Olivia Chow, left, announced her
return to federal politics with NDP Leader Tom Mulcair Tuesday. Chow, a former
MP who left last year in a failed bid to become mayor of Toronto, is running in
the Toronto riding of Spadina-Fort York. (Darren Calabrese/Canadian Press)
(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not
responsible for the content of external links.)
Olivia Chow, who was an MP for eight
years before resigning to make a failed bid for the Toronto mayoralty, plans to
run for the NDP in the new riding of Spadina-Fort York.
Here are five things which could
pose challenges for her as she tries to return to the House of Commons:
1.
Adam Vaughan
Vaughan, Chow's chief opponent, is a
left-leaning former city councillor who won her old seat in the Commons for the
Liberals in a byelection. He is a well-known figure who champions a number of
the same issues as Chow, including affordable housing, transit and child care.
The similarities between the two could create a fierce battle at the ballot
box, political observers say.
2.
Riding redistribution
Chow's former riding of
Trinity–Spadina disappeared in the last seat redistribution as Elections Canada
carved new boundary lines. The new riding of
Spadina–Fort York encompasses much of Toronto's downtown core, the waterfront
and the harbour islands.
3.
Mayoral loss
Chow's much-hyped bid for the
mayor's job was a flop and she finished third in the race to replace Rob Ford.
She entered the campaign amid high expectations, but never caught Conservative
John Tory, the victor, and finished second to him even in areas represented by
her old riding. Overall, she couldn't even overtake Ford's outspoken brother,
Doug. However, she maintains that running for mayor was an "important
thing to do."
UN Report On Canada's Human Rights Record A 'Wake-Up Call'
The United Nations Human Rights Committee has accused Canada of
failing to take effective action on a range of issues, including missing
and murdered aboriginal women, political audits of charities, and the
federal government's anti-terror legislation.
The report, published Thursday, is the first substantive review of the country’s human rights record under Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government.
“This
should be seen as a wake-up call by governments and courts in Canada
that increasingly serious violations of civil and political rights in
Canada can no longer be tolerated,” said Canada Without Poverty
president Harriett MacLachlan.
CWP is an Ottawa-based charity currently subject to an ongoing audit
of its political activities. The Canada Revenue Agency has been
monitoring its activities for three years.
Under the subtitle
“Freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association,” the UN
report specifically addresses charity audits, and states concerns over
the “level of apprehension within a broad sector of civil society" about
the Conservatives' policies on political, social and human rights
advocacy.
The report is high-level recognition of the “mistreatment” of charities across the country, CWP said.
“These
audits have resulted in mounting fear of losing charitable status, and
therefore necessary funding sources, across the entire charitable
sector,” said MacLachlan in a statement.
“Human rights in Canada are under assault, and the UN human rights committee noted that today.”
When
asked for a response to the concerns and recommendations made by the UN
report, the Canadian Human Rights Commission made no explicit mention
of the report to The Huffington Post Canada.
“The CHRC will
continue to take action to promote and protect the human rights of
vulnerable people as well as working with the Government of Canada to
ensure continued progress,” said communications director David Gollob in
an email. UN: Lack Of Bill C-51 Oversight Mechanisms Concerning
Criticisms voiced by Canadian civil rights groups over a contentious piece of anti-terrorism legislation were also echoed by human rights officials in the report.
Citing the possibility that the sweeping changes made under Bill C-51
— which became law last month — breach the international covenant on
civil and political rights, the committee recommended the government
make revisions to ensure “adequate legal safeguards” are in place to
protect Canadians’ rights.
“Bill C-51 creates under the Security
of Canada Information Sharing Act, an increased sharing of information
among federal government agencies on the basis of a very broad
definition of activities that undermine the security of Canada which
does not fully ensure that inaccurate or irrelevant information is
shared,” the report states.
While acknowledging the federal
government’s initiative to address terrorism threats, the committee says
more measures are needed to ensure that open sharing of information
across government and intelligence agencies does not result in human
rights abuses.
Last month, the UN committee heard from a number of
high-profile rights groups including Amnesty International Canada and
the Canadian Civil Liberties Association about their concerns over Bill
C-51, among other issues.
In its written submission,
the CCLA outlined its concerns, saying Bill C-51 “radically alters
CSIS’ powers” and how the government has “yet to clearly demonstrate”
why the legislation is necessary. Repeated Call For National Inquiry
The report also highlights pressure on the federal government to launch a national inquiry into the more than 1,200 aboriginal women and girls reported missing or murdered over the last 35 years.
Referring
to Canada's failure to provide adequate and effective respond to the
issue, the committee said it was “a matter of priority” to establish an
inquiry into the lack of adequate measures taken to investigate,
prosecute and punish those responsible.
It’s the second such call
from the UN after James Anaya, special rapporteur on indigenous rights,
urged Ottawa to set up a national inquiry into the “disturbing phenomenon” two years earlier.
Although
many of the report's recommendations are not new, it is the latest call
to action for the Harper government to address its relationship with
Canada's aboriginal peoples, according to the Assembly of First Nations.
“It is significant that a report on human rights in Canada by
independent experts focuses so much on indigenous peoples and rights and
this speaks to the extent of the challenges and the need to address
them,” said AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde in a release.
The
UN committee has asked the federal government for a complete report on
the issues flagged in the report in five years’ time.
An update
on the the implementation of recommendations related to missing and
murdered aboriginal women and girls is due next year.
“It’s is
time to work together on real action and fundamental change so that when
Canada reports back in one year we can show the world that we are
making positive progress,” Bellegarde said.
NINE - NOVE - NUEVE - BULLETS and when Sammy was dying he was tasered by other police officer. This sadistic criminal act is inexcusable and unpardonable...
An apology for crimes against humanity! LAURA Hensey from the daily newspaper "National Post;" WHY THE INMATES OF THE CANADIAN JAILS ARE NOT ABLE TO ASK FOR PARDON BY THEIR SMALL MISTAKES WITH THE LAW? The truth is the Toronto police is committing heinous crimes against, children, women, elderly, arrested people, prisoners... it is a repressive force that are planting in the streets of this city and private residences the fear, terror and death. In addition the police are committing extrajudicial executions in people of color and other vulnerable individuals, these brutal crimes are inexcusable and unforgivable. Due to the severity of the crimes perpetrated by the police and their instinct to kill defenseless people, the murderers must be tried in an "Internacional Tribunal of Justice." TRENDINGTrump | Pluto | Greece | Haters' Guide to Summer | CitizenSparks | Calgary
Black Lives Matter protesters interrupt police meeting
demanding apology over shooting
Tyler Anderson/National PostA group
called Black Lives Matter-Toronto interrupt a police services board meeting in
Toronto, July 16, 2015. The group was protesting a lack of response by police
after an officer shot and killed Andrew Loku, a black man and father of five.
Protesters from the activist group
Black Lives Matter-Toronto descended on a meeting of the Toronto Police
Services Board on Thursday, interrupting proceedings and demanding apologies
from the mayor and the police chief over the killing of Andrew Loku.
The group’s co-founder, Rodney
Diverlus, told Chief Mark Saunders and Mayor John Tory that the
shooting of 45-year-old Loku, a black man who was killed on July 5 by
police, was unnecessary, and that the officers involved should be held
responsible for his death.
“Every single day, black bodies in
this city face violence. Whether it’s carding, whether it’s surveillance,
whether it’s physical violence, and whether it’s death. This is life and death
for us,” Diverlus said.
“We are here to let you know, and to
put you on watch, and to let you know that we will take action, and that black
lives matter.”
Tyler Anderson/National PostToronto
mayor John Tory looks on during a police services board meeting on July 16,
2015.
Diverlus and more than 15 other
protesters read a list of demands which included the immediate release of the
names of the officers who shot Loku, that charges be laid against those
officers and that the mayor and police apologize to Loku’s family and the city
as a whole.
Black Lives Matter also wants the
city to pay for Loku’s funeral, and is seeking financial compensation for the
deceased’s family.
One woman in the group
addressed the board with frustration and said, “Why is it OK for police to
kill members of our community? And they are never, ever, penalized.”
Loku, a refugee from South Sudan,
was shot at an apartment complex after he allegedly refused to drop a
hammer after being instructed by police to do so. Witnesses say he was
holding a hammer when police fired, but was calm and unthreatening.
A father of five, Loku was living in
a west Toronto apartment subsidized by the Canadian Mental Health
Association when he was killed. His death has added to the debate over how
police deal with race and those living with mental illness.
“People of Toronto are fed up with
the lip service,” Diverlus said during the protest. “We are seeking actions and
we are asking you to take action.”
After the meeting ended and
protesters left, Saunders told reporters he “offers his condolences to
Loku’s family,” but added: “I don’t look for demands, I look for solutions.”
Saunders said the force has a system
in place when it comes to police conduct, and that the behaviour of officers is
taken very seriously.
“It’s important for us to have that
necessary transparency, and it’s also necessary that our men and women behave
appropriately when they’re working. And by and large they are, and by and large
we have a lot of good officers. ”
Black Lives Matter said they will
continue to protest for justice and on July 27 will be having “a day of
action.”
National Post
Laura Hensley/National PostBlack
Lives Matter-Toronto protesters at the Toronto Police Services Board meeting in
on July 16. 2015.
Baseless accusations of police racism harm Toronto
The
assumption that police shootings are motivated by systemic racism, to the
exclusion of any other possibility, is inaccurate and inflammatory.
Toronto Star Order this photo
The postulation, based on
statistical disparities, that an entire police service is racist is false,
inflammatory and counterproductive to meaningful debate, writes Mike McCormack.
By: Mike McCormack Published on Mon Jul 20 2015
Over the past few years, the Toronto
Police Service has been the subject of accusations of racial profiling and
biased policing. Most recently, on the anniversary of the Danzig shooting, an article on this page by journalist Desmond Cole
stereotyped Toronto Police Service officers as anti-black racists.
While I respect the right of any
individual or group to express their opinions, the assumption that
police-involved shootings are motivated by systemic racism, to the exclusion of
any other possibility, is inaccurate and inflammatory.
When a police officer responds to an
incident that threatens serious bodily harm or death, it is the individual’s
behaviour that forms the police response, regardless of whether a person’s skin
colour is black, brown or white.
Today, all Toronto police officers
receive extensive training on dealing with persons with mental health issues
including de-escalation techniques. However, there is no single tool or
technique that will resolve every situation. Regardless of the individual’s
ethnicity, for each incident that ends with an unfavourable outcome, there are
thousands of other incidents that conclude peacefully. In 2014, the number of
use-of-force incidents was the lowest in five years. Relative to arrests made,
force was required in only 3 per cent of arrests, which included over 6,400
apprehensions under the Mental Health Act.
While a police-involved shooting in
Toronto is a rare event (two firearm discharges involving armed persons in
2014) the association has advocated for the issuance of non-lethal use-of-force
tools, including conducted energy weapons, to frontline officers.
Last year, our members had more than
2 million documented interactions with the public, including over 20,000
contacts with persons suffering from mental illness. Contacts include emergency
and non-emergency calls, traffic stops and enforcement contacts.
The total number of documented
contacts generating a filed public complaint was less than 0.1 per cent, meaning
that roughly 99.9 per cent of all contacts were not contentious. Some will say
that many people can’t be bothered to complain, however an additional 20,000
complainants would need to come forward to reach a 1-per-cent complaint rate.
Some have misrepresented police data
to support their irresponsible accusations of racial discrimination. The use of
census-based data to identify biased-policing, in the absence of other
variables, is outright wrong. Their findings are not proof of a culture of
biased policing. Assessing for bias is complicated. While the data may show
some disparity, it is not sufficient to substantiate these allegations. This
position is supported by the opinions of respected academics.
These unsubstantiated allegations of
racial discrimination are an attempt to stir public emotion and to justify
knee-jerk policy changes to police practices. What is ignored is the fact that
crime is not equally distributed throughout the city. The majority of gun
violence and other serious criminal activity occurs in neighborhoods faced with
socio-economic challenges. Despite declining overall crime rates, shooting
incidents in Toronto have increased by 48 per cent compared to last year and
the number of victims killed or injured is up by 66 per cent.
Police officers working in these
communities know that race does not generate crime and disorder in these
neighbourhoods. What does have an impact are socio-economic factors such as
poverty, unaffordable housing, lack of child-care, access to post-secondary education,
unemployment and homelessness.
Quality-of-life problems that
accompany crime and disorder are multi-dimensional, societal problems requiring
a multi-dimensional response. Police effectiveness depends on police legitimacy
and we will continue to do our part to build mutual trust and respect.
The association does not condone any
police practice that targets citizens on the basis of their skin colour, sexual
orientation, ethnicity, gender, race or religion. Bias-free policing has always
been our practice and our members are expressly prohibited from engaging in
bias-based policing activities.
That said, the police are not
perfect and our service has undergone significant transformation. While many
American police services have had police reform imposed upon them, we have been
ahead of the curve by addressing the issue of bias through mandatory and
non-mandatory training standards, policies and procedures, diversity hiring and
community-based policing initiatives that are the envy of police services worldwide.
As a forward-thinking police
association, we do not shy away from constructive criticism provided it is
fair, balanced, and evidence-based. Unfounded allegations of discrimination
based on statistical disparities and the postulation that an entire police
service is racist, however, are false, inflammatory and counterproductive to
meaningful debate.
This type of irresponsible rhetoric
simply undermines the good community relations our members have worked to
establish and thus harms all Torontonians.
Mike McCormack is president of the Toronto Police Associatio
