Daily Shame #5

Daily Shame #5

BC refuses to make new course compulsory or even an elective...
Homophobia - licensed to pursue in BC
First Quebec and now British Columbia gets in on the act (part way) and the religious right is up in arms on Pacific as they are on the St. Lawrence. The Ministry of Education is offering an elective course which school boards and can choose to offer or not. The BC minister of education has stated the course would not be compulsory as a similar one in Quebec is.

At issue is a course the ministry developed after they lost a human rights complaint. The resulting settlement agreement was that a course be created addressing diversity, respect and tolerance for BC school children. The course is called MAKING SPACE, GIVING VOICE.

The school system therefore strives to create and maintain conditions that foster success for all students and that promote fair and equitable treatment for all. These conditions include;
• equitable access to and equitable participation in quality education for all students
• school cultures that value and honour diversity and respond to the diverse social and cultural needs of the communities they serve
• school cultures that promote understanding of others and respect for all
• learning and working environments that are safe and welcoming, and free from discrimination, harassment and violence
• decision-making processes that give a voice to all members of the school community
• policies and practices that promote fair and equitable treatment for all.
(Diversity in BC Schools: A Framework, 2004, p.

Alas the BC government has not made the course mandatory as an offered elective. Each school district can choose to make it available or not. That's why this has hit the news. A BC couple, Murray and Peter Corren, have taken the School District in Abbotsford to the BC Human Rights tribunal for failing to offer the elective course even after 90 students have signed on to take it.

Murray Corren said... 
"We have waited long enough for the Board to reconsider its decision,
and now we feel the students are entitled to the learning opportunities
afforded by Social Justice 12, as opposed to the replacement watered-down
course offered by the Board. In fact, the students and their parents were
fully aware of the content of Social Justice 12 and were looking
forward to what it had to offer."The National Post says... 'The Education Ministry, Social Justice 12 is not
a course on homosexuality, but one meant to "raise students' awareness of
social injustice, to enable them to analyze from a social justice perspective,
and to provide them with knowledge, skills and an ethical framework to
advocate for a socially just world."'

Class discussion varies from a range of topics affecting society's aggrieved, including homophobia, ageism, consumerism and even species-ism -- the mistreatment of animals.

The class is expected to discuss a wide range of issues. One of those that has the ire of the religious right, such as the Catholic Civil Rights League (CCRL), is about those people that have sex with the same sex. You know who they are, all those fags, gays, queers, lesbos, trannies.

It seems CCRL have still not accepted the rights of all Canadians, just those that agree with them. I can hardly wait for us to get the public money out of the discriminatory Catholic school education system here in Ontario. That will take time I expect as the Premier of this province won't rock the boat at least not until after the next election.

The Shame here is largely however with the BC Minister of Education and the Gordon Campbell government. They have consistently shied away from moving forward on equality issues. In 2000, the then BC NDP government joined the court fight for marriage rights of same-sex couples. The Campbell government, soon after being sworn in withdrew their support of the effort.

The BC Govt could at least have some of the moxie displayed by the Quebec government. Ensuring this course, "Making Space, Giving Voice," was an available elective in BC schools is the least the Campbell Government could do. Their failure provides a license to promote homophobia as the unofficial official school policy.

See Montreal Simon: Bullied Children and the Gay Bashers

No man's Land - Gun shots shatter the peace

I recently moved to the Centre of The Universe, for those of you in Toronto, that's where you live, people else where in the country know I'm talking about Toronto. I live on the edge of a community called Jamestown. Its a poor neighbourhood, one that is a couple of blocks from fashionable Bloor Street. I'm in no man's land. Living west of Jamestown, east of The Village, south of Rosedale and north of Cabbagetown, its in the middle.

Our friends here in the Centre of Everything, told us not to move any further east. We took them at their word and live on the precipice of the dark dark hole. During the day this is usually a calm, cool fun neighbourhood. The streets lend credence to Toronto's claim as the world's most diverse and multi-cultural city.

We have two schools, two little parkettes, two small playgrounds, a basketball court and one 24 hour variety store. We have a No Frills grocery store, what other store would be here except one that reflects the amenities for those living in the area.


Few people have a car, your likely to encounter in a block's walk three or four strollers laden with toddlers and or those no frill groceries, bicycle riding youth and older guys too. Older folks pushing those shopping carts, people in suits, jeans, shorts, skirts and hajabs.




You can smell the drug deals, you see the users on early morning walks, you learn where not to sit and read your paper, thus minimizing your exposure to requests for cigarettes, even though I'm not smoking any these days. Taxi's line the street outside our building, a steady stream coming through as people return from late nights, usually a little boisterous but not too bad.

What's really interesting is that this area is a neighbourhood of immigrants, even me allbeit I am from the same country, you still get a little eastern way of it that seems to say 'we know better' attitude, kinda like that west coast arrogance we have in BC.

I'm telling you this because of recent events here in the Centre of All, guns, shootings. It seems there are more all the time in this big place. Did you know more people live within 60 kilometres of me here than in live in all of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba combined? Its big.

The use of guns to settle drug scores is becoming increasingly more common. We have all heard of the wayward bullets, missing their targets, striking innocent bystanders. I fear we will see more of this. Just yesterday I heard what sounded like gun shots. Three fast rounds. It echoed off the towers here. It sounded like a big piece of machinery falling from the 30th floor, it was so loud.

I quickly looked out the window, there are three cranes operating on a condo building blitz within 50 metres of me. It wasn't them. I scanned the area from the balcony, nothing. I ran to the bedroom window, just in time to see a commotion underway. It was gun shots I thought. Next I heard the tell tale sirens, first an ambulance, a fire truck, then the police. They swarmed the place.

I watched for awhile, no one was taken away in a body bag. I went back to other things, thinking some kid could have been hit with a stray bullet. Or maybe their parents, or someone's partner.

I went down later, about 7pm to see again what it was like down there. The street was still blocked. Bright yellow police tape, warned of a crime scene. The Calgary, the name of the building in which the shooting took place in front of stood more bleak than usual. 15 to 20 police were in cars writing reports, several were walking around, they were talking to people and blocking the street. Two ambulances stood by, for what reason I don't know. The fire truck was gone.

People with toddlers in strollers were going about, gaggles of men and women were meeting, more drug deals went on, oblivious to the police, others watched, a Jamaican woman told me they got the guy. Another chimed in saying no one was actually shot. Drug dealers she added, with a too little emotion. I took a few pictures being the ever thinking kinda guy I am and returned to the building.

In the elevator I told one of the riders what had happened. He had a better story, he was on a higher floor, on his friends balcony, and saw the whole thing. It turns out he saw two guys running, as the crossed the street he saw another running toward them. This last man reached into his pants, pulled out a pistol, then three shots rang out. He called 911 then went back to watch, the street was filling up, soon the police were there. Crazy he said to me, its just unreal.

I'm experienced now, in another day we would say I have been baptised to the ways of the big city.

Maybe, just maybe, some of those running for our parliament will do something about handguns. In a way I don't care too much what these folks in this other world operating in my world do to themselves. Its what happens when their disputes threaten those who expect to be reasonably safe when they go out and about here in No Man's Land.

You can expect a few posts on guns, the gun registry, the illegal trafficking of guns, and some of the causes of such violence and I may even have a few ideas as to how to make it better.

Toronto mayor tells NOW why there should be a Canada-wide ban on handguns. After the video, sign the petition. If video link not working, try this...



Amazing as it may seem, only one federal party would support a complete ban on handguns. Read about it here at Now Magazine.

MP's to address anti-choice Conference

Concerned about a Woman's right to choose? Two Ontario MP's are attending the International Pro-Life Conference in Toronto October 2-4.

Liberal MP, Tom Wappel long time attacker of gay rights and a Woman's right to choose will be a key speaker along with fellow anti-choice MP, Jeff Watson. Watson represents Essex riding for the Conservatives and Wappel holds Scarbourgh Southwest for the Liberals.

I don't know much about Mr. Watson, I do however recall the extreme efforts made by Mr. Wappel to prevent me from having the equality enjoyed by other Canadians. Not just me, anyone who is gay, lesbian, trans or bisexual were public enemy number one for this bible thumping MP.

The anti-abortion folks have not given up the fight. If Harper were to receive a majority government would they make changes to restrict access to abortion in Canada? Chances are opposition MP's like Mr. Wappel would vote with the Conservatives to do so.

How many other MP's will be attending this conference in Toronto? I would love to know. Maybe its a job for the secret camera!

Notwithstanding a few rules and a new supply of fresh meat

Can it be?

The Harper proposal to significantly change youth justice has some big hurdles to climb. Did the Conservatives know this? If they did they are playing with us again.

Aside from the stark truth put out by Mr. Duceppe who stated that teen-aged criminals sent to prison under Mr. Harper's plan to crack down on youth crime would be “fresh meat” for the perversions of adult inmates, the Conservatives Youth Justice Reform proposal is a likely violation of the Charter if passed by Parliament as is.

A bright sparky blogger has found a hole in the Conservative Justice Reform bill, suggesting Mr. Harper would have to invoke the Charter's Notwithstanding clause, not once but twice to make the proposal law...

Now my questions is, does anyone out there think that if Harper had a majority, that he would not use the Notwithstanding clause in the Charter of Rights to achieve his political agenda?