Islamic law to be enshrined in British law as solicitors get guidelines on ‘Sharia compliant’ wills

2014/03/24 Leave a comment

Some were not thinking about how Islamic principles list can be reconciled with a human rights and equality perspective. Sad.

Under guidance produced by The Law Society, High Street solicitors will be able to compose Islamic wills that refuse women an equal share of inheritances and discount non-believers entirely, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

The recommendations can also prevent illegitimate children, as well as those who have been adopted, from being included in an inheritance.

Nicholas Fluck, president of The Law Society told the newspaper that the document, which would be recognised by Britain’s courts, would promote “good practice” in applying Islamic principles in the British legal system.

But some lawyers have described the recommendations as “astonishing” and campaigners have warned that the move marks a step towards a “parallel legal system” for Britain’s Muslim communities.

Islamic law to be enshrined in British law as solicitors get guidelines on ‘Sharia compliant’ wills – Home News – UK – The Independent.

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The Lords must vote against Theresa May’s plan to strip Britons of their citizenship

2014/03/24 Leave a comment

More on the debate within the UK on citizenship revocation in cases of terrorist or equivalent activity, and lack of due process (proposed Canadian equivalent has greater due process protections given role of Federal Court and not leaving it to Ministerial discretion):

“[U]se of denationalisation as a punishment [means] the total destruction of the individual’s status in organised society. It is a form of punishment more primitive than torture …”

So ruled the US supreme court in 1958 on the practice of stripping people of their citizenship and leaving them stateless. It is a measure of how far Britain has sunk in the legal and ethical mire of the “war on terror” that the government is now attempting to introduce powers similar to those rejected by the US courts as “cruel and unusual” more than half a century ago.

On Monday, the House of Lords votes on plans that would give Theresa May the power to strip Britons of their citizenship without due process, even if doing so would leave them stateless – deprived of any nationality or the protections it carries.

It is a power that, before this government came into office, had been relatively narrow in scope and little-used. Even during the second world war, Oxford academic Matthew Gibeny notes, “only four people were stripped of citizenship.” Already, he says, “Theresa May has denaturalised more than four times that number”.

The Lords must vote against Theresa May’s plan to strip Britons of their citizenship | Clare Algar | Comment is free | theguardian.com.

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Paul Wells: How to get inside Harper’s head – The Globe and Mail

2014/03/22 Leave a comment

I found Well’s book, The Longer I’m Prime Minister, a compelling and informative read. He really does try to understand the philosophical and ideological foundations, with empathy, not just dismissing them. The section on the census – which apparently Well’s editors wanted shortened – is one of the better sections, as is some of the background of thinkers like Brimelow that have been influential:

It’s the empathy thing again. I was actually preparing to deliver a sustained critique of the census changes. But there were a lot of people telling you why it was a bad idea, and not an awful lot of people telling you why he would have thought it was a good idea. And the answer is because there’s this rich intellectual heritage in Western conservative circles of mistrusting the census man. When Jed Clampett, at the beginning of the Beverly Hillbillies, takes a shot and hits oil, he thinks he’s shooting at a revenuer. That persists in our culture, and I wanted to trace that at some length so that people would see that where Harper comes from has been there along – and has been ignored by a lot of people who now suddenly can’t ignore it because he’s running the joint.

A great para on Jason Kenney:

Jason Kenney’s a spectacular exception to that. Jason Kenney says what he wants. His staff say what they want. The autonomy of being a junior staffer in Jason Kenney’s office is greater than the autonomy that most cabinet ministers enjoy. And the answer is because Harper knows, or believes, that Kenney would never turn that fire-hose on him. James Moore is another good example. We draw these facile distinctions between loyalists and a strong personality with something to say. But of course there are all kinds of examples of loyalists who have a strong personality. And as long as you’re a loyalist first, Harper’s happy to let you stay around.

Paul Wells: How to get inside Harper’s head – The Globe and Mail.

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Evidence vs Anecdote, Trust and Distrust

2014/03/22 Leave a comment

Some good pieces in The Citizen picking up on some of the these in my book, Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias: Resetting Citizenship and Multiculturalism,

Starting with Stewart Prest, who goes too far in praising the neutrality and impartiality of public servants, neglecting that we public servants also have our own perspectives, bias and ideologies that we need to be more aware about to provide our best and most neutral advice:

However, in modern democratic states one of the most important sources for non-partisan information and expertise is the government itself. Government bureaucracies are the only institutions in the world today with the access, the resources, and the motivation to systematically monitor and study the entirety of a country’s population and the extent of its human and natural environment.

Examples are legion, from statisticians to health officials to diplomats to environmental scientists. They exist throughout the much maligned but nonetheless vital bureaucracy of the country. Crucially, their professional incentives push them to resist conclusions that may even be perceived as partisan. After all, a long-serving civil servant will work under different parties and political masters. Their professional success comes from striving to provide politically neutral advice and support for political decision-making, and engaging in equally neutral policy implementation. Though part of the machinery of the state, these experts are — or ought to be — distinct and largely independent from the particular partisan interests of the government of the day.

Such bureaucrats are, among other things, keepers of tradition: a reservoir of knowledge about how Canadians have governed themselves over previous years and decades. They know and can speak to what works, and what does not. In this regard, theirs is a deeply conservative (small-c) form of expertise, one that has played no small part in whatever good government Canadians have enjoyed since confederation.

That is not to say that his overall message of suppressing speech, undermining data, eroding science, and increased partisanship has more than an element of truth.

Op-Ed: The war on experts

The Public Policy Forum in its recent study, Flat, Flexible and Forward-Thinking, focusses on declining levels of trust in the public service:

Mitchell said part of the problem is that some public servants have taken the traditional principles of a neutral and non-partisan public service too far.

“I think we prided our public service on being politically neutral and non-partisan to a fault because it has persuaded some to think they cannot even engage in meaningful dialogue with elected representatives or their staff.  That is an extreme view but I think it may have been taken to the extreme and we have to build stronger understanding and more trust.”

But Mitchell said rebuilding trust will take more than the effort of public servants. He said the government will have to be “political champions” for this change as well as for other sweeping reforms of the public service.

I think the trust issue goes deeper than that on both sides. Public servants may have viewed the new government as “barbarians at the gate” given how different public service and political perspectives were, and similarly the government viewed many public servants as “hopelessly compromised liberals.”

‘Trust gap’ a growing problem for public servants and politicians, think-tank warns

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‘Self-censorship’ in discussion of multiculturalism, says London’s deputy mayor

2014/03/22 Leave a comment

Interesting discussion with Munira Mirza, deputy mayor of London, on multiculturalism, with particular reference to academic circles. Her point on the mistake of treating Muslims as “a homogenous group” particularly relevant (a lesson that can likely be applied to any community engagement strategy):

While at Policy Exchange, Mirza was lead author of a 2007 report, Living Apart Together: British Muslims and the Paradox of Multiculturalism, that claimed that “Government policies to improve engagement with Muslims make things worse. By treating Muslims as a homogeneous group, the Government fails to see the diversity of opinions amongst Muslims, so they feel more ignored and excluded.”

This argument was obviously controversial, but Mirza reports a “quite vicious” response from academics who focused on “quibbling with the technicalities of the research”. There was also “an assumption that, because it was published by a thinktank, it was therefore driven by ideological motives and there was nothing in it that was substantial, whereas we in the universities are much more objective”.

It is here that Mirza detects “a kind of coercive consensus around some of the debates in higher education around issues such as multiculturalism.

“There isn’t much appetite to criticise it as a policy or to entertain the notion that some of these ideas have had damaging effects. I think there’s a degree of self-censorship. I don’t think you get the critical level of discussion and debate [about multiculturalism] in the university sector that you do in the press and media. I think there’s more intelligent public conversation outside than there is inside.”

‘Self-censorship’ in discussion of multiculturalism, says London’s deputy mayor | News | Times Higher Education.

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International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Difference in Tone

2014/03/22 Leave a comment

Quite a different approach from Minister Alexander compared to Minister Kenney. Incredibly bureaucratic and normal:

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) coordinates the federal activities related to the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). The ICERD is a United Nations Convention that promotes and encourages universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction based on race, sex, language or religion.

Our role

CIC’s role includes:

  • coordinating federal input to periodic reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Racism (CERD) on Canada’s implementation of the ICERD;
  • leading Canada’s periodic appearances for the presentation of reports to the CERD, a committee of independent experts that monitors implementation of the ICERD; and
  • consulting with partner departments regarding progress in responding to recommendations from the CERD.

CIC activities

Under the mandate of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, CIC works to foster the full participation and integration of Canadians from all ethnic, racial and religious backgrounds into society. CIC’s multiculturalism activities in support of the ICERD implementation include:

The CIC Settlement Program also supports locally based approaches to remove barriers as well as help build welcoming and inclusive communities. The wide range of stakeholders involved with the program allows projects to address many different challenges to integration, including those faced in the workplace, schools and community members at large.

Human Rights.

But of course, Minister Kenney in his role as Multiculturalism Minister also issued a statement, more political in tone than the bureaucratic one under Minister Alexander. Not a bad division of roles but even Minister Kenney’s current statement below is subdued compared to previous years:

“The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is a day observed in like-minded countries around the world to reaffirm our shared commitment to combatting racism.

“Canadians are rightly proud of our country’s successful pluralism, fostering a society where all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, faith, or country of origin, have a place.

“Our government continues to be actively engaged in efforts to fight discrimination both at home and abroad.

“Throughout the past year, Canada maintained our status as a world leader in the global fight against anti-Semitism as the Chair of theInternational Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Our government will continue to work closely with the IHRA to promote Holocaust education, remembrance and research.

“Moreover, Canada’s Office of Religious Freedom continues to advocate for the rights of persecuted religious communities around the world.

“As Minister for Multiculturalism, I encourage all Canadians to take a moment on this day to reflect on the importance of our country’s values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”

In contrast, the 2013 press release had much more involvement and direction by the Minister:

“The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is an opportunity for Canadians to join with other freedom-loving people around the world in reaffirming our commitment to reject and eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.

“While we can be proud of our own country’s successful pluralism, we need to ensure that all Canadian citizens reject extremism, do not import ancient enmities, and continue to embrace Canada’s tradition of ordered liberty, which guarantees the equality of all citizens under the law.

“Through initiatives such as the Office of Religious Freedom, our Government will also continue to condemn acts of racial hatred around the world. These acts often accompany the targeting of religious communities.

“As Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, I encourage all Canadians to continue to uphold the fundamental values of our free, democratic and peacefully pluralist society and to reject all forms of unjust discrimination.”

Minister Kenney issues statement to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (2014)

Minister Kenney issues statement on the International Day (2013)

And lastly, the Canadian Race Relations Foundation continues to align itself with the government’s priorities:

Today the CRRF is proud to launch a new resource area dedicated to “Imported Conflict”, an emergent arena of study and public discourse that encompasses immigration, citizenship, multiculturalism and approaches to social and economic integration, and is essential to our understanding of what still needs to be done to promote integration and civic participation of Canadians of all origins.

The first document to be included in the special resource collection will be the Mosaic Institute’s recently released report, The Perception & Reality of “Imported Conflict” in Canada, and its abundant resources. The report is the culmination of a two-year study of Canadians’ perceptions and concerns about “imported conflict” in Canada. The report provides an interesting perspective as an initial endeavour, and the CRRF looks forward to examining and gathering further research in this area.

CRRF announces new initiative on International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

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Shopping for Votes Can Undermine Canada’s Fine Balance – Diaspora Politics – My Op-Ed

2014/03/21 Leave a comment

From New Canadian Media, my op-ed on diaspora politics, assessing the factors and politics behind why governments and political parties adopt some causes and some not:

Ironically, as the government aims to strengthen the value of Canadian citizenship, suggesting a more exclusive attachment to Canada, its active engagement in diaspora politics reinforces a more fluid concept of identity and citizenship, one more in tune with the complex identities many Canadians have.

Diaspora politics are a legitimate part of the Canadian landscape. While some may perceive it as “pandering,” diaspora politics reflect a valid response to the concerns of citizens. The challenge for all political parties is to balance the interests of individual communities – both with other groups and Canada’s broader interests and values.

Too strong a focus on “shopping for votes” risks undermining this balance.

Shopping for Votes Can Undermine Canada’s Fine Balance – New Canadian Media – NCM.

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Is criticism of Israel anti-Semitic? | My take

2014/03/21 Leave a comment

One of my recommendations on the approach to antisemitism from my piece in the CJN:

Secondly, we must strengthen messaging on the commonalities between anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred and intolerance. Some of the pioneering work by Jewish communities is being lost in the focus on anti-Semitism. More express links among all forms of hatred, racism and discrimination can help combat anti-Semitism through engagement of a broader range of communities. The activities of the Holocaust centres in Canada in educating our increasingly diverse population are good examples. Perceived exclusive government focus on anti-Semitism may undermine understanding and support among other communities.

Is criticism of Israel anti-Semitic? | The Canadian Jewish News.

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Expect Pauline Marois to seek sovereignty diversion: Hébert | Toronto Star

2014/03/21 Leave a comment

While Hébert’s assessment may change somewhat after the leader debates, a good assessment of the PQ’s electoral strategy:

And so the word is that Marois will seek salvation in a diversion.

Over the remaining two weeks of the campaign, the PQ is expected to go harder on its plan for a secularism charter. The project is as polarizing as the notion of a referendum but in a positive sense for the sovereigntist party.

It remains to be seen whether enough voters will decide that their support for the charter outweighs their opposition to another referendum to reverse the momentum of the campaign in the PQ’s favour.

According to CROP, the charter is a priority for only a fraction of its supporters. And fatigue with that debate is even more prevalent among Quebecers than fatigue with the referendum issue. Still, from the PQ’s electoral perspective, a tired horse is better than a lame horse.

Expect Pauline Marois to seek sovereignty diversion: Hébert | Toronto Star.

Further illustration of charter strategy seen in Minister Drainville’s most recent comments,  and making the plea for majority government:

Only way to save charter is through majority government: PQ

Drainville is also playing on the fears of the niqab/burka, and extending the Charter to include students, not just teachers and professors, relying on anecdotes of a few students at Concordia  (the exchange with the reporter is worth reading). I do find the niqab/burka in Western countries symbolizes rejection of integration, in contrast to kippas, turbans, hijabs, crucifixes etc.:

Ban the burka for students, Parti Québécois says

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Role of Media in Integrating Immigrants: Metropolis Panel Discussion

2014/03/21 Leave a comment

For those interested in the role of ethnic and mainstream media in integration, please find below a transcript of the Metropolis discussion last week, organized by New Canadian Media and involving yours truly. Fairly long but it was a good and interesting discussion.

Thanks to CIC for deeming it important enough to merit transcription (tax dollars at work!).

Role of Media in Integrating Immigrants: Metropolis Panel Discussion

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