Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act (Craven Pandering to the Conservative Base and Anti-Muslim Sentiment Act) controversial for more than its title

2014/12/10 1 Comment

The risks of a simplistic bumper sticker approach to complex family dynamics, not to mention existing laws that can be used:

“Prevention, not prohibition,” exhorted Deepa Mattoo, Acting Executive Director of the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario.

Mattoo argued that there is existing law that can be applied to forced marriage situations such as assault, kidnapping and duress statutes and that instead of jumping the gun on criminalizing forced marriage, more research and education needs to be done.

Mattoo said there exists some protection that young women can take advantage of, but public education is lacking. For example if a young woman contacts the clinic because she suspects that her family vacation may lead to a forced marriage, she can contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Development so she can be monitored.

The other issue to keep in mind is that this law deals with young women, who are under the protection of their parents.

She said in her experience women who come forward seeking help don’t necessarily want to have to go to court against their parents. Eighty per cent of her clients reunite with their families in some way.

“They do not want their families to be criminalized,” said Mattoo.

Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act controversial for more than its title (pay wall)

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Senators challenge name, need for Conservatives’ forced marriage bill

2014/12/06 Leave a comment

Valid questions:

Senators are questioning both the need for and the name of a new Conservative bill aimed at barring polygamous and forced marriages.

Bill S-7, entitled the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, makes amendments to immigration and criminal laws.

Immigration Minister Chris Alexander has told a Senate committee studying the bill it is focused on providing added legislative power to stop violence against women.

But Conservative Senator Raynell Andreychuk says if that’s the goal of the bill, perhaps the word violence should have been in the title as too much focus is now on the word barbaric.

Liberal Senator Art Eggleton says that by using barbaric in the title the government is calling cultural communities barbarians, a politically loaded term.But Alexander says it’s the violence against women that is barbaric, not entire communities.

As I noted in an earlier post, a more accurate name would be: Craven Pandering to the Conservative Base and anti-Muslim Sentiment.

Senators challenge name, need for Conservatives’ forced marriage bill | Toronto Star.

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Conservative ‘barbaric practices’ bill panders to fear of immigrants: Walkom

2014/11/10 Leave a comment

Tom Walkom on the Government’s pandering to its base:

As justification for his bill, Alexander cited the case of Mohammad Shafia, an Afghan immigrant who, along with his wife and son, killed three of his daughters and the girls’ stepmother.

What the minister didn’t point out is that all three killers received the maximum sentence — life in prison.

“The apparent reason behind these cold-blooded, shameful murders was that the four completely innocent victims offended your completely twisted concept of honour . . . that has absolutely no placed in any civilized society,” the judge said at sentencing.

Not much leniency there.

In another case cited by Alexander this week, it’s hard to know what the judge will say. The alleged wife-killer has not yet gone to trial.

This inconvenient fact didn’t stop the minister from publicly declaring the recent immigrant from Afghanistan guilty of an honour killing. It’s the second time this year that Alexander has preemptively convicted this particular man. The first was in a March speech for Toronto’s Canadian Club.

It is true that Canada does not tolerate practices more common in other countries. Americans who want to come to Canada must give up their handguns. Chinese billionaires, if they wish to settle here, may have only one spouse apiece. Murdering wives and daughters — for any reason — is just not on.

But laws in these areas already exist. With the exceptions noted above, Alexander’s bill does not add anything helpful. In the guise of protecting women it takes potshots at Muslim immigrants. Its motives are crassly political.

Perhaps the title of the bill could be changed from “Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act” to “Craven Pandering to the Conservative Base and anti-Muslim Sentiment.”

Conservative ‘barbaric practices’ bill panders to fear of immigrants: Walkom | Toronto Star.

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