Home >> United States & Canada Canada - Domestic Canada's Dysfunctional Democracy in Crisis
Michael Werbowski - 2/5/2010
Over the Christmas break, startling reports from Ottawa revealed that the Canadian conservative Prime Minster Stephen Harper had decreed the suspension of the national Parliament. The House of Commons is now officially speaking, expected to sit only as of March 3 or after the winter Olympics games. Originally, the Canadian legislature was set to reconvene on January 25. Toronto 18 Suspects Undergo Trial By Media
Beenish Gaya - 4/5/2008
The trial of the only remaining youth in the Toronto 18 case commenced last week in a Brampton courtroom. The new details disclosed in the Crown factum filed in the case elicited depressingly new emotional lows in all of the accused and their families. Reminiscent of that fateful day in June, 2006, the media sensationalism started all over again, with the reporting of incomplete evidence and outrageous headlines. Having attended the entire preliminary hearing, I must confess my shock and disbelief at the fact that these allegations continue to be presented in a manner which precludes the public from seeing a complete or accurate picture. Canadian Father Kills His Daughter For Not Wearing A Hijab
Ali Sina - 12/21/2007
On 11th of December, in Mississauga Canada, Aqsa Parvez, a 16 year old Canadian girl was choked to death by her Pakistani father, Muhammad Parvez, for not wearing hijab. "She wanted to live her life the way she wanted to, not the way her parents wanted her to," her classmates told the reporters. "She just wanted to be herself, honestly she just wanted to show her beauty, and not be pushed around by her parents telling her what she has to be like, what she has to do. Nobody would want to do that." Best Beware Of This Elephant
Salim Mansur - 10/8/2007
Provincial elections in English Canada rarely have any national implication. But as Ontarians prepare to vote Oct. 10, their decisions on public funding of faith-based private schools in the province and the referendum on adopting a modified proportional representation for electing members to the legislature in the future might well reverberate across the country. How stupid is this idea?
Salim Mansur - 10/7/2007
Public policy is generally judged on the basis of its intended effect. But not infrequently the public is left to contend with the unintended consequences of a policy -- for instance, the NEP of the Trudeau years or the Meech Lake Accord of the Mulroney years -- long after the intended effects would have been consummated. Politicians seek the glow of the intended effects of policies they initiate, and flee from the unintended consequences of those same policies that might leave the society worse off than the situation when a particular policy was proposed or enacted. Concerns About Canadian Government Enforcement Of Sharia Practices
David Harris - 9/11/2007
Ottawa, Canada - The Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD) applauds Prime Minister Stephen Harper for taking a stand against exempting one religious group from the requirement of photo identification when voting. Canada position on 'faceless voting' undermines electoral integrity and equality before the ballot box
David Harris - 9/6/2007
Ottawa, Canada – The Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD) regards as unconscionable Elections Canada’s reported new policy of allowing Muslim women to wear identity-concealing face veils, including full burqas, when voting in upcoming federal by-elections in Quebec and Ontario. Canada’s federal elections’ regulator says Muslim women can “vote veiled” merely by identifying themselves with a driver’s licence and second piece of identification. As an alternative, “covered” women need only swear an oath and have another voter vouch for them. Ethno-Politics Poison Canadian Democracy
Naresh Raghubeer and David Harris - 8/4/2007
Last week, Ontario Auditor-General Jim McCarter reported that the province's Immigration and Citizenship Ministry has been dispensing millions of dollars in grants to ethnic groups under a process that is "not open, transparent or accountable." In many cases, groups got money simply because their members were chummy with ministry insiders. "In essence, the decisions behind 'who got what' were often based on conversations, not applications," Mr. McCarter concluded. Canada's No-Fly List Which Takes Off This Summer Provides False Sense Of Security
Faisal Kutty - 6/16/2007
"Nothing personal sir, but your packages are not allowed on passenger airlines," said a United Parcel Service customer service agent, sitting in an American call centre. She was explaining to me that my package could not be delivered on an "early a.m." basis from Toronto to Peterborough. I was interrogating the agent about why this was so, since I had been using UPS without any problems since starting my practice in 1996. Initially reluctant, the agent eventually confessed that when my account number was entered into their system, the "Flight Guardian" software flashed a red signal. Ruling by Hon. Frank Iacobucci to rebalance national security and individual rights
Naresh Raghubeer and David Harris - 6/4/2007
The Canadian Coalition for Democracies welcomes Hon. Frank Iacobucci’s ruling of 31 May 2007, concerning his mandate as Commissioner of the Internal Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad Abou-Elmaati and Muayyed Nureddin. (See “Ruling on Terms of Reference and Procedure”) Canada's Passenger Protect Program: Too Guilty To Fly, Too Innocent To Charge
Faisal Kutty - 3/20/2007
As the Canadian government forges ahead with its cleverly named Passenger Protect Program, the timing could not be better to seriously reconsider what is for all intents and purposes a no-fly list. |
