on Canada, the nature of the mission and the duration of the mission were rarely touched upon.

First, it was a shame and travesty that Prime Minister Stephen Harper did not attend the debate. He can find time to go for a photo-op to Afghanistan, but when it comes time to articulate our reasons for being there he is missing in action. If he is so passionately committed to our troops why is he not present in the first debate as PM to state that?

As expected, the Cons copied the Republican speechbook with phrases such as 'staying the course', 'supporting the troops', 'freedom and liberty to Afghans' while the Liberals just echoed ditto. It was actually the NDP and surprisingly the BQ that asked the tough questions, but got no answers.

I had a bit of a chuckle when Ignatieff spoke about his concerns over Canadian troops handing over detainees to the Americans and the fear of their torture. Asides that, these were specific questions to which I was looking for answers, but did not get them from this debate:

1. What are the specific (military) goals of this mission?
   
2. What happens if the Taliban decide to hit Canada in retaliation? Are there any plans to protect mainland Canada from their terro rism?
   
3. What happens on February 2007 when the mission ends? Will there be a debate on any extension? Will there be a debate on the nature of a new mission?
   
4. How are we protecting and enabling our soldiers currently over there to do their duties?

Unfortunately the whole debate was a show of optics from all concerned. The ones who asked the important questions, in my view, were the NDP, Michael Ignatieff, Ujjal Dosanjh and a couple of other Liberals. The Cons, the governing party, contributed nothing beyond rhetoric to this debate.

Tags: Canada Afghanistan

Stronach Makes A Smart Decision

Consider the tale of Italian-born Ms Sonia Gandhi. In 2004, she stunned India and the world when she led her Congress party to election victory in a huge upset, when polls had consistently predicted another landslide victory for the ruling BJP. She then had every right to become the Prime Minister of India. This would be the first time since independence that a foreign born, naturalized citizen of India was eligible to be the PM. However, she declined the position and chose her friend Dr. Manmohan Singh to lead the party. Yet, all Congress party workers know where the real star, the real power lies. This is why when Mr Bush visits India, he also pays a visit to Sonia Gandhi's residence.

Yesterday Belinda Stronach, a star of the Liberal party, announced she would not be joining the race to lead her new party. She probably took what will be in hindsight another smart decision. Her weak French, weak links with her new party, old alliances and the stringent rules of the race would probably have condemned her to lose. Yet, by now resigning from the spotlight yet not fading into the background, she is in a position to weld considerable influence on the party. It would be hard for the next leader to not include her in a shadow cabinet, or in the government front benches once we are back in power.

For a start, Stronach stated that the old way of electing leaders by delegates would have to go. She is right.

"... contribute to that goal more effectively by working with the party's rank-and-file to take kingmaking out of the backrooms and put it squarely in the hands of the party membership ..."

She also mentioned she would like to make it easier for the public to acquire memberships. Right now the rules for membership into the party vary across the country. This is not right for a federal party.

Stronach had already had a huge impact in her short time in politics. She got the right to unite - a huge incentive for the Liberals to clean up their act. They could have grown complacent had there been no strong opposition. She got the Conservatives to lurch to the left - another huge factor in making sure Canada stays progressive. She put women's issues and Canada's complex make-up at the forefront of political debate when she left the Tories. She forced us to acknowledge sexism exists in politics, when the media decided to concentrate more on her dress than her words.

Stronach is a smart person. I have always admired her bravado in identifying a specific problem and stating about dealing with it right away. We also need more women like her in politics. She would probably be a good leader of the Liberal party. Just not now.

Tags: Belinda Stronach Liberal Party

Power of Blogs In Kennedy Buzz

Today Ontario's Minister of Education Gerard Kennedy faces an ultimatum - continue in the Ontario cabinet or step down and announce his bid for the leadership of the federal Liberal Party. Whatever decision he takes, one fact is clear. Kennedy was not one of the frontrunners for the position when it became available. Liberal blogs, including some of the big ones, was one of the first of many in the blogosphere to contribute to the buzz around him. No major newspaper did a profile of him before the blogosphere buzz became too huge to ignore. Are we seeing the true power of blogs in shaping public opinion in Canada being realized at last?

Tags: Gerard Kennedy

Beware the Extremists

The rightwing religious extremists that drive the Republican Party down south and are increasingly drawn to the Conservative Party of Canada have more in common with the extremists from my religion (Islam) than they would care to admit. Both selectively use verses of their holy books to promulgate their point of view, while ignoring other verses that contradict their politican stance. To them, religion is a tool used to control the general populace, to mould them to their view of what is ideal. Cerberus once had a post about verses of the Bible the rightwingers ignore. Recently, two stories have emerged that deal with such religious extremism from Muslims and Christians.

In Afghanistan, a Christian man is on trial for being a Christian convert from Muslim (a rare case). I wrote a letter to the Toronto Sun, which they published (the second letter entitled 'The Koran Speaks'). I selected three verses from the Koran that dealt with freedom of religion. Soon, I had an email from one of these Muslim extremists that read the letter and chanced on my blog.

'Mezba, when God said to Muhammad that "There is no compulsion in religion" He was talking about a certain the tribe that Muhammad was dealing with at that time, not the general population. So it only applies to that tribe."

A most ridiculous (and false) explanation if I ever read one - but then, reason is not a strong importance when dealing with such people.

South Dakota has recently banned abortion. It's almost a blanket ban. There is no reason for this except the beliefs of a few rightwing people. There are no medical, legal or scientific reasons why South Dakota banned abortion. In other words, the religious beliefs of a few are now the law. What about my belief that abortion within the first trimester is OK? What about the beliefs of others who are atheists and have no problem with abortion at any time? What about Christians who believe, like me, that abortion is OK within the first trimester? Where is their freedom of religion?

The main difference between East and West is that the West is educated and democratic. When religious extremists sprout nonsense the educated population can sense it. When their leaders believe such nonsense they are removed by the people. In the East, people are ignorant, believe what the clerics say, and the dictators are appointing these clerics. So today, when I see in the West that education is being tampered with (evolution not being taught, scientific progress and data (global warming) being ignored) and democracy curtailed (security certificates) - it scares me.

It scares me that such extremist people are now engulfing the Canadian Conservative movement (and a few Liberals). One fundamental aspect of religious freedom is freedom to practise as much (or as less) religion as I want, my way. It is a private deal.

h/t: Abu Sinan

Tags: Religious Extremism Afghanistan South Dakota

What Compensation To Pay To Our Shooting Victim?

I had been waiting for the news clutter to clear for a bit before posting on the shooting of an Afghanistani taxi driver by Canadian soldiers. Initially, when I read of the shooting, my first thought was that it was the car driver's fault. Canadian soldiers are well trained, they do not start shooting just like that, and the 'locals' should know better. However, after reading a bit more on the shooting incidents in Afghanistan, I have been forced to change my mind on a few issues.

First, I read that upwards of 90 per cent of the Afghan population is illiterate. As such, they would not read newspapers where the Canadians have taken out advertisements on how to deal with military vehicles. There are many dialects of the local languages, and the Canadians speak English. Would they be able to adequately convey, in time to a speeding vehicle, on how to stop at a safe distance?

Second, soldiers make mistakes. It must be remembered that Canadian soldiers were fired at by American soldiers in Afghanistan last year. Presumably our soldiers were well aware of the rules of engagement and the need to maintain a safe distance from a NATO military vehicle. As an aside I find it surprising that the Americans would fire at another NATO vehicle.

Third, now there is the talk of compensation. The family of the Afghan man shot has asked to be transferred to Canada. He is reputedly the bread-winner for 15 family members. Knowing the setup of a traditional poor rural South Asian family, that may well be true. The talk of compensation and smoothing of ruffled feathers is important - for there have been at least 11 incidents involving Canadian convoys and patrols where shots were fired when the public came too close, although this was the first to result in a fatality. There could be more fatalities in the future.

I believe the immediate compensation should be as follows - we should find out how much this man earned per month, and pay that amount (minimum) to the family every month. Afghanistan follows 'Sharia' law, which specifies 'blood money' in case of accidental death. We should pay the family that blood money as well. Should we let them come to Canada? That is a decision for the Immigration Minister to decide. It is easy at this moment to criticize the family for being greedy (which I initially thought of doing), but none of us have lost our fathers to a foreign soldier's gun.

Finally, we should do a thorough investigation of this incident, and punish the soldier (court martial, demotion) if he is indeed found guilty of acting in a hasty manner (which I doubt - I still trust Canadian soldiers and their training). Nevertheless, an innocent civilian has been shot dead. Further review of this incident should take place to minimize such tragedies in the future. I was happy to see most of our media, while supporting our troops and their mission, not shying away from exploring the personal anguish of the unfortunate Afghan family.

Tags: Canada in Afghanistan Soldier Tragedy