Pauline Marois Charter: Official discrimination encourages bigots. Since news broke of Pauline Marois Charter of Quebec Values, there has been a rise in ugly incidents. A mosque in Saguenay was baptized with pigs blood. A woman in a Quebec City shopping mall was told to change her religion and remove her veil The government is going to force you to take it off, anyway and her 18-year-old son was spat upon. In Montreal, a hijabi was berated on a bus by a man: With Marois, we re going to take off your toque, according to The Star. It is not an answer to say they can wear their religious symbols after working hours, Kathleen Mahoney , professor of law at the University of Calgary, writes in the Globe and Mail. This amounts to the government mandating how citizens practise their religion and treating some citizens as less equal than others reminiscent of the dictatorial religious policies imposed during the Duplessis era and Bigotry is most dangerous when promoted by the state. Yet thats what Quebec is doing with its proposal to fire civil servants and public sector workers who wear the turban, the kippa or the hijab, and to prohibit such citizens from being hired in the future. The harassers were crude. Marois is sophisticated, rationalizing her discrimination in the lingo of state neutrality. But both have the same aim: yank the religious symbols off believers. They want them off permanently. She wants them off from 9 to 5 from those on public payroll. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Free Media Movement: Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema, co-editor of the Sunday Leader newspaper, fled Tuesday to a North American country with her journalist husband and their 12-year-old daughter, the Free Media Movement said, according to The Star. No killing, abduction, assault or arson has been investigated and no perpetrator has been brought to justice, said Sunil Jayasekara, the Free Media Movements convener and COLOMBO, SRI LANKA A Sri Lankan newspaper editor has fled the country following death threats and an attack in her home in which her family was held at knifepoint, a media rights group said Thursday. More than 80 journalists have fled Sri Lanka since 2005. The government has been accused of failing to properly investigate a series of attacks on journalists who were viewed as critical of the administration of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

federal government: Although the Charter of Rights guarantees all citizens mobility rights or the right to enter and leave the country the countrys top court concluded the federal government may legally refuse prison transfer requests by those seeking to leave foreign jails. The case sets out for the first time the high courts view of mobility rights in the context of international prison transfers, according to The Star. The ruling was unanimous 9-0 in concluding the Conservative government acted lawfully in 2006 when it refused to accept the transfer of a Montreal drug dealer Pierino Divito. But the judges split in their reasons and OTTAWA The constitution does not give convicted Canadian citizens an automatic right to re-enter the country to finish serving jail time here, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday. It was a victory for the federal government, which has since further broadened its ability to turn down such requests. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty: Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, flanked by his B.C. and Ontario counterparts, announced Thursday they're proceeding with a national body to oversee Canada's investment industry, according to CTV. "Our economic union stands taller today than it did yesterday," said Flaherty, even as he invited other provinces and territories to join the "co-operative." OTTAWA -- The Conservative government that bulled ahead with unilateral changes to federal-provincial health funding and job-training programs is hoping a more "co-operative" approach will pay dividends for a national securities regulator. They hope the proposed system is in place by July 1, 2015. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

St. James Anglican Church: The overwhelming majority of those who have come out to St. James Anglican Church are senior citizens and staunch NDP members. New arrivals are encouraged to sign a petition to abolish the Senate. There are cookies and cranberry juice. NDP MP Charlie Angus stands in front of the group. His arms in the air, notes rolled up in his left hand, he tells the crowd there is something rotten in Ottawa, according to Huffington Post. But there is no reason to believe holding on to an unelected chamber will fix Ottawa's problems, the MP goes on to say and SASKATOON It's Wednesday night, and about 50 people are gathered in a church basement near Saskatoon's trendy Broadway Avenue for a town hall on the future of the Senate. "We have a democratic crisis right now," Angus tells the group. "There are some people who are afraid of the democratic crisis and say, 'Oh my God, the last thing we want to do is get rid of a chamber of sober second thought.'" (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Anthony Chang: Two days before he was viciously stabbed to death outside his North York home, 62-year-old Anthony Chang better known as Koko offered mercy to a younger man after their lives collided on the road, according to The Star. Chang was riding his red and grey scooter north near Mount Pleasant Rd. and Roehampton Ave. when a white Ford pickup truck with a logo for Mount Pleasant Cemetery crashed into him and It was an act of faith. Now police say that kindness cost him his life. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Khalil al-Marzouq: Al Wefaq was responding to an announcement by the public prosecutor of the Gulf Arab kingdom that Khalil al-Marzouq would be held for 30 days while being investigated for inciting terrorism in a series of speeches. , according to Reuters. The group would keep its position under constant review "in light of political and human rights developments on the ground". BAHRAIN - Bahrain's largest opposition party on Wednesday suspended its participation in talks with the government aimed at ending 2-1/2 years of political turmoil in protest at the arrest of its deputy leader. In a statement, Al Wefaq, an Islamist group that says it advocates non-violent methods, said it would temporarily boycott a so-called national dialogue aimed at resolving a crisis that began with mass pro-democracy protests in February 2011 (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Catherine Alpha: Calling the districts actions disgusting, Catherine Alpha told a board meeting this week that she will fight any attempt to discriminate against pregnant teachers. , according to Times Colonist. I m going to work hard to get that petition brought forward and to get people to sign it, said Alpha, who teaches in the Sooke district. A Greater Victoria school trustee has slammed the districts move to block temporary teachers from accepting contracts and then promptly going on maternity leave. I m going to continue to work in the public to make sure that everyone knows that this is a violation of human rights and a violation of equality for women, Alpha told a board meeting Monday, drowning out chairwoman Peg Orcherton, who was trying to call order. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Chantal Hebert: Acadian expulsion replay, according to The Chronicle Herald. The party, previously unsuccessful and assuming that it will continue to fail in its attempts to achieve sovereignty, is hoping that its document, which pertains to certain restrictions relative to the freedom of religion, will assist it in its quest to determine the place of minorities in its province and In reference to the Sept. 13 article, The calculus behind identity politics by writer Chantal Hebert and the subsequent editorial in on the subject of the Charter of Values proposed by the separatist Parti Quebecois of Quebec, the following contribution is also offered. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Democratic Institutions: QUEBEC - The Parti Quebecois government appears to be digging in its heels for an extended debate on its controversial religion plan, having brushed off invitations for a speedy compromise. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Permitted religious symbols for public employees off the Quebec values website. http://www.nosvaleurs.gouv.qc.ca Related Items Articles Quebec values charter bound for failure: Harper PQ opens door to 'improving' religion plan The PQ's charter so yesterday Enlarge Image Quebec Minister responsible for Democratic Institutions and Active Citizenship Bernard Drainville walks to a cabinet meeting Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at the legislature in Quebec City. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot Statements from senior ministers Wednesday suggested the PQ has no intention of watering down the plan for quick passage in the current minority legislature. Enlarge Image (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.