THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESS

Wangersky: We don't have to agree with an opinion to publish it

Russell Wangersky is the editor in chief of the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.


Leader Post Newspapers publish a variety of opinions to try to spark a more comprehensive public debate on issues.

You take your openings where you can find them.

This starting point for this column comes from Twitter, where a reader questioned our publication of a Toronto Sun columnist on the editorial page of the Leader-Post last week.

“We don’t regularly see a piece by Lorrie Goldstein in the Leader-Post but have him write a piece about a Fraser Institute health-care study suggesting user fees and the Leader-Post gives him a spot on the editorial page. I thought Editor-in-Chief Russell Wangersky was a breath of fresh air, but …”

First off, let me say that I understand the sentiment.

Goldstein’s opinions trend, shall we say, to the right side of the political spectrum.

But if he appears on our op-ed pages, does that automatically mean we agree with his position?

No.

Does it mean I agree with him? Do I believe that things like a two-tiered health-care system or user fees will strengthen the public health-care system by taking the strain off the public system, and in the process, improve health care for Canadians?

No, I don’t — for a simple reason. Policy-makers and the people whose voices are most heard by those policy-makers will fall into the camp that’s both able to pay for private services and not notice the personal impact of user fees.

User fees could dissuade lower-income Canadians from seeking early intervention for medical conditions, and potentially lead to Canadians not getting medical care until their illnesses are considerably advanced (and potential treatments are correspondingly more expensive).

I feel the same way about building a parallel health-care system, where those who can afford care can essentially jump to the front of the line.

I think that won’t just take strain off the public system — I think the public health-care system will continue to deteriorate and, in fact, deteriorate even faster as concerns vanish from view and also as doctors and other health-care workers move to a better-paying, better-resourced and less-difficult-to-work-in private system.

When decision-makers aren’t looking for their own care within a public health system, their involvement in the system becomes second-hand at best — and their attention can be, shall we say, diverted from the needs at hand.

I also think that there are legitimate reasons to question the role of think-tanks like the Fraser Institute in the Canadian political system.

I find a particular irony in agencies questioning public policy, particularly around government spending, while at the same time depending in part for their fiscal existence on a taxation loophole.

As charitable research operations, think-tanks get to issue tax receipts to donors who agree with the think-tanks’ choice of issues to study, and how to study them.

But I’m also keenly aware that I’m only one voice in a debate that involves us all — from the cost of the service to the equity of its delivery to its flaws and potential improvements — and that since it does involve us all, we all have a right to speak.

The goal, hopefully, is a health-care system that serves all Canadians in the best way it can, and that means a no-holds-barred discussion.

That can’t be only publishing the side of the debate you agree with. (I should point out, as long as there is really a debate. And that’s key.)

Does that mean it’s open season for repeated letters or op-eds dismissing climate change or touting unproven COVID cures? Not without a cogent argument and a healthy dose of something approaching facts — because airing things that are demonstrably false doesn’t advance the debate at all.

But if we’re all so precious that we can’t even find a place for a different opinion on public policy, how do we ever hope to reach common ground?

Sometimes, readers won’t agree with opinion pieces. And sometimes, I won’t agree with opinion pieces either.

That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be printed.

Luckily, anything that does get printed can be responded to as well.

So, if you disagree with something on the editorial page, find your keyboard and get writing.

Russell Wangersky is the editor in chief of the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. He can be reached at rwangersky@postmedia.com.

Polytechnique shooting survivor Nathalie Provost receives honorary doctorate

MONTREAL — More than 32 years after a gunman motivated by a hatred of feminists opened fire at École polytechnique, killing 14 women and injuring others, Nathalie Provost finally got to attend a convocation.



The gun control advocate and survivor of the 1989 shooting received a standing ovation as she was recognized on Thursday with an honorary doctorate at a ceremony in downtown Montreal.

Provost explained before the ceremony that while she had two previous degrees from the school, traditional graduation ceremonies weren't held back when she was a student, so Thursday's was her first.

Onstage at the ceremony, wearing a cap and gown, she said the tragedy marked her deeply, but also allowed her to learn her own strength and "take the measure of the woman I could become."

She also read the names of the 14 women who died in the tragedy.

In an interview beforehand, Provost said her thoughts would be on how deeply the school has marked her life — not only by the tragedy but also by the lifelong friends she made and the education she received.

"The adult person I've become is an engineer to the core," she said in a phone interview. "Even if I don't work as a classic engineer, I am one."

Provost said she returned to class less than a month after being shot four times by Marc Lépine in the Dec. 6, 1989, massacre that's widely believed to be Canada's worst mass shooting specifically targeting women. She graduated with an engineering degree a few months later, in May 1990, and would go on to earn a master's degree from the same school.

In retrospect, she said has realized that she felt she had something to prove in returning to class so soon.

"I think it was kind of a way to say to the world and to Marc Lépine, 'You won't stop me,'" she said.

"'You tried, but you won't succeed.'"

Provost's honorary doctorate comes at a very different time in her life. Her four children, several of whom were in attendance, are the same age as the young graduates.

At 55, she's had a successful career as a civil servant and has climbed the ranks at her job.

"I'm getting to the age of wisdom, where I can look back at what I’ve lived," she said.

In a statement, Polytechnique said it wanted to honour Provost because of her life of "remarkable achievements, driven by uncommon determination and social values, (and) for the example of audacity that she embodies for the new generation of engineers in Quebec, in Canada and around the world."

Pierre Baptiste, interim director of academic affairs and student experience, said Provost has remained connected to the school and has always encouraged young engineering students, especially women.

He said that today, 30 per cent of the school's engineering students are female — a rise he attributes in part to women like Provost who serve as role models to the next generation.

Provost, who became a gun control advocate after the shooting, said she is feeling encouraged by the federal government's new firearms legislation that includes a national freeze on importing, buying, selling or otherwise transferring handguns.

However, she said she feels there's more to do — on gun control as well as on other issues, including gender discrimination and violence against women.

"Equality between men and women is something we have to keep fighting for," she said.

"It's not a closed case," she said, citing the debate over abortion in the United States as an example.

She said the young female engineers who are graduating will likely face less of an uphill battle professionally than she did, but she said they still face complex challenges. "I don't know if they know how important they are, but they are," she said.

After decades of advocacy, Provost said she hasn't yet felt the need to stop telling her story — as long as she feels it can help lead to better gun legislation and concrete change.

“When I no longer believe in my contribution, I won't be able to speak up anymore and probably I'll shut up," she said. "But for the moment, I think I can bring something."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2022.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press

SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: The Real Crime In Canada 

Small Ontario town rallies to replace Pride decorations after flags cut up, destroyed

People in the town of Minto, Ont., are supporting the local LGBTQ community after Pride decorations were cut up and destroyed in acts of vandalism that police are calling hate-motivated crimes.


© Submitted by Caitlin HallMinto Pride members Raissa Rogers, Sam Greer and Rosie Krul, left to right, tie decorations to a light post in celebration of Pride Month in June. After decorations were stripped from the streets of Palmerston and Harriston in Ontario, community members and local businesses chipped in to replace them.

Jackie Sharkey - Yesterday

Between June 4 and 13, Pride flags at schools in Listowel, Harriston, Drayton and Mapleton were torn down, cut up and shredded, say Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

Over that same period, streets in Palmerston and Harriston were twice stripped of virtually all Pride decorations, Const. Joshua Cunningham told CBC News.

"The focus seemed to be eradication — complete removal — of all of them," in Palmerston and Harriston, said Cunningham.

At the beginning of the month, members of Minto Pride had wrapped bands of fabric around light standards lining the streets in Palmerston, Harriston and Clifford, the communities that make up Minto, a town of about 9,000.

In one surveillance video, posted to Twitter by the OPP, a person can be seen scaling a flag pole "and manhandling, grabbing and ripping down the flag," said Cunningham. A photo distributed by police shows a rainbow flag torn down the side and cut into six pieces.

"It seemed the goal was not to damage the flag, but to destroy the flag," he said. "We're treating it as a hate-motivated crime."
Message to youth

Caitlin Hall, one of the founding members of Minto Pride, said that in past years, they've had Pride flags go missing, but there's never been anything on this scale.


"It's beyond little acts of mischief to something that was a little more worrisome and offensive," said Hall, adding she's most concerned about what message is being sent to youth who saw Pride flags torn down from outside their schools.

"I'm worried more for kids or young people that might be thinking about coming out or who recently have come out and were maybe starting to feel this was a safe place ... to have that very visual reminder that, 'OK, there are still people that have a problem with me and who I am."

It has Hall feeling parts of her community are still "way behind the times in terms of being the loving, accepting, open community we're trying hard to have Minto be," she said.

But an outpouring of support at a Pride event on Sunday has Hall and Minto Mayor George Bridge feeling optimistic the vandals are a minority in the community.

 
Community replaces decorations

"We had over 300 people — for a small town — at our Pride picnic," said Bridge. "In fact, we had quite a few people come out to support the event because of the previous vandalism — they felt that it doesn't reflect the true nature of what the town is, and I truly believe that."

"It was a great community display of love and acceptance," agreed Hall.

Now, some of those community members and businesses are banding together to pay to replace the decorations, which were all paid for by the Pride committee.

Most want to stay anonymous, said Hall, and aren't looking for recognition — instead donating money to replace the rainbow fabric that was torn from the light standards.

On Friday, they'll install new fabric bands on the light standards in Palmerston and Harrison, in solidarity with Minto Pride.

"It's business and community that's really coming together and not standing for this," said Ron McTaggart, owner of the Foodland in Palmerston.

"Right after it happened, we had businesses reach out to our [economic development staff] and say, 'We'll replace their stuff,'" said Bridge.

"And that's an example of what this community's really about."

'Pride is more than just like a party': Protest to replace weekend parade in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Heather Kitching - 

© Submitted by Lak Williams  Pride is a Protest co-organizer Lak Williams said the original Pride was a demonstration against police brutality, and questioned why Pride organizers must pay police for their services during the parade.

In June 1969, police raided New York City's Stonewall Inn, roughing up and arresting its 2SLGBT patrons.

More than 50 years later, the Pride celebrations held across North America, often on or close to the anniversary of the event, bear little resemblance to that uprising against police repression that served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement.

As the two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community has gained acceptance from the dominant culture and even recognition as a lucrative consumer group, Pride events have at times become a source of tension in the community.

Some embrace them as a colourful cultural celebration of liberties already won; others regret seeing Pride being used by corporations and in marketing campaigns while the continued struggles of more marginalized members of the community are moved to the sidelines.

Those perspectives will be juxtaposed Saturday in Thunder Bay, Ont., beginning with a protest march called Pride is a Protest — which has the support of the city's established Pride organizer, Thunder Pride.

Later in the day, Thunder Pride and the Rainbow Collective will hold two events more conventionally associated with Pride: an afternoon street festival and nighttime drag show.
'Taking matters into our own hands'

Protest co-organizers Lak Williams and Sarah DiBiagio said they organized the march after learning that Thunder Pride didn't have the resources to hold a formal Pride parade this year.

"A lot of our community members, especially people who have finally come out of the closet this year, they were so excited to be a part of the Pride parade but left disappointed or beyond disappointed because some of our questions weren't even able to be answered," Williams said.

"We're taking matters into our own hands and ensuring that Pride is more than just like a party. Everybody knows it started as a protest."

Some people had expressed concerns to the duo about losing out on the opportunity to march proudly through the streets, DiBiagio said, while others were frustrated with corporate-sponsored parades.

"A lot of the events that are being held this year for Pride Month do revolve around partying, alcohol consumption and pay-to-plays," she added.

"The average cost of one of the drag shows is around $30. So that's also a way that Pride has been limited this year for a lot of people who needed access to it."

This year is a particularly important one to return politics to Pride, DiBiagio said, as the rights of two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans/non-binary people have come under attack, particularly in the United States.

As well, Ontario Provincial Police are investigating after Pride decorations and flags in several communities were torn up, cut and shredded.

"It's very troublesome to see how backwards it's going," said Scotia Kauppi, the new executive secretary and treasurer of Thunder Pride.

Kauppi said she takes seriously the concerns raised to activists like Williams and DiBiaigio, and the organization has tried to be transparent about the reasons for not holding the Pride parade this year.

"Our board was down to nothing, and with COVID-19, our funding was not there," she said. "We didn't have the resources or volunteers to even start parade planning. Parade planning has to start in, like, January."

Thunder Pride put out notices earlier in the year looking for new directors; it is now one short of a full complement, though the organization currently has no Indigenous board members, Kauppi said, something she is trying to rectify.

The struggle to attract board members has multiple sources, she said.

"With COVID, there was such a lull where we couldn't really do anything anyway," Kauppi said. "But there was also drama that happened before.… It did obviously leave a bad taste in people's mouths about our board and about our association."

In 2020, the organization announced it had suspended a member for racism and that two board members were also being suspended.
Events spread out over a month

Later that summer, then board chair Jason Veltri resigned following public criticism of his handling of an initiative to bring rainbow crosswalks to the city.

Thunder Pride worked with Veltri's new organization, Rainbow Collective, on some of this year's Pride events.

"I'm a very olive branch type of person," Kauppi said.

The organization spread this year's Pride events out over an entire month to prevent excessive spread of COVID-19 and provide more opportunities for people from out of town to catch an event in the city, Kauppi said.

The parade, however, was simply too expensive to organize in the time available, she said, saying the cost of hiring police to close the streets and protect protesters would amount to thousands of dollars.

Williams was critical of the idea the 2SLGBT community should fundraise to cover policing costs.

"Pride started as a protest against police brutality," they said. "So if police really wanted to show their allyship to the queer community, we shouldn't have to be paying them to, you know, monitor the streets to ensure our safety."

Kauppi said the new board members share the protest organizers' desire to see politics return to Pride, saying many of them too are tired of "the corporate, very entertainment side of Pride."

"I think historically, Thunder Pride was always very … surface-level events: Pride parade, flag raisings and maybe, like, a little bit of activism but not too much," she said.

"I'm finding that the main group … still has lots of fight in us. And I think activism is going to become a bigger role for us now."

She said she hopes people will give the new board a chance, and welcomes the work of Williams and DiBiagio in organizing the protest.

"I believe Saturday is going to be a good mix of everything we need for Pride," she said. "It has the activism. It has the community and it has the fun."

The Pride is a Protest march begins Saturday at 11 a.m. ET at Waverly Park, while the street festival takes place from noon to 6 p.m. in the city's waterfront district.

RED TORY - SHE IS RUNNING
Michelle Rempel Garner exits Patrick Brown campaign to consider UCP leadership run


OTTAWA — Michelle Rempel Garner, a longtime Conservative MP from Calgary, says she's stepping back from the federal Conservative leadership race to consider running for Jason Kenney's job.


Michelle Rempel Garner to consider UCP leadership run

Rempel Garner was serving as co-chair on Patrick Brown's leadership campaign when Kenney stunned many last month by announcing he was resigning as premier of Alberta and leader of the United Conservative Party after narrowly surviving a leadership review.

Rempel Garner's name soon started to circulate as a potential successor to Kenney.

She confirmed on Twitter she has been encouraged to run and is giving "serious consideration" to mounting a UCP leadership bid.

Rempel Garner says she will step back from the federal Conservative leadership race to focus her attention on a potential leadership run.

"I will make my decision based on the conversations I have with the people I represent — Albertans."

In his own statement on Twitter, Brown thanked Rempel Garner for contributing to his campaign and wished her well in her deliberations.

Announcing that Rempel Garner, who was first elected in 2011, would serve as one of his national campaign co-chairs was seen by some to be a key get for Brown, whose political roots lie in Ontario.

Her departure follows a decision by two MPs to forgo their endorsement of Brown and instead back his main rival, longtime Ottawa-area MP Pierre Poilievre.

At the time, a spokesman for Brown's campaign brushed off the decision by Ontario MPs Kyle Seeback and Dan Muys to switch sides, saying they only represent two votes.

A spokesman has not yet responded to a question of whether Brown will name a replacement to the role Rempel Garner filled as a campaign co-chair.

Almost since the race began, Poilievre and Brown, as well as their wider teams, have taken to attacking one another back and forth, which continued Thursday with Poilievre tweeting Brown's leadership bid was in "free fall."

Recently, the party opened an investigation into Brown's campaign based on a complaint lodged by Tim Uppal, a Conservative MP from Edmonton who is helping chair Poilievre's campaign.

In a letter sent last week to Ian Brodie, chair of the party's leadership election organizing committee, Uppal alleges that Poilievre's campaign has been made aware of "concerning membership sales practices" by Brown.

Uppal details how the Poilievre campaign "received repeated reports" that organizers working for Brown "were arranging to reimburse the membership fees paid by individuals who agreed to join the party using the Brown campaign's web portal."

In a statement, party executive director Wayne Benson confirmed that it had received the complaint from Poilievre's campaign about Brown and is investigating the allegations.

He added the party wouldn't say more until the investigation was over.

Brown's campaign has dismissed the allegations, with spokesman Chisholm Pothier saying it looked forward to "debunking their delusions."

When it comes to Rempel Garner's departure, Pothier said the campaign still enjoys her support and that she left to fulfil other obligations.

He added her leaving doesn't change anything about the campaign's organization.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2022.

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press

AS A RED TORY RUNNING FEDERALLY SHE WAS ENDORSED LAST ELECTION BY THE FORMER CULTURE MINISTER IN THE NDP 

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

LET HIM IN

Edmonton MLA says he's been cleared of hacking charges; seeks return to NDP caucus

EDMONTON — An Alberta legislature member investigated by the RCMP after he admitted to hacking into a government health website says he has been cleared of criminal charges.



Thomas Dang says in a statement he will instead have to pay a yet-to-be-determined fine for contravening the Health Information Act.

Dang was removed from the NDP caucus when charges were laid in December 2021.

He has been sitting in the house as an Independent but says he wants to return to caucus.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley, when asked in Calgary, said she was not aware of the development but would get more information and discuss it with the caucus and party.

She had said Dang, who represents the constituency of Edmonton-South, would not be allowed to sit in caucus or run for the party in the next election while under police investigation.

“I am excited to put this matter behind me, and I am grateful to the RCMP and the Crown prosecutor for working quickly to achieve this resolution," Dang said in his statement Thursday.

“I’ve learned a lot from this experience and will absolutely do things differently in the future if similar concerns or issues are brought to me.

RCMP spokesman Fraser Logan said he could not confirm details about the case but that the investigation had been referred to prosecutors.

The Alberta Crown prosecution service declined to comment.

Dang is a second-term legislature member.

He was charged after he admitted to using his computer to follow up on a tip from a constituent about possible loopholes that were allowing access to people's private health information on the province’s COVID-19 vaccine website.

He later said that when he ran into roadblocks trying to breach the vaccination site, he used Premier Jason Kenney's birth date and vaccination dates — both publicly available — which allowed him to breach the site's privacy safeguards.

At that point, Dang said, he immediately stopped the search and told the NDP caucus, which in turn advised the government of the security breach. It was remedied soon after.

Dang said using Kenney's details was a reasonable decision to make under the circumstances, given the premier has a high profile and could be a target of hacking.

He rejected suggestions he was engaging in a form of identity theft.

The United Conservative Party caucus, in a statement, said, “Given the serious nature of this RCMP investigation and the resulting fine under the Health Information Act, MLA Dang should not be allowed to rejoin the Official Opposition caucus.

“Many questions still remain about Dang’s online activities, as well as Notley’s knowledge of them.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2022.

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press

OFFICE POLITICS

AFN national chief under investigation over bullying, harassment allegations

Olivia Stefanovich - Yesterday 

The national chief of the country's most influential First Nations organization is under pressure to step aside as she faces an external investigation over bullying and harassment allegations from four of her staff members, CBC News has learned.


© Chris Young/The Canadian Press

Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald was the subject of a previous bullying and harassment investigation in her former role as Ontario regional chief.

The complaints against Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald were filed under the organization's whistleblower policy.

In a statement issued Thursday, the AFN confirmed it received a number of complaints last month against Archibald and determined the findings supported further inquiry by an external investigator.

In her own statement released Thursday, Archibald said she welcomes the investigation and called for a forensic audit and independent inquiry into the last eight years of AFN operations.

In her statement, Archibald claims she never had a human resources complaint launched against her prior to her work at AFN.

"This is the second time that I've endured a smear campaign as a result of my relentless pursuit of the truth," Archibald said.

"I hope people can see the toxic pattern at the AFN."

Archibald alleges the four staff members filed complaints against her after they tried to secure $1 million in contract payouts.

"The background deals, the large payouts to staff and other documented incidents of corruption and collusion has caused us to lose sight of our shared goal: to fight for the collective rights of more than 900,000 Indigenous Peoples living in more than 600 First Nations communities, cities and towns across Turtle Island," she wrote in her statement posted to social media.

Sources say problems began after Archibald took office

The whistleblower mechanism the staff used to file complaints against Archibald was created last year following a separate bullying and harassment investigation of her while she was Ontario regional chief.

The new complaints include objections to Archibald's alleged introduction of a Hawaiian cultural practice called ho'oponopono during weekly meetings. The complaints claim that the practice sees Archibald recite prayers for staff members' healing or in response to their errors, and say that she asks them to share their childhood traumas.

Multiple sources who spoke to CBC News said some staff members complained this practice served to re-traumatize them. The sources spoke on the condition they not be named because they fear reprisals.

Archibald's counsel Aaron Detlor told CBC News he's unaware of any Hawaiian cultural practices employed by the national chief, or of her asking people to reveal childhood traumas. He said he's aware Archibald believes strongly in Indigenous-based healing.

The investigation is being conducted by an outside firm hired by the AFN.

The four staff members who made the complaints are on paid leave. Archibald remains in her role as national chief.

Sources said the problems at the AFN office in Ottawa began shortly after Archibald took office last summer.

They describe the workplace as toxic and said staff dread coming to work each day.

The same sources, who have direct knowledge of the workings of the national chief's office, said staff claim they've been yelled at by the national chief and reduced to tears by her criticism of their work.

Archibald denies she sought higher salary

Three sources said Archibald still has not signed her employment contract and has demanded she be paid the same salary as the prime minister.

In a recording of a meeting held Wednesday with Ontario regional chiefs — reviewed by CBC News — Archibald is heard denying she requested a prime ministerial salary.

Detlor also said the allegation is "simply incorrect."

"It would quite frankly raise issues of, broader issues related to some of the underlying problems where breaches of confidentiality and an attempt to resolve matters through the press is … undermining the national chief's efforts to engage in a healing path forward," he said.

At the same meeting with Ontario chiefs, the sources said, Archibald asked for support to dissolve the AFN secretariat — the administrative and operational arm of the organization, which employs about 200 people.

Archibald is also facing pressure from some First Nations chiefs to step down.

McLeod Lake Indian Band Chief Harley Chingee, whose band is in British Columbia, drafted a resolution to be tabled at next month's AFN gathering of chiefs to force Archibald's ouster. It was seconded by Long Plain First Nation Chief Kyra Wilson, whose community is in Manitoba.

B.C. chief questions Archibald's election victory

Chingee said Archibald's 2021 election victory may not be legitimate under the organization's charter. The charter requires that a national chief be elected with 60 per cent of the vote.

Archibald was elected on 205 ballots, accounting for only 50 per cent of votes cast during the election, which was held virtually because of COVID-19 restrictions. Her opponent, Reginald Bellerose, dropped out after receiving 144 votes, or 35 per cent of the total.

Chingee said the AFN is currently adrift.

"Her administration is sort of messed up because if you have a leader that's not leading the troops in a good way, the people underneath it are also discombobulated," he said.

"That's a problem for morale and thinking forward and looking after the interests of the First Nations."

Chingee expressed concern about reports he said he's heard regarding how Archibald is treating people in her office.
'Her silence is deafening'

He also said Archibald is largely absent from the national stage and only deals with a select number of chiefs.

"Her silence is deafening," Chingee said. "I'm concerned to the degree that we're a leaderless bunch. Just bobbing in the ocean sort of, with no leader, no paddle.… We're going over the Niagara Falls."

Detlor said chiefs are entitled to their opinions.

"I believe the national chief's position is that she was legitimately elected and she stands legitimately as the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations," Detlor said.

In her statement, Archibald thanked Ontario chiefs for passing two resolutions on Thursday validating the election results and her calls for an oversight body for the AFN executive, which is composed of regional chiefs.

"In the coming days, more information will be revealed," Archibald said.

"What was done in darkness shall always find a way into the light."

A report dated May 3, 2021, by independent investigator Bryna Hatt into bullying and harassment complaints against Archibald when she was Ontario regional chief involved 10 complaints, but only seven of the complainants agreed to be interviewed.

It hit a dead end after the complainants refused to file formal claims because they said they feared workplace retribution. Archibald was not interviewed for the investigation.

The investigator reported that each of the seven complainants was credible and had genuine concerns about pursuing their complaints further.

Freedom movement' rallies planned to run in Ottawa all summer: organizer

OTTAWA — Events are set to take place in Ottawa in late June through Canada Day and the rest of the summer for what organizers say are to protest remaining COVID-19 pandemic-era restrictions.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Andrew MacGillivray, steering committee member for Veterans for Freedom, said in an interview posted on YouTube that it will hold a three-day conference in Ottawa next week, from Wednesday to Friday.

Veterans for Freedom describes itself on its website as a group made up of Canadian veterans working to "restore fundamental freedoms for all Canadians" and "uphold Canadian laws."

The organization has partnered with other groups that oppose pandemic mandates, including those calling themselves Police on Guard and Canadian Frontline Nurses.

The “Freedom Convoy” protest, which occupied downtown streets for three weeks earlier this year, is still in recent memory for many Ottawa citizens.

The members of the Veterans for Freedom steering committee all have ties to the earlier protests, including one person who was among the convoy's spokespeople. Others appeared in YouTube videos supporting convoy demonstrators.

MacGillivray said the group’s aim is to have the federal government repeal remaining mandates, reinstate federal workers who lost their jobs related to mandates and pay those workers for lost wages.

He said his group plans to hold a meeting with up to 17 MPs on Wednesday, who are "mostly Conservative," and the next two days will be town hall events with key people in the "freedom movement."


On June 30, Veterans for Freedom is co-ordinating a route for James Topp and his supporters to walk through parts of Ottawa to the National War Memorial. The route has received a police escort, said MacGillivray.

Topp is a Canadian soldier who was charged by the Department of National Defence in May after publicly speaking out against federal vaccine requirements while in uniform.

He left Vancouver in February to walk to Ottawa in protest of pandemic mandates, according to the Canada Marches website.

In the interview on YouTube, MacGillivray shared plans for Canada Day celebrations, set to take place on the lawn in front of the Supreme Court of Canada, which will include a march to City Hall, and a dance party on Parliament Hill that evening.

Heritage Canada said this year's Canada Day celebrations will largely take place in LeBreton Flats Park in the city.

When asked about all the planned “freedom”-related events, Ottawa police said it would be sharing information Friday afternoon in partnership with Heritage Canada on its security approach to Canada Day.

MacGillivray said it will also set up a semi-permanent camp east of Ottawa called "Camp Eagle" and will be holding events all summer. The camp sits about 40 minutes outside the city on private property.

"Basically, we're going to stay there the entire summer. We're going to implement our strategy and our plan to lean on the government through education, information, et cetera."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2022.

---

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Erika Ibrahim, The Canadian Press

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh  calls for investigation into hoax, arrest of Sikh men

Call for accountability, investigation echoes similar calls made by Sikh community leaders

CBC News · Posted: Jun 16, 2022

Police remove police tape after responding to an incident on Parliament Hill in Ottawa last Saturday. (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press)


NDP leader Jagmeet Singh wants an investigation launched immediately to find out who was behind an apparent hoax that resulted in two Sikh men being arrested and Parliament Hill placed on lockdown last weekend.

Police sources told CBC News they received a tip, which first came to the Canada Border Services Agency, indicating members of an extremist group were headed to a protest with explosives in tow.

After an investigation, the Ottawa Police Service said no public safety threat was identified, but Manveer Singh and Parminder Singh told The Canadian Press that police arrested and questioned them, then apologized and released them.

The two men were organizers of an event by Members of the United Front of Sikhs Canada to commemorate the 1984 Sikh massacre in India.

"Why was it that two Sikh men with no antecedence, no evidence of any threat to Canadians were treated with such severity?" Singh said Thursday.

"There's clearly something going on here that needs to be evaluated."

Conservative MP Tim Uppal, who in 2011 became the first Turban-wearing Sikh appointed to cabinet, also questioned where the information came from.

"It sets a dangerous precedent for the future," said Uppal. "If you start to believe everything, then the really important stuff is going to get missed, so I think it's something that should be looked into definitely."

Watch
NDP leader says Ottawa police were ‘irresponsible’ in arresting Sikh men based on bad tip 1 day ago  1:12

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is calling for an investigation into the incident, in which two Sikh men attending a peaceful commemoration ceremony on Parliament Hill were arrested after police received a false tip.

Singh, whose calls for accountability echoed those made by some in Ottawa's Sikh community earlier this week, contrasted the police response to the convoy protests that took place in Ottawa for several weeks this past winter.

"This is something very serious. We want to understand why this happened, what steps were taken to get to that point, and why police reacted in that way," Singh said, adding police "overreacted in a very irresponsible way."

In a memo to the Ottawa Police Services Board, interim Ottawa police chief Steve Bell said officers acted in good faith and are aware of the impact of the investigation on the city and those arrested.

Police reaching out to community for feedback

The memo said police have reached out to the leadership of Ottawa's Sikh community and will meet with them later this week to discuss the police response.

The memo said once the RCMP investigation is complete, Ottawa police will fully review the incident and the feedback from the community to look at how police can improve responses to similar incidents.

Inderjit Singh Sambi of the Ottawa Sikh Society says the incident was painful to hear and read about, and he worries "the Sikh image is going to be all maligned."

"There's clearly a horrible standard, a double standard," he said.

Sambi said Ottawa police have reached out to him about their response to the incident.

With files from Krystalle Ramlakhan and Raffy Boudjikanian

Some in Sikh community want full investigation into arrests and 'terrorism hoax'

Police silent after accusations of wrongful arrests during Parliament lockdown

Parliament Hill evacuation may have been prompted by hoax or bad tip, sources say

Ottawa police reach out to Sikh community, but not men arrested due to false tip

Ottawa police will meet with leaders of the city’s Sikh community later this week to get feedback on officers’ handling of a false bomb tip against two rally organizers, but police have not reached out to the men who were arrested as a result of the accusation.



Parminder Singh, who lives in Pierrefonds, Que., said on Wednesday the police plan to meet with Sikh leaders in Ottawa without contacting him is “disturbing.”

"Since I've been released from Ottawa police custody, I haven't got any phone call or email from Ottawa police. Seeing that news is really disturbing for me because I am the victim of the hoax, the bogus complaint against me and I am not even aware about this meeting," he said.

Manveer Singh also said he has not received any communication from Ottawa police since being released from custody on Saturday. A public apology would be appreciated, he said.

"We deserve some answers. They're talking to other people, we should be reached out by them first," said Manveer Singh, who also lives in Quebec, in the Montreal suburb of Vaudreuil-Dorion.

Interim police chief Steve Bell shared that the service had reached out to Ottawa’s Sikh community in a letter to the city's police services board Tuesday night.

The RCMP is conducting an ongoing investigation into the event, Bell said, noting that in light of that investigation, his force is limited in what it can share about Saturday's incident, but added it will work to give as much information as possible to "ensure transparency."

Mounties would not confirm that an investigation is underway. The RCMP said for privacy and operational reasons, it can only confirm details related to criminal investigations where charges have been laid.

When the RCMP probe finishes, Ottawa police will review the incident and community feedback to look at how it can improve its response to similar incidents, Bell said.

"That makes me feel a little better, that the police are working on that," said Parminder Singh, adding he has a right to know who made the complaint against him.

Manveer Singh also said knowing law enforcement are investigating the incident makes him feel "a little good" and a bit more relaxed.

"They're working on at least something. I don't know if it is just lip service or they're really doing something. That's the question," he said.

Parminder Singh said he would like to see the individuals responsible charged for submitting wrongful information about him and his community.

Bell provided a timeline of the incident on Saturday that prompted the evacuation of Parliament and closure of surrounding streets, raising public alarm about a major security threat in the national capital.

He said just after 11 a.m., a federal agency provided police with “a detailed and specific threat" about the potential use of explosives in the area of Parliament Hill.


“The threat was complicated by time factors related to a planned event,” he said.

Police immediately co-ordinated with RCMP and the Parliamentary Protective Service. By noon, officers began securing the area near Parliament Hill and closed multiple streets to pedestrian and vehicle traffic, while the PPS decided to evacuate people on the Hill.

Police found two “individuals of interest” at 2:08 p.m. and 2:41 p.m. and they were arrested, advised of their rights and taken to the police station to be interviewed. Two vehicles were searched and no explosives were found, Bell said.

Just after 3:30 p.m., the area was reopened to the public.

“The initial investigation revealed there was no evidence to support further detention or charges at that time,” he said.

By 4:10 p.m., both people were released. Investigators provided “an explanation about the information received and why they were arrested,” Bell said, and they were offered rides back to their vehicles, but a friend drove them back instead.

“Our officers acted on the information received to ensure public safety. The officers took multiple actions in good faith and worked as quickly and effectively as possible to investigate the potential threat.”

Parminder Singh and Manveer Singh have said that, when they were released from custody, officers apologized and explained they were victims of a “terrorism hoax.” But they were not told who targeted them with the tip.

The men are organizers of a rally held in remembrance of the victims of the 1984 massacre of Sikhs in India. They had a permit to hold the event on the Hill, but when it was shut down due to the threat, they relocated to the nearby Supreme Court of Canada lawn.

They have said that when police arrested them, they told them their names were connected to the bomb threat. Manveer Singh said police claimed they had “credible information” linking him to the threat.

"What was that credible information that led police to arrest me?” he asked.

At the police station, the men said they were made to remove their turbans. Manveer Singh also had to remove a bracelet called a kara and a ceremonial dagger known as a kirpan.

Both men said they are still suffering from lingering effects of the incident. Manveer Singh said he’s still in shock and finding it hard to concentrate on his work.

"I have so many sleepless nights,” added Parminder Singh.

“I couldn't sleep all this time, thinking why and what happened to me, the way Ottawa police handled this situation totally wrongfully.”

Bell said police are aware of the effect law enforcement's response had on the individuals who were arrested.

"Our relationship with the Sikh community is important to us," he said in the letter to the police board.

“Our intent is to work to explain our response and alleviate any doubts with respect to community support, and to provide reassurance that Ottawa police is working to better understand and address the needs of our communities.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2022.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Erika Ibrahim, The Canadian Press

DISARM DEFUND DISMANTLE

Newly released race-based data renews calls to defund Toronto police

TORONTO — The release of previously unseen Toronto police statistics showing disproportionate enforcement and use of force against Black residents is renewing calls to defund the police, two years after city council voted against such a proposal.



Following the data's publication Wednesday, several anti-racism groups and civil rights advocates said community safety would be better achieved by redirecting police funding to social supports and services.

Desmond Cole, with the No Pride in Policing Coalition, said that instead of assurances that police will do better in the future, the group has been seeking a "political solution" from Toronto's mayor and council, who are facing a municipal election in the fall.

Defunding, and eventually abolishing, police would help ensure “they can’t hurt us like this anymore,” he said.

“We didn’t need people with guns and Tasers and body armour and vests engaging in the kind of behaviour that’s in this report ... and what this report should be talking about is that we still don’t need any of those things,” he said.

Moya Teku, executive director of the Black Legal Action Centre, said police continue to fail to serve and protect Black people "and yet, year after year, all levels of government continue to pour money into police services."

"The solution is not to provide the police with more money for body scanners, or training," Teku said in a statement Wednesday. "It is to de-task the police and to redirect funding into those services that will actually protect and serve and increase the public safety of Black people."

Abby Deshman, director of criminal justice for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, said police "need to step back, and make room for social service supports and civilian led crisis interventions."

Toronto Mayor John Tory's office said Thursday that he believes in "investing in eliminating systemic racism in the Toronto Police Service" and has supported recent reforms, including those that led to the collection and release of the race-based data.

"But the mayor has been very clear that he believes that we cannot shortchange public safety given that we hear from communities across the city which are in fact asking for additional investment in police resources, particularly in initiatives such as neighbourhood policing," his office said in a statement.

"The mayor will continue to strongly support policing reforms which will rebuild trust. He will continue to carefully consider which tasks might be better carried out by non-police organizations and will seek corresponding budget changes. And while he will continue to oversee prudent financial management of all resources allocated for policing, he does not support the significant, often arbitrary, reductions advocated by some.”


In 2020, two Toronto councillors introduced a motion to cut the force's budget by 10 per cent – about $107 million – and use that money for community services.

The motion was rejected in favour of a series of reforms proposed by the mayor, which included anti-racism measures and the implementation of body-worn cameras.

The move followed multiple protests that saw thousands of people flock to Toronto streets over several weeks to demand changes to policing.

The protests were part of a global response to the police killing of George Floyd, a Black man from Minneapolis. They also came weeks after the death in Toronto of 29-year-old Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a Black woman who fell from her balcony while police were in her home.

Sam Tecle, an assistant professor of sociology at Toronto Metropolitan University, said the public conversations on defunding police at that time were an important acknowledgment that police don't represent safety for racialized people and other historically marginalized groups.

Defunding, and ultimately abolishing police is asking people to engage in a "total reimagining" of society, he said, noting many communities have already, out of necessity, put in place systems to keep themselves safe without calling police.

"That idea of abolishing the police has never wavered in many of us," Tecle said. "Every time that the police force puts on this kind of dog and pony show, it reignites the debate."

On Wednesday, Toronto police released statistics that show Black people in the city faced a disproportionate amount of police enforcement and use of force in 2020 and were more likely to have an officer point a gun at them – whether perceived as armed or unarmed – than white people in the same situation.

Middle Eastern people were also overrepresented when it came to enforcement and use of force, according to the report. Latino and East and Southeast Asian residents, meanwhile, experienced less enforcement in comparison to their representation in the population but saw more use of force when they did interact with police.

There were also racial differences in strip searches, with Indigenous, Black and white residents searched disproportionately compared with how many of them were arrested.

The numbers were the first to be released under the force's race-based data policy, which was adopted in 2019 after the provincial government passed legislation requiring several public sectors to collect such information. It also followed several reports on race and policing.

Toronto's interim police chief, James Ramer, apologized to the city's Black residents Wednesday as the statistics were published, saying the force needs to do better.

During his news conference, Ramer was asked about the calls to defund police and whether the force would consider offloading some services to community groups.

"When we hear that discussion, what ... the community's talking about is reform and it's talking about modernization of the police service," Ramer replied.

"The reality is that we are engaged in a number of processes in terms of alternate service delivery and we want to be engaged in that," he said, pointing to what he deemed "great advancements" in diverting calls that come into the police call centre.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2022.

Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press

http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/kropotkin/orgveng.html

Kropotkin: Organized Vengeance called "justice" - Anarchy Archives 

So-called Justice is a survival from a past serfdom based, for the interest of the privileged classes, on the Roman law and on the ideas of divine Vengeance. In ...