LILLEY: Canada now a land of ethic and religious fighting

2024/11/06 Leave a comment

Overwrought and exaggerated, but yes, these are worrying signs:

We are the country we claim not to be. Canada is now a country of religious and ethnic tensions, bigotry and violence.

We saw this over the weekend in Brampton when a Hindu temple was attacked. People beaten with bats; video shows people carrying Khalistani flags hitting temple goers with the flag poles.

We even have a Peel Regional Police officer suspended for taking part in the protest which turned violent. Sergeant Harinder Sohi, an 18-year veteran of the force, is now suspended after being identified as a participant.

He’s apparently now receiving death threats for participating.

The outbreak of a Sikh-Hindu religious war isn’t the only problem facing our country on this front. For a year, we have seen hate marches rise up across the country in support of terrorist organizations.

In the weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks by Hamas against Israel, we heard countless politicians say, “This isn’t who we are.” They said this in response to synagogues being attacked, Jewish schools being shot at, and Jewish community centres being firebombed.

Well, apparently this is who we are because these incidents have not stopped.

Last week, Eylon Levy, a man I’ve interviewed multiple times — with whom I met with in Israel last January and who was an Israeli government spokesperson for a time — was on a speaking tour in Canada. While at the University of Calgary to give a talk, Levy was met with cries of “Allahu akbar!” and claims that he was personally responsible for genocide and killing babies.

“That crosses the line from any sort of political protest into a full-on Jihadi war cry,” Levy told my Toronto Sun colleague Bryan Passifiume.

This is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new Canada, full-on ethnic and religious wars on our streets and nothing more from our leadership than a tweet.

“The acts of violence at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton today are unacceptable. Every Canadian has the right to practice their faith freely and safely,” Trudeau said in a social media post.

It’s too bad that Trudeau has been part of what has encouraged these protests. Just like Trudeau has failed to deal with anti-Semitism and the attacks on Jewish institutions for political gain, he’s used tensions in India to win favour with some groups.

For years, Trudeau has decided to bring the tensions of India’s domestic politics into Canadian politics. He inserted himself into a dispute between the Indian government and farmers in 2020 in a way that would have caused great consternation had a foreign government done the same during our trucker’s protest.

He has campaigned in Canada against the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an attempt to win votes in Canada’s Sikh community. Immigration to Canada, in both the Sikh and Hindu communities, dates back more than 100 years.

For most of that time, there has been some form of peaceful co-existence. Tensions yes, but not an all-out religious war which is where we appear to be heading with no help from Trudeau and his politicking.

Meanwhile, India is set to take a harsher stand against Canada, even considering calling Canada a state sponsor of terrorism, according to some reports. The fact that we went from decades long ally of India to a pariah can only be laid at Trudeau’s feet.

It’s the same with Israel.

Canada voted for the creation of the State of Israel at the United Nations in 1948 and for the past several years has done everything possible to undermine that state. The Liberal Party has also taken policy positions that put ethno-religious politics above principle.

Foreign Minister Melanie Joly is openly courting the votes of people who back Hamas and Hezbollah. Yet, we are supposed to be shocked when an Israeli speaker is shut down at the University of Calgary and needs to be escorted out by security.

Add that to the schools being shot at, the synagogues attacked, the temples being swarmed, this is Justin Trudeau’s new Canada. The PM, who says he’s against divisiveness, sure has created a lot of it.

Source: LILLEY: Canada now a land of ethic and religious fighting

Filed under Multiculturalism Tagged with , , , ,

Le Devoir Éditorial | L’urgence d’agir, dans un an [immigration]

2024/11/06 Leave a comment

Assez critique:

L’urgence d’agir pour resserrer l’accueil en immigration n’est donc finalement que l’affaire du gouvernement fédéral, aux yeux de François Legault. Le premier ministre du Québec et ses troupes caquistes ont beau marteler depuis des mois que les services publics et le parc immobilier sont sous trop haute pression, son gouvernement n’a pas pour autant cru bon de profiter du dévoilement annuel de ses propres seuils en immigration pour les réduire à son tour. Pire, il explique les rehausser momentanément pour agir… dans encore un an.

Au fil des ans, le discours de François Legault s’est avéré aussi inconstant que l’accueil des immigrants permanents par son gouvernement. Il n’est tenu qu’à une seule reprise à sa cible de 40 000 admissions par année, en 2019 (l’année pandémique suivante, lors de laquelle les frontières ont été fermées, étant exclue de toute planification coordonnée). Et jamais, depuis que cette cible a été revue à la hausse, à 50 000 immigrants permanents, n’a-t-elle été respectée. Un quasi-record est maintenant prévu pour l’an prochain (après celui atteint en 2022, pour justement rattraper les années pandémiques), avec l’arrivée attendue en 2025 de jusqu’à 66 500 nouveaux arrivants, dont 13 500 à 15 000 immigrants nouvellement diplômés accueillis en vertu du Programme de l’expérience québécoise (PEQ).

Aux prises avec la popularité de ce volet du PEQ, que sa prédécesseure avait choisi de déplafonner l’an dernier, le ministre de l’Immigration, Jean-François Roberge, explique avoir décidé d’ainsi élaguer l’accumulation de ces demandes de résidence permanente tout en imposant un moratoire sur les subséquentes en vue d’avoir les « coudées franches » pour chiffrer ses seuils d’immigration des prochaines années.

Car, pour l’instant, le gouvernement caquiste s’est abstenu de tout geste décisif visant à faire fléchir les tendances migratoires qu’il déplore haut et fort. Il s’en remet plutôt à une planification pluriannuelle immuable, prétextant que celle de l’an dernier, pour 2024-2025, lui lie les mains pour l’année qui s’en vient.

Or, rien n’oblige le ministre Roberge à s’y tenir au chiffre près. La Loi sur l’immigration au Québec indique au contraire qu’il doit simplement établir ses cibles annuelles en « en tenant compte ». M. Roberge devrait le savoir, lui qui vient justement de plus que doubler sans préavis l’accueil prévu de diplômés du PEQ.

Qui plus est, le ministre a poussé l’illogisme de son gouvernement jusqu’à refuser de confirmer qu’il se préparait donc à abaisser les seuils dans deux ans. Tout au plus cela fera-t-il « partie des scénarios » étudiés, s’est-il contenté d’avancer.

Les récriminations caquistes contre une volte-face jugée insuffisante du gouvernement fédéral de Justin Trudeau, qui vient pour sa part d’annoncer une réduction de 20 % de l’immigration permanente qu’il contrôle, et ce, dès l’an prochain, tombent à plat. Le refrain de l’inaction fédérale, répété par un gouvernement québécois qui en fait encore moins dans son propre champ de compétence, sonne de plus en plus faux.

Heureusement, le ministre Roberge a vu juste en annonçant que l’équation d’accueil du Québec l’an prochain inclurait enfin — comme celle du fédéral — la réalité des résidents temporaires, trois fois plus nombreux que les immigrants permanents. L’Institut du Québec est venu adresser un éloquent rappel à l’ordre : près de la moitié des résidents non permanents en territoire québécois relèvent de la responsabilité du Québec. Et la forte hausse de l’immigration temporaire depuis trois ans s’explique d’abord par celle de l’octroi de permis de travail (161 400 personnes, soit 49 % de la croissance), et non par l’arrivée massive de demandeurs d’asile (102 000 migrants, ou 31 % de l’augmentation).

Que le gouvernement caquiste s’en tienne encore à des mesures circonscrites pour resserrer l’immigration temporaire, avec un moratoire des travailleurs à bas salaire à Montréal ou un plafond d’étudiants étrangers toujours non chiffré, devient difficilement défendable.

Recadrer le système d’immigration québécois pour en définir et en respecter la capacité d’accueil nécessite justesse et prévoyance. La CAQ tente aujourd’hui de compenser les effets de ses propres politiques visiblement mal attachées, en ayant ouvert la porte en continu aux diplômés du PEQ ou exigé une meilleure maîtrise du français sans appréhender l’explosion prévisible de la demande en francisation. Le ministre Roberge a bien raison de se réjouir du fait que 80 % des immigrants économiques accueillis l’an prochain maîtriseront le français. Cela devrait d’autant plus l’encourager à financer à une juste hauteur l’apprentissage de ceux qui ne rêvent que de pouvoir s’en féliciter à leur tour.

L’accueil migratoire, dans un monde de plus en plus imprévisible, requiert une flexibilité. Encore faut-il toutefois qu’elle ne se fasse pas en improvisant. Et encore moins en lorgnant une prochaine campagne électorale, à retardement.

Source: Éditorial | L’urgence d’agir, dans un an

The urgency of acting to tighten the reception in immigration is therefore ultimately only the business of the federal government, in the eyes of François Legault. The Quebec Prime Minister and his Caquist troops have been hammering for months that public services and the real estate stock are under too high pressure, but his government did not think it was good to take advantage of the annual unveiling of its own immigration thresholds to reduce them in turn. Worse, he explains to raise them momentarily to act… in another year.

Over the years, François Legault’s speech has proven to be as fickle as his government’s reception of permanent immigrants. It is only bound once to its target of 40,000 admissions per year, in 2019 (the following pandemic year, during which borders were closed, being excluded from any coordinated planning). And never, since this target was revised upwards, to 50,000 permanent immigrants, has it been respected. A near-record is now planned for next year (after the one reached in 2022, precisely to make up for the pandemic years), with the expected arrival in 2025 of up to 66,500 newcomers, including 13,500 to 15,000 newly graduated immigrants welcomed under the Quebec Experience Program (QEP).

Struggling with the popularity of this component of the PEQ, which its predecessor had chosen to remove last year, the Minister of Immigration, Jean-François Roberge, explains that he decided to prune the accumulation of these applications for permanent residence while imposing a moratorium on the subsequent ones in order to have the “free elbows” to quantify his immigration thresholds for the coming years.

Because, for the moment, the Caquiste government has refrained from any decisive gesture aimed at reducing the migratory tendencies that it deplores loud and clear. Instead, he relies on an immutable multi-year planning, on the pretext that last year’s, for 2024-2025, binds his hands for the year to come.

However, nothing obliges Minister Roberge to stick to it to the nearest number. The Quebec Immigration Act, on the contrary, indicates that it must simply establish its annual targets by “taking them into account”. Mr. Roberge should know this, he who has just more than doubled without notice the planned reception of PEQ graduates.

What’s more, the minister pushed the illogicality of his government to the point of refusing to confirm that it was therefore preparing to lower the thresholds in two years. At most, this will be “part of the scenarios” studied, he simply said.

The caquist recriminations against a reversal considered insufficient by the federal government of Justin Trudeau, which has just announced a 20% reduction in the permanent immigration it controls, starting next year, are falling flat. The refrain of federal inaction, repeated by a Quebec government that does even less in its own field of competence, sounds more and more wrong.

Fortunately, Minister Roberge was right in announcing that the Quebec reception equation next year would finally include — like that of the federal — the reality of temporary residents, three times more numerous than permanent immigrants. The Institut du Québec came to address an eloquent call to order: almost half of non-permanent residents in Quebec territory are the responsibility of Quebec. And the sharp increase in temporary immigration over the past three years is first explained by that of the granting of work permits (161,400 people, or 49% of growth), and not by the massive arrival of asylum seekers (102,000 migrants, or 31% of the increase).

The fact that the Caquist government still sticks to circumscribed measures to tighten temporary immigration, with a moratorium on low-wage workers in Montreal or a ceiling of foreign students still not quantified, becomes difficult to defend.

Reframing the Quebec immigration system to define and respect its reception capacity requires correctness and foresight. The CAQ is now trying to compensate for the effects of its own visibly poorly attached policies, having continuously opened the door to PEQ graduates or demanding a better command of French without apprehending the foreseeable explosion of the demand for francization. Minister Roberge is right to welcome the fact that 80% of economic immigrants welcomed next year will master French. This should all the more encourage him to finance at a fair height the learning of those who only dream of being able to congratulate themselves in turn.

Migrant reception, in an increasingly unpredictable world, requires flexibility. However, it must not be done by improvising. And even less by eyeing an upcoming election campaign, with delay.

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

Canada’s Supreme Court ’signed my son’s death warrant,’ mother of alleged ex-ISIL member says

2024/11/06 Leave a comment

Letts was UK’s problem and its not accepting of that responsibility led to Letts’ family understandably advocating given that he is a dual citizen by descent (born and raised in UK). “Canadian of convenience” in one sense:

The mother of a Canadian man detained in Syria says the Supreme Court of Canada has signed her son’s death warrant by closing the door on a plea to hear his case.

“I’ve been screaming about this for 7 1/2 years now,” said Sally Lane, the mother of Jack Letts. “I’m exhausted. I just want my son back.”

The Supreme Court had already declined to hear a challenge of a Federal Court of Appeal ruling that said Ottawa is not obligated under the law to repatriate Letts and three other Canadian men.

In a fresh notice filed with the court in March, lawyers for the men said exceedingly rare circumstances warranted another look at the application for leave to appeal.

A letter to the lawyers, dated last Friday, says the motion for reconsideration cannot be accepted for filing, leaving no further remedies in the top court.

“I have reviewed your motion for reconsideration and your affidavit in support,” says the letter from the court registrar. “I regret to inform you that, in my opinion, your motion does not reveal the exceedingly rare circumstances which would warrant reconsideration by this Court.”

The detained Canadian men are among the many foreign nationals in ramshackle detention centres run by Kurdish forces that reclaimed the war-ravaged region from militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant….

Source: Canada’s Supreme Court ’signed my son’s death warrant,’ mother of alleged ex-ISIL member says

Filed under Citizenship, Dual Citizenship Tagged with ,

Le gel de l’immigration permanente, une «catastrophe», selon les experts

2024/11/06 Leave a comment

Meanwhile, in Quebec:

Catastrophe », « choc », « urgence » : au-delà de la confusion semée par l’annonce du quasi-gel de l’immigration permanente au Québec la semaine dernière, des experts invitent à voir le sentiment de panique qui se répand chez les immigrants.

La CAQ s’est « prise à son propre jeu » en politisant l’immigration, disent aussi deux chercheuses. Difficile maintenant d’agir en toute « cohérence » avec le discours politique, alors que les pressions économiques et humanitaires s’exercent de tous côtés, souligne par exemple Danièle Bélanger.

« C’est une catastrophe pour ces personnes qui ne peuvent plus changer de statut », remarque cette professeure à l’Université Laval et titulaire de la chaire de recherche du Canada sur les dynamiques migratoires mondiales. « Il n’y a aucune allusion aux effets de tout ça sur les personnes, comme si ça n’existait pas. On corrige un peu le fichier Excel et on met ça dans le broyeur », poursuit-elle.

« On parle de personnes qui arrivent ici et jouent le jeu des règles de l’immigration. Ça implique très souvent de grands changements de vie. Puis, du jour au lendemain, ces règles changent. J’ai pu observer un fort sentiment de trahison », remarque quant à elle Capucine Coustere.

Aujourd’hui chercheuse postdoctorale à l’Institut de recherche sur les migrations et la société de l’Université Concordia, Mme Coustere a consacré sa thèse à étudier les transitions entre un statut temporaire et la résidence permanente. « Les mesures concernent largement des personnes qui sont déjà ici et vont augmenter les délais pour des personnes qui sont temporaires, avec tout ce que ça implique », dit-elle, du point de vue tant de la restriction des droits que de la précarité.

Exode canadien et « urgence »

Des observateurs ainsi que le gouvernement fédéral ont déjà souligné que les resserrements récents de l’immigration temporaire et permanente pourraient augmenter le nombre de personnes qui se retrouvent dans un cul-de-sac : certaines se tourneront vers une demande d’asile, et d’autres pourraient rester sans statut sur le territoire.

D’autres immigrants encore, qui viennent de perdre la possibilité de s’installer définitivement — du moins durant le gel —, pourraient aussi décider de partir vers les autres provinces canadiennes. Le ministre fédéral de l’Immigration, Marc Miller, a d’ailleurs rehaussé la cible d’immigration francophone dans le reste du pays.

C’est d’ailleurs déjà parmi les options que les avocats en immigration soumettent à leurs clients, dit sans détour l’avocat en immigration Patrice Brunet. « Évidemment, moi, je préfère que les bons candidats restent au Québec, mais c’est au client de choisir ce qui est dans son intérêt », note-t-il en entrevue. Les changements dans le reste du Canada « sont moins intempestifs », et l’accès à la résidence « beaucoup plus rapide et sûr ».

« En ce moment, on traite beaucoup le sujet comme des chiffres, comme des inventaires de marchandise, mais ce sont des humains », ajoute-t-il aussi.

Son équipe et lui-même en ce moment transmettent « un sentiment d’urgence » à leurs clients qui sont « extrêmement stressés », tant les particuliers que les entreprises : « Déposez aussitôt que vous êtes admissibles. On ne sait pas si à minuit le programme pourrait être suspendu pour une période indéterminée. »

Des modèles qui s’entrechoquent

L’avocat n’est pourtant pas du tout contre un modèle d’immigration souvent appelé « à deux étapes », au contraire. Obtenir la résidence permanente depuis l’étranger est un système « d’un autre temps » à ses yeux.

Il y a en effet une part croissante des résidents permanents sélectionnés à même le « bassin » de temporaires. Et Jean-François Roberge, ministre de l’Immigration du Québec, a avancé, dans toutes les annonces, vouloir raffermir cette tendance. Le fait « d’essayer » un emploi et un milieu de vie au Québec permet de mieux « aligner » les demandes des employeurs et les attentes des employés, avance M. Brunet.

«Être temporaire, c’est se fréquenter avant de se marier. Il y a moins de pression et, si ça ne marche pas, j’ai toujours l’option de repartir », dit-il.

La professeure Danièle Bélanger se dit quant à elle « très partagée » sur cette idée. Les indicateurs économiques montrent bel et bien que ceux qui font cette transition en ayant déjà vécu ici coûtent moins cher à l’État et ont un meilleur taux d’emploi ainsi que des salaires supérieurs.

« Mais, d’un point de vue humain, c’est un régime migratoire qui comporte un coût humain élevé », décrit-elle. Les immigrants temporaires, peu importe leur programme, vont endurer beaucoup de choses pour arriver à cette « carotte » de la résidence permanente : « Et ce qu’on voit maintenant est que cette carotte est extrêmement volatile », dit Mme Bélanger….

Source: Le gel de l’immigration permanente, une «catastrophe», selon les experts

Disaster”, “shock”, “emergency”: beyond the confusion sown by the announcement of the quasi-freeze of permanent immigration in Quebec last week, experts invite you to see the feeling of panic that is spreading among immigrants.

The CAQ has “taken on its own game” by politicizing immigration, two researchers also say. It is now difficult to act in complete “coherence” with political discourse, while economic and humanitarian pressures are exerted from all sides, underlines Danièle Bélanger, for example.

“It’s a disaster for those people who can no longer change their status,” says this professor at Laval University and holder of the Canada Research Chair on Global Migration Dynamics. “There is no allusion to the effects of all this on people, as if it did not exist. We correct the Excel file a little and put it in the grinder, “she continues.

“We are talking about people who come here and play the game of immigration rules. It very often involves big changes in life. Then, overnight, these rules change. I was able to observe a strong feeling of betrayal, “remarks Capucine Coustere.

Now a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Research on Migration and Society at Concordia University, Ms. Coustere devoted her thesis to studying the transitions between a temporary status and permanent residence. “The measures largely concern people who are already here and will increase the deadlines for people who are temporary, with all that it implies,” she says, from the point of view of both the restriction of rights and precariousness.

Canadian exodus and “emergency”

Observers and the federal government have already pointed out that the recent tightening of temporary and permanent immigration could increase the number of people who find themselves in a cul-de-sac: some will turn to an asylum application, and others could remain without status on the territory.

Still other immigrants, who have just lost the opportunity to settle permanently — at least during the freeze — may also decide to leave for other Canadian provinces. The Federal Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller, has also raised the target of Francophone immigration in the rest of the country.

It is already among the options that immigration lawyers submit to their clients, says immigration lawyer Patrice Brunet. “Obviously, I prefer that the good candidates stay in Quebec, but it’s up to the client to choose what is in his interest,” he notes in an interview. Changes in the rest of Canada “are less untimely”, and access to the residence “much faster and safer”.

“At the moment, we treat the subject a lot as numbers, as merchandise inventories, but they are human,” he also adds.

His team and himself are currently transmitting “a sense of urgency” to their customers who are “extremely stressed”, both individuals and companies: “Depose as soon as you are eligible. It is not known if at midnight the program could be suspended for an indefinite period. ”

Models that clash

However, the lawyer is not at all against an immigration model often called “two-step”, on the contrary. Obtaining permanent residence from abroad is a system “from another time” in his eyes.

There is indeed a growing share of permanent residents selected from the temporary “basin”. And Jean-François Roberge, Quebec’s Minister of Immigration, put forward, in all the announcements, that he wanted to strengthen this trend. “Trying” a job and a living environment in Quebec makes it possible to better “align” employers’ demands and employee expectations, says Mr. Brunette.

“To be temporary is to hang out before getting married. There is less pressure and, if it doesn’t work, I always have the option to leave,” he says.

Professor Danièle Bélanger says she is “very divided” on this idea. Economic indicators do show that those who make this transition having already lived here cost the state less and have a better employment rate as well as higher wages.

“But, from a human point of view, it is a migratory regime that has a high human cost,” she describes. Temporary immigrants, regardless of their program, will endure a lot to get to this “carrot” of permanent residence: “And what we see now is that this carrot is extremely volatile,” says Ms. Bélanger….

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , , , ,

Lisée | Féminisme viril: On reactions to “disappearing” reference to women

2024/11/05 Leave a comment

My favourites example is pregnant people rather than pregnant women:

…Ce n’est pas son propos, j’en conviens, et ça ne le rend pas moins pertinent. Car en parallèle de ce progrès fulgurant, des forces venues du volet masculin de la planète et prenant les atours du progressisme tentent de faire subir recul sur recul à un certain nombre d’acquis féminins durement gagnés.

Sophie tient un compte précis du nombre de fois où, par dérive intellectuelle ou par simple volonté d’être dans le vent, des organismes de l’État ou de la société civile ont voulu faire disparaître le mot « femme » du vocabulaire, ici et ailleurs, y compris les mots vagin, clitoris, même sein ! Au nom de l’inclusion du 0,75 % de la population qui s’auto-exclut des deux genres, il faudrait biffer les mentions de l’existence de la moitié des 99,25 % restants. Un peu comme si on interdisait à Justin Trudeau de dire « Canadiens, Canadiennes », car il est certain qu’il y a toujours un ou deux touristes dans l’auditoire. Elle note par exemple qu’il ne sera plus possible de suivre l’évolution du nombre de femmes au Collège des médecins, car leurs questionnaires ont changé pour donner, non deux choix de genre, mais 14 (14 !).

Une poignée d’insurgés

On pourrait lui répliquer que plusieurs des cas locaux et recensés ont été battus en brèche à cause de la réaction provoquée dans l’espace public par des femmes (et des hommes) qui réprouvent ces dérives. Justement. Si ces réactions existent, c’est que Sophie Durocher et quelques autres se sont donné le rôle de dire non. De faire de la « pédagogie de combat », selon l’expression de l’admirable Française Caroline Fourest, ou du « féminisme viril », selon celle de Sophie.

Ces interventions portent leurs fruits. Je me hasarde à penser qu’en Occident, ces dérives auront connu leur apogée entre 2020 et 2023 — et qu’elles sont désormais sinon en retrait, ou du moins sur la défensive. C’est davantage le cas au Québec qu’ailleurs, ce coin de continent que j’aime appeler la République du bon sens. Martine Biron a été prompte à refuser que le mot « femme » disparaisse du Code civil. Elle a été appuyée même par Québec solidaire. C’est un signe. Le refus d’accepter que les Montréalaises soient représentées par une femme voilée dans une image d’accueil à l’hôtel de ville s’est rendu à Valérie Plante, qui y a donné droit. C’en est un autre.

Ces victoires ne sont pas arrivées seules. Il a fallu qu’à la manière de Sophie Durocher, des citoyens s’insurgent contre ce qui s’installait comme une nouvelle façon d’être, présentée comme moderne et inclusive, alors que leur effet combiné, voulu ou non, réduisait l’espace que les femmes avaient acquis. Pour mener ce combat, il fallait accepter d’être exclu, pendant cet instant où la bêtise semblait dominante, du club des gens bien, du réseau de l’élite et du progrès.

C’est plus ardu que vous ne le pensez. On trouve moins de volontaires pour mener ces combats que de partisans du confort bien-pensant. C’est pourquoi on ne demande jamais, sur ces questions, où est Sophie Durocher ? Elle est toujours là, au front.

Source: Lisée | Féminisme viril

… That’s not his point, I agree, and that doesn’t make him less relevant. Because in parallel with this meteoric progress, forces coming from the male component of the planet and taking the guise of progressivism are trying to subject a number of hard-won female achievements to back and retreat.

Sophie keeps a precise account of the number of times that, out of intellectual drift or out of a simple desire to be in the wind, state or civil society organizations wanted to make the word “woman” disappear from the vocabulary, here and elsewhere, including the words vagina, clitoris, same breast! In the name of the inclusion of 0.75% of the population who self-exclude themselves from both genders, mentions of the existence of half of the remaining 99.25% should be deleted. A bit like forbidding Justin Trudeau to say “Canadians, Canadians”, because it is certain that there are always one or two tourists in the audience. She notes, for example, that it will no longer be possible to follow the evolution of the number of women at the College of Physicians, because their questionnaires have changed to give, not two gender choices, but 14 (14!).

A handful of insurgents

It could be said to him that several of the local and registered cases were defeated because of the reaction in public space by women (and men) who disapprove of these excesses. Precisely. If these reactions exist, it is because Sophie Durocher and a few others have given themselves the role of saying no. To do “combat pedagogy”, according to the expression of the admirable French Caroline Fourest, or “virile feminism”, according to Sophie’s.

These interventions are bearing fruit. I venture to think that in the West, these drifts will have reached their peak between 2020 and 2023 – and that they are now if not in retreat, or at least on the defensive. This is more the case in Quebec than elsewhere, this piece of the continent that I like to call the Republic of common sense. Martine Biron was quick to refuse to have the word “woman” disappear from the Civil Code. She was even supported by Québec solidaire. It’s a sign. The refusal to accept that Montrealers be represented by a veiled woman in a welcome image at City Hall went to Valérie Plante, who gave it the right. It’s another one.

These victories did not come alone. It was necessary that, in the manner of Sophie Durocher, citizens rebelled against what was being installed as a new way of being, presented as modern and inclusive, while their combined effect, wanted or not, reduced the space that women had acquired. To lead this fight, it was necessary to accept to be excluded, during this moment when stupidity seemed dominant, from the club of good people, from the elite network and progress.

It’s harder than you think. There are fewer volunteers to lead these fights than supporters of well-thinking comfort. That’s why we never ask, on these questions, where is Sophie Durocher? She’s still there, at the front.

Filed under gender, Multiculturalism Tagged with ,

Ottawa under pressure to give more Lebanese a safe haven in Canada

2024/11/05 Leave a comment

Not surprising. And as always, precedents of other programs such as the one for Ukrainians set benchmarks for other groups to cite:

Ottawa is facing calls to expand a temporary immigration program that gives people who have managed to escape Lebanon a safe haven in Canada, with MPs and immigration experts saying the measures are too limited and leave relatives of Canadians in peril.

Earlier this week, the federal government announced a program that will allow Lebanese nationals and their immediate families to extend their stay in Canada so they can avoid the fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah that has escalated over the past five weeks.

Lebanese nationals who are already in Canada, and their spouses and children, can apply without charge for a work or study permit so they do not need to return home. Those who have temporary-resident status can apply to extend it, and people who came here from Lebanon as visitors can also ask to extend their visitor visas in Canada for free.

But critics say the measures, which will be in place until July 31, are far more limited than other programs the government has established to help people fleeing war zones, including Ukrainians and Palestinians in Gaza.Source: Ottawa under pressure to give more Lebanese a safe haven in Canada…

Source: Ottawa under pressure to give more Lebanese a safe haven in Canada

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‘We can’t cry about the milk that’s spilled’: As DE&I fallout continues, multicultural agencies grapple with changes

2024/11/05 Leave a comment

Of note:

Brands like Ford Motors, John Deere and Molson Coors, among others, have reversed course on their diversity, equity and inclusion commitments. The shift is leaving multicultural and diverse-owned agencies grappling with the fallout.

With a polarizing presidential election coming to a head tomorrow, hot-button issues like reproductive rights and affirmative action are now front and center. Over the past year, brands like Target and Bud Light have faced backlash for marketing campaigns and other work deemed woke. Since then, some brands have been increasingly steering clear of the so-called culture wars, quietly walking back DE&I commitments made in the post-George Floyd murder era. 

Notably, consumer spending has slowed and marketing budgets are facing constraints as economic uncertainty looms, making it easier for brands to make the case to divest from diversity efforts. Meaning, walking back the commitment is more a result of the need to tighten belts rather than a push to upend diversity initiatives, industry experts say.

That reversal has left multicultural and diverse-owned agencies dealing with the about-face from the boom seen at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement and subsequent DE&I commitments.

“It has definitely affected us,” said Dawn Wade, managing partner and chief strategy officer at NIMBUS, a Black-owned marketing agency. “We have many customers or clients who their DEI budgets were just completely cut.” In some instances, Wade added, diversity initiatives were axed, shifting dollars toward general marketing initiatives. It’s a stark comparison to 2020, when “phones were ringing off the hook,” she said, noting the agency had to turn work down to avoid onboarding too many clients at once, thus overloading the business. The agency has maintained around 20 clients since 2020. 

Recently, the agency lost a client whose diversity budget was completely slashed, she said. Meanwhile, some other clients have been in limbo, trying to find workarounds in light of DE&I budget cuts. (Wade did not offer the names of specific clients or budget figures.) 

Other multicultural marketers tell a similar story, noting the pendulum of brands’ commitment to diversity now swinging toward divestment out of fear of the so-called culture wars. At BGD Media, a multicultural and independently-owned marketing agency, potential clients have recently put conversations around working together on hold until 2025, said Latoya Bond, CMO of BGD Media. 

Source: ‘We can’t cry about the milk that’s spilled’: As DE&I fallout continues, multicultural agencies grapple with changes

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David | L’obligation de cohérence

2024/11/05 Leave a comment

Coherance always difficult to achieve, both within policy areas and between them:

…Jean-François Roberge s’est récrié quand on lui a demandé si son annonce était une réaction au plan de réduction présenté lundi dernier par le PQ, mais il est difficile de croire qu’il lui a fallu des semaines pour préparer le sien, qui consiste essentiellement à décréter un moratoire et à reporter les décisions difficiles au printemps.

Qu’il s’agisse d’immigration ou de laïcité, la Coalition avenir Québec est en voie d’être supplantée par le PQ sur le terrain de l’identité de la même façon qu’elle avait réussi à supplanter le Parti libéral du Québec sur celui de l’économie. La protection de cette identité ne se limite pas à la seule chicane avec Ottawa.

Le gouvernement Legault a aussi une obligation de cohérence. Il ne peut pas continuer à tenir les nouveaux arrivants pour responsables de tous les maux, de la crise du logement à celle de la DPJ, en passant par l’engorgement des hôpitaux, des écoles et des garderies, sans faire quoi que ce soit pour en limiter l’afflux.

Pour un gouvernement qui avait justifié la hausse des seuils d’immigration par un recrutement accru de francophones et la francisation des autres, il est également difficile d’expliquer pourquoi les centres de services scolaires sont forcés de fermer des classes de francisation un peu partout au Québec, faute de s’être vu attribuer des budgets suffisants.

Selon le commissaire à la langue française, Benoît Dubreuil, ce sont précisément les nouvelles exigences relatives à la connaissance du français imposées aux immigrants qui ont fait exploser la demande en francisation. « La demande est trop élevée parce qu’il y a trop de résidents temporaires non francophones », convient M. Roberge.

Malheureusement, la cohérence et les intérêts politiques ne font pas toujours bon ménage. Quand les porte-parole des entreprises, particulièrement en région, vont faire le siège des députés caquistes et leur expliquer qu’elles risquent de fermer si on les prive de leur main-d’oeuvre immigrante, M. Legault en arrivera peut-être à la conclusion qu’une baisse analogue à celle qu’a décrétée Ottawa est finalement bien assez grosse.

Source: David | L’obligation de cohérence

.. Jean-François Roberge cried out when asked if his announcement was a reaction to the reduction plan presented last Monday by the PQ, but it is difficult to believe that it took him weeks to prepare his, which essentially consists of decreeing a moratorium and postponing difficult decisions to the spring.

Whether it is immigration or secularism, the Coalition avenir Québec is in the process of being supplanted by the PQ in the field of identity in the same way that it had succeeded in supplanting the Quebec Liberal Party on the economy. The protection of this identity is not limited to the chicane with Ottawa alone.

The Legault government also has an obligation of consistency. He cannot continue to hold newcomers responsible for all ills, from the housing crisis to that of the DPJ, through the congestion of hospitals, schools and daycare centers, without doing anything to limit the influx.

For a government that had justified the increase in immigration thresholds by increased recruitment of Francophones and the francization of others, it is also difficult to explain why school service centers are forced to close francization classes throughout Quebec, for lack of sufficient budgets.

According to the Commissioner for the French Language, Benoît Dubreuil, it was precisely the new requirements for the knowledge of French imposed on immigrants that caused the demand for francization to explode. “Demand is too high because there are too many non-French-speaking temporary residents,” agrees Mr. Roberge.

Unfortunately, consistency and political interests do not always go well together. When the spokespersons of companies, especially in the regions, go to besiege the Caquist deputies and explain to them that they risk closing if they are deprived of their immigrant workforce, Mr. Legault may come to the conclusion that a decline similar to the one decreed by Ottawa is ultimately quite large.

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Canadian Handbook on the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism: Comment

2024/11/04 Leave a comment

This is a useful initiative, both as an explainer as well as providing examples of antisemitic behaviour, one that can be used by a variety of organizations and institutions. The illustrative examples (section 3) are particularly strong.

That being said, some weaknesses IMO:

The paragraph “Misconception #4” overly simplifies the history of the definition, and avoids mentioning the concerns of the lead drafter, Kenneth Stern, that it could be used to curb free speech.

The handbook is silent on the other main definition, The Nexus Document, which  “examines the issues at the nexus of antisemitism and Israel in American politics” but has broader implications and provides greater clarity on when criticism of Israel and Israeli policies and actions cross over to antisemitism.

The Canadian handbook could have benefited from more extensive examples of legitimate non-antisemitic critiques of Israel and its government (e.g., settler violence, restrictions on movement, military strategies, limiting humanitarian aid etc), keeping in mind that singling out Israel from other abusers can cross the line.

Lastly, the handbook reflects the wisdom of having a public servant as the special envoy, who knows how to “work the system” to obtain practical results, something much harder for former activists. That being said, there is a need for a similar practical handbook for anti-Muslim bias and hate, although the absence of a widely agreed definition makes it more complicated. The UN’s background paper, A Working Definition of Islamophobia, among others, could provide the basis for the development of a more formal definition along with IHRA and Nexus but from the perspective of anti-Muslim bias and hate.

For illustrative purposes, I selected these examples from the Handbook which, with suggested rewording, also could be applied to anti-Muslim hate:

Example 1: Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion.

Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Muslims in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion.

Example 2: Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.

Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Muslims as such or the power of Muslims as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Muslim conspiracy (great replacement theory).

Example 3: Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group or even for acts committed by non-Jews.

Accusing Muslims as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Muslim person or group or even for acts committed by non-Muslims.

Example 6: Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.

Accusing Muslim citizens of being more loyal to the Ummah, or to the alleged priorities of Muslims worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.

Note: I would argue that participating in the Israeli defence forces or in the armed forces of Islamic countries, or organizations like Hamas, Hisbollah and ISIS make dual loyalty charges legitimate.

Example 9: Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.

Using the symbols and images associated with classic Islamophobia/anti-Muslim hate (e.g., Objectifying and generalising Muslims as different, exotic, or underdeveloped, or implying that they are outside of, distinct from, or incompatible with Canadian society and identity) to characterize citizens of Muslim countries.

Source: Canadian Handbook on the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism

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Ramos | Here’s what we get wrong when we talk about international students and immigration

2024/11/04 Leave a comment

Good commentary by my friend Howard Ramos on the important distinctions between immigration and migration, how Canada has shifted towards the latter and the need for separate but related analysis and discussion on each:

…The failure to deliver on the value-proposition of migration and immigration to Canada has led to a reputational hit. Many newcomers have given up on the country and are returning home or looking elsewhere to fulfill their dreams.

Canada needs to recognize it is not the only game in town for attracting scarce high skill talent in a world. Trudeau failed in his ambition to offer “deliverology” to Canada and to the newcomers seeking to start a new life here.

Recognizing that Canada has become a migrant country does not mean that it should turn away from international students and temporary workers. As provinces have cut funds to colleges and universities, international students play a vital role in making up the shortfall. They also create a vibrant academic atmosphere and learn the skills needed in Canada and their home countries. Temporary workers also fill acute labour shortages and make up for an aging workforce. And both are needed in Canada’s two-step immigration system that relies on “Canadian experience” as an important factor in obtaining permanent residence.

Canada needs some temporary migrants but also needs to seriously consider the economic, infrastructure, social and cultural repercussions of moving to a migration system from being only a permanent immigration system. To fully do that demands two conversations about immigration and not just one.

Source: Opinion | Here’s what we get wrong when we talk about international students and immigration

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