From the Greater Toronto section, Toronto Star, Tuesday, January 29, 2008, page A10, an article about gays and lesbians moving out from the the city's historically only gay village into other neighbours areas of the city as well:
"There's a lot of power in a centralized location, you feel that power, you feel in the majority. But in moving away you get the sense of being comfortable with anyone.'
U of T researcher Kevin Stolarick
SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE RAINBOW
As Church-Wellesley gets gentrified, gay, lesbian enclaves pop up all over turn
San Grewal
Staff Reporter
"I remember, as recently as the late '90s," recalls Bryen Dunn, "When being openly gay in the Gladstone probably wouldn't have gone over too well."
The Gladstone Hotel, once a honkey-tonk favourite of west-end down-and-outs lining up for cheap beer, tonight plays host to an entirely different demographic for "The Future of Queer Neighbourhoods in Toronto" panel.
Dunn, one of the organizers, laughs about how things have changed.
But not necessarily for the better, say other gay advocates who fear erosion of Toronto's gay village centred at Church and Wellesley Sts. comes at too high a price.
"The concern is the same over what's happening in San Francisco's Castro district, where gentrification is pushing out gay and lesbian people," says Kevin Stolarick, an expert on the geography and demographics of gay communities, who will participate in tonight's discussion.
Dunn, a local freelance journalist, helped organize the event as part of an ongoing series of public forums. Tonight's panel will include Stolarick, a University of Toronto academic who recently moved to Toronto from the United States, Michael Pare, the founder of the Gay West Community Network, Tanya White, owner of West Side Stories Video, in the Queer West Village and others who will open up a public discussion about the Toronto gay community's transition away from the traditional gay village.
With every new condo and the growth of Ryerson university in its back yard, the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood - within easy walking distance of downtown - has seen commercial and residential rents skyrocket in recent years.
That's part of the reason, says Stolarick, that traditional gay businesses and residents are now being squeezed out to make room for chain stores, developers and tenants willing to shell out the case.
At the same time, he recognizes the upside to a community that feels mature and confident enough to venture beyond its limited comfort zone.
Along with the west-end area around Parkdale, where the Gladstone and other gay-friendly businesses have repositioned themselves, gay and lesbian enclaves have emerged through Toronto. Once homogenous hetero neighbourhoods such as Riverdale, Leslieville and the Beach are now home to a growing number of same-sex couples.
"It's a good thing," says Dunn. "You can live your entire life in Little Italy and never learn to speak English. If that's what you want, fine, but you should have the option to move beyond that.
Moving beyond that is a sign of not only the gay and lesbian community's maturity, Stolarick says. It also signals a deeper tolerance among the heterosexual community, which is growing more comfortable with the idea of gay neighbours.
"The creation of a gay ghetto is a defence mechanism," he says. "There's a lot of power in a centralized location, you feel that power, you feel in the majority. But in moving away you get the sense of being comfortable with anyone."
He also says there's an economic advantage in the long run to interacting with a broader community of innovators, consumers and potential business partners.
Meanwhile, with more gay-friendly businesses and social venues catering to the community, cheaper-rent neighbourhoods across the city are attracting a more adventurous younger generation coming out in an entirely different social atmosphere than their predecessors.
"It's good that people don't have to move to (Church and Wellesley) defensively any more," Stolarick says.
But hs still likes the idea of independent gay and lesbian businesses, and resources being central in one specific neighbourhood.
"When my friends come up from Pittsburgh, (the gay village) is the first place we go."
But Dunn suggests that as the number of same-sex couples with children grows, more and more people will leave the gay village.
"It's a party area. More couples want to live in an area where they can take their kids to a morning hockey game with everybody else."
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Hockey Hero and Racism in Canada
From the Greater Toronto section of the Wednesday, January 2, 2008, Toronto Star, page A12, an article about 88-year-old Herb Carnegie, a former hockey player:
Hockey Legend
ANOTHER TRIBUTE FOR A 'BLACK ACE'
York Region school named for Herb Carnegie, 88, a star player whose race kept him out of the NHL
Peter Edwards
Staff Reporter
Herb Carnegie loves it when visitors to his apartment in a North York seniors' home "ooh and aah" at the statues, trophies, plaques and photos that fill his living room.
There's his Order of Canada, membership in Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, an honorary law degree from York University and a Planet Africa Lifetime Achievement Award.
There are dozens of other tribunes for his achievements in hockey, golf and community service.
Awards surround him, but some he has never seen.
Carnegie, considered by some as the greatest player never to play in the National Hockey League is 88 years old and blind.
"Basically I'm in the dark," says Carnegie, who lost his sight eight years ago to glaucoma.
And still, the awards keep arriving.
Recently, officials from the York Region District School Board dropped by.
The board is building Herbert H. Carnegie Public School and they wanted to discuss which of his awards should go in the school's trophy case.
"It's so fastastic to have the school," says Carnegie of the building, which is to open in September in the Bathurst St. and Teston Rd. area of Vaughan.
He loves the idea of talking with the 600 students about his "Future Aces Creed," a fair play code of conduct he wrote more than a half century ago to promote co-operation, mutual respect and self-esteem.
"I don't want to be pretty face on the wall (in a photograph) if I have the health to be present in person."
The son of Jamaican immigrants was a hockey star in the 1930s to the early 1950s, a time when there were no non-white NHL players.
When he was 18, he was skating at Maple Leaf Gardens when his coach for the Toronto Young Rangers of Junior A pointed someone out to him.
"That's Conn Smythe," his coach said. "The builder of Maple Leaf Gardens. The owner of the Leafs. He said he would take you tomorrow if somebody could paint you white."
Carnegie couldn't believe Smythe would say such a thing and wondered if his coach was just trying to motivate him.
But in the ensuring years, Carnegie realized his coach had been telling the truth.
He played semi-pro hockey in Quebec with Jean Beliveau and, while Beliveau graduated to the NHL and the Hockey Hall of Fame, Carnegie remained mired in the minors, despite once scoring 127 points in a 40-game season and being named league MVP three times.
He played on an all-black line with brother Ossie and Manny McIntyre.
They were billed as the "Black Aces."
But it wasn't until 1958 that Willie O'Ree of Fredericton, N.B., broke the colour barrier in the NHL, joining the Boston Bruins.
When he finally retired, Carnegie wondered, "What kind of a place is this Canada, that talks about freedom, democracy? ... All of these nice things, that don't apply to me."
That's when he founded Future Aces and wrote its creed.
It says, in part: "I will develop my talents and ability in order that I may be helpful to society."
Carnegie moved on to become a financial consultant with the Investment Group in Toronto.
thestar.com
To see a video interview with Herb Carnegie, visit thestar.com
Hockey Legend
ANOTHER TRIBUTE FOR A 'BLACK ACE'
York Region school named for Herb Carnegie, 88, a star player whose race kept him out of the NHL
Peter Edwards
Staff Reporter
Herb Carnegie loves it when visitors to his apartment in a North York seniors' home "ooh and aah" at the statues, trophies, plaques and photos that fill his living room.
There's his Order of Canada, membership in Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, an honorary law degree from York University and a Planet Africa Lifetime Achievement Award.
There are dozens of other tribunes for his achievements in hockey, golf and community service.
Awards surround him, but some he has never seen.
Carnegie, considered by some as the greatest player never to play in the National Hockey League is 88 years old and blind.
"Basically I'm in the dark," says Carnegie, who lost his sight eight years ago to glaucoma.
And still, the awards keep arriving.
Recently, officials from the York Region District School Board dropped by.
The board is building Herbert H. Carnegie Public School and they wanted to discuss which of his awards should go in the school's trophy case.
"It's so fastastic to have the school," says Carnegie of the building, which is to open in September in the Bathurst St. and Teston Rd. area of Vaughan.
He loves the idea of talking with the 600 students about his "Future Aces Creed," a fair play code of conduct he wrote more than a half century ago to promote co-operation, mutual respect and self-esteem.
"I don't want to be pretty face on the wall (in a photograph) if I have the health to be present in person."
The son of Jamaican immigrants was a hockey star in the 1930s to the early 1950s, a time when there were no non-white NHL players.
When he was 18, he was skating at Maple Leaf Gardens when his coach for the Toronto Young Rangers of Junior A pointed someone out to him.
"That's Conn Smythe," his coach said. "The builder of Maple Leaf Gardens. The owner of the Leafs. He said he would take you tomorrow if somebody could paint you white."
Carnegie couldn't believe Smythe would say such a thing and wondered if his coach was just trying to motivate him.
But in the ensuring years, Carnegie realized his coach had been telling the truth.
He played semi-pro hockey in Quebec with Jean Beliveau and, while Beliveau graduated to the NHL and the Hockey Hall of Fame, Carnegie remained mired in the minors, despite once scoring 127 points in a 40-game season and being named league MVP three times.
He played on an all-black line with brother Ossie and Manny McIntyre.
They were billed as the "Black Aces."
But it wasn't until 1958 that Willie O'Ree of Fredericton, N.B., broke the colour barrier in the NHL, joining the Boston Bruins.
When he finally retired, Carnegie wondered, "What kind of a place is this Canada, that talks about freedom, democracy? ... All of these nice things, that don't apply to me."
That's when he founded Future Aces and wrote its creed.
It says, in part: "I will develop my talents and ability in order that I may be helpful to society."
Carnegie moved on to become a financial consultant with the Investment Group in Toronto.
thestar.com
To see a video interview with Herb Carnegie, visit thestar.com
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Women-Only Buses and Subway Trains
Women on buses or trains can be subject to groping, leering and verbal abuse. Having women-only transportation seems like a great-way to provide women with the right to respect and safety. From the News section of the Wednesday, January 23, 2008, Toronto Star, page A2:
WOMEN-ONLY BUS SERVICE MAKES FIRST STOP IN MEXICO
Mexico city - The Mexican capaital has started a women-only bus service to protect female passengers from groping and verbal abuse common on its packed public transportation system.
Millions of people cram into subway trains and buses in Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities, and women have long complained of abuse from men taking advantage of overcrowding to sneak in an inappropriate grab.
"One time a man stuck his hand up my skirt. They grab your butt .... It's gross," said 27-year-old Lourdes Zendejas, who waited 20 minutes during evening rush hour to catch one of the new buses.
The special buses pull up at ordinary steps but have large pink "women only" signs on the front and side. They were added to two busy routes last week and the city government plans to expand the program to 15 other routes by April.
"We were constantly receiving complaints of women being leered at, kissed or followed," said Carlos Cervantes, spokesperson for the city's public bus system.
The first three subway cars are already reserved for women and children but this is the first time the model has been tried in buses.
Tokyo's subway is already running women-only cars to prevent groping, and South Korea is expected this year to introduce women-only cars. Nearly half the crimes reported on the Seoul's eight subway lines are sexual in nature, a legislator told parliament last November.
WOMEN-ONLY BUS SERVICE MAKES FIRST STOP IN MEXICO
Mexico city - The Mexican capaital has started a women-only bus service to protect female passengers from groping and verbal abuse common on its packed public transportation system.
Millions of people cram into subway trains and buses in Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities, and women have long complained of abuse from men taking advantage of overcrowding to sneak in an inappropriate grab.
"One time a man stuck his hand up my skirt. They grab your butt .... It's gross," said 27-year-old Lourdes Zendejas, who waited 20 minutes during evening rush hour to catch one of the new buses.
The special buses pull up at ordinary steps but have large pink "women only" signs on the front and side. They were added to two busy routes last week and the city government plans to expand the program to 15 other routes by April.
"We were constantly receiving complaints of women being leered at, kissed or followed," said Carlos Cervantes, spokesperson for the city's public bus system.
The first three subway cars are already reserved for women and children but this is the first time the model has been tried in buses.
Tokyo's subway is already running women-only cars to prevent groping, and South Korea is expected this year to introduce women-only cars. Nearly half the crimes reported on the Seoul's eight subway lines are sexual in nature, a legislator told parliament last November.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Stark Headlines Regarding African Countries: What Are We Doing?
Developed countries must do more for refugees and children and humanitarian crises in developing countries. Instead of spending increasing amounts of money on arms for trumped up wars, this money should be used at home and abroad for social and humanitarian reasons.
Here are headlines from the World section of the Toronto Star, Wednesday, January 23, 2008, pages AA2-3. What are we doing about these problems?
Humanitarian Crisis Clouds Congo Peace
Kenyan Refugees At Risk in Uganda
Border camps stretched trying to feed thousands who have fled violence in aftermath of election
Starving Refugees Eat Endangered Chimps [Kenya]
9.7 Million Children Died Before Age 5: UN
Sierra Leone, Angola top 2006 mortality list
Here are headlines from the World section of the Toronto Star, Wednesday, January 23, 2008, pages AA2-3. What are we doing about these problems?
Humanitarian Crisis Clouds Congo Peace
Kenyan Refugees At Risk in Uganda
Border camps stretched trying to feed thousands who have fled violence in aftermath of election
Starving Refugees Eat Endangered Chimps [Kenya]
9.7 Million Children Died Before Age 5: UN
Sierra Leone, Angola top 2006 mortality list
Monday, February 11, 2008
U.S. Not Safe for Refugees
From the Canadian Immigrant, January 2008, page 23, an article about the Canadian federal court deciding that the United States is not a safe place for refugee claimants:
SAFE PLACE?
Canadian courts kick the notion that the United States is safe for refugees
By Guidy Mamann
In a recent stunning decision, our Federal Court struck down our agreement with the United States that renders refugee claimants seeking entry to Canada by land ineligible to make a claim here.
In December 2004, Canada and the United States implemented the Safe Third Country Agreement, in which each declared the other a "safe Country" for refugee claimants.
Canadian refugee advocates became concerned for the fate of asylum seekers destined here who, they believed, would be unfairly denied needed protection down south. The agreement addressed this concern by requiring our federal cabinet to conduct a "continuing review" of the policies and prices of the"safe country" - the United States.
Our cabinet never conducted the review, but Canadian refugee advocacy groups did. They brought their findings to court and alleged that the United States was not, in fact, safe for those seeking safe haven.
Our Federal Court agreed.
The court found the experts presented by the applicants were more credible "both in terms of their expertise and the sufficiency, directness and logic of their reports" than the experts presented by our government.
The court couldn't understand why our government didn't bother to conduct the required review of American refugee practices even after the release of the Maher Arar report, which put into serious question U.S. assurances that it does not deport people to places where they may be tortured.
The court didn't set out to decide which system was better or more generous. Instead, it sought to determine if the United States was meeting the minimum standards required of it.
The court was troubled by many deficiencies. For example, the United States generally bars asylum claims after one year of the claimants' arrival. The court ruled this could disproportionaltely affect homosexuals, who may have to deal with cultural issues of shame, and women, who may be unaware that spousal abuse may give rise to additional protection.
Also, the U.S. Patriot Act renders refugees ineligible for protection if they are deemed to have given "material supoport" to a terrorist organization, even when it is done under duress. In contrast, Canada makes allowances for duress, i.e. when it gave protection to a woman who was forced to cook for the Tamil Tigers.
Evidence was presented to show that U.S. claimants were more likely to be detained and had less access to counsel than claimants up here. The court, however, couldn't find proof that these factors would result in the actual denial of asylum.
The court's 124-page decision is not likely to be the last word on the matter since it has given the parties the opportunity to propose questions for appeal.
Guldy Mamann practises law in Toronto at Mamann & Associates and is certified by theLaw Society of Upper Canada as an immigration specialist. Reach him confidentially at 416-862-0000.
SAFE PLACE?
Canadian courts kick the notion that the United States is safe for refugees
By Guidy Mamann
In a recent stunning decision, our Federal Court struck down our agreement with the United States that renders refugee claimants seeking entry to Canada by land ineligible to make a claim here.
In December 2004, Canada and the United States implemented the Safe Third Country Agreement, in which each declared the other a "safe Country" for refugee claimants.
Canadian refugee advocates became concerned for the fate of asylum seekers destined here who, they believed, would be unfairly denied needed protection down south. The agreement addressed this concern by requiring our federal cabinet to conduct a "continuing review" of the policies and prices of the"safe country" - the United States.
Our cabinet never conducted the review, but Canadian refugee advocacy groups did. They brought their findings to court and alleged that the United States was not, in fact, safe for those seeking safe haven.
Our Federal Court agreed.
The court found the experts presented by the applicants were more credible "both in terms of their expertise and the sufficiency, directness and logic of their reports" than the experts presented by our government.
The court couldn't understand why our government didn't bother to conduct the required review of American refugee practices even after the release of the Maher Arar report, which put into serious question U.S. assurances that it does not deport people to places where they may be tortured.
The court didn't set out to decide which system was better or more generous. Instead, it sought to determine if the United States was meeting the minimum standards required of it.
The court was troubled by many deficiencies. For example, the United States generally bars asylum claims after one year of the claimants' arrival. The court ruled this could disproportionaltely affect homosexuals, who may have to deal with cultural issues of shame, and women, who may be unaware that spousal abuse may give rise to additional protection.
Also, the U.S. Patriot Act renders refugees ineligible for protection if they are deemed to have given "material supoport" to a terrorist organization, even when it is done under duress. In contrast, Canada makes allowances for duress, i.e. when it gave protection to a woman who was forced to cook for the Tamil Tigers.
Evidence was presented to show that U.S. claimants were more likely to be detained and had less access to counsel than claimants up here. The court, however, couldn't find proof that these factors would result in the actual denial of asylum.
The court's 124-page decision is not likely to be the last word on the matter since it has given the parties the opportunity to propose questions for appeal.
Guldy Mamann practises law in Toronto at Mamann & Associates and is certified by theLaw Society of Upper Canada as an immigration specialist. Reach him confidentially at 416-862-0000.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Rejecting Refugees on the Basis of Sexual Orientation
From the January 31, 2008, XTRA!, page 20, an editorial about the rejection of refugees because they fear for their safety because of their sexual orientation:
REJECTING REFUGEES
Editorial
Julia Garro
Imagine you are a queer born in a country where homophobic discrimination and violence are commonplace. If you have the chance to leave, wouldn't you choose to immigrate to a country that offers queers protection under the law and recognizes same-sex relationships?
Canada is the victim of its own successful queer-rights campaigns, in as much as it can be considered a bad thing that the country attracts hundreds if not thousands of queer immigrants and refugees every year. And I have no doubt that this is exactly the way Harper's Conservatives see things. Hell, they have enough trouble with their homegrown homos, they're not exactly going to fall over themselves to welcome more of us, are they?
It is too easy for legitimate refugee claimants to fall through the cracks. It's too easy for one immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) member's opinions or misconceptions about homosexuality to result in negative decisions. As it stands today Canada's refugee system offers limited options for appealing bad decisions (although there is a private member's bill working its way through parliament that could soon change that).
When an individual claims refugee status on the grounds of sexual orientation they must prove that they really are queer and that they really are experiencing persecution in their homeland as a result of their queerness. For those coming from countries where gay sex is criminalized outright this second criteria is relatively easy to establish. What is far more difficult are the cases of those individuals coming from countries where laws exist to protect queers from discrimination but where the state's ability or willingness to enforce these laws is lacking; where the dominant culture allows homophobia and homophobic violence to flourish.
In several well-published cases the IRB has ruled that queers coming from Latin America are not eligible for refugee status on the grounds that the situation for queers there isn't all that bad. These decisions point to democratic governments, human rights laws and burgeoning queer movements as proof. In some cases the decisions have cited "internal flight options," which is to say that queers within countries where gay ghettos exist ought to move to those ghettos and enjoy greater protection afforded by greater numbers. In other cases booming gay tourist industries in those same countries have been put forward as evidence that local culture accepts homosexuality, neglecting the glaring complicating factor of tolerance for economic gain.
The trouble with these metrics is that they don't adequately capture what things are like on the ground for real human beings. It's all well and good to say that homophobic violence is technically illegal in a given country, but if queers are afraid of reporting violence against them for fear of abuse from local police then those laws mean nothing. Moreover the laws are cold comfort to its citizens if a state can't adequately protect them from becoming victims of these crimes.
Take for example the case of Mexican refugee claimant Jose Arturo Contreras Hernandez. In 2008 the IRB ruled that his fear of persecution based on his sexual orientation was not well-founded that despite being thrown out of his home at age 14, beaten by his father, attacked by coworkers in his place of work and kidnapped and threatened with a gun after leaving a club, he has nothing to worry about in being returned to Mexico.
Hernandez was recently granted a second hearing by a federal justice (see page 19 for more), but in two other cases - those of Mexican Leonardo Zuniga and Nicaraguan Alvaro Orozco - the claimants are rapidly running out of options that would allow them to avoid being deported to countries where they fear for their safety. In these cases appeals have been made to Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to step in. As yet her office has been silent on these cases, in spite of appeals from fellow MPs, petitions and media pressure. (You can contact Finley at Minister @cic.gc.ca.)
As long as Harper's Conservatives are in power the ultimate fail-safe machanism in our flawed refugee system - the ability for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to step in and grant a ministerial permit in individual cases - cannot be expected to work in our favour.
Julia Garro is Xtra's associate editor.
REJECTING REFUGEES
Editorial
Julia Garro
Imagine you are a queer born in a country where homophobic discrimination and violence are commonplace. If you have the chance to leave, wouldn't you choose to immigrate to a country that offers queers protection under the law and recognizes same-sex relationships?
Canada is the victim of its own successful queer-rights campaigns, in as much as it can be considered a bad thing that the country attracts hundreds if not thousands of queer immigrants and refugees every year. And I have no doubt that this is exactly the way Harper's Conservatives see things. Hell, they have enough trouble with their homegrown homos, they're not exactly going to fall over themselves to welcome more of us, are they?
It is too easy for legitimate refugee claimants to fall through the cracks. It's too easy for one immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) member's opinions or misconceptions about homosexuality to result in negative decisions. As it stands today Canada's refugee system offers limited options for appealing bad decisions (although there is a private member's bill working its way through parliament that could soon change that).
When an individual claims refugee status on the grounds of sexual orientation they must prove that they really are queer and that they really are experiencing persecution in their homeland as a result of their queerness. For those coming from countries where gay sex is criminalized outright this second criteria is relatively easy to establish. What is far more difficult are the cases of those individuals coming from countries where laws exist to protect queers from discrimination but where the state's ability or willingness to enforce these laws is lacking; where the dominant culture allows homophobia and homophobic violence to flourish.
In several well-published cases the IRB has ruled that queers coming from Latin America are not eligible for refugee status on the grounds that the situation for queers there isn't all that bad. These decisions point to democratic governments, human rights laws and burgeoning queer movements as proof. In some cases the decisions have cited "internal flight options," which is to say that queers within countries where gay ghettos exist ought to move to those ghettos and enjoy greater protection afforded by greater numbers. In other cases booming gay tourist industries in those same countries have been put forward as evidence that local culture accepts homosexuality, neglecting the glaring complicating factor of tolerance for economic gain.
The trouble with these metrics is that they don't adequately capture what things are like on the ground for real human beings. It's all well and good to say that homophobic violence is technically illegal in a given country, but if queers are afraid of reporting violence against them for fear of abuse from local police then those laws mean nothing. Moreover the laws are cold comfort to its citizens if a state can't adequately protect them from becoming victims of these crimes.
Take for example the case of Mexican refugee claimant Jose Arturo Contreras Hernandez. In 2008 the IRB ruled that his fear of persecution based on his sexual orientation was not well-founded that despite being thrown out of his home at age 14, beaten by his father, attacked by coworkers in his place of work and kidnapped and threatened with a gun after leaving a club, he has nothing to worry about in being returned to Mexico.
Hernandez was recently granted a second hearing by a federal justice (see page 19 for more), but in two other cases - those of Mexican Leonardo Zuniga and Nicaraguan Alvaro Orozco - the claimants are rapidly running out of options that would allow them to avoid being deported to countries where they fear for their safety. In these cases appeals have been made to Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to step in. As yet her office has been silent on these cases, in spite of appeals from fellow MPs, petitions and media pressure. (You can contact Finley at Minister @cic.gc.ca.)
As long as Harper's Conservatives are in power the ultimate fail-safe machanism in our flawed refugee system - the ability for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to step in and grant a ministerial permit in individual cases - cannot be expected to work in our favour.
Julia Garro is Xtra's associate editor.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
"Ghetto Dude" Insult to Government Job Applicant
From the Greater Toronto, Saturday, December 29, 2007, Toronto Star, page A16, a racist email sent to a job applicant in error:
'GHETTO DUDE' SLUR STILL HAUNTS JOB APPLICANT
Evon Reid - now a Queen's Park media analyst - can't forget emailed insult from government office
Whatever Happened to ...
Catching Up With the Newsmakers
Linda Diebel
Staff Reporter
In the young life of Evon Reid, 2007 turned out to be the best of times and the worst of times.
The worst because, on an otherwise uneventful day in July, he opened his email to find the term "ghetto dude" in a note to him from the Queen's Park office where he'd applied for a job.
Reid, 22, interpreted the offensive term as meaning, "I'm black," as he told the Toronto Star at the time of the incident.
"It's very insulting."
But it was also the best of times because, the day after his story was published, Premier Dalton McGuinty called him at home to personally apologize.
Other government officials apologized privately, dealing quickly with a situation that broke in a provincial election year.
Now, five months later, Reid is working as a media analyst at Queen's Park in just the type of job he wanted.
A happy ending, right?
Not completely, Reid said in an interview from Jamaica, where he is celebrating Christmas week with his father.
"I still don't have it sorted out," he explained. "I don't think I've come to a final verdict about what happened."
Of course, he's happy with his new job and says he's learning a lot.
He works on contract as a U.S. media analyst for the ministry of intergovernmental affairs, flagging issues relevant to Ontario, such as events taking place in the border states.
"The people are great and I feel really close to the action," he said, adding he chose the option of working in a different office than the cabeinet office where the offensive email originated.
It's an ideal situation for him. His contract runs until the spring, shortly before he finishes his fourth and final year in honours political science at the University of Toronto.
He has a stellar resume, with study in Hong Kong and fellowships with the federal government and on Capital Hill, and hasn't yet decided whether he will go to graduate school.
He believes he will have choices.
The public reacted strongly to Reid's story last summer and he was flooded with job offers and letters of support.
Many people wrote or called to describe incidents of discrimination they experienced in their own lives and thanked him for having the courage to go public.
But it's the other part of the equation that gives Reid "a small amount of unease" because he still can't quite accept the rationale for the email.
He has no problem agreeing with senior cabinet officer Craig Sumi's conclusion last July the term was "totally inappropriate" and appreciates the government's prompt action.
He called McGuinty's phone call "thoughtful" and expressed his appreciation.
However, his unease lies with the suggestion made by a couple of senior officals that the unfortunate incident occurred only because a "low level" employee had been involved.
The employee involved, who left the cabinet office shortly after the story broke, told the Star she'd been "multi-tasking" when she sent Reid the email, and that the term hadn't referred to him.
But Reid argues the "low level" official was the government for him - or at least his only contact with Queen's Park, as is often the case for the public.
And, while he would like to believe he would have gotten the job without the rush of publicity, there's that twinge of unease about the answer.
'GHETTO DUDE' SLUR STILL HAUNTS JOB APPLICANT
Evon Reid - now a Queen's Park media analyst - can't forget emailed insult from government office
Whatever Happened to ...
Catching Up With the Newsmakers
Linda Diebel
Staff Reporter
In the young life of Evon Reid, 2007 turned out to be the best of times and the worst of times.
The worst because, on an otherwise uneventful day in July, he opened his email to find the term "ghetto dude" in a note to him from the Queen's Park office where he'd applied for a job.
Reid, 22, interpreted the offensive term as meaning, "I'm black," as he told the Toronto Star at the time of the incident.
"It's very insulting."
But it was also the best of times because, the day after his story was published, Premier Dalton McGuinty called him at home to personally apologize.
Other government officials apologized privately, dealing quickly with a situation that broke in a provincial election year.
Now, five months later, Reid is working as a media analyst at Queen's Park in just the type of job he wanted.
A happy ending, right?
Not completely, Reid said in an interview from Jamaica, where he is celebrating Christmas week with his father.
"I still don't have it sorted out," he explained. "I don't think I've come to a final verdict about what happened."
Of course, he's happy with his new job and says he's learning a lot.
He works on contract as a U.S. media analyst for the ministry of intergovernmental affairs, flagging issues relevant to Ontario, such as events taking place in the border states.
"The people are great and I feel really close to the action," he said, adding he chose the option of working in a different office than the cabeinet office where the offensive email originated.
It's an ideal situation for him. His contract runs until the spring, shortly before he finishes his fourth and final year in honours political science at the University of Toronto.
He has a stellar resume, with study in Hong Kong and fellowships with the federal government and on Capital Hill, and hasn't yet decided whether he will go to graduate school.
He believes he will have choices.
The public reacted strongly to Reid's story last summer and he was flooded with job offers and letters of support.
Many people wrote or called to describe incidents of discrimination they experienced in their own lives and thanked him for having the courage to go public.
But it's the other part of the equation that gives Reid "a small amount of unease" because he still can't quite accept the rationale for the email.
He has no problem agreeing with senior cabinet officer Craig Sumi's conclusion last July the term was "totally inappropriate" and appreciates the government's prompt action.
He called McGuinty's phone call "thoughtful" and expressed his appreciation.
However, his unease lies with the suggestion made by a couple of senior officals that the unfortunate incident occurred only because a "low level" employee had been involved.
The employee involved, who left the cabinet office shortly after the story broke, told the Star she'd been "multi-tasking" when she sent Reid the email, and that the term hadn't referred to him.
But Reid argues the "low level" official was the government for him - or at least his only contact with Queen's Park, as is often the case for the public.
And, while he would like to believe he would have gotten the job without the rush of publicity, there's that twinge of unease about the answer.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Questions on Use of Tasers
From the Ideas section of the Toronto Star, Thursday, November 29, 2007, an article about questions raised about the safety of the use of tasers by law enforcement officers:
QUESTIONS PERSIST ON USE OF TASERS
Alok Mukherjee
The death of Robert Knipstrom in Chilliwack, B.C., is certain to intensify the public discussion about Tasers that was unleashed by the unnecessary death of Robert Dziekanski.
Let me declare my bias right away. During 2004-05, based on medical and other research into Taser technology. I opposed the Toronto Police Service's proposal to acquire Tasers.
One such study was done in 2003 by Dr. Anthony Bleetman and Dr. Richard Steyn of Birmingham Heartlands Hospital in the U.K. Taser International had engaged them "to draw conclusions on the device's relative safety and to identify potential medical issues in deploying this product." Their pronouncement that "the device is essentially safe on healthy people" clearly begged the question: What if the Taser is used on someone who is not healthy?
Bleetman and Steyn identified "several ways that the Taser might cause injury," including electrical injuries, injuries from barb strikes, burns, indirect injury from falling uncontrollably and spontaneous abortion.
Their carefully worded conclusion was that it was "impossible to accurately calculate how much electrical energy the Advanced Taser delivers into the the human body ... More work is required to record the effects of the Taser on physiological variables and ECG tracings."
An article in The Lancet, the British medical journal, urged further investigation of effects such as ocular- or blood-vessel-related injuries and metabolic acidosis.
Other studies suggested that the Taser had not caused the reported deaths, but other factors, such as drug use, heart condition or excited delirium, were to blame.
After much debate, a majority of my colleagues voted to allow Tasers in the Toronto Police Service. However, it was to be a restricted distribution supported by through training, clear procedures, strict monitoring and regular reporting.
In Toronto, Tasers are provided to front-line supervisors and members of the Emergency Task Force. The weapon has been used more than 200 times, and there have been no deaths and very few injuries that can be called serious.
Today, my position is best described as cautious and evolving.
I am in complete agreement with Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair that good training, strong procedures, good training, strong procedures, close monitoring, regular reporting and public accountability are prerequisites for responsible use of Tasers. I also sympathize with the view of people from the mental health community that Tasers can be useful when dealing with people suffering from such an acute state of mental illness that they can do harm to themselves or others.
Yet I remain uneasy.
I am concerned that we do not have the necessary knowledge to say authoritatively that the Taser is safe in all circumstances and on all persons, regardless of their physiological, neurological, medical or psychological condition, age, ethnicity, ability or gender.
I also worry that the Taser could lead to lazy policing.
The Taser cannot be the first weapon of choice, unless it is absolutely essential. It should not be used, for instance, to control a crowd or to subdue an individual causing a disturbance who does not pose a threat to anyone.
It must be drilled into police officers that the Taser is not a completely harmless weapon. Above all, police organizations must make haste slowly in making the Taser available to their personnel.
Let us keep in mind that the Taser was originally developed as a military weapon. Surely, we owe a very great duty of care when deploying it on the civilian population in our own communities.
Alok Mukherjee is chair of the Toronto Police Services Board.
QUESTIONS PERSIST ON USE OF TASERS
Alok Mukherjee
The death of Robert Knipstrom in Chilliwack, B.C., is certain to intensify the public discussion about Tasers that was unleashed by the unnecessary death of Robert Dziekanski.
Let me declare my bias right away. During 2004-05, based on medical and other research into Taser technology. I opposed the Toronto Police Service's proposal to acquire Tasers.
One such study was done in 2003 by Dr. Anthony Bleetman and Dr. Richard Steyn of Birmingham Heartlands Hospital in the U.K. Taser International had engaged them "to draw conclusions on the device's relative safety and to identify potential medical issues in deploying this product." Their pronouncement that "the device is essentially safe on healthy people" clearly begged the question: What if the Taser is used on someone who is not healthy?
Bleetman and Steyn identified "several ways that the Taser might cause injury," including electrical injuries, injuries from barb strikes, burns, indirect injury from falling uncontrollably and spontaneous abortion.
Their carefully worded conclusion was that it was "impossible to accurately calculate how much electrical energy the Advanced Taser delivers into the the human body ... More work is required to record the effects of the Taser on physiological variables and ECG tracings."
An article in The Lancet, the British medical journal, urged further investigation of effects such as ocular- or blood-vessel-related injuries and metabolic acidosis.
Other studies suggested that the Taser had not caused the reported deaths, but other factors, such as drug use, heart condition or excited delirium, were to blame.
After much debate, a majority of my colleagues voted to allow Tasers in the Toronto Police Service. However, it was to be a restricted distribution supported by through training, clear procedures, strict monitoring and regular reporting.
In Toronto, Tasers are provided to front-line supervisors and members of the Emergency Task Force. The weapon has been used more than 200 times, and there have been no deaths and very few injuries that can be called serious.
Today, my position is best described as cautious and evolving.
I am in complete agreement with Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair that good training, strong procedures, good training, strong procedures, close monitoring, regular reporting and public accountability are prerequisites for responsible use of Tasers. I also sympathize with the view of people from the mental health community that Tasers can be useful when dealing with people suffering from such an acute state of mental illness that they can do harm to themselves or others.
Yet I remain uneasy.
I am concerned that we do not have the necessary knowledge to say authoritatively that the Taser is safe in all circumstances and on all persons, regardless of their physiological, neurological, medical or psychological condition, age, ethnicity, ability or gender.
I also worry that the Taser could lead to lazy policing.
The Taser cannot be the first weapon of choice, unless it is absolutely essential. It should not be used, for instance, to control a crowd or to subdue an individual causing a disturbance who does not pose a threat to anyone.
It must be drilled into police officers that the Taser is not a completely harmless weapon. Above all, police organizations must make haste slowly in making the Taser available to their personnel.
Let us keep in mind that the Taser was originally developed as a military weapon. Surely, we owe a very great duty of care when deploying it on the civilian population in our own communities.
Alok Mukherjee is chair of the Toronto Police Services Board.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Anti-Violence and Women's Rights
From the Friday, October 5, 2007, page A16, an article about women's rights and wanting the government to take violence against women, sexual harassment and related issues seriously and some recommendations about how to help solve the problem:
'STEP IT UP' CAMPAIGN
Anti-violence pleas ignored
Lobby group laments lack of debate on women's issues - despite action plan
Debra Black
For the past 14 months Eileen Morrow and about 60 other women have been trying to get the provincial political parties to step up to the plate when it comes to violence against women.
When they conceived their Step It Up Campaign in June 2006 they had high hopes provincial politicians would get the relevance of their pleas.
"We want the government and the parties to look at violence against women in all of its aspects," said Morrow, co-ordinator of the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses, who helped run the lobby campaign that has been endorsed by 100 provincial organizations.
"Governments tend to look at what they call domestic violence. There has been good work in this area, but we don't have an overall framework. What we need is a gender-based analysis in government policy, budgeting that looks at the material conditions of women's lives and how that is contributing to violence against women in their relations, sexual violence, sexual harassment in school and the workplace."
With that lofty goal in mind, the women developed a 10-point manifesto for eradicating violence against women in the province against women in the province. They met with representatives of the Liberal Party, Progressive Conservatives, the New Democratic Party and the Green Party to make their case, asking for changes in areas such as poverty, housing, child care, education, access to justice and permanent funding for women's services.
Some of the specific recommendations call for:
* An increase in social assistance rates and indexing them to the cost of living, and an immediate increase in minimum wage to $10.
* More money for affordable housing and child care.
* A $50 million commitment for women's services.
* The establishment of a provincial women's advocacy council on violence - within the Ontario Women's Directorate to guide all policy development, program development and legislation related to women who experience violence.
* A sexual violence action plan, guided by women's advocates from the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres and others.
* Amendments by the Occupational Health and Safety Act to include "harassment," including sexual harassment and a province-wide education campaign on sexual harassment in schools, workplaces and in the community.
* $5 million in annual funding for full-time legal support workers.
But with the election only days away, the parties, with the exception of the NDP, have not fully endorsed the campaign, a disappointed Morrow said, "How many years has it been since we've seen a debate on women's issues in an election campaign?" she asked.
The Liberals emphasized their own domestic violence plan, but added a promise to increase money to front-line services such as shelters and sexual assault centres.
The Tories suggested they meet again after the election, Morrow said. As for the Greens, a party spokesman said, they "love" the Step It Up campaign and endorse it. But according to Morrow the party has only incorporated some of the broader issues into its platform. And its position on violence was "disappointing," she said. The NDP were the most enthusiastic, adopting much of it into their platform.
The Liberal Party's Sandra Pupatello, a candidate in Windsor West, doesn't agree that her party has ignored the condition of the lives of women and children, stressing the Liberals recently released a platform designed specifically for women.
It includes promises to build on the government's Domestic Violence Action Plan created in 2005 that offers support for victims, training, prevention education and improvements to the justice system. It also commits to the creation of new child care spaces and the introduction of full-time junior and senior kindergarten.
"Child care, poverty and housing ... we believe that we are addressing all three of these from the Step It Up campaign," said Pupatello, minister responsible for women's issues.
"We are very supportive of the Step It Up platform," said Andrew Horwath, the NDP candidate and current MPP for Hamilton East as well as the NDP Women's Issues critic.
Representatives from the PCs did not return the Star's calls.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Human Rights in Prisons
From the World section, the Toronto Star, Friday, November 23, 2007, page AA3, an article about a terrible story of human rights abuse in Brazil in a prison involving a teenage girl and rape:
GIRL RAPED AFTER BEING PUT IN CELL FULL OF MEN
Assaulted repeatedly in month-long ordeal
Brasilia - A 15-year-old girl thrown in a jail cell with more than 20 men for a month was raped relentlessly and forced to have sex for food, human rights groups representing the just-released girl said yesterday.
"She was raped from day one," at the jail in Para state, a Children and Adolescent Defence Centre spokesperson said, adding that the number of men in the cell varied from 20 to 34 while the girl, a robbery suspect, was there.
"She was raped innumerable times and forced to exchange sexual relations for food," said Miere Cohen, president of the Order of Brazilian Lawyers Human Rights Commission.
The case has sparked outrage across Brazil, especially since it closely followed an incident involving a 23-year-old woman, also jailed in Para state for on month, who was put in with 70 men.
The teen, whose identity was not disclosed, was arrested in the state capital Abaetetuba Oct. 21 and held at a police station jail until an anonymous caller tipped off the media.
"Nobody really knows what she was charged with. She was a suspect in a robbery but police were unable to tell us which robbery. There was no formal charge," Cohen said.
The girl's lawyers said police at one point said they believed the suspect was not a minor.
"Whether she was 15, 20, 50, 80 or 100 doesn't matter. A woman should not have been kept in a jail cell with men," Para Governor Ana Julia Carepa told reporters, adding she would mete out "exemplary punishment" in the case.
Agence France-Presse
GIRL RAPED AFTER BEING PUT IN CELL FULL OF MEN
Assaulted repeatedly in month-long ordeal
Brasilia - A 15-year-old girl thrown in a jail cell with more than 20 men for a month was raped relentlessly and forced to have sex for food, human rights groups representing the just-released girl said yesterday.
"She was raped from day one," at the jail in Para state, a Children and Adolescent Defence Centre spokesperson said, adding that the number of men in the cell varied from 20 to 34 while the girl, a robbery suspect, was there.
"She was raped innumerable times and forced to exchange sexual relations for food," said Miere Cohen, president of the Order of Brazilian Lawyers Human Rights Commission.
The case has sparked outrage across Brazil, especially since it closely followed an incident involving a 23-year-old woman, also jailed in Para state for on month, who was put in with 70 men.
The teen, whose identity was not disclosed, was arrested in the state capital Abaetetuba Oct. 21 and held at a police station jail until an anonymous caller tipped off the media.
"Nobody really knows what she was charged with. She was a suspect in a robbery but police were unable to tell us which robbery. There was no formal charge," Cohen said.
The girl's lawyers said police at one point said they believed the suspect was not a minor.
"Whether she was 15, 20, 50, 80 or 100 doesn't matter. A woman should not have been kept in a jail cell with men," Para Governor Ana Julia Carepa told reporters, adding she would mete out "exemplary punishment" in the case.
Agence France-Presse
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