Sandra Finley

2011-08-08 Torture Charges Go Forward Against Bush-Era Defense Secretary (from Nation of Change)

 George Bush war criminal  No Responses »
Aug 112011
 

 http://www.nationofchange.org/torture-charges-go-forward-against-bush-era-defense-secretary-1312990464    

Kanya D’Almeida
Inter Press Service / News Analysis
Published: Wednesday 10 August 2011
“Held without a trial or court hearing and tortured, the plaintiffs are suing for damages rendered against them in Camp Cropper.”
Article image

On Apr. 16, 2006, for rea­sons still un­known to them, two U.S. con­trac­tors in Iraq’s Red Zone were hand­cuffed, blind­folded and trans­ported to Camp Crop­per, a U.S. mil­i­tary fa­cil­ity lo­cated a few miles from Bagh­dad In­ter­na­tional Air­port.

There, Don­ald Vance, a Navy vet­eran from Illi­nois and Nathan Ertel, a U.S. gov­ern­ment con­trac­tor hail­ing from Vir­ginia, ex­pe­ri­enced a “night­mar­ish scene”, in which they were held in­com­mu­ni­cado in soli­tary con­fine­ment and sub­ject to phys­i­cal and psy­cho­log­i­cal tor­ture for the du­ra­tion of their im­pris­on­ment. 

This Mon­day, nearly five years since their or­deal, the U.S. Court of Ap­peals for the Sev­enth Cir­cuit in Chicago ruled that the plain­tiffs could move for­ward with a law­suit against the per­son who al­legedly ap­proved the op­er­a­tion – for­mer U.S. De­fense Sec­re­tary Don­ald Rums­feld. 

Held with­out a trial or court hear­ing and tor­tured – Ertel for six weeks, Vance for nearly three months – the plain­tiffs are suing for dam­ages ren­dered against them in Camp Crop­per, where Rums­feld and sev­eral other un­named of­fi­cials al­legedly “de­vel­oped, au­tho­rized and used harsh in­ter­ro­ga­tion tech­niques [on them]”, thus vi­o­lat­ing their basic civil, con­sti­tu­tional and human rights. 

Up­hold­ing a 2010 lower court rul­ing on the issue, the three-judge panel voted two-to-one Mon­day to allow the case to move for­ward, on the basis that “[the plain­tiffs’] com­plaint al­leges in de­tail that they were de­tained and il­le­gally tor­tured by U.S. mil­i­tary [and] re­leased from mil­i­tary cus­tody with­out ever being charged with a crime.” 

In the final court de­ci­sion, Judge David Hamil­ton wrote, “This ap­peal raises fun­da­men­tal ques­tions about the re­la­tion­ship be­tween the cit­i­zens of our coun­try and their gov­ern­ment,” adding that the plain­tiffs were also jus­ti­fied in bring­ing a claim against the U.S. under the Ad­min­is­tra­tive Pro­ce­dure Act to re­cover per­sonal items such as lap­tops and cell phones that were seized by U.S. forces prior to their de­ten­tion. 

“While the United States gov­ern­ment has failed to live up to its legal and moral oblig­a­tion to pro­vide reme­dies for so many vic­tims of U.S. spon­sored tor­ture, these two cases demon­strate that hold­ing of­fi­cials ac­count­able in U.S. courts re­mains a pos­si­bil­ity,” Melina Mi­lazzo, a Law and Se­cu­rity Pro­gram fel­low with Human Rights First, said in a press re­lease Tues­day. 

“A state of war is not a blank cheque for se­nior of­fi­cials to au­tho­rise tor­ture. The in­tegrity and se­cu­rity of our armed forces are [only] safe­guarded when those who vi­o­late our core prin­ci­ples and val­ues are held to ac­count,” Mi­lazzo told IPS.  

From cor­rup­tion to in­tel­li­gence to “in­ter­ro­ga­tion”

The Vance-Er­tel case ex­poses the myr­iad links be­tween pri­vate con­trac­tors, U.S. forces, U.S. gov­ern­ment of­fi­cials and in­tel­li­gence agen­cies that often con­verge in the dark cells of de­ten­tion cen­tres such as Abu Ghraib, Guan­tanamo Bay and Camp Crop­per. 

Ac­cord­ing to court doc­u­ments, both Vance and Ertel were em­ploy­ees of the pri­vate U.S. gov­ern­ment con­trac­tor Shield Group Se­cu­rity at the time of their ar­rest, sta­tioned just out­side the so-called safe or ‘Green’ Zone in Bag­dad. 

In 2005 and 2006, Vance and Ertel be­came in­creas­ingly aware of cor­rup­tion within Shield Group Se­cu­rity, not­ing, among other sus­pi­cious ac­tiv­ity, that the com­pany was mak­ing pay­ments to Iraqi sheikhs – likely to “ob­tain in­flu­ence” with pow­er­ful local play­ers – and ac­cu­mu­lat­ing a cache of weapons that was flow­ing steadily to of­fi­cials from the Iraqi In­te­rior Min­istry, which had ties to armed mili­tias and death squads. 

Alarmed by sit­u­a­tion, Vance and Ertel began pass­ing in­for­ma­tion on the com­pany, some­times on a bi­weekly basis, to the Fed­eral Bu­reau of In­ves­ti­ga­tion – until they were whisked away to Camp Crop­per in early April 2006 for “work[ing] for a busi­ness en­tity that pos­sessed weapons… on its premises and [being] in­volved in the pos­si­ble dis­tri­b­u­tion of these weapons to in­sur­gent/ter­ror­ist groups,” Ertel’s de­ten­tion no­tice read. 

Ac­cord­ing to the Chicago court’s de­ci­sion, the men then en­dured con­di­tions that were “per­fectly con­sis­tent with tor­ture treat­ments ap­proved by Rums­feld’s De­fense De­part­ment,” in­clud­ing liv­ing in cells whose walls were smeared with feces, being de­prived of food and water, forcibly kept awake in brightly lit rooms, and made to en­dure “in­tol­er­a­bly” cold tem­per­a­tures. 

“Even Sad­dam Hus­sein had more legal coun­sel than I ever had,” Vance told the New York Times in 2006, adding that he and Ertel wrote a let­ter to the camp com­man­dant claim­ing that, “the same de­mo­c­ra­tic ideals we [the U.S.] are try­ing to in­still in the fledg­ling de­mo­c­ra­tic coun­try of Iraq, from sim­ple due process to the Magna Carta, we are ab­solutely, pos­i­tively re­fus­ing to fol­low our­selves.” 

At the same time, First Lieu­tenant Lea Ann Fra­casso, spokes­woman for the Pen­ta­gon’s de­ten­tion op­er­a­tions in Iraq, in­sisted that the men had been “treated fair and hu­manely”, adding that there was no record of their writ­ten com­plaints.  

U.S. gov­ern­ment’s re­sponse

Rums­feld’s at­tor­neys at­tempted to dis­miss the law­suit on the grounds that the sec­re­tary of de­fense should enjoy im­mu­nity from crim­i­nal ac­tions. 

Rums­feld also claimed that the plain­tiffs should be de­nied rec­om­pense, since the vi­o­la­tion of their con­sti­tu­tional rights oc­curred in a war zone. 

The court re­jected the claim that gov­ern­ment of­fi­cials should be above the law, stat­ing in its final de­ci­sion, “We see no per­sua­sive jus­ti­fi­ca­tion in … case law or oth­er­wise for [Rums­feld’s] most sweep­ing ar­gu­ment, which would de­prive civil­ian U.S. cit­i­zens of a civil ju­di­cial rem­edy for tor­ture or even cold-blooded mur­der by fed­eral of­fi­cials and sol­diers, at any level, in a war zone.” 

“United States law pro­vides a civil dam­ages rem­edy for aliens who are tor­tured by their own gov­ern­ments. It would be star­tling and un­prece­dented to con­clude that the United States would not pro­vide such a rem­edy to its own cit­i­zens,” the de­ci­sion said. 

Civil lib­er­ties and human rights ad­vo­cates say that while the court’s de­ci­sion sends out an ex­tremely hope­ful mes­sage about ac­count­abil­ity and jus­tice, it is a sober­ing re­minder of the de­tainees who are ei­ther still lan­guish­ing in de­ten­tion cells or have yet to re­ceive any com­pen­sa­tion for the months, or even years, of their lives that may have been stolen by U.S. in­ter­roga­tors. 

“This is a good first step, but it would be even bet­ter if the ad­min­is­tra­tion au­tho­rised a full crim­i­nal in­ves­ti­ga­tion into over­whelm­ing ev­i­dence of other in­stances of de­ten­tion and tor­ture,” An­drea Pra­sow, se­nior coun­sel in Human Rights Watch’s Ter­ror­ism and Coun­tert­er­ror­ism Pro­gramme, told IPS. 

In July, HRW pub­lished a de­tailed re­port on the mis­treat­ment of de­tainees under the ad­min­is­tra­tion of for­mer Pres­i­dent George W. Bush, which the group said pre­sented more than suf­fi­cient ev­i­dence to war­rant crim­i­nal in­ves­ti­ga­tions into the pos­si­ble com­plic­ity of top U.S. of­fi­cials like Rums­feld, for­mer Vice Pres­i­dent Dick Ch­eney and George Tenet, then-di­rec­tor of the CIA. 

2011-08-11 Update, Get Bush Arrested in Vancouver + Appeal Court upholds Don Vance & Nathan Ertel’s leave to sue Donald Rumsfeld. Plus.

 George Bush war criminal  No Responses »
Aug 112011
 

(This posting is in follow-up to  2011-08-01   The Swiss caused Geo Bush to cancel his visit to Geneva.  Can we do the same?  Bush speaking in Surrey, B.C. (Vancouver) Thursday, October 20th, 2011.)

If you have time for one thing,  watch the short newscast interview with Donald Vance.  (The UK Daily Mail,  Two American men CAN sue Donald Rumsfeld after ‘being tortured by U.S. army in Iraq when they worked for security firm.)   

Click on, the video is near the bottom:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2024036/2-Americans-CAN-sue-Donald-Rumsfeld-tortured-US-army-Iraq.html#ixzz1UlPZqjXz  (Countdown, the torture of Don Vance)

CONTENTS

  1. HALLELUJAH!  APPEAL COURT UPHOLDS DECISION:  TWO AMERICANS CAN SUE DONALD RUMSFELD OVER TORTURE
  2. IF BUSH OR CHENEY STEP FOOT IN BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT, THE POLICE HAVE TO ARREST THEM FOR WAR CRIMES  (2008) (this is not the only community)
  3. WE ARE EACH OF US TAKING OUR PLACE IN A GLOBAL, HUMAN REVOLUTION …   WITH MANY THANKS TO BLAKE MACLEOD

– – – – – – – – – – — –

PREAMBLE

On one hand I say “Hallelujah!”,  the court case against Donald Rumsfeld is going ahead.  

On the other hand,  I watched the video interview with Donald Vance, one of the people who are pressing forward with the court action.  And I can’t speak.

Blake’s words in item #3 will mean even more after you watch the video.   If Donald Vance can do what he is doing, after going through the torture meted out by the American military, we can get enough information to enough people to ensure that George Bush gets arrested when he is in Vancouver.    In solidarity.

Note:  Organizing is underway to Get Bush Arrested in Vancouver on October 20th.  It is Very exciting with people and organizations from North America involved.  Please let me know if you wish to participate in the organizing.  We could use some people from Switzerland and Surrey and everywhere!! 

Specific NEED:  someone to set it up on facebook – – –     are you someone?!    Get Bush Arrested in Vancouver on October 20, 2011  (or a name decided by the organizers) .   

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  1. HALLELUJAH!  APPEAL COURT UPHOLDS DECISION:  TWO AMERICANS CAN SUE DONALD RUMSFELD OVER TORTURE

We have been following the case of  Don Vance and Nathan Ertel:

  • 2010-03-05 Court Allows Torture Suit Against Former Defense Sec’t Donald Rumsfeld  (The first time in American history that court allows torture suit against current or former Cabinet Secretary)

U.S. Federal Judge Wayne Anderson’s ruling was appealed.

Hallelujah!   On August 8th, 2011:  

“ ..  a panel of three judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago upheld the decision made by a federal judge in Illinois, voting 2-1.

The verdict paves the way for the lawsuit to proceed,  . . . . 

Thanks to Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG).  I noticed the news on their feed:

Two American men CAN sue Donald Rumsfeld after ‘being tortured by U.S. army in Iraq’ –Pair say their rights of ‘habeas corpus’ were violated. Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel, who worked for a private security firm in the Middle East country, were allegedly beaten and punished for months in 2006 at Camp Cropper near Baghdad before being dumped at the airport without charge. The pair argue that their rights of ‘habeas corpus’ – the legal term for unlawful detention – were violated, and are seeking damages from Rumsfeld, who was succeeded by Robert Gates in December 2007, and unnamed others.

– – – – – – – – – – —

The UK Daily Mail report on it:   2011-08-08   Two American men CAN sue Donald Rumsfeld . . .    

Watch the video of the interview with Donald Vance.  It’s near the bottom.  It is very important.

– – – – – — – – – – – – – –

 The article at Nation of Change  is very good and contains quotes from the court decision, click on    2011-08-08  Torture Charges Go Forward Against Bush-Era Defense Secretary

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2.    IF BUSH OR CHENEY STEP FOOT IN BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT, THE POLICE HAVE TO ARREST THEM FOR WAR CRIMES (2008) (this is not the only community)

Susan from the U.S. writes (August 2011):

Brattleboro Vermont passed a resolution in 2008:   if Bush or Cheney should ever step foot in town the police would have to arrest them for war crimes. (Link below).  The world is getting smaller and smaller for these criminals.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8257

— – – – – – – – – – – – –

To be arrested in Brattleboro “if they are not duly impeached”

 Brattleboro Town Clerk Annette Cappy stands in her office holding a sample ballot.

The courageous people of Brattleboro, Vermont have taken the lead! Frustrated that elected officials have refused to introduce articles of impeachment in defiance of their constituents’ demands, the people of Brattelboro voted to direct town officials to draw up indictment papers against George Bush and Dick Cheney for violating their oath of office.

 The Brattleboro vote took place during the Tuesday’s Vermont primary election. Bush supporters launched a major campaign to discredit the referendum resolution and the organizers. Yet the resolution passed by a vote of 2012 in favor to 1795 against.

“Shall the Selectboard instruct the Town Attorney to draft indictments against President Bush and Vice President Cheney for crimes against our Constitution, and publish said indictments for consideration by other authorities and shall it be the law of the Town of Brattleboro that the Brattleboro Police, pursuant to the above-mentioned indictments, arrest and detain George Bush and Richard Cheney in Brattleboro if they are not duly impeached, and prosecute or extradite them to other authorities that may reasonably contend to prosecute them?” The people of Brattleboro answered, “yes!”

The indictment means that Bush and Cheney can be arrested for criminal acts should they ever enter Brattleboro. The indictment would go into effect after Bush and Cheney leave office.

The Brattleboro resolution is becoming a powerful organizing model for cities and towns around the country. The impeachment movement has sunk deep roots throughout this country. The people of the United States are demanding not only that the Constitution be restored, but that the President, Vice President and other officials be held accountable for committing high crimes and misdemeanors.

The Brattleboro resolution shows that even where Congressional representatives are refusing to follow the majority sentiment demanding impeachment, that the people themselves can take action.

When Ramsey Clark launched the ImpeachBush / VoteToImpeach.org movement in January 2003 he sparked something entirely new. In the face of the aggression and arrogance of the Bush Administration, he launched a movement for the people to take back the Constitution. In Vermont, more than 40 town councils voted in favor of impeachment. Throughout California and in the other states of the union, the grassroots movement has put impeachment on the table through referendum, resolutions, demonstrations, rallies, newspaper ads and door-to-door petitioning.

In the next two weeks, ImpeachBush.org is joining with the anti-war movement for mass protests around the country. We are organizing buses, car caravans, printing placards and banners and making sure the call for Impeachment resounds on this coming 5th anniversary of the criminal war in Iraq. These will be locally and regionally coordinated mass actions in cities and towns throughout the country.

The movement is spreading because of the commitment and sacrifice of thousands of individuals who are engaged as volunteers in day-to-day organizing. Everyone should be proud of their work because this is a movement that belongs to all of us.

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3.     WE ARE EACH OF US TAKING OUR PLACE IN A GLOBAL, HUMAN REVOLUTION …   WITH MANY THANKS TO BLAKE MACLEOD

Note:  sub·rep·tion (a new word to me!)  

1. A calculated misrepresentation through concealment of the facts.

2. An inference drawn from such a misrepresentation.

Blake writes:

We are each of us taking our place in a global, human revolution; a movement against a constant and relentless assault on our democratic rights and freedoms, and against our efforts to create a better world.

The counter revolution is being surreptitiously driven by ‘free market forces’ and narrow ideology, is promoted by our own governments by subreption, and it uses our military and police against us.

This is not new; this tension between opposing interests has existed through all human history. What is new is the manner in which we are rising to resist it, and that we are motivated now by our desire to protect the global commons for all life on earth.

We have become true global citizens. We see now that humanity is both obstacle and solution in this struggle, and when we must resolve this conflict if we are to succeed. Every conversation should be framed in this context, because doing so will allow us all to work together…not only to survive, but to create a better world.

2011-08-05 NUKE: Yahoo! Things are cookin’! 7000 Generation Walk Against Nuclear Waste (will be in Saskatoon Aug 7-8, Sunday evening and Monday)

 Radioactive waste  No Responses »
Aug 052011
 

I can hardly keep my butt on my chair long enough to write.  This is so exciting! 

People from northern Saskatchewan have done an incredible job of organizing an 800 km, 22-day walk to the Saskatchewan legislature.  What a blast it has become! 

I read Jim Harding’s article about the 7000 Generation Walk (Aug 4th – scroll down, it follows “ITINERARY”).   It’s one of his best.  It’s exciting BUT THEN, I realized that it got published in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix!!!  This doesn’t happen in Cameco City.   WOW! what a break-through. 

There are people coming from Lloydminster (a 3-hour drive from the northwest), Archerwill (a 3-hour drive from the east), etc. to join in the Saskatoon events on Sunday evening and Monday.  Some will overnite at my place.  The air is full of song and dance and celebration and excitement!   Sock it to ‘em, baby! 

THE BIG DAY:   TUESDAY, August 16 – March the Green Mile to Saskatchewan Legislature,   arrive @ noon

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, different websites:  http://forum.stopthehogs.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1082  

http://www.cleangreensask.ca/   PETITION: The Committee for Future Generations   

Scroll down to Northern Saskatchewan Says No To Nuclear Waste and Click on Links in article…..

The Committee for Future Generations has launched a petition calling on the Saskatchewan Government to permanently ban nuclear waste storage & transportation into, out of & through Saskatchewan.

Read the Open Letter to the People of Saskatchewan & share widely.

The Committee is planning an 820 km walk from Pinehouse to Regina this summer to raise awareness of this issue.  They will be collecting petitions calling for a legislated ban on nuclear waste.  Stay tuned or contact the group for more details. 

The Committee is encouraging the formation of chapters in other communities to demonstrate solidarity to Say No to Nuclear Waste.

Post on the Facebook page or send an email to

committeeforfuturegenerations@gmail.com

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ITINERARY:      7000 Generations Walk Against Nuclear Waste

Pinehouse to Regina

WALKERS: BE PROUD OF YOUR CROWD!   FLY A BANNER WITH YOUR COMMUNITY NAME!  

Date Communities Distance km Sections*/km Total Km Total Days

July 27 – Pinehouse to Beauval – 107 4 – 27 107 1

July 28 – Beauval to Green Lake – 103 4 – 26 210 2

Joined@ Beauval Forks by NorthWest communities

Joined @ Green Lake by Meadow Lake

July 29 – Green Lake to Cowan – 29 — 239 3

July 30 – Cowan to Big River – 48 2 – 24 277 4

July 31 – Big River to Debden – 38.3 2 – 19 315 5

August 1 – Debden to Shellbrook – 49.6 2 – 25 365 6

August 2 – Shellbrook to PA – 45.1 2 – 22.5 387.5 7

August 3 – Noon gathering @ Prince Albert City Hall Memorial Square – Musician LEONARD ADAM 8

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Prince Albert to Saskatoon – 174.4 km

August 4 – PA to Duck Lake – 57.6 3 – 19.2 445.1 9

August 5 – Duck Lake to Batoche – 23 — 468 10

August 6 – Batoche to Osler – 62 3 – 21 530 11

 7000 generations walk stop in Osler

 The 7000 generations walk will pass through the town of Osler on Aug:06 on its way from Pinehouse and Beauval to Regina. Osler Mennonite Church is offering camping space, billets and supper to the walkers August 6th. There is a public event at the church, starting at 7.30 p.m. with a welcome from the town’s mayor, Ben Buhler. This will be followed by a shared meal, and some “circle time” in which walkers and others can share and listen to the stories of each others’ communities.

(A number of Osler people experienced and resisted the nuclear industry’s attempt to move into their community in the late 1970s with the proposal for a uranium refinery just down the road by Warman. Others who were involved in the campaign against the refinery would be particularly welcome.)

Walk leader Max Morin wrote to Osler Mennonite Church: “We are humbled for your kind and generous offer. We will be leaving Prince Albert on August 4 and camping in Duck Lake. We walk from Duck to Batoche on August 5, Batoche to Osler on August 6, and Osler to Saskatoon on August 7th. We are gathering water from every community, river, and stream that we walk past, and we would be more than happy to collect your water from Osler. This symbolizes that we are all connected by water. We would then pour this water into a jar of all the water collected along the way and Osler. We list every place that water is taken from.” Ben Buhler will present some of Osler’s water to the walkers.

Everyone welcome. Some food will be provided, but feel free to bring more and share it.

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August 7 – Osler to Saskatoon – 25.2 — 555.2 12

Joined by Lloydminster/North Battleford

August 7 (Sunday) – Evening of Entertainment in Saskatoon, Ave H & 20th Street 13

August 8  (Monday)- Noon Gathering @ Saskatoon City Hall Grounds

Musician CHESTER KNIGHT

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 Saskatoon to Regina – 260 km

 August 9 – Saskatoon to Dundurn – 41.9 2 – 21 597 14

August 10 – Dundurn to Kenaston – 40.34 2 -20 637.3 15

August 11 – Kenaston to Davidson – 34.1 — 671.4 16

August 12 – Davidson to Craik – 30 — 701.4 17

August 13 – Craik to Chamberlain – 30 — 731 18

August 14 – Chamberlain to Lumsden – 58 2 – 29 788.4 19

August 15 – Lumsden to Regina – 34.6 – 823 20

August 16 – March the Green Mile to Saskatchewan Legislature,  arrive @ noon 21

– Musician Andrea Menard tentative.

August 17 – Depart for home 22

 *Sections are walked concurrently

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Stand up for entire province
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/todays-paper/Stand+entire+province/5202914/story.html
�
BY JIM HARDING, THE STAR PHOENIX AUGUST 4, 2011
�
Thirty northerners left Pinehouse on July 27 on the 7000 Generations Walk Against Nuclear Waste.

Participants in the 22day, 800-kilometre walk through 12 communities, with rallies in Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Regina, will present petitions to the government.

Indigenous, environmental and ecumenical networks are supporting this unprecedented action, with northerners calling for southern support to win a ban on nuclear waste storage. The controversy should become a fall election issue. The NDP, which has a policy against a nuclear dump in the province, has indicated it will support the walk.

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization has changed its tack in light of the growing opposition to a nuclear dump in the north. Its communications director, Jamie Robinson, contacted the Committee for Future Generations, the Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan, and the Saskatchewan Environmental Society (SES) to invite members to an all-expenses-paid tour “to a waste management facility at a nuclear generating station in South Ontario.”

NWMO said it wanted to “hear their concerns and questions.”

The timing is interesting, for NWMO declined to send anyone to the June 2 forum at Beauval. This was the largest, broadest based northern discussion of nuclear wastes to date, and would have been an opportune time to hear “concerns and questions.” Forum organizers wanted the industry view presented and, when no one turned up, they played two NWMO videos at the start of the meeting.

The northern committee has called for more transparency on NWMO’s spending. A July 27 Star-Phoenix story reported that: “Resources of up to $75,000 per community were made available for expenses incurred at this stage of the selection process.” The story doesn’t mention the $1 million NWMO gave to the FSIN or the $400,000 for the Métis Nation.

The committee has also asked what payments go to the hand-picked elders “advising” NWMO. Agency spokesman Michael Krizanc admitted they receive “a per diem that would be several hundred dollars a day.” That means when an NWMO-appointed elder such as Jim Sinclair attends any community forum to try to convince people to consider a nuclear dump, he is paid for it. Such monetary inducements undermine informed consent and the duty to consult.

Pinehouse official Glen McCallum suggests that the community is “just interested in gathering information,” yet village officials haven’t contacted people outside the industry. It took the Committee for Future Generations to have an open public forum in the community. It’s hard to accept that “there is no coercion” occurring; a private Pinehouse NWMO meeting talked of the need to “sugar-coat” nuclear wastes.

Krizanc says NWMO wants an “informed and willing” community to display its consent in a “compelling” way. He adds, “We haven’t defined what a compelling way is yet.”

What is compelling is the growing opposition to a nuclear dump.

In a StarPhoenix viewpoint on July 28, Pinehouse spokesperson Vince Natomagan attacked the Beauval forum for sending a “fear-based, short-sighted message.” Natomagan tried to make it seem as if the environmental society supported his position, without mentioning that the SES supports a nuclear waste ban in Saskatchewan.

Natomagan supported Sinclair, who was heckled at the Beauval forum, without mentioning that the elder was initially applauded when he began his speech by opposing a nuclear dump. Sinclair flip-flopped and ended up supporting a dump, as if that was the way to help the next generation avoid addiction, suicide and prison.

Such manipulation of the deep concern about the social crisis in the North may be backfiring. A founder of the Committee for Future Generations, retired RCMP officer Max Morin, told The SP that he was invited to be part of an elder’s summit focused on problems of death and addiction among the community’s youth. “Two hours in, the meeting turned out to be a presentation on nuclear waste storage set up by those working with NWMO.”

Northern Saskatchewan remains Canada’s second poorest region despite the uranium mining “boom.”

Bringing 20,000 truckloads of highly radioactive nuclear waste from Ontario won’t change that, but it will jeopardize sustainability.

The northerners walking from Pinehouse to Regina not only are standing up for the future of the north but for the future of Saskatchewan.

Harding is a retired professor of environmental and justice studies. He is active with Kairos and the Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan.

© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix

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Saskatchewan: 800 kilometre Walk Heats Up Nuclear Waste Controversy

From: Gordon Edwards

Sent: Monday, August 01, 2011 6:38 PM 

Background: 

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is owned and operated by the three utility companies that run nuclear power reactors in Canada: Ontario Power Generation (OPG) with 22 reactors, Hydro Quebec with 1 reactor, and the New Brunswick Power Corporation with 1 reactor.  

These three provincial government-owned corporations are responsible for producing almost all of Canada’s high-level radioactive waste in the form of irradiated nuclear

fuel.  (Smaller amounts are produced by research reactors at Chalk River, Ontario, owned by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), and by reactors at various universities — notably McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.)

NWMO is currently courting some of the economically deprived communities in Northern Saskatchewan, hoping to find a town whose leaders will accept with open arms the nuclear garbage from power reactors that light up the cities in Southern Ontario and other less disadvantaged places.

The nuclear industry regards radioactive waste as a serious public relations problem that threatens to impede the expansion of the industry; thus NWMO has a built-in conflict of interest – the desire to make it seem as if the radioactive waste has gone away and will no longer pose a threat to the ecosphere for millions of years to come.

Despite the seductive lure of “economic development” and the unremitting pro-nuclear propaganda that accompanies it, despite the one-sided and partial explanation of long-term nuclear waste management that routinely omits any discussion of plutonium extraction or the health effects of chronic radiation exposure, a courageous group of people from Northern Saskatchewan are walking 800 km to express their opposition to a nuclear waste dump in Saskatchewan.

Citizens of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and other parts of Canada and the world have an opportunity to express their solidarity with these brave marchers.  

Send messages of support to Jim Harding: hardingd@sasktel.net , with a copy to me at:  ccnr@web.ca

 Jim will relay those messages of support to the leaders of the march, and I will ensure that those same messages reach our political representatives in Ottawa. 

Gordon Edwards, President

Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility

www.ccnr.org 

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800 KM WALK HEATS UP NUCLEAR WASTE CONTROVERSY

BY Jim Harding

For publication in R-Town News chain – August 5, 2011 

Much has happened since the Forum for Truth on Nuclear Waste Storage was held in Beauval June 2nd. Organized in two weeks by the newly-formed Committee for Future Generations, the forum was attended by 200 people, most from ten northern communities. Within a few weeks committee members had organized a second forum, held in Pinehouse July 26th. The next day thirty northerners left Pinehouse to begin a twenty day, 7000 Generations Walk Against Nuclear Waste, which will end up at the Regina Legislature.

The 800 km walk will pass through twelve communities, with rallies in Prince Albert on August 3nd, Saskatoon on August 8th and Regina August 15th. On August 16th the walk will go down The Green Mile along Albert Street to present petitions to the Wall government.  Organizers are encouraging supporters to join in the walk wherever they can and for however long they can. Several carloads are expected to join the walkers at Lumsden the morning of August 15th.

This is no small feat and walkers are bound to be tested by this summer’s extreme weather. First Nations, Métis, environmental and ecumenical networks are providing lodging, food and support along the route. This is an unprecedented event, with northerners calling for southern support to win a nuclear waste ban.

The mainstream media is finally reporting the growing opposition to a nuclear dump in the north. Provincial politics is heating up and the nuclear waste controversy may yet become a fall election issue. The NDP, which has a policy against a nuclear dump, has now indicated it will support the walk. We will see whether this resonates with the voting public or is seen as getting on the band wagon late in the game. Organizers want support from any and all groups that are willing to help; it’s a politically non-partisan action.

NWMO’S RESPONSE

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), which has been promoting a nuclear dump In the north, appears to have changed its approach since the success of the Beauval forum. On July 21st, a week prior to the July 26th Pinehouse forum, NWMO’s Communications Director, Jamie Robinson, contacted the Committee for Future Generations, the Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Environmental Society (SES). It invited members to come on an all-expense paid tour “to a waste management facility at a nuclear generating station in South Ontario where used nuclear fuel is currently stored on an interim basis.” NWMO said it wanted to “hear their concerns and questions and to provide a briefing about our activities.”

These tours are regularly given to political officials and business groups to try to get them onside. The timing of this invitation to opponents of a nuclear dump is most interesting, for it came after the NWMO declined  to send anyone to the Beauval forum. This was the largest, broadest-based discussion of nuclear wastes to occur in the north to date, and would have been an opportune time for them to hear “concerns and questions”. (The forum organizers wanted the industry view presented and when no one turned up they bent over backwards and played two NWMO videos at the beginning of the meeting.)

NWMO’s invitation could have created divisions, but on July 25th the Committee simply responded “we are unable to attend at this time as we are extremely busy with our forum in Pinehouse and our 7000 Generations Walk to the legislature in Regina.” We’ll have to wait and see whether the offer to take people opposed to a nuclear dump here, to Ontario, where the wastes are produced and should be stored, still stands after the summer’s activities.

TRANSPARENCY REQUIRED

The Committee for Future Generations has been calling for more transparency from NWMO; they want to know what money is going into the north as part of its promotions. A July 27th Star Phoenix story sheds some light on this, reporting that “Resources of up to $75,000 per community were made available for expenses incurred at this stage of the selection process…” The story fails, however, to mention the $1,000,000 that went to the FSIN or the $400,000 that went to the Métis Nation.

The Committee has also been asking NWMO what payments have been going to the hand-picked elders that are “advising” it. When pushed on this, NWMO’s Toronto-based spokesman, Michael Krizanc, admitted they received “a per diem that would be several hundred dollars a day”. That means that when NWMO-appointed elder, Jim Sinclair, for example, goes to any community forum to try to convince people to consider a nuclear dump, he is getting paid. Such monetary inducements completely go against the meaning of “duty to consult” and “informed consent”.

There’s a lot of twisting of words in this controversy. Pinehouse official Glen McCallum suggests that the community is “just interested in gathering information”, yet village officials haven’t contacted people outside the industry, and it took forming the Committee for Future Generations to get an open public forum in the community. It’s hard to accept that “there is no coercion” going on behind the scene. Industry spokesperson Krizanc says NWMO wants an “informed and willing” community to display its willingness in a “compelling” way, but then adds “we haven’t defined what a compelling way is yet”. What is compelling is the growing opposition to a nuclear dump!

MANIPULATION EXPOSED

Those working behind the scene may be getting nervous. Pinehouse spokesperson, Vince Natomagan, had an op ed in the July 28th Star Phoenix, just the day after the 7000 Generations Walk left his community.  He attacked the June 2nd Beauval forum as sending a “fear-based, short-sighted message”, while failing to say anything about the opposition to a nuclear dump expressed at the July 26th Pinehouse forum . Natomagan tried to make the SES sound like it supported his position, without mentioning that the SES supports a ban on nuclear wastes in Saskatchewan. Natomagan supported Jim Sinclair, who was heckled at the Beauval forum, without mentioning that Sinclair was actually applauded when he started his speech by opposing a nuclear dump. Sinclair then flip-flopped and ended up supporting a dump as if that was the way to help the next generation avoid addiction, suicide and prison. Many present were aghast!

Such manipulation of the deep concern about the social crisis in the north may be backfiring. One of the founders of the Committee for Future Generations, retired RCMP officer, Max Morin, told the Star Phoenix  he “was invited to be part of an elder’s summit focused on problems of death and addiction among the community’s youth. Two hours in, the meeting turned out to be a presentation on nuclear waste storage set up by those working with NWMO.”

Northern Saskatchewan remains the second poorest region in all of Canada in spite of the uranium mining “boom”, and bringing 20,000 truckloads of highly radioactive nuclear wastes to the north will not change the highly inequitable pattern of mal-development. A new, sustainable path will need to be charted.  Natomagan talks rhetorically about “standing up straight and making an informed decision”. The northerners walking from Pinehouse to Regina are not only standing up for the future of the north but for the future of the whole province.

Jim Harding is a retired professor of environmental  and justice studies who is active with Kairos and the Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan.

Other articles:  http://jimharding.brinkster.net

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Spread the word!  Join us!  Bring a friend! 

7000 Generations Walk Arrives in Prince Albert  Media Release  

The 7000 Generations Walk arrives in Prince Albert on Tuesday August 2.

The Committee for 7000 Generations has organized an 820 kilometre march against nuclear waste storage and transportation in Saskatchewan. On August 3 the walkers and supporters will gather at 9:30 a.m. Food ‘N Fuel at the Nordale corner and walk to City Hall where they will be welcomed to the city from 12:00 pm-2:00 pm.  A social, featuring Leonard Adam, Violet Naytowhow and Liza Brown, will take place at the Union Centre at 7:00 P.M. the same day. The 7000 Generations Walk will continue on August 4 to Duck Lake and Batoche and will arrive in Regina on August 16.

The 7000 Generations Walk seeks to raise awareness among Saskatchewan citizens about the planned nuclear waste dump as proposed by the Nuclear Waste Management Committee (NWMO) The NWMO, a nuclear industry controlled committee, is working with three communities in northern Saskatchewan in an attempt to find a “willing host” for a site that will store high level radioactive nuclear waste which is being produced in nuclear reactors located in New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario.

The storage and transportation of high-level radioactive waste presents huge environmental and health risks to the community that may be the site of the nuclear waste dump and to all communities that are on the transportation route. As such, the storage and transportation of nuclear waste is an important issue not only for northerners, but for all Saskatchewan people.

In an attempt to counteract the lack of information being made public on this issue, the Committee for 7000 Generations hosted a Forum on Nuclear Waste Storage in Beauval on June 2nd, 2011. Over 200 people from 12 northern and 8 southern communities participated in this forum, which passed a resolution to send a strong message to the Saskatchewan government to “BAN NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE AND TRANSPORTATION OF NUCLEAR WASTE INTO, OUT OF AND THROUGH SASKATCHEWAN”. The Mayors of La Loche and Ile-a-la-Crosse have taken a stand against nuclear waste, leading by example with courage and vision.

However, the Committee for 7000 Generations needs the support of ALL Saskatchewan citizens to send this message to government. We cannot sit back and assume that our leaders will do the right thing for the people. The Committee for 7000 Generations will be collecting signatures on a petition requesting the Saskatchewan Government to legislate a ban on the storage and transportation of nuclear waste in Saskatchewan.  – 30 –

Prince Albert Contacts:

Rick Sawa (Council of Canadians)—961-7894

Jim Bahr (Council of Canadians)—763-1963

Steve Lawrence (Renewable Power Intelligent Choice)—922-1062

Bryan Lee (MN-S Local 108 Fish Lake)—982-4576

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Make a donation to support The Committee For Future Generations “7000 Generations Walk”  

The Committee For Future Generations needs your support to make this summer’s historical walk to Regina a huge success.  

Donate by cheque made out to “Committee for Future Generations” to: 

Royal Bank of Canada

130 Centre Street, P.O. Box 728

Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan  Canada  S9X 1Y5

 

DONATE (PayPal):  

http://www.cleangreensask.ca/Home/learn-more/nuclear-waste/northerners-say-no-to-nuclear-waste/make-a-donation

Donations to the Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan for the 7000 Generations Walk will be forwarded.  Once you have filled out the donation amount on Pay Pal, you will see “Add Special Instructions for Seller”. Simply make a note indicating your wish to support the walk.  

2011-08-01 The Swiss caused Geo Bush to cancel his visit to Switzerland. Can we do the same? Bush speaking in Surrey BC, Thur October 20, 2011.

 George Bush war criminal  No Responses »
Jul 312011
 

“Security… it’s simply the recognition that changes will take place and the knowledge that you’re willing to deal with whatever happens. … When you know that you’re capable of dealing with whatever comes, you have the only security the world has to offer.”     — Harry Browne

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George Bush was in Canada in 2009  (Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Montreal).

We were heavily involved in efforts to have him arrested.   Click on  Arrest George Bush.  Rule of Law essential to democracy.   It’s a  list of some of the efforts that are on-going through many organizations in the world to have Bush tried for war crimes.

The heat on Bush keeps building.  Earlier there were countries (Spain an example) where he did not dare to go for fear of being arrested.   He cancelled out on an appearance in Geneva (Feb 2011)  in the wake of loud protests by the Swiss,  calling for his arrest when he arrived.

Internationally, organizations are mobilizing around Bush’s appearance in Surrey BC in October, see “CONTENTS”  below.   Gail Davidson, Lawyers Against the War (LAW), is working on getting the legal arguments to the authorities (as we did in the 2009 go-around).   Splitting-the-Sky (John Boncore) who attempted a citizen’s arrest in Calgary in 2009 is already in action (item #4).

Please get the word to people in the lower mainland of  B.C. and in the American northwest  especially.   Peace organizations will want to know.  And others that come to your mind.   Thanks!

From the Calgary Bush event we learned WHO buys the tickets to hear Bush:

  • the big corporate law firms  (Bennett Jones Law Firm was a sponsor)
  • the politicians like to rub shoulders.

They are pretty fickle if they know they might be confronted with their duplicity in the breach of laws – – –  if anyone knows the law, it should be them!

Saskatoon, 2009:   I went thru the Yellow Pages and picked out the email addresses for the Law Firms.  Sent them a letter regarding the law and Bush and the requests for his arrest.  Also contacted the Law Foundation and sent the info to them.   To S’toon City Councillors, too,  early in the game.

The organizers went bust on ticket sales.  They had to give tickets away in large numbers in order to have the appearance of an audience.  Brett Wilson (of CBC, Dragons Den fame) was one of the organizers.  I contacted his lawyer, had a good conversation,  told him that the letters had gone to the law firms;  Wilson might at least want to know the content  – –  the package on Bush also went to him.

Word spreads in the old boys network, some are fickle  – –  or maybe they just need to have the breach of laws drawn to their attention.  They also need to be reminded of what they were taught in law school:  everyone is equal before the law, including Geo Bush.   The media doesn’t tell people the laws and the evidence of the breach of laws that Bush is responsible for.

Action items will come.  I searched for a facebook organizing group, didn’t find one;  would be great if someone would set one up.  For now,  let’s just concentrate on spreading the word.   Bush is scheduled to come.  We are going to do our part, same as the people in Switzerland.   The rule of law is essential to democracy and we are willing to mobilize to insist on it.

I expect there will be large demonstrations in Vancouver (Surrey) on October 20th.

BRENDAN WRITES, in response to the war-resistor videos  (2011-07-31)  Young people, another great video, the reality of war.  Let’s give them a hand (and help ourselves at the same time!):

Thanks for such a great video.  I am incredibly mindful of where we as Canada, or even “North America” are headed.  It has occurred to me that if an emergency event happens in Canada or the US, our troops might intermingle across each others’ borders and Canadian sovereignty will be drastically damaged.  Not only that, if Israel/US provoke or attack Iran as they are in Libya, the possibility of a Libyan/Iranian/Syrian alliance might be the next chapter.  And Russia is an ally of Iran.  Our borders must be protected as top priority.  We must choose our friends wisely . . .    

Brendan William Cross
Political Adviser , Regina SK   http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=%22brendan+cross%22

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CONTENTS   (copies of the articles follow):

  1. THE ANNOUNCEMENT, FEB 01, 2011, GEORGE BUSH FEATURED SPEAKER IN SURREY ON OCT 20.     http://www.surrey.ca/city-government/8019.aspx 
  2. INTERNATIONAL CRITICS OF GEORGE W. BUSH EYE SURREY ECONOMIC CONFERENCE, FEB 9   http://www.straight.com/article-373686/vancouver/international-critics-george-w-bush-eye-surrey-economic-conference
  3. DIANNE WATTS (MAYOR, SURREY) URGED TO UN-INVITE GEORGE W. BUSH TO SURREY,  FEB 10�
  4. ARRESTING IMPUNITY:  CANADA’S LAW ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM PUT ON TRIAL,  MAY 10      http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/campus-notes/2011/05/arresting-impunity-canadas-law-enforcement-system-put-trial

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1.  THE ANNOUNCEMENT

http://www.surrey.ca/city-government/8019.aspx

Presidents Clinton and Bush at 2011 Surrey Regional Economic Summit

February 01, 2011

Surrey – Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts today announced that Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will be the featured speakers at the fourth annual Surrey Regional Economic Summit on October 20, 2011.

“President Clinton and President Bush will appear together to provide their very unique and timely perspectives on a broad range of economic, business, and geo-political issues and trends,” explained Mayor Watts, who launched the first Surrey Summit in 2008 as part of her city’s economic development strategy.

Over the past three years, the annual conference has attracted a growing number of prominent international speakers and presenters, including Tony Blair, Rudy Giuliani and Steve Forbes, as well as British Columbian and Canadian business and economic experts.

“The Surrey Regional Economic Summit is an opportunity for us to learn more about major issues that impact our lives, our jobs and our cities,” added Mayor Watts. “The summit reminds us that we’re directly impacted by the changes created by the dynamic and often dramatic competitive forces at work in markets in every corner of the world. As a result, the Surrey Summit has become a big part of our city’s brand as we work to attract jobs, investment and business opportunities to Surrey and the region.”

Co-chaired by Surrey Councillor Linda Hepner, the annual Surrey Regional Economic Summit emphasizes business, investment and social issues impacting Surrey, its neighbours throughout the region and the province as a whole.

“The United States is the largest economy in the world, Canada’s biggest trading partner and the single largest market for British Columbia businesses,” said Councillor Hepner. “Having President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush with us in 2011 will give our conference participants an opportunity to hear from two unique leaders who have played major roles in shaping events over the past 20 years in the United States and abroad. As a result, their perspectives on the new realities facing the United States and the world’s major economies will be invaluable.”

Registration for the 2011 Surrey Regional Economic Summit will begin in the coming weeks.

– 30 –

Media contacts:

Tara Foslien
Office of the Mayor
604-375-4584

Greg Descantes
The Pace Group
604-646-3564

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2.    International critics of George W. Bush eye Surrey economic conference

http://www.straight.com/article-373686/vancouver/international-critics-george-w-bush-eye-surrey-economic-conference

comments Comments (8)

By Stephen Thomson, February 9, 2011

George W. Bush is one of the featured speakers at the Surrey Regional Economic Summit on October 20.

An upcoming Surrey economic conference has caught the attention of critics of former U.S. president George W. Bush, one of the event's key speakers.

Human rights groups, including the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, backed a recent plan to file criminal complaints in Switzerland against Bush.

The complaints focused, in part, on Bush’s approval of controversial CIA interrogation techniques that included waterboarding, which simulates drowning.

The Center for Constitutional Rights claims waterboarding is a form of torture. The group has cited the U.N. Convention Against Torture, an international treaty, in its push for potential prosecution.

However, the plan to file the complaints, on behalf of alleged torture victims, was dropped when Bush abruptly cancelled his planned visit to Switzerland.

But the human-rights groups have indicated they will keep a close eye on Bush’s future travel plans.

Katherine Gallagher, a lawyer with the Center for Constitutional Rights, said her group is aware Bush is slated to speak at the annual Surrey Regional Economic Summit on October 20.

“As we get closer to that date we will see what actions we’ll take,” Gallagher told the Straight by phone from New York.

“I think we have to strategize and think that through with colleagues up in Canada,” she said. “It’s the next visit that we’ve heard about and we’re going to be following up and seeing what we know about it and preparing for it.”

The City of Surrey could not be reached for comment.

Surrey mayor Dianne Watts has said Bush and former U.S. president Bill Clinton—the other featured speaker—will appear at the 2011 summit to share their insights on economics, business, and geopolitics.

“The Surrey Regional Economic Summit is an opportunity for us to learn more about major issues that impact our lives, our jobs and our cities,” Watts said in a statement on February 1.

Since 2008, the Surrey conference has drawn high-profile speakers including former British prime minister Tony Blair and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Bush has defended his approval of the controversial, post-9/11 CIA interrogation program.

In particular, he has said he approved the use of waterboarding on individuals in U.S. custody.

“No doubt the procedure was tough, but medical experts assured the CIA that it did no lasting harm,” Bush wrote in his recently published memoir, Decision Points.

Bush wrote the interrogation program “saved lives”, adding that claims of unlawful torture at the hands of Americans were “not true”.

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3.    Dianne Watts urged to un-invite George W. Bush to Surrey

Former president George W. Bush

Photograph by: Mark Wilson, Getty Images, Postmedia News

SURREY – Gail Davidson says George W. Bush is a war criminal and shouldn’t be allowed to speak at this year’s Surrey Regional Economic Summit in October.

Bush and fellow former U.S. president Bill Clinton will be the keynote speakers at the event.

Davidson speaks for Lawyers Against the War, a Canadian organization that wants bush charged with war crimes for authorizing the use of torture in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Canada is a signatory to an international treaty banning torture, Davidson said, and that means the federal government is obliged to deny the former U.S. President entry into Canada.

“If he does enter Canada, then the government has the obligation to prosecute him when he’s on our soil.”

Davidson said LAW tried unsuccessfully to block Bush’s entry in 2009 when he visited Calgary, but thinks things could work out differently this time around.

Davidson said Bush was scheduled to speak at a Jewish charity gala in Switzerland on Feb. 12, but the engagement was cancelled.

Organizers of the event said the cancellation was due to security concerns when it was learned protests were planned.

Davidson said Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts should withdraw her invitation to Bush.

“I think if Mayor Watts’ office is even modestly informed, she would realize that’s the right thing to do.”

Watt’s disagreed.

“I think they were trying to do the same thing with (former British prime minister and Bush ally) Tony Blair,” the mayor said. “This isn’t a political event, it’s an economic summit. It’s not about whether you like an individual, it’s about having a dialogue.”

The Now has heard from readers who question what advice Bush and Clinton can offer since both played a big part in creating the global recession that has crippled the economies of the U.S. and other nations.

“I get that,” the mayor said, “but here’s the thing. It’s important for us to know what went wrong.

“We need a dialogue about what worked, what didn’t work and what utterly failed. If you only deal with one side, you’re not learning the other half of the equation.”

The federal Department of Justice did not return the Now’s calls.

tcolley  AT   thenownewspaper.com

© Copyright (c) Surrey Now
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4.  Arresting impunity: Canada's law enforcement system put on trial

http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/campus-notes/2011/05/arresting-impunity-canadas-law-enforcement-system-put-trial

By Joshua Blakeney

May 10, 2011

Arrest Bush: From Calgary, Alberta to Surrey, British Columbia

On Monday, May 2 a coalition of activists and civil resisters marched on Surrey City Hall in an attempt to school Mayor Dianne Watts on the voluminous domestic and supranational legislation that exists pertaining to credibly accused war criminals and other violators of human rights. Mayor Dianne Watts' ill conceived invitation to George W. Bush to come to Surrey, British Columbia to attend the annual Surrey Regional Economic Summit this coming Oct. 20 stimulated the demonstration, which was organized by Mohawk activist and author Splitting the Sky.

Splitting the Sky led the procession which marched peacefully in the direction of the mayor's office chanting "Arrest George Bush! Enforce the law!" Splitting the Sky presented Mayor Watts' communications specialist Tara Foslien with documents demonstrating the correspondence between Bush's self-admitted misdeeds and the Canadian laws explicitly prohibiting such crimes. The civil resister cited domestic legislation such as the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act as examples of two legal bodies enshrined to prevent Canada from becoming a safe haven for war criminals.

Also in attendance was Professor Anthony Hall of the University of Lethbridge. Hall emphasized the need for law enforcement officials to transcend politics and implement the law equitably, regardless of the status of the offender. Hall addressed the many police officers present, telling them they will be told that "[Bush] is an 'Internationally Protected Person.' That is not true! [Bush] is a civilian. He is no longer a head of state."

The attempts to elucidate the illegitimacy of the proposed visit of Bush to British Columbia in October ought to be viewed as an extension of the citizens' mobilizations which began with Bush's controversial visit to Calgary, Alberta on Mar. 17, 2009. That visit was Bush's first visit to a foreign country without diplomatic immunity. After the failure of law enforcement officials to do their jobs and arrest the then credibly accused war criminal -- now self-confessed torturer -- Splitting the Sky courageously and selflessly attempted to breach the police lines and conduct a citizen's arrest on the former U.S. president.

During the subsequent trial in Calgary which some dubbed "The trial of Splitting the Sky versus George W. Bush," former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark -- Splitting the Sky's former lawyer -- and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney flew in to the oil-patch city to participate in the proceedings. The trial culminated with Splitting the Sky being given a conditional discharge by Judge Manfred Delong allowing him to avoid immediate incarceration. Some read this comparative leniency as a tacit acknowledgement by Judge Delong that Splitting the Sky was, as he submitted, being a conscientious citizen when he attempted to uphold the rule of law by seeking to arrest Bush.

The 'I was only following orders' defence

 According to a report in The Province, Norm Stowe, the manager of the annual Surrey Regional Economic Summit to be attended by Bush, stated via e-mail that "the city respected the rights of protesters to present their views but will have RCMP support to ensure the event is not disrupted [...] The RCMP have responsibility for security and we know they'll find a balance that allows people to express their views without risking the safety of our speakers or those attending the summit."

These comments, by the organizer of the summit show a distinct failure to grasp the main contention of those protesting the impunity afforded to credibly accused war criminals in Canada. It is the law enforcement agencies themselves, including the RCMP, who are being objected to as it is they who are failing to do their jobs. How is it that Norm Stowe can be so positive that the RCMP will protect, rather than arrest, the self-confessed torturer during the Oct. 2011 summit? Who gave the orders to the RCMP to reassure those organizing the event that their guests -- even if they're culpable for the most murderous of crimes -- will be protected on that day? All those police officers who opt to protect, rather than arrest, George W. Bush when he comes to British Columbia are putting themselves in a position where they can be accused of complicity in the breakdown of the rule of law in Canada.

Those law enforcement officials who shirk their duties to uphold the rule of law in Canada might well use the defence in the future that they were merely "following orders." This was the common alibi of many officials tried at Nuremberg and it didn't wash. If I were an ordinary bobby assigned to shield George W. Bush from the law during his upcoming visit I would ask myself serious questions as to whether my role might have personal ramifications for me down the line.

If a police officer arrested Bush in Surrey on Oct. 20, s/he could easily justify doing so to an independent judge before a court of law. Firstly, by doing so the officer would be doing his/her job of upholding the rule of law. Secondly, by arresting the self-confessed torturer, the officer would be maintaining civility and order as s/he would be eliminating any possibility of a confrontation such as the one that arose in Calgary when Splitting the Sky was compelled, due to the failures of law enforcement officials, to attempt to break through the wall of immunity and impunity and arrest George Bush. During Splitting the Sky versus Bush, the defence of those police officers who had obstructed Splitting the Sky from implementing the law was that they were keeping order during a lively protest. Surely the best way to maintain law and order would be simply to arrest Bush as this would remove the catalyst of the protest and maintain peacefulness on the streets of Surrey?

Joshua Blakeney is a graduate student at the University of Lethbridge.

2011-07-31 Young people, another great video, the reality of war. Let’s give them a hand (and help ourselves at the same time!)

 Peace or Violence  No Responses »
Jul 312011
 

I remembered to go into the wild and beautiful prairie.  It restores my soul.  

You, good people, have a similar effect!   

You’ll know why after this short series of emails about average people connecting and MAKING the change.  They inspire.  Bless them!

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1.     Young People Rising Up Against U.S Military Recruitment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19u4JR_55b0       June 16, 2011

(OR, find it on facebook at:   http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=160412500691995&comments )

 COMMENT I POSTED

I can’t thank you enough for the video. Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper is Geo Bush reincarnated. He is merging us with you. Your work helps build the resistance here. We are in action-based solidarity with you.

You might be interested in this promotional video: creative genius to destroy the minds of young army recruits. http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=​2090

Video:  “Realistic” training for war.   This passes as normal and desirable.  After this training, these young people will never again be “Normal”. …. “ 

2.         Even The Troops Are Waking Up – A Fantastic Video – Mike Prysner   

(I circulated this earlier but can’t find it posted on this blog.  It is powerful.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-CpCUOygqU   Jan 17, 2010

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 If more Canadians see the above two videos made by American kids  – –  (if you pass this email along!!) – –  : 

–        We give value to their work  (good information not shared has very little value).   We empower them to do more.

 –        More Canadians will join in the efforts to stop the Government from spending tens of billions of dollars on Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth bombers.   (Go to http://www.ceasefire.ca/ .  Ceasefire (Steven Staples) does incredibly good work.   After watching the two war-resistor videos, I was inspired to send a donation to Ceasefire.) 

–        Hey!  we might even stop the overseas military bases the Government is planning to build.  (Click on  2011-06-03 Canada to set up military bases abroad)

War is not the answer.  Heaven forbid we sink deeper into it.  (ummm  “Heaven forbid”  translates to  “We are the only ones who can create the awareness on behalf of heaven!!)

2011-07-29 FIRST NATIONS WIN FEDERAL COURT CASE FOR PROTECTION OF CARIBOU IN THE TARSANDS.

 Corporatocracy or Democracy or Administrative State or WHAT?, Energy, Sustainability  No Responses »
Jul 302011
 

First Nations respond to victory in Federal Court caribou case

Court finds federal environment Minister acted unlawfully in refusing to recommend emergency order for woodland caribou

July 29, 2011 – Victoria, BC – Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Beaver Lake Cree Nation and Enoch Cree Nation received a favourable judgment from the Federal Court of Canada late yesterday afternoon.

Mr. Justice Paul Crampton held that federal environment Minister Peter Kent “clearly erred” in refusing to recommend an emergency order for boreal caribou in northeastern Alberta. The Court wrote: “… the Minister clearly erred in reaching his decision by failing to take into account the First Nations Applicants’ Treaty Rights and the honour of the Crown in interpreting his mandate under [the federal Species at Risk Act].”

The Court set aside (or overturned) the Minister’s decision, and sent the matter back to the Minister for reconsideration in light of the Court’s reasons.

The Court noted the federal government’s various concessions in the case, including that: caribou are threatened by habitat loss; all 13 herds of caribou in Alberta are at elevated risk of local extinction (largely because of industrial development in their habitat); the population and habitat conditions of all the herds in northeastern Alberta are “insufficient for those herds to be self sustaining”; there is a developing gap in caribou distribution in Canada centred around northeastern Alberta (the area of intensive tar sands activity); and Alberta’s failure to protect caribou will likely have consequences for the national population of the species.

The Court then went on to say: “I acknowledge that it is not immediately apparent how, given the foregoing facts, the Minister reasonably could have concluded that there are no imminent threats to the national recovery of boreal caribou.” (See paragraphs 48-49 of the judgment.)

The federal government conceded in the Court case that it was more than four years past the mandatory statutory deadline for completing a recovery strategy for boreal caribou. Further relief may follow from the Federal Court if the environment Minister does not complete a proposed recovery strategy by September 1st of this year.

“As for what this Court decision means, this is a very useful step towards protecting caribou in northeastern Alberta and towards respecting First Nations’ rights in the area,” said lawyer Jack Woodward, counsel for the First Nations Groups. “But we’ll have to see what the environment Minister does in response to the case: the ball is now back in his court.”

“We’re pleased the court recognized the importance of the Species at Risk Act,” stated Ron Lameman, advisor to Beaver Lake Cree Nation Chief and Council. “And in issuing this judgement has required the federal environment minister to properly reconsider the looming crisis for the woodland caribou – an animal vital to our livelihood.”

George J. Poitras
Mikisew Cree First Nation
tel. 780.264.1269
 
“It would be easier just to fold our hands and not make this fight…, to say, I, one man, can do nothing.  I grow afraid only when I see people thinking and acting like this.  We all know the story about the man who sat beside the trail too long, and then it grew over and he could never find his way again.  We can never forget what has happened, but we cannot go back, nor can we just sit beside the trail.”
– Poundmaker, Cree Chief

2011-07-25 Stop armoured vehicles in Canadian cities. Saskatoon initiative.

 Corporatocracy or Democracy or Administrative State or WHAT?, Peace or Violence  No Responses »
Jul 252011
 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION is at:      2011-03-07  York Regional Police, Vancouver Police, Saskatoon Police — all getting armoured vehicles.  From March 2010, Vancouver: “The RCMP said the so-called “Cougars for cops” is a national program, and residents of other cities can expect to see the vehicles on their streets too.”

ONE armoured vehicle will cost city tax-payers about $345,000.    

It’s easy to send a message to Saskatoon City Council.  Just fill in the entries at   http://www.saskatoon.ca/CITY%20COUNCIL/Pages/WriteaLettertoCouncil.aspx  

We will soon have a petition for you to sign, and a facebook presence.   Help will be appreciated!    Your “Comments” (below) will be useful.

More later!

2011-07-21 Green Party Sask legal action, Govt of Sask: Refund of Election deposits. Law is unconstitutional. 3 years and no action.

 Green Party  No Responses »
Jul 212011
 

SENT:  Wed 7/20/2011

TO:  (Green Party Sask)    Larissa ; Amber; Penny

CC:  (Green Party Canada)  Johan; Robert

NOTE for Federal Party:   “FYI”.

For Saskatchewan Greens, the failure of the Government to refund election deposits is a cost of about $10,000 between the 2007 and 2011 elections.    The Government keeps the money when it should be returned to the Party,  legal precedent established by the Supreme Court of Canada (Federal Greens).

The refund of election deposits is not an issue

  • federally
  • in Ontario
  • in PEI
  • I don’t know about B.C.
  • I don’t know the outcome of Alberta’s efforts in 2008 (ref below).

Action to obtain remedy in Sask was started in 2007,  it’s on-going.

The provinces that had a Provincial Green Party Leader were informed of our efforts (2008).

We hoped that we could get the rules changed for all the provinces (without court action), on the heels of the success of the Federal and Ontario Greens in Court, who worked with lawyer Peter Rosenthal.

If you happen to be talking with other provincial Green Parties, you might like to let them know of this next development.    Thanks.  /Sandra

– – –  – – – – – – – – —

Sask Greens:

–        It is proposed that the legal challenge commence.   Efforts to avoid court action have failed.  Details in the following.

–        In 2007, the lawyer who successfully argued the case at the Supreme Court and in Ontario Court, Peter Rosenthal, was agreeable to doing the Saskatchewan lawsuit.

Please let me know if anything is missing from the following update.

Thanks!

= = = = = =  = = =

For the record:    (The BACKGROUND FILE is appended at the bottom.)

July 14, 2011:  I phoned Justice Minister Don Morgan’s office.  Asked for the name of the person who is in charge of the Committee that is supposed to be getting the Election Act changed in order to comply with legal precedents regarding refund of election deposits.  I referred to my letter to Morgan,  Dec 2007 (scroll down for a copy).   And to the fact that Elections Sask recommended in its Report to the Legislature that the Act be changed in order to comply.

Jul 15:  Matthew phoned on behalf of the Minister.  There will be no change to the legislation.   The election deposits will not be refunded unless we get 50% of the number of votes that the winning candidate gets (the existing legislation).

“currently no plans to make the changes and if there were, there won’t be changes until after the election.  (I asked about retro-active.)   Regarding making the legislation retro-active, they could change “whatever they wanted.  It is theoretically possible but I don’t think it will happen.”

I advised Matthew that the Government has had more than three years to make the changes to bring Sask legislation into compliance with the law, that we have done follow-up with them, that Elections Sask told the Legislature about the need for the changes.

It is not acceptable that in three years there has been no action taken.  We will be contacting the lawyer and launching legal action.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – –

DRAFT   MEDIA MESSAGING, PRESS CONFERENCE:    (has not been issued)

–             The Green Party is running a full slate of candidates in the Nov 7 Provincial Election, 58 candidates.  That is  Five thousand, eight hundred dollars in election deposits.

–              $5800 is a significant amount of money for a party that does not accept contributions from corporations or unions.

–              The Green Party wrote to the Government of Saskatchewan more than three years ago.  We explained  that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in a case involving federal election deposits.  The Supreme Court ruled that laws that disproportionately impact smaller political parties, the way the Saskatchewan Election deposit law does, are unconstitutional.   We requested that Saskatchewan law be brought into compliance with the Supreme Court ruling.

–              Elections Saskatchewan recommended to the Saskatchewan Legislature on April 30, 2009,  that the Elections Act be changed because “it would likely be found to violate Charter rights”

–              In three years the Government has done nothing.  It cost the Green Party $4800  in the 2007 Election.   It will potentially cost us  close to $6000 this election, a total of approximately $10,000.   It is not right.

–         On July 15, 2011 we were advised by Matthew (ministerial assistant) on behalf of the Minister of Justice, Don Morgan, that the legislation is not going to be changed before the November election.   If the law is changed after the Election, they will not likely retro-actively refund Election deposits.  What they are doing is unconstitutional.   It is not consistent with healthy democracy.

–        We, the Green Party, tried to work out a solution so that it would not cost the tax-payers of Saskatchewan an unnecessary court case.  After 3 years and not one bit of progress we have no option now, but to launch a legal challenge.

= = == == =  = = = = =

ELECTIONS SASKATCHEWAN RECOMMENDATION TO THE SASK LEGISLATURE, APRIL 30, 2009, RE REFUND OF DEPOSITS

From Elections Saskatchewan, cover letter addressed to Saskatchewan Legislature, Speaker Don Toth,  dated April 30, 2009.   The enclosed “Report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Volume III,  Recommendations for Changes to The Elections Act 1996, Twenth-sixth Provincial General Election,  November 7, 2007  (http://www.elections.sk.ca/pdfs/OCEO-Volume-III.pdf )

Page 34:   “2. Handling and Forfeiture of Deposits [Section 47]

Background:

Currently a Returning Officer shall return a candidate’s deposit if the candidate is elected or if the candidate obtains at least 50% of the number of valid votes cast in favour of the candidate elected.

In Figuera v. Attorney General of Canada (1999), the judge struck down as contrary to section 3 of The Charter, federal legislation that required a candidate for election to Parliament to pay a $500 deposit that was refundable if the candidate received 15% of the vote.

In October 2007, in De Jong v. Attorney General of Ontario, the Ontario Superior Court struck down a provision in the Election Act which required candidates to forfeit their $200 nomination deposits if they receive less than 10% of the vote. The provision was stuck down on the grounds that it violates the right to vote guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Attorney General of Ontario has not appealed the case.

Currently in Alberta the nomination deposit is $500.00. Half of the nomination deposit is refunded to the candidate’s campaign if the candidate is elected or if they receive at least half as many votes as the winning candidate. The other half of the nomination deposit is refunded if the candidate’s campaign financial statement is filed on time. Elections Alberta has recommended that the portion of the nomination deposit that is contingent upon the election outcome be eliminated. Canada, Northwest Territories and Nunavut return the entire candidate’s deposit if the business manager or candidate submits the candidate’s financial return on time.

If challenged in court, Saskatchewan’s nomination deposit, that is contingent upon the election outcome, would likely be found to violate Charter rights and therefore should be changed. ….   ”

– – – – – – – – – — – –

THE BACKGROUND FILE:

SENT:   3/4/2008 4:07 PM

TO:  Various Provincial Leaders of Green Parties, other GP Officials

(Frank de Jong; jane sterk; George Read; Ken McGowan; Sharon Labchuk; scott mckay; holly nelson; Peter Rosenthal; Nick Wright; Jim Harris)

CC:  ron yurick; Jeanie Warnock; John Ogilvie; victoria serda; Sanjeev Goel; Amber Jones; Craig Massey; Mike Fornssler; Mike McLeod

Appended:  letter sent to Prov Govt to request change to Elections Act

Attached:  Response from Govt

Status:    Waiting for Elections Sask to convene “post-election” meeting of the provincial political parties, at which time the question will be addressed.

————————-

Greetings!

George Reid (leader GPAB), Frank de Jong (GPO Leader), Jane Sterk (leader GPBC), Holly Nelson (leader GPM), Scott McKay (chef PVQ), Ken McGowan (leader GPNS), Sharon Labchuck (leader GPPEI),

…   Post Election and re Jim’s Report:

“Legal Challenge

In Alberta the Election law requires a $500 deposit to run as a candidate.

Half of this is refunded when the candidate’s financial returns are filed.

But the other half — $250 – is only refunded if the candidate achieves a certain percentage. This has been declared unconstitutional for federal election deposits in the Figueroa case and the Green Party of Ontario launched a case in 2007 about provincial election deposits not being fully refundable and won!  So we’ll be launching a case like this in Alberta. If you want to help fund such a case contact email jim  AT  greenparty.ca ”

The Saskatchewan work-to-date on refund of deposits may be of use to some of you.

Maybe we don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

Frank de Jong and Peter Rosenthal from Ontario helped us here in Saskatchewan to mount the challenge.

Their support was just great – we were able to submit the letter to the Govt within a week of starting the project!

You might be able to copy and paste ?

GO Greens!!!!

Sandra (Finley)

GPS

========================

LETTER SENT TO THE GOVERNMENT

December 18, 2007

The Honourable Don Morgan

Attorney General

Government of Saskatchewan

Room 355

Legislative Building

Regina SK  S4S 0B3

Dear Honourable Don Morgan,

RE: Refund of deposits paid by candidates in an election.  Bringing Saskatchewan Elections Act into compliance with recent court rulings

Congratulations on your appointment to the position of Attorney General.   Know that the Green Party of Saskatchewan will do its utmost to work with you to protect the public interest in Saskatchewan.

On behalf of the Green Party, I request that you recommend the amendment of the Saskatchewan Elections Act to eliminate part of section 47(3), which reads:

“… an  unsuccessful candidate is deemed to have forfeited his or her deposit if he or she does not obtain at least 50% of the number of valid votes cast in favour of the candidate elected.”

This section has cost our party and other smaller parties a great deal of money that thus was unavailable for campaign purposes.

Two Ontario court decisions have held very similar provisions in other elections statutes  to be unconstitutional:

(1) de Jong v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2007 CanLII 44348 (ON S.C.)

http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2007/2007canlii44348/2007canlii44348.html

is a recent decision of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario that held that a very similar section of the Ontario Election Act was unconstitutional.

(2)  Figueroa v. Canada (Attorney General), (1999), 170 D.L.R. (4th) 647 (Ontario Court – General Division) held that a similar section of the Canada Election Act was unconstitutional.

In Figueroa, other sections of the Canada Elections Act were also challenged. One issue went to the Supreme Court of Canada.  It is my and our lawyer’s view that the Supreme Court’s ruling in that case implies that any provision that disproportionately impacts smaller political parties, the way our deposit section does, is unconstitutional.

That decision is reported at:  [2003] 1 S.C.R. 912, 2003 SCC 37   http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/2003/2003scc37/2003scc37.html

In light of the above jurisprudence, the Green Party of Saskatchewan encourages you to amend the Election Act and eliminate section 47 (3) thus avoiding the necessity and the expense (both to our Party and to the Government of Saskatchewan) of a constitutional challenge in our province.

We would be glad to further discuss this matter with you if you think it might be helpful.

We would appreciate your very early reply.

Thank-you for your consideration.

Best wishes,

Sandra Finley

Leader

Green Party of Saskatchewan

(Contact info)

RESPONSE DATED  JANUARY 28,  2008  RECEIVED FROM THE GOVT OF SASK:

Dear Ms. Finley:

Thank you for your letter of December 18, 2007, on behalf of the Green Party of Saskatchewan with respect to section 47 of  The Election Act, 1996.

Without commenting on the legality of the provision you are requesting be amended, I am of the opinion that it is entirely appropriate that The Election Act, 1996 should be reviewed in the light of the recent experience of a general election.  Such a review would be conducted with the input of Saskatchewan’s political parties and the Chief Electoral Officer.   A review would also include consideration of any changes in the legal environment with repsect to the choices previously made in our legislation.

Accordingly, I will ask my officials to ensure that the concerns you have raised are included in this review.  I thank you for bringing this important matter to my attention.

Yours sincerely,

Don Morgan, Q.C.

Minister of Justice

and Attorney General

cc:  Houourable Brad Wall, Premier of Saskatchewan

2011-07-21 Hungary Destroys All Monsanto GMO Corn Fields

 Food, Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category), Genetically Modified, Health, Take back the University, Technology  No Responses »
Jul 212011
 

http://planetsave.com/2011/07/21/hungary-destroys-all-monsanto-gmo-maize-fields/

In an effort to rid the country of Monsanto’s  GMO products, Hungary has stepped up the pace. This looks like its  going to be another slap in the face for Monsanto and other large scale agribusiness. A new regulation was  introduced this March which stipulates that seeds are supposed to be  checked for GMO before they are introduced to the market. Unfortunately,  some GMO seeds made it to the farmers without them knowing it.

Almost 1000 acres of maize found to have been grown with genetically  modified seeds have been destroyed throughout Hungary deputy state secretary of  the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar said. The GMO maize has  been ploughed under, said Lajos Bognar, but pollen has not spread from the  maize, he added.

Unlike several EU members, GMO seeds are banned in  Hungary. The checks will continue despite the fact that seed traders  are obliged to make sure that their products are GMO free, Bognar said.

During their investigation, controllers have found Pioneer and Monsanto products  among the seeds planted.

The free movement of goods within the EU means that authorities will not  investigate how the seeds arrived in Hungary but they will check where the goods  can be found, Bognar said. Regional public radio reported that the two  biggest international seed producing companies are affected in the matter  and GMO seeds could have been sown on up to thousands of hectares in the  country.

Most of the local farmers have complained since they just discovered  they were using GMO seeds. With season already under way, it is too late  to sow new seeds, so this years harvest has been lost.

And to make things even worse for the farmers, the company that distributed  the seeds in Baranya county is under liquidation. Therefore, if any compensation  is paid by the international seed producers, the money will be paid primarily to  that company’s creditors, rather than the farmers.

Related Articles:

  1. Stop  Monsanto Again–GM Alfalfa Threatens to Contaminate Organic Crops
  2. USDA  hits organics again, approves Monsanto’s GMO sugar beets
  3. Monsanto  Hired Blackwater to Spy on Animal Rights Activists?

2011-07-13 Census: Don’t know what to do about the census? What’s happening to other people? some actual questions and answers might be helpful.

 Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category), Privacy of Personal Information; Charter Right; Surveillance; StatsCan Censuses & Surveys  11 Responses »
Jul 132011
 

If the following can be useful to anyone,  please help yourself!    A selection of input, and Q & A’s.

Questions and input are related to Statistics Canada census work in 2011:

  • May 2,    Census of population collection began,  all households receive
  • May 10,   Census of Agriculture collection was underway, all farmers
  • June & July,   National Household Survey (used to be the census long form)  is carried out.  Detailed information (83 questions) is requested, 1 in 3 households receive.
  • July 29,  Collection activities for the Census of Population are to be completed.

Note:

  1. COMMENTS from other postings about the Census have been moved to this posting.    (The overflow is at:   2011-07-13   continued)
  2. Statistics Canada, Media Relations  posted a COMMENT – – scroll down to the bottom.  My reply follows their input.
  3. 2011-05-28 Elizabeth asks What is Lockheed Martin’s actual role?   (contains information Canadians should know)
  4. The full file of information on the Census – Lockheed Martin is at  http://sandrafinley.ca/?page_id=70.”

= = = = = =  = = = = = = = = = = =

Received:  Wed 8/10/2011 4:19 PM

Hi Sandra:  Yes by all means I would like you to use my letter and see if it furthers the resistance to the increasing intrusion of government into the private lives of Canadians.  I have added an interesting quote from the Jennifer Stoddard, Canada’s Privacy Commissioner, about that very topic. 

(Note: I (Sandra) missed this June email in my inbox until August 10)

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Mr. Wayne Smith

Chief Statistician

Statistics Canada

Ottawa. Ontario, Canada

Dear Mr Smith

I write this letter in the knowledge that you consider the information requested in your current census form as vital for purposes, which are of little interest or value to me personally whereas my right to privacy is of utmost importance to me.

I respectfully request to be excused from your request for me to provide information, which I regard as an intrusion into my personal and private life.  Due to a long career as a management consultant I am very aware of the overabundance of detailed information that is available on individuals the fact of which I find highly objectionable.

However my request to be excused from the current census is based on three important and non-personal reasons:

1.    I insist on claiming my right to privacy according to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom.  By abdicating my Charter Rights to privacy I not only abandon my personal rights but I also abandon the right of every other Canadian to claim their right to privacy.  This is not something that I take lightly as I sincerely believe abdication of this right is the beginning of absolute governmental control of the lives of it’s citizens.  Having had a business in China I am all too aware of how intrusive government control can be.

It is my clear and unequivocal opinion that my right to privacy supersedes any need on the part of government to manage its affairs and your request for personal information, accompanied as it was with a threat of legal action, contravenes that right.

2.     I am not alone in my profound concern over the choice of supplier for the software support made by Treasure Board.  Apart from the fact the choice is part of the industrial military complex of a foreign country, I believe at some point the database that you claim to be secure will be hacked.  Are you willing to give me your personal guarantee that Statistics Canada will not be compromised in any way?  What price will come directly from you or your pocket if it is?  Are you willing to come to my door and apologize to me or will there even be an apology.

Highly competent organizations such as the US Pentagon, Sony Corp., Google, Federal Governmental Departments etc., etc., the list is extensive, have all been the victim of Internet hackers.  So what then does it mean when the information provided by your department states that only authorized personnel will have access to the data?  In truth it is unlikely that you or anyone else can give absolute assurance that Stats Can will never experience an intrusion of this nature.  To my way of thinking question isn’t IF you are going to be hacked it’s when.

I would ask you to consider the following statement from the one of our few trusted civil servants, Jennifer Stoddard, Canada’s Privacy Commissioner.  In her “Message from the Privacy Commissioner” she writes; “Technological advances hold out the promise of greater convenience, but sometimes at a cost to human rights such as privacy and the ability to control our personal information.  Meanwhile, governments and businesses have a seemingly insatiable appetite for personal information.  Governments appear to believe – mistakenly, I would argue – that the key to national security and public safety is collecting mountains of personal data.  Privacy often receives short shrift as new anti-terrorism and law enforcement initiatives are rolled out.” Her comments are vitally important to those of us that choose to resist this constant intrusion into our personal lives, of which Stats Can is a participant.

3.     In addition, Stats Canada has received over $10,000,000. for information since 1996 from information that it has received through the collection of census data which is repackaged and sold.  Your department claims that no individual or personal information is sold but it is combined into consolidated statistical information that is sold; however I would like to point out to you that my information is a part of that consolidation for which Stats Canada is receiving money.  I therefore insist that a part of the monies received by Statistics Canada is rightfully mine.  If I am to be forced to provide data that is then sold to others it is only reasonable and just that I be compensated for that contribution.

As stated at the beginning of this letter I am a very private person and I more than strongly object to the way that information regarding the personal lives of individuals, including myself, are so disrespectfully collected and utilized for purposes that others profit by.  It is of little wonder that there is growing mistrust of all levels of government not the least of which Statistics Canada.  Finally I would like to point out that the self-serving admonition on the outside of the envelope that “It’s the law” is a poorly masked threat and I doubt anyone takes kindly to threats.

I realize you believe in the importance of statistical information and the value of that data and it is quite likely that you cannot conceive of anything more important than the statistics you desire but much more important than your need for data is my need for privacy.  Therefore, I will not, under any circumstances, respond to your request to provide private information regarding my personal life.  I respectfully decline to participate in the current or any other census taking from Stats Canada.

Yours sincerely;

(Name witheld for the time being)

= = = = =  = = = == = =  = =

Submitted on 2011/07/29 at 2:27 pm

Thank you Sandra for your Site and insight.
A Few Week ago I put a Change of address and because They (Census) think I didn’t fill out the forms… They have withheld and/or did not redirect my mail
They can keep my 46 Dollars
Anything else I can do?
Ken

– – — — – – – –

Submitted on 2011/07/30 at 12:08 pm

Hi Ken,

You have done lots already! You connected yourself with the rest of us. And you are informed. Those are the two most important things, as far as I am concerned.

It is only if we are kept in ignorance and isolated from each other that the Government and the corporations can get away with what they are doing. If we know who Lockheed Martin is, what they do in the world, that they are involved in the census, and a bit of history (the role of census data bases in Nazi Europe for example); if we stand up together – – there is no greater force for good and for sanity.

We definitely have the power to stop bad decisions. It is our democracy to either protect or to let slip through our fingers.

Maybe the postal strike caused your change of address to get overlooked?

Cheers!
Sandra

– – —  – – – – – — –  –

Submitted on 2011/08/03 at 7:29 am

Hi Sandra,
Thanks for the feed back.
No, The mail strike has not interfered with our mail.
I was given Canada Post Toll free number and as I was listening to Their Commerical, one of the Commercial was IT IS THE LAW to do the 2011 Cencus, Please Call Bla,Bla,Bla.
I hung up.
I know that If someone was to come online and speak with me and then asked my old address, On their computer would be a red flag that This address DID Not file the cencus even though it got loss in the mail. I guess they can keep my mail, Ha
Ken

= = = =  = = = = = = = = =

Submitted on 2011/07/23 at 6:59 am

So my story starts with not answering the door to the Stazi-Can agents. After many visits on holidays, Sunday at 8 pm, Saturday at 830am, agents hiding from the peap hole, harassing my children through the window and is now at a point where the Stazi-Can Agent opened the INTERIOR latch to my 6 foot back gate and tried to coerce my 4 year old son and his friend to remove the stones preventing her illegal access to my property. My friend spotted her and closed the gate and warned the children against helping fascist lackeys of whatever form.
If the people of Canada don’t stand up and assert their rights then its just a matter of time before we are merged with our southern police state cousins. This is experience talking not speculation, treaties already exist that allow US troops on Canadian soil during “emergencies and domestic disturbances”. Do you people even understand what that means? Please wake up Canada your survival depends on it.

= = = =  = = = = = = = = = =

From:  Albert     Date: Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 1:19 PM

Subject: Attn: Sandra Finley…

Hello Sandra Finley,

I am emailing from Waterloo Ontario. I have been following what you have experienced over the Census.  I just had a census supervisor come to my door and was quite rude and not respectful of my time. He told me that I was breaking the law if I did not fill out the census with him in front of my door. I told him that I had already filled one out, however he proceeded to threaten me  that the next people at my door would be the crown prosecutor, or the police, I would go to jail etc…. I told him that I did not break any law,  as I had already filled out the form to the best of my ability  and sent it in the mail and that the ink from my pen hit the form, therefore I reiterated to him that I broke no law. He proceeded to say that they never received it, and I told him it was not my problem, that it was Canada Post’s problem. So I took another form, filled it out to the best of my ability. He was completely disrespectful of my time and space, so I said that I would fill it out to the best of my ability and tape it on my door and he could pick it up at eight PM, so that he would not have to bother me anymore.

I just thought that I would share my experience with you.

PS: it makes me wonder if the software is in Canada and does the information stay in Canada?

All the best,

– – — – – – – – – – – – –

SENT:    Fri 7/15/2011 3:08 PM

Hi Albert,

Your input is valuable.  Thanks for taking the time to write.

If at least 3 people have tracked me down with the same story as you (filed the form but StatsCan is still coming after them) then I would guess that it has happened to many more.

I have posted questions I’ve been asked and responses on my blog, at  http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=2655

You will find Allison’s story (the last one on this page),  she filled in the form twice and they still came back, saying that they hadn’t received a form from her. I will add your story, but change your name  (which I routinely do if the person is new to me, because I don’t want to make people uncomfortable or worried).

If you have  questions I might be able to help with, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Happy summer!

= = = == = = = =  = = == = = = = =

From Mabel:    Wed 7/13/2011 5:44 PM

Census interviewed me last May, just four months ago.  They obtained my number randomly,  since it is unlisted.  I finally gave in to their forty minute questionnaire.  I was extremely uncomfortable.  One question referred to sterility.  I immediately became concerned due to my research into GMO and NWO etc.  …  I am extremely terrified by what is soon to come.  Four months after providing the census information, I am again being harassed one day every week by someone who has been depositing the short form request for contact card.  Why do I have to submit information every four months.  Am  I on the red or blue list?  Please help.  I do not know if I will be arrested for not filling out the form contracted to a US firm who specialize in killing people.

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SENT:  Wed 7/13/2011 10:18 PM

Hi Mabel,

Thanks for getting in touch.  When we are connected to each other, working together, we can help shape the direction that things will go.  There are HUGE challenges to overcome.  Yes, it is frightening.  But on the other hand, when you know how many people are waking up and are determined to stop the bad things, you can think that maybe, just maybe,  we will create a new way of being in the world.  We’re fighting hard!

Here is my guess as to what happened in your situation:

–    In May you received the census form, as did every household in Canada.  It is shorter.

–    Following that, Statistics Canada is doing the “National Household Survey” (NHS).  It used to be called the “census long form”.  One in every 3 households is to be sent an NHS.  I read where the number of questions is now 83  (up from 50 on the old form).

–   It is interesting that they asked about sterility.  It is a recognized and growing issue in the world.  More than a decade ago European countries had recognized it.  The story of the Aamjiwnaang at Sarnia ON (poisoning from nearby petro-chemical plants) is part of the story (a 40% decline in male births)  – – information circulated in our network,  much of it now posted on this blog.   Infertility is due to all the chemicals, pharmaceuticals, poisons, heavy metals, etc. that we are dumping into the environment and into our bodies in one way and another.  They want a better idea of the numbers of infertile people.

–   I do not think that you are on the red or blue list.  I think that you were “the one in three” households that received both forms – the “short” census form and then the National Household Survey (long form) .

–   The NHS is DEFINITELY VOLUNTARY.  You do not have to fill it in.  The Government cannot do anything if you decide not to fill it in.:

a.   We have a Charter Right to Privacy of personal information.  The second paragraph  on  http://sandrafinley.ca/?page_id=70 has a link to the LEGAL ARGUMENT.

b.    The law regarding the “census” and a “survey”  is different.   By changing the “census long form”  to a “survey”, they made it definitely “Voluntary”.  Surveys are, by definition in the Statistics Act, voluntary.

(Q & A’s, other people)  . . .   You will see that you are not alone.  There are literally thousands of us.

Please get in touch anytime.

Take care and Best wishes,

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From: Mabel     Sent: Saturday, July 16, 2011 9:37 AM
Subject: RE: Census

I am on vacation.  I was enjoying my river front property, when suddenly a woman crossed my back yard.  In order to do so, she had to park her vehicle, and walk beyond the chain link fence accompanied by no trespassing signs. After a 450 foot walk down my lane, she crossed my backyard. I was sun bathing.  My attire was not appropriate.  I ran to my home extremely upset.  I called O.P.P. who cannot accommodate us under the trespass act. They claim that census is federal and not provincial, out of their jurisdiction.  Apparently, they do not see
census as trespassing.

Tomorrow, RCMP may return to our home and arrest me.  What happens then?  Do I go through the procedure and allow them to detain me in prison, or do I have other alternatives?  Please respond before tomorrow. I truly believe that after their five consecutive attempts at forcing me to fill out a secondary census, these people will do whatever it takes to make me
comply.

Sincerely,

– – – – – – – — – – – –

Sent: Sat 16/07/2011 6:33 PM
Subject: RE: Census

Hi Mabel,

INFORMATION GIVES YOU POWER.

Print off a copy of the appended newspaper article  “2010-06-29  Tories eliminate compulsory long census form”.

If StatsCan comes to your door again,  show them the article.   I believe that they are trying to collect a National Household Survey from you (used to be called the long census form).  You are under absolutely no obligation to fill  it in.  Read the newspaper article – –  in June 2010  the Govt announced that it is not compulsory. (INSERT:  the Government never did pass legislation to enact what they announced.  The Law remains unchanged.  What they did was to change the census long form to a “Survey”.  Surveys are, by legal definition, voluntary.  )

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY,  the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms makes it ILLEGAL for the Government to try and force citizens to hand over personal information.

StatsCan relies on the fact that most people do not know their rights or the law or the Census system.

You can

Stand up.

Put your feet firmly on the ground.

Take a real deep breath.

And then have a real good laugh!

You have probably scared off the StatsCan worker.

Your method of scaring them off (private sun-bathing) is pretty funny!

You will not be arrested.

You will not be detained in prison.

You submitted a census form (back in May).

You have complied with the law.

That is the end of the story.  Nothing more can happen to you.

If you think StatsCan might come back, practice what you will do.

You will be just like you are now with your feet firmly on the ground.

Imagine the person you are talking to.

That person is nothing more than a man or woman who needs a few bucks and has taken the StatsCan job to earn some cash.

If they come,  relax and have a laugh with them.   “You guys are sure persistent.  Last time you caught me sun-bathing.  I even called the police~!”

Tell them:  “I have already filled out a census form.  I did that in May.
By law, that is all that is required.   Here is a copy of the newspaper article from June 2010:  any other information you might want is not compulsory.   Have a good day.”

Practice saying the line.  Watch yourself in the mirror.   All you need is some confidence.

Given your email address I assume you work for Ottawa Transit.

Do you have conversations with people at work?

I was just thinking that you might receive support from them.

Some support would be good for you.  You’ve done a great job already, even if you didn’t intend to!

Best wishes,

APPENDED NEWSPAPER ARTICLE,  from my blog, page   http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=585 �
2010-06-29  Tories eliminate compulsory long census form

Published On Tue Jun 29 2010   – – in the Globe & Mail, the Toronto Star and many other newspapers.

Jennifer Ditchburn The Canadian Press

OTTAWA-The federal government is scrapping the mandatory long census form in favour of a voluntary survey – –  –

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From: heather
Sent: Friday, July 08, 2011 9:00 AM

Subject: Census protest

(Insert:  The Global Research article referred to is at  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8647 )

Dear Sandra,
I . . .  recently read an older article about you at www.globalresearch.ca regarding your protest of the census in 2006.  I have recently received several phone calls from a census worker who claims ottawa still has not received my census which was mailed three weeks ago.  She threatened me with jail time and a fine if I didn’t complete it with her over the phone.  I am writing to follow up on what happened with you back in 2006.
Sincerely,
Heather

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Hi Heather,

The short answer to your question, what happened to me back in 2006?:

It was two years before I received a summons to court (March 2008).  I was found “guilty” in January this year (2011) but then given an “absolute discharge”.  That was related to the census long form.  I expect to win on Appeal – the “guilty” has to be overturned.  The Appeal Hearing is on October 19, 2011.

Regarding your situation:

You do not have to provide answers to the census worker over the phone.  The threats she is using amount to nothing more than intimidation and coercion.   You mailed in your census form.  That is sufficient.   If you are contacted again, it is entirely within your right to repeat that you already mailed in the form.  There is no requirement that you fill in another form.

You will not get in trouble with the law.  StatsCan would not refer you for prosecution because they would have to prove that you did NOT mail in a form;  they have no way of proving that you didn’t.    You are not the only person who mailed in a form and who StatsCan now claims that you have to do it again.

I have appended some questions and answers that might be helpful to you.

There is detailed information on my blog :  www.sandrafinley.ca (click on Lockheed Martin/Census/War economy) – –  but it is probably more information than you want!!

Best wishes,

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BUT, WHAT TO DO? (excerpt from a reply)

Personal circumstances are different and so people’s responses are different.

You can supply the information that suits the original intent of the census:  the number of people that live in the residence (a head-count for electoral boundaries).

You can dodge the StatsCan employees with 99% confidence that you won’t be prosecuted, so long as you do not say to them “I am not going to fill in a census form”.

You can openly refuse to cooperate and know that there are thousands of others who stand with you.   The contracting-out of census work to Lockheed Martin Corporation is unacceptable.  The Government does not have a leg to stand on morally, rationally or legally.

For the Government it can be a long and costly exercise to prosecute people for non-compliance.   In order to prosecute they have to have EVIDENCE to PROVE to the Court that the law was broken.  They rely on the THREAT of prosecution to make people comply.  If that doesn’t work, the cases that are selected from among thousands of non-compliers are ones where the non-complier has accepted that they are responsible for filling in the census AND provided the evidence to census workers that they didn’t complete a census form.

(More on this topic below.)

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From: Rebecca
Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 12:37 PM

Hello,

I had a chance to briefly read your story and was hoping you could tell me about the legal end of actually not filling out a census form. I simply don’t understand why it’s important for the government to know my ethnicity, salary, etc. In order to conduct a count to determine population.

Any suggestions?

RESPONSE:

The second paragraph  on  http://sandrafinley.ca/?page_id=70 has a link to the LEGAL ARGUMENT.

In a nutshell, we have a Charter Right to privacy of personal information:

“In fostering the underlying values of dignity, integrity and autonomy, it is fitting that s. 8 of the Charter should seek to protect a biographical core of personal information which individuals in a free and democratic society would wish to maintain and control from dissemination to the state.”

Section 31 of  The Statistics Act makes it a punishable offence (jail and a fine) not to hand over the information requested on the Census form.  I received the “long form”.   For the 2006  census it contained about 50 questions, many of them personal.   (I read in a news report that the number of questions for 2011 is 83.)

The Statistics Act is in contravention of the case law associated with Section 8 of the Charter.  And the Government cannot meet the test to override the Charter Right.

The Government has been using propaganda, intimidation and coercion to force citizens to give up their Charter right to privacy of personal information.

In June 2010 the Government said that the census long form is no longer mandatory;  it is voluntary.  However, they did not change the legislation.   It is evident from the questions I’ve been asked that StatsCan continues to use threats and misinformation to force people to give up their Charter Right.

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SENT TO CHARLOTTE.  Sandra speaking:

I’ve received calls about the census from Medicine Hat, some from Ontario – – people who don’t know what to do from Vancouver – –   StatsCan seems to be more aggressive in Vancouver than here?  Or maybe they decided to leave me alone?

Best,

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Submitted on 2011/05/27 at 2:46 pm

I’d like to get some information please. I ignored the census envelop when it came, it was filed under G. I ignored the reminder when it came. It to was filed in the same place.

In the last two weeks I have received a phone call from I don’t remember, if he even told me his name, but someone advising me that I have to fill out the census and giving me the telephone number to do so, as I was busy when this person called. I was told that if I didn’t fill it out there would be reminder phone calls and or messages if I didn’t answer my phone. Well, there was a message advising me I had to fill out the form. There was a second phone call advising me that I could face a $500 fine if I didn’t fill out the form.

I came home the next night after walking my dog to find someone had been at my home and left a form taped to the front door, stating that I should fill out the census and giving me the phone numbers.

The night after I had two telephone calls, I didn’t answer the phone and don’t have call display. The calls were later in the evening. Very few people call me and I phoned those who might have, only to find that they didn’t. That night I noticed a car parked across the street at the time of these calls.

Today I came home from work and within a half hour there was someone knocking on my front door. I did not answer the door. I noticed again a car parked across the street with a male person sitting inside. I have no idea what he was waiting for, perhaps he thought he’d catch me coming from work… I just don’t know. He parked there for a while and then left.

I am becoming very angry about this. IF I fill out this form it will be in my own sweet time. I will not be goaded, forced or threatened to do this. At this point in time, I am thinking of calling the police and reporting these strange occurrences. I’m at a loss here and need some information to handle this situation. I think it is important that I contact some authority to put my concerns on record.

Thanks for any assistance.

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Submitted on 2011/05/28 at 1:54 am

Hi Diana, (almost the same reply as to Monica below)

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June 5th, 2011

. ..    everything about this census is wrong and I choose to be a non participant.

–        I don’t think you need to worry about legal support.  You can be a non-participant and not get prosecuted.  Details follow.

–        And IF they try to prosecute you it may be two years before they issue a summons (based on my personal experience with the 2006 census).

–        Just for the record:  I have not looked at the information they are asking for on the 2011  “census form”.  What used to be the census long form that asks for detailed info will likely be coming in the next week or so (to one in every three households).  It is now called the National Household Survey.  The NHS is definitely not mandatory because of the Charter Right.

I recently read that the NHS has 83 questions, up from the 50 on the old census long form.

–        Stay in touch.  Let me know anytime you have a question.  There are a lot of people working together on this.

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. . .   the threat you received from StatsCan (a $1000 fine) is way outside the law,  an example of intimidation/coercion tactics.  The most that the law (the Statistics Act) allows is a $500  fine – – if you were ever prosecuted and found guilty which is highly unlikely.

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Submitted on 2011/05/28 at 1:54 am

Hi Monica,

I am wondering whether this might work for you?  In 2006  I was anxious at first, but found there was no reason to be:

In 2006 in conversation with census workers (one came to my door, one by phone call) I thanked them and accepted whatever they wanted to give me. I told them I understand that they are doing a job that they are paid to do. Everyone needs the money.

I then asked. “Do you know who Lockheed Martin Corporation is?” Neither of them knew. That offered the opportunity to explain that LM is an American weapons manufacturer, they manufacture weapons that are against Canadian and International Law, are heavily into international surveillance, the number one player in the military-industrial complex, with a long record of court convictions, AND they have contracts for work on the Canadian census.

I asked the census worker to please understand: I have a big problem with Lockheed Martin’s involvement in the census. The quarrel I have is not with you (the census worker): it is with bureaucrats in Ottawa who contracted out census work to essentially the American military. Maybe they know about the Patriot Act in the U.S.? It overrides all Canadian laws.

The census workers generally appreciated the information; one asked questions and came to the conclusion that she wouldn’t have filled out a census form either, if she had known.

I told them I will deal with the matter, leave it in my hands. They have done their job.

We both went away happy.

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Monica
Sent: Saturday, May 28, 2011 9:23 AM
Subject: RE: Census Lockheed Martin: response to your questions

Hi Sandra,

Thank you for getting back to me.   The evening is the best time to call me.

I really appreciate your assistance with this situation, particularly since I work for the provincial government.  I’m wondering what repercussions this could have on my job.

Regards

Monica

“The happiest people don’t have the best of everything… They make the best of everything! So live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, leave the rest to God. The richest person is not the one who has the most but the one who needs the least.”

– Taken from The Wisdom in Hot Chocolate

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Date: Sun, 29 May 2011 21:04:09 -0600
Subject: RE: Census Lockheed Martin: Time difference – sorry I didn’t call you tonite

Hi Monica,

RE:  repercussions for your job.  I had not factored that in when I wrote the response.   We can discuss.

Sandra

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From: Monica
Sent: Monday, May 30, 2011 4:13 AM
Subject: RE: Census Lockheed Martin: Time difference – sorry I didn’t call you tonite

Hi Sandra,

. . .  Please just call when you can.  I received a couple of more “notes” in the mail in the last couple of days.  Thankfully, they didn’t bother me Sunday.

If you can just give me an idea of what I can do to spoil my response, which will have to be on the internet of course, because I don’t have forms.   Perhaps that would help me out.  Although I’m at the point that I just don’t wish to cooperate with them.  These things can happen when one gets pushed around, at least in my case.

Just to let you know, I work for the Ministry of the Attorney General here in Ontario, and they are becoming sensitive to just about everything.  One has to walk softly…

Regards

Monica

– – – – – – – — – – – –

RE:  “HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS”, “LIKELIHOOD OF BEING PROSECUTED” and  “HOW TO DO RESISTANCE TO LOCKHEED MARTIN”

Sent sometime in May:

Hi Monica,

Two excerpts from Don Rogers (Count Me Out website  http://www.countmeout.ca/ )   website are appended.

In addition:

As I understand, you (Monica) received the same form as I received.  It provides an access code and tells you to go on-line to complete your census form (different from those people who received the actual census form in their mailbox).

HOWEVER,  there is a SECOND OPTION for the people who received the “form with the access code”:

Instead of doing the census on-line, you phone and ask for the form to be sent to you.  (UPDATE:  I don’t think the mail strike is an issue.  I would guess that they have census workers to put the form in your mailbox.) On the phone you quote the access code (which maybe contains locator information – the address –  for your residence).   My guess is that they can then track the fact that someone from your residence received the form, called them, and they then deliver the form to your residence, also tracked.

(SIDE NOTE:  I received the access code form and now a second “Census Reminder” with the line “Complete it today – it’s the law”.   I have not received an actual census form to complete.  It seems to me that they are now saying that it is up to the citizen to obtain the census form.  Some  people, urban as well as rural, received the actual form.)

(ANOTHER ASIDE:  when the Government does things it should not be doing (contracting-out to Lockheed Martin Corp) and against the expressed wishes of citizens, it loses the good will and cooperation of citizens.  With widespread non-compliance, you and they discover that  “The Law” loses its force as a tool of coercion when thousands of citizens decide to stand up.  I have written a number of times through the years:  The Government is under-mining  the rule-of-law which means that they are under-mining democracy.  This is a very serious development.

BACK TO THE POINT:

A census form is delivered.  But WHO in the household is responsible for filling out the form? WHO can they pin it on, in a Court of Law?   I don’t think that the Statistics Act actually says WHO in the household is responsible for filling out the form.   A tactic that could work for some people:  don’t say anything that indicates you accept responsibility.

If you (the citizen) say “I am the one responsible for filling out the form for this household” you help them build a case against you, one that the prosecutors can take to trial.    You could, for example, receive the form, or take the phone call from StatsCan,  but say that you will give it to the right person to fill  out.  If they ask who that is, you could say, “I’d prefer to leave that to them to tell you.  I’ll give them the form.”   Receive it but don’t fill it out.  If they return, you can say “I gave it to the right person to fill out;  I don’t know what they did with it.”   Or,  “I’m quite sure the form went into the mailbox.”    …  don’t say that a form has not been submitted.

If you are the owner of the residence maybe a court would view that you are responsible, but did you receive the form?  Use the example of a rental property.  Who can they prosecute if the form is not filled out for that residence?   If you assume that you are not the responsible person, if you know very little about what they (census workers) are talking about, if you for example, put the form on a desk for someone else to look after, if you don’t answer the door,  . . .  where does that leave them?  .. .  they don’t have easy evidence to make a case in court.

There are a lot of assumptions involved, whether it’s a rental property or not.  Now we have this new situation wherein you are responsible for using an access code and going on-line or telephoning for the form.  Repeat:  BUT  WHO at your residence is responsible for obtaining the form?  As you see, IF the Government loses the good will and cooperation of citizens the system has to resort to  propaganda and coercion (fill out the form or your French Language Association won’t receive Government money; you will be fined; etc.) .

I also believe that the system of intimidation can work only because it is known that the majority of citizens tell the truth.   Our first impulse is not to tell a lie.   . …  “Did you receive the census form?”.  . .  . .   If you did receive a StatsCan form, you will be more inclined to say “yes” than to say  “what are you talking about?”.   Knowledge of psychology is useful to the manipulator.  AND it’s useful for us to understand our own behaviours.)

“HOW TO DO RESISTANCE TO LOCKHEED MARTIN”

Don Rogers’ website offers ideas and information for minimal cooperation.    http://www.countmeout.ca/

In whatever way you choose to handle things, in whatever way works for you and your particular situation, your action is a contribution.  It is one more straw on the camel’s back.   You can be effective without breaking the law, if you choose that route.   (“The law” is set out on my blog,  ask if you have questions.  Basically, we have a Charter right to privacy of personal information.  Click on “Lockheed Martin, Census, War Economy”  (from  www.sandrafinley.ca – – you’ll see the Legal Argument.).

My situation and therefore my actions are different from yours  (2006:  I did not fill in a form,  I told them I could not and the reasons why – – I gave them everything they needed in order to prosecute me.  They thought that I would eventually cave in under the many threats.)    But not all of us need to do that.   I am thankful that you are also concerned and active.  I could not do what is necessary for me to do, if you and others are not willing to play a role in some fashion.

FYI – the likelihood of being prosecuted.

First:   It is unlikely that they will prosecute people who have not given them the information that they need to make the case in Court.

There are thousands and thousands of resistors, people who have not complied in one way or another.   In 2001 and 2006 they prosecuted a small number (65) – as I say, people who have provided them with the information they need.   It is easy to engage in resistance and NOT give them what they need to make a case in Court.

The prosecutors use witnesses to present information to the judge.  At my trial two of the three witnesses were local census workers, one who came to my door and  the other, a supervisor who telephoned me.    In 2006 I could have led the census workers on in a number of ways – –  told them that I put a form in the mail, not answered the door or phone,  or  I could have returned a form with bogus information, etc.

Would they have prosecuted me?  Not likely;  I was prosecuted because I made it easy for them to do, and because I was vocal.   I asked the census workers if they knew who Lockheed Martin is – – they didn’t.  I explained and told them that I could not fill out a form, I will not be complicit with the enrichment of Lockheed Martin Corp.

You can resist;  but don’t give them the information they need to mount a prosecution – be evasive with them.  Talk with your friends, but don’t announce it in the newspapers – – although you will find (on my blog) letters-to-editor from people who DID announce it in the newspapers and weren’t prosecuted.   But StatsCan would have been on the chopping block if they went after those people:  StatsCan was using the threat of jail and a fine OUTSIDE the census period which is diametrically opposed to what the law allows.

I wrote to the Chief Statistician more than once before the census (they didn’t use that information but it was obvious that I was engaged in active resistance to Lockheed Martin’s role in the census).

So the odds of being prosecuted are very small.

Second Point:  BUT EVEN IF you receive a summons to court, there are numerous opportunities to avoid prosecution at no monetary expense to you.   The system is one of coercion.    In my case they waited until the end of the two-year limitation period before laying charges, before issuing the summons.   Even after the summons was issued I could have submitted a census form and the trial would not have proceeded.   When the trial date finally arrived,  they STILL thought that I would back down:  the Judge had not done the required “pre-trial” work.   It threw them off – – and is one of the reasons that after 3 years the trial is still not finished.  It was a game of chicken.  But for me Lockheed Martin is deadly, and not a game.

– – – – – – – –  –

The head of the census operations, Anil Arora, telephoned in 2006 to convince me to fill in a census form.  We had a lengthy conversation:  I stuck by my guns.  It wasn’t difficult.  They have to resort to non-arguments because they can’t refute Lockheed Martin’s court convictions,  weapons that are in contravention of Canadian and International Law, etc.   They try to duck responsibility (StatsCan doesn’t negotiate the census contracts, Public Works did it, for example) but even that is easy enough to refute.   StatsCan had to agree to work with Lockheed Martin.  I did not have to agree to talk with Arora.  As I say, I could have resisted but not given them any of the statements that they needed for evidence for the Court.

They can’t prosecute all the non-compliers, there are simply too many.  They’ll pick off the easy ones.

You might ask the census worker if they know who Lockheed Martin is, but little more than that.   The census worker later documents what you said.    It gets Lockheed Martin onto the record.  Say no more, other than “Leave the census form with me; I’ll give it to the right person to complete”  or whatever.

If there are census workers who come to my door this time around, I have a small tape recorder that I might use (and show them that I’m recording the conversation).     Alternately, I will make notes about what was said immediately after they leave, so I don’t have to rely on memory.   It can’t hurt to have a solid record.  It will be interesting to see if they go after me again:  they can use my blog against me, I suppose.  But I think they might be smarter now:  every time I have been in court over the last 3 years I have gotten more press coverage which means that many more people now know about Lockheed Martin’s role.  Their attempt to use the Justice System as a tool of coercion has created most/much? of the non-compliance with the 2011 census.

Don has good advice:  you have a right to fill in the form when it is convenient for you.  And you can choose to mail in the form.   You do not have to fill in the form while the census worker is standing there.

You may want to consider writing “NO LOCKHEED MARTIN”  across the form.

You could consider providing the minimum information which is the number of people living in the residence.  StatsCan does not need the names of people.  In the past names were not part of the information on the actual data base.  Also, they say that the information is only used IN THE AGGREGATE.  You do not need actual names for aggregate information.

From Don:

Starting May 2, citizens will be urged to go online and complete a census form on the internet. Statistics Canada will be pushing this new online option, which Lockheed Martin has been involved in developing. We strongly recommend against filing online. We recommend you opt for filling in the paper questionnaire, adding several minimum cooperation embellishments, and mailing it in.

Census forms mailed out in early May. In rural areas, Census reps are knocking on doors, personally delivering the census form, and wanting to complete the form on the spot, then and there. You are perfectly entitled to take the forms and state that you will mail them in yourself, as your schedule permits. Make sure the rep gives you the postage-paid mail-in envelope

Bar-coded Census form to be mailed back on Census Day in a special envelope with a see-through window to display the bar-code.

A few weeks after Census Day, a pleasant reminder (probably by a personal visit) to file your Census form (the Census representative may want to complete the form for you on the spot at your home, or over the phone–but you have every right to opt for doing it yourself when convenient, and mailing it in–don’t be pressured.

Repeat reminders for you to file your Census return; turning to nagging, turning to pressure, and finally turning to hair-raising threats of fines, jail, and eternal damnation.

Special software developed by weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin will track returns filed, by immediately reading bar-codes of arriving census returns, even before the envelopes are opened and processed.

Returns filed on paper are electronically scanned by the Lockheed Martin scanning system. Returns unreadable in whole or part by the scanner (e.g. torn edges, inconsistent, misplaced, or faint lettering, upside-down answers, coffee spills, tears, stickers on the forms, stray markings, crumpled sheet etc.), must be separated for traditional human processing, which is slower and displeasing to Statistics Canada.

– – – — – – – – –  – –

(2)    LIKELIHOOD OF BEING PROSECUTED:  Also from Don’s website.

We can only speculate. Those few who were prosecuted seem to have made public statements, or told Statistics Canada directly and unambiguously, that they did not file a census return. This made the task of prosecution easy, since those persons provided evidence against themselves, in a legal sense.

So it seems that perhaps the best way to avoid prosecution is never to state publicly that you outright refuse to complete the Census. If you write or e-mail Statistics Canada, you could complain about the Census without stating flatly that you will not complete it.

And you could tell the Census rep at the door that there is a possibility that you might not complete the census, or that you are still thinking it over. But you would avoid stating flatly that you will not complete the Census. By not declaring outright refusal, you would make it a very difficult task for StatsCan to prove a case in court against you. The legal onus is on StatsCan to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you did not file a census return. And the fact that StatsCan’s system may not have registered the receipt of a census return does not necessarily prove that a return was not submitted.

Given that over 2 million Canadians did not answer the 2006 census and that only 52  (INSERT:   Don – “52”  should be “65” )   prosecutions were launched, it seems that the probability of prosecution is extremely low.

So again, each Canadian must decide whether or not to complete the upcoming May 2011 Census and National Household Survey. Based on past experience, millions of Canadians will refuse. And those who decide not to refuse can opt instead for the minimum cooperation techniques that this website advocates.

Over and out!!

Sandra

– – – – — –  – – – — –

From: Linda
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 9:42 AM

To: Sandra Finley
Subject: Re: Census

Hi Sandra,

My sister has requested a hard copy of the census.  I had told her of your suggestion to just put NO TO LOCKHEED MARTIN or something like that.  I cannot find your e-mail with that suggestion and the reasons why.  Would you be able to send that to me?

Thanks.

Keep up the battle.  It’s looking pretty gruesome out there.

Linda

– – – – – – – — – – – –

ALLISON:

I will respond to your comments and questions – – embedded in your email,  in red below.

There is a full file of information on my blog, www.sandrafinley.ca .  You’ll see a button “Lockheed Martin, Census, War economy”.  There are three summary arguments (the moral, legal and rational).   It is not simple and straight forward, there are some complexities.   You might like to try the summary arguments  – – otherwise there is TOO MUCH information!  – – postings on what has happened with the U.S. census, the U.K., etc.

Thanks for offering to keep me informed about what happens in your case – – please do.  I am very surprised that they would come back to you for a third form to be filled out, especially when security of information is the highest priority.

Best wishes,

P.S.  I’ve run an activist email network for more than ten years, as you will see from the blog.  By myself I would not be so brave.  I have a luxury that most people do not have:  I know that there are many people who stand behind me.  That makes everything possible.   And now you have joined the rest of us – – welcome!   As is explained in the appended we don’t all have to do the same thing.  Different things work for different ones of us.   You have already made a significant and informed contribution.  As far as I am concerned, that is the very best contribution.  /S

From: Allison
Sent: Monday, June 27, 2011 9:05 PM
Subject: My census experience (and how I found you!)

Hello Sandra,
I hope you don’t mind me emailing you; I found this address on the Green Party website (you’re tricky to get an address for, and I hope that I’m not intruding

no intrusion at all! By myself I would have no effect, I couldn’t accomplish anything.  I see us as ordinary citizens banding together to stand up for what is right.  Democracy fails if we don’t do that – – stand together.).

I  want to make a long story short(er).�
After receiving my census this year I filled it out and sent it in (I requested a paper copy; I’ve never been a fan of online).  A few weeks after, a nice young man rings my door and tells me that they haven’t received it.  I said okay, should I just file another one, or did you want to wait to see if you receive it?  He asked I file another, and I said that would be fine.  Sent that one in just before the canada post labour dispute began.

About a week ago, the young man returned and informed me they hadn’t yet received my form.  I told him I wasn’t surprised since canada post was now locked out.  He requested I do another one, and if it would be alright to do now.  I said no, now isn’t good, but you can come back tomorrow to pick it up.  He said how about the day after, and I said that would be fine, so we arranged a time.  Great, now I don’t need to worry about it getting lost or misfiled.  Except… now I’m a little irate.  And after filing two, could I be blamed?

So I started to do some reading to see what I could do about this, gathering information about how the census is collected, and how it has been used in the past.  I had no idea that such terrible things were implemented directly through the hands of the people, and worst of all without their knowledge!  So what do I do now, I don’t want to just not file it (I’m afraid I’m not as courageous as you are Sandra) for risk of a fine, but maybe I can make it harder or see what else is there.  This is when I cracked open the Statistics Act – and no I’m not a lawyer either.
First part I drew my attention to: Section 31: the punishment for not answering.  Okay, I don’t want to not file since I’m not that brave.  Maybe it will tell me what I actually have to answer.  Section 21 and 22, indicating that the minister can define the questions to ask, and the chief statistician can create aggregate data.  Okay, but this still doesn’t answer what I’m required to actually answer.  The minister can ask me if I have a vehicle, if I have fine China dinner ware, or a dog named Sprinkles, as nothing in here says that the minister is bound to only ask question(s) directly related to the purpose of the act.
Of course, the next step is §19.2:
The census of population shall be taken in such a manner as to ensure that counts of the population are provided for each federal electoral district of Canada, as constituted at the time of each census of population.

Wait a minute.  Back that up again?
The census of population shall be taken in such a manner as to ensure that counts of the population are provided for each federal electoral district of Canada

So the purpose is simply to gather information about the population, in particular the counts of the population for each federal electoral district?

Excellent sleuthing Allison!  Yes – I and many others believe that was the intent when the Act was written.  The Government has gone beyond what was ever intended. Back to 31 again:
Every person who, without lawful excuse,  As you will see in the LEGAL ARGUMENT (Summary on the blog) I argue and believe that the Charter Right to privacy of personal information provides “lawful excuse” not to hand over personal information.  The Charter Right is a higher law than the Statistics Act.

(a) refuses or neglects to answer, or wilfully answers falsely, any question requisite for obtaining any information sought in respect of the objects of this Act or pertinent thereto that has been asked of him by any person employed or deemed to be employed under this Act, or
(b) refuses or neglects to furnish any information or to fill in to the best of his knowledge and belief any schedule or form that the person has been required to fill in, and to return the same when and as required of him pursuant to this Act, or knowingly gives false or misleading information or practises any other deception thereunder
is, for every refusal or neglect, or false answer or deception, guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both.

Okay, so if I’ve interpreted this correctly, according to this I can only be punished by section 31 if I neglect to answer any question that is pursuant to the Act.  So… back to §19.2 again, the purpose of this act is to generate a head count of the population for each electoral district it says?  So what about all these extra questions?  My name, gender, relationship to others in my home, my language, my sexual orientation, etc, etc, where exactly do these play into the generation of the counts of population for each federal electoral district?  Best I can tell, they don’t; none of this information appears to be at all relevant to the purpose of this Act.

Well said!

So, with my new found (though potentially incorrectly interpreted) information,

(also dependent upon a judge’s interpretation, as I have found out!)

I proceeded to file my third form with two pieces of information: my address, and the number of people living in the home (handwritten, I don’t want to use that awful lockheed martin machine).  I followed up by adding comments by stating that after having two forms of personal information ‘lost’, I decided to take a stronger stance.  I pointed out the interpretation that I have of the Act, and why I believe that this requires only the two pieces of information provided.  I also informed them if my interpretation is incorrect that I would conditionally accept the filing of a replacement questionnaire if they can provide me with all supporting documentation of how each question is considered relevant to §19.2.

Bravo!  You are very resourceful!

I really hope that I interpreted it right, or that if not they won’t bother.

See the appended regarding the likelihood of being prosecuted.  I highly doubt they would in your case – – especially since you have documented the lost forms.   That would be embarrassing for StatsCan if it were to come out in Court.  No – – you are on safe ground.  AND you have simultaneously made an excellent contribution to challenging them.   Enough straws will break the camel’s back.

As for the nice young man, I told him that I was concerned with my personal data, and I wasn’t comfortable with giving it to him.  I told him since the canada post dispute was over that I was willing to compromise and he can watch me deliver it to the post box.  I was very careful of how I answered the questions: “Did you fill it out completely?” I replied with “I filled it out”, etc.

Good.  Well done.

I know you have gone through a long process in regards to you’re 2006 census (albeit the long version, not the short version), but I’m curious if you have any insight to this?  Census employees are dodgy at best when trying to drag out the information that is actually required of me versus what they are asking.  I know you are not a lawyer yourself, but I’m wondering if perhaps you know of the legal minimum required information

The trial continues.  I was found guilty but given an absolute discharge.  We have appealed the decision.  I represented myself in the beginning but now have a young lawyer who specialized in nothing but privacy law.  He is confident (and so am I) that we will win on appeal – the provincial court judge made errors in her judgment.   The Government has really messed up on this one by not listening to the thousands of protesters who started telling the Govt in 2003 not to out-source to Lockheed Martin.  Now we are in a situation where thousands upon thousands will not cooperate.   I believe we have reached a situation where it almost doesn’t matter what the law is.   The Govt loses its power to enforce laws with the very high rates of non-compliance that now exist AND our ability to share information.

What IS the law?  I believe it is as you worked it through:  a head-count of the number of people who live in the dwelling.  Nothing more.  The lawyer has pointed out that under privacy law what the individual believes to be private information is private information.   “In a free and democratic society”  the Government cannot force Canadians to hand over personal information.  That is a Charter Right.  The appeal hearing is October 19th – – should have it defined then!

to provide on the census, and if perhaps I should be concerned?

As noted, no need for concern.

Also, if you would like I’d be glad to follow up and let you know if I end up hearing back from them.

Yes, please!

See appended, notes sent to other people.   You’ve already done a fine job – – you might be interested anyway.

In closing, I just wanted to say that I’m very impressed by your bravery!  You stand up for what’s right even when some of us are still lurking in the shadows; aware but afraid.  You have opened my eyes, and I will always look to answer questions before I blindly commit myself from this day forward; you are an inspiration and I could only strive to be a fraction of what have become!

Thank you so very much!

You are kind.  Thank-you for saying.   I am likely older than you Allison!  (I’m 62)  Age brings benefits!!!  And as I explained, I have the benefit of a whole network of people from across Canada and beyond, behind me.   You can follow the postings on the blog, if the topics are of interest to you.  Or I am happy to add you to the email dis’n list.

Best wishes, Sandra

= = = = = = = ===

Please click on    2011-07-13   continued for  more of  the input, and questions & answers.

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