Trouble Is Everywhere

I have photographed campaign offices to see to what extent the entrances to the four Central Nova candidates' Antigonish campaign headquarters accommodate persons with disabilities, via wheelchair ramps, automated doors and elevators.

A news release by the NDP accused Liberal candidate André Forbes of making disparaging remarks about First Nations and Innu people. The release says he's a former leader of l’Association des Droits des Blancs, the Association for the Rights of Whites, in Sept-Iles, Que.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Ignatieff said Forbes has been informed he is no longer a Liberal candidate and that his comments "have no place within the Liberal Party of Canada."

“The Liberal Party of Canada has always stood for equality among all citizens, including First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and non-Aboriginal Canadians," he said. "We categorically condemn any comments that seek to divide Canadians on the basis of their culture or ethnicity."

Forbes reportedly referred to Aboriginals as "featherheads" in an interview with L'actualité published in October, 2004.

"The RCMP assisted the party organizers in restricting access to persons not registered for the private event," Sgt. Greg Cox said in the statement.

"This was not in accordance with the RCMP's mandate, and RCMP members have been reminded of our responsibilities."

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper continued to be dogged by questions Wednesday surrounding stories the party ousted a student from a Conservative event because a Facebook photo showed her posing with Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.

A Dartmouth volunteer who helps homeless veterans was turned away from a Stephen Harper election rally last week and the man calls it a slap in the face to those who have been injured in service of their country.

Jim Lowther of the Veterans Emergency Transition Team said he is apolitical but will stand with anyone who promises to help the people he helps: former Canadian Forces members who find themselves living on the street, often as a result of psychological disorders caused by their service.

Lowther has been trying to set up a meeting with Harper to seek help for veterans but has been rebuffed.

On Thursday, he and fellow veterans advocate Gary Zwicker went to the Halterm container pier on the Halifax waterfront hoping to get a few minutes with Harper, or at least to watch his speech. But a Conservative staffer in a suit and tie denied them entry at the gate.

During his election campaign, David Alward promised that, if elected, he would consult with the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women. Then he released the 2011 provincial budget, which abolishes the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women, effective April 1st.

The government is stating that the NB ACSW is going to be absorbed into the government’s existing internal Women’s Issues Branch to “eliminate overlap” and that this move is not an attempt to “water down the activities” of the organization. The government has stated that there will be no staffing reduction as a result of this move.

Of course, the Women’s Issues Branch and the ACSW do not overlap and the Women’s Issues Branch cannot simply absorb the work of the ACSW. The ACSW’s defining feature (and the reason it is so important) is that it is an arms-length agency that has the freedom to criticize the government, its policies and its decisions. By its very nature, as a government department the Women’s Issues Branch cannot act as an independent voice for the women of New Brunswick the way that the ACSW does. (There is also a staff reduction as a result of the abolition of the ACSW: two full-time staff have been offered positions with the Women’s Issues Branch while one full-time staff and a part-time contract worker have not.)

politics

The project was the catalyst that thrust the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women into the public consciousness. Its meticulous research into now nearly 600 cases broke new ground in a realm that had been previously ignored. Its national database became the first of its kind in Canada in its scope and detail.

Sisters in Spirit has received recognition from human rights organizations like Amnesty International. Police agencies and provincial governments have approached the project's staff to share information.

Sisters in Spirit was also approached by police in British Colombia and government officials to become involved in the recently announced inquiry into police work around serial killer Robert Pickton's case and a parallel process to culminate in a summit focusing on violence faced by Aboriginal women.

New money would be contingent on taking the name Sisters in Spirit out of the proposal. They also said that none of the money could be spent on the database.

Losing the name would be a serious blow to NWAC. Sisters in Spirit, intertwined with its Grandmother Moon logo, has grown to represent the memories and stories of the missing and the dead women.

Sisters in Spirit vigils are held every year to commemorate murdered and missing Aboriginal women and the Grandmother Moon logo is often prominently displayed at these national events.

If the database of the hundreds of murdered and missing women cases turns stagnant, it remains unclear what could take its place. Before the database came into being, it was up to individuals posting on scattered websites to keep the search for missing Aboriginal women going.

It is so rare to see any bill in parliament that acknowledges disability, let alone one that actually talks about housing needs. It would be great if we could make some noise, if we could make it clear to our Members of Parliament, our elected representatives, that we as Canadians care about accessible and affordable housing needs, so even if this bill doesn’t pass, the next time the topic comes up our MPs know: This is something that Canadians want addressed.

On Tuesday, Jodhan will argue in federal court that her inability to apply for a position on the federal jobs website or complete the online version of the 2006 Census breached her equality rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

She will also argue that this violation and her ongoing inability to access the government’s online information and services constitute a breach against all blind and partially sighted Canadians, said Jodhan’s lawyer David Baker.
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American and European governments have adopted the latest international web accessibility standards for their websites as have Canadian banks and many businesses, he said. But the Canadian government has not — even though the changes would not be difficult or expensive to implement, he said.

All women of childbearing age, and not just pregnant women, should be screened about how much alcohol they drink, new Canadian guidelines recommend.

Women's health experts from the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, known as the SOGC, developed the guidelines based on a review of scientific evidence regarding possible harm to a fetus.

The guidelines, released on Thursday, aim to make alcohol screening and support for women at risk a routine part of medical visits to prevent fetal alcohol spectrum disorder or FASD.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/08/12/alcohol-use-pregnancy.html#ixzz0wQQL89cr