Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service shared information about Abousfian Abdelrazik with "foreign partner agencies" prior to his arrest and detention in Sudan in 2003, the federal government has admitted

CSIS shared Abousfian Abdelrazik information with foreign partner agencies


The Canadian Security Intelligence Service shared information about Abousfian Abdelrazik with "foreign partner agencies" prior to his arrest and detention in Sudan in 2003, the federal government has admitted The Canadian Security Intelligence Service shared information about Abousfian Abdelrazik with “foreign partner agencies” prior to his arrest and detention in Sudan in 2003, the federal government has admitted.





It made the admission in a statement of defence filed this week with the Federal Court in response to Abdelrazik's $27-million lawsuit against the government and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon.





The 34-page defence firmly denies Canada was complicit in Abdelrazik’s 2003 arrest by Sudanese authorities and asserts Canadian officials took “reasonable steps” to assist in Abdelrazik’s repatriation to Canada.





It also says CSIS did not share any information and intelligence about Abdelrazik with Sudanese authorities before his arrest in that country.





In his lawsuit against the government, Abdelrazik alleges Canada was responsible for his detention in Sudan and violated his constitutional right to come home.





The 47-year-old Sudanese-Canadian spent nearly six years in prison or forced exile in Sudan before the Federal Court ordered the government to repatriate him last year.





Paul Champ, Abdelrazik’s Ottawa lawyer, said Wednesday the decision to share information about Abdelrazik with agencies in other countries was “improper and negligent” because, he believes, it was likely passed on to the Sudanese.





“One way or another, the information that led to his detention and arrest came from Canada,” he said.



The government’s statement says Abdelrazik came to the attention of CSIS in the late 1990s “because of his associations with Montreal-based supporters of Islamist extremism.





“CSIS had reasonable grounds to suspect that (Abdelrazik) constituted a threat to the security of Canada by virtue of suspected links to international terrorism,” the statement of defence says.





CSIS agents interviewed Abdelrazik four times between April 2001 and February 2003 outside his home or at nearby public places.





After his arrest in Sudan, two CSIS agents interviewed Abdelrazik in October 2003. The purpose, the government document says, was to collect information and intelligence on “potential security threats.”





Abdelrazik asked the agents to tell his children in Canada where he was. But the agents declined, the defence statement says.





Champ said the defence corroborates many elements of Abdelrazik’s version of events.



“For the most part, we’re really happy with the defence,” Champ said. That Abdelrazik was able to accurately recall so many meetings and discussions “shows a lot about his credibility,” he said.





One of Abdelrazik’s meetings was with Deepak Obhrai, Cannon’s parliamentary secretary. The two met in March 2008, a month before he sought refuge in the Canadian embassy in Khartoum.





The government’s defence confirms that Abdelrazik told Obhrai he’d been tortured while in custody, lifted his shirt and “briefly pointed to some places on his body.”





In response to Obhrai’s questions, Abdelrazik said he’d been beaten with a hose and made to stand for hours, adding that this was done at the request of Canada, the defence states.





It also says Obhrai asked Abdelrazik about his views on “various conflicts, including Israel and Palestine.”



Champ said the document’s account of the meeting largely corroborates Abdelrazik’s own version.



It also confirms that Obhrai “thought this was a good opportunity to question a Canadian citizen about his views on Israel and Palestine, as if that had any bearing whatsoever on his plight.”





No date has been set to hear the lawsuit, though a case management conference is scheduled for Oct. 26.



Last month, the Federal Court rejected a government motion to throw out parts of the lawsuit, as well as an attempt to have Cannon removed as a defendant.





Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/CSIS+shared+Abousfian+Abdelrazik+information+with+foreign+partner+agencies/3665817/story.html#ixzz12J03B7yx

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

oh this is good!: Restaurant owner sues Rob Ford

The owner of a Toronto pub located on city-owned beachfront land said Tuesday he plans to sue mayoral candidate Rob Ford for libel over comments the controversial politician made earlier this year.



The lawyer for George Foulidis, who owns the Boardwalk Pub on Lakeshore Boulevard in the Woodbine Park area of the Beach, confirmed to CBC News that Ford was served with papers naming him in a $6-million libel suit.



The action came after Foulidis demanded that Ford apologize for suggesting he bribed city officials to extend his lease on the pub to 2028 without opening up the food services concession, which Foulidis has run since the 1980s, to other bidders.



Ford refused to back down from his comments.



The lawsuit says Ford made the claims "purely for political purposes."



At issue are comments Ford made to the Toronto Sun in August about the city's renewed deal with Foulidis's company, Tuggs Inc., which also expanded his licence to sell merchandise and alcohol in other parts of the beachfront.



The mayoral candidate told the Sun editorial board the contract "stinks to high heaven" and "smacks of civic corruption."



Foulidis said at the time that the comments have damaged his reputation, hurt his business and caused embarrassment to his wife and family.



None of the allegations have been proven in court.







Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/10/12/toronto-ford-lawsuit.html#socialcomments#ixzz12D6u64rQ

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) ... Canada. Its name in French is Centre de Toxicomanie et de Santé Mentale.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is a consortium of mental health clinics at several sites in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its name in French is Centre de Toxicomanie et de Santé Mentale. (The acronym CAMH is most commonly pronounced "Cam-H".)




Among the focuses of the organization are the assessment and treatment of schizophrenia, mood & anxiety disorders, and personality disorders. There is also a focus on addictions to alcohol, drugs, and problem gambling at the former ARF site. CAMH also has a Law and Mental Health Programme (forensic psychiatry and forensic psychology) and is a major research centre.



CAMH is a teaching hospital with central facilities located in Toronto and 26 community locations throughout the province of Ontario. CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto and is a Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre.



In October 2008, CAMH was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was featured in Maclean's newsmagazine. Later that month, CAMH was also named one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers, which was announced by the Toronto Star newspaper.[1]



Contents [hide]

1 Facilities

1.1 Clarke Institute of Psychiatry

1.2 Addiction Research Foundation

1.3 Donwood Institute

1.4 Queen Street Mental Health Centre

2 References

3 External links



 Facilities

CAMH was formed in 1998 as a result of the merger of the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, the Addiction Research Foundation, the Donwood Institute and Queen Street Mental Health Centre.[2]



] Clarke Institute of Psychiatry



CAMH College Street siteThe hospital was founded in 1966 and named the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, after Charles Kirk Clarke, a pioneer in mental health in Canada.



Much of their work focuses on forensic psychology and research designed to shape public policy.[citation needed]



The former Clarke Institute building is now referred to as the College St. site of CAMH.



Addiction Research Foundation

ARF was founded in 1949. H. David Archibald, who had studied at the School of Alcohol Studies at Yale University, was hired by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario in 1949. His mandate was to determine the scope of alcoholism in Ontario. He was named executive director when ARF opened and remained in that post until 1976. Focusing initially on outpatient treatment, their first facility was Brookside Hospital in 1951, expanding to branch offices and new locations in 1954, the same year they set up in-house research. In 1961, they expanded their mission to include drugs, Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Research Foundation. In 1971, they expanded to a clinical teaching hospital called the Clinical Research and Treatment Institute. In 1978 ARF opened the School for Addiction Studies and expanded their international role in policy rdevelopment and research. Following ongoing recession in the 1990s, ARF was folded in 1998 into CAMH.[3]



[edit] Donwood Institute

Beginning in 1967, it had 47 beds and a 4-month waiting list in the 1980s. Focusing on substance abuse, boasted a 65% recovery rate for general population and an 85% recovery rate for physicians.[4]



[edit] Queen Street Mental Health Centre

This facility stands on what was once called the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, which opened on January 26, 1850. The facility had a series of names including the Toronto Lunatic Asylum and 999 Queen Street West.[5]



Reforms were made after a series of deaths at the Queen Street Mental Health Centre and newspaper accounts of involuntary drug treatment, electroshock therapy and prison-like conditions.[6][7]



[edit] References

1.^ "Reasons for Selection, 2009 Canada's Top 100 Employers Competition". http://www.eluta.ca/top-employer-centre-for-addiction-and-mental-health.

2.^ Scrivener, Leslie (February 25, 2007). Breakout at the asylum. Toronto Star

3.^ Blocker JS, Fahey DM, Tyrrell IR. Alcohol and temperance in modern history: an international encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO 2003. ISBN 1576078337 pp. 3–4.

4.^ Shilliday, Greg (May 15, 1983). The Donwood Institute: resort of last resort. Can Med Assoc J. 1983 May 15; 128(10): 1220–1221.

5.^ Everett, Barbara (2000). A Fragile Revolution: Consumers and Psychiatric Survivors Confront the Power of the Mental Health System. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 0889203423

6.^ Goar, Carol (June 13, 2008). Mental health progress and pain.Toronto Star

7.^ (January 1, 2002). No straitjacket required: a growing and vocal group of psychiatric survivors argues that diagnosing mental disorders is just a way to stifle social dissent ... This Magazine

 External links

CAMH website

Monday, October 11, 2010

Thanksgiving (Canada)

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day (Canadian French: Jour de l'Action de grâce), occurring on the second Monday in October (since 1959), is an annual Canadian holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season. Although the original act of Parliament references God and the holiday is celebrated in churches, the holiday is also celebrated in a secular manner.




On January 31, 1957, the Canadian Parliament proclaimed:



“ A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed … to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October. ”



Canadian Thanksgiving coincides with Columbus Day in the United States and the Dia de la Raza in most of Latin America.



Contents [hide]

1 Traditional celebration

2 History

3 References

4 External links



[edit] Traditional celebration

Thanksgiving is a statutory holiday in most jurisdictions of Canada, with the provinces of Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia being the exceptions. Where a company is regulated by the federal government (such as those in the telecommunications and banking sectors), it is recognized regardless of status provincially.[1][2][3][4][5]



As a liturgical festival, Thanksgiving corresponds to the English and continental-European Harvest festival, with churches decorated with cornucopias, pumpkins, corn, wheat sheaves, and other harvest bounty, English and European harvest hymns sung on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, and scriptural selections drawn from biblical stories relating to the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot.[citation needed]



While the actual Thanksgiving holiday is on a Monday, Canadians might eat their Thanksgiving meal on any day of the three-day weekend, though Sunday and Monday are the most common. While Thanksgiving is usually celebrated with a large family meal, it is also often a time for weekend getaways. The Thanksgiving weekend, given that it invariably falls at the very end of the summer, is traditionally a perfect time to put away the patio furniture, close the cottage and pull the boat up, thus getting ready for the long cold winter.



Owing to Canada's proximity to the United States, American traditions such as parades and football have crossed the border and been adapted into Canadian traditions. The Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Parade serves as the nation's only Thanksgiving Day parade and, as a result, gets significant national attention, being broadcast nationwide on CTV and A. Canada's top professional football league, the Canadian Football League, holds a nationally televised doubleheader known as the "Thanksgiving Day Classic." It is one of two weeks in which the league plays on Monday afternoons, the other being the Labour Day Classic. Unlike the Labour Day games, the teams that play on the Thanksgiving Day Classic rotate each year.




Various First Nations in Canada had long-standing traditions celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Canada's First Nations and Native Americans throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Cree and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America.[6]





Canadian troops attend a Thanksgiving service in the bombed-out Cambrai Cathedral, in France in October 1918The history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Pacific Ocean.[7] Frobisher's Thanksgiving was not for harvest but homecoming. He had safely returned from a search for the Northwest Passage, avoiding the later fate of Henry Hudson and Sir John Franklin. In the year 1578, he held a formal ceremony in Newfoundland to give thanks for surviving the long journey. The feast was one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations by Europeans in North America. Frobisher was later knighted and had an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean in northern Canada named after him — Frobisher Bay.



At the same time, French settlers, having crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain, in 1604 onwards also held huge feasts of thanks. They even formed 'The Order of Good Cheer' and gladly shared their food with their First Nations neighbours.



After the Seven Years' War ended in 1763 handing over of New France to the British, the citizens of Halifax held a special day of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving days were observed beginning in 1799 but did not occur every year. After the American Revolution, American refugees who remained loyal to Great Britain moved from the newly independent United States and came to Canada. They brought the customs and practices of the American Thanksgiving to Canada. The first Thanksgiving Day after Canadian Confederation was observed as a civic holiday on April 5, 1872 to celebrate the recovery of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) from a serious illness.



Starting in 1879 Thanksgiving Day was observed every year, but the date was proclaimed annually and changed year to year.[citation needed] The theme of the Thanksgiving holiday also changed each year to reflect an important event to be thankful for. In its early years it was for an abundant harvest and occasionally for a special anniversary.



After World War I, both Armistice Day and Thanksgiving were celebrated on the Monday of the week in which November 11 occurred.[citation needed] Ten years later, in 1931, the two days became separate holidays, and Armistice Day was renamed Remembrance Day.

 
 
 
 
References


1.^ "Paid public holidays". WorkRights.ca. http://www.workrights.ca/content.php?sec=9.

2.^ "Thanksgiving - is it a Statutory Holiday?". Government of Nova Scotia. http://www.gov.ns.ca/lwd/employmentrights/thanksgiving.asp. Retrieved 2008-10-13.

3.^ "Statutes, Chapter E-6.2" (PDF). Government of Prince Edward Island. http://www.gov.pe.ca/law/statutes/pdf/e-06_2.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-13.

4.^ "RSNL1990 Chapter L-2 - Labour Standards Act". Assembly of Newfoundland. http://assembly.nl.ca/Legislation/sr/statutes/l02.htm#14_. Retrieved 2008-10-13.

5.^ "Statutory Holidays" (PDF). Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, Canada. http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/lp/spila/clli/eslc/stat_hol.pdf.

6.^ "The History of Thanksgiving - First Thanksgiving". History.com. http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=872&display_order=1&mini_id=1083.

7.^ "Canada's first Thanksgiving: Frobisher set stage for our celebrations in different spirit than U.S.". canada.com. http://www.canada.com/holidays/thanksgiving2005/story.html?id=74257801-d907-46e0-9bbd-c386515c6fe5.

 

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Rob Ford On The Record.

On The Record.

Ford on Cyclists


Every year we have dozens of people who get hit by cars or trucks. My heart bleeds when someone gets killed, but it’s their own fault at the end of the day. – March 7, 2007

Ford on Asians
Those Oriental people work like dogs. I’m telling you, the Oriental people, they’re slowly taking over. – March 5, 2008


Ford on HIV/AIDS


If you are not doing needles and you are not gay, you wouldn’t get AIDS probably, that’s bottom line. These are the facts. – June 29, 2006

Ford on Immigration


The situation is out of control. There should be a refugee freeze in Toronto. At some point we have to shut the door…we are the laughingstock of North America. – March 12, 2003


Ford on Conservation Signs


You’d have to be ret#rded if you can’t see frickin’ water in front of you. I don’t really know what we’re trying to accomplish by putting up signs and telling people, yeah, underneath this bridge there’s water. – May 20, 2009


Ford on Homeless Shelters


This is an insult to my constituents to even think about having a homeless shelter in their ward. – April 17, 2002




Rob Ford in Action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgJ8oVsp6bo

Rob Ford on Homeless Shelters







Rob Ford on Cyclists









Saturday, October 9, 2010

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday there is no place here for the American Miranda rule

Waiting to have your lawyer present before you speak with police doesn't work in Canada anymore.




The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday there is no place here for the American Miranda rule which gives a suspect the right to have a lawyer present during questioning.



The judges rejected that right in three separate rulings, but the justices were sharply divided.



In the main case, they ruled 5-4 that the charter of rights does not confer a right to have a lawyer present during interrogation.



Calgary lawyer Balfour Der says you still have the right to speak with a lawyer before you are questioned, but that lawyer does not have to be in the room when you are questioned by police.



He says you also have the right to diligently look for a lawyer but you can't just sit around with the excuse your lawyer is out of town or you can't find one.



Der adds, police can question you all they want, but you can choose not to answer.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Commissioner finds Veterans Affairs 'seriously mishandled' personal info.!

A Canadian Gulf War veteran is calling for a full public inquiry after the federal privacy commissioner found Veterans Affairs officials broke the law by sharing his sensitive personal and medical information.



An emotional Sean Bruyea said the officials in the department deliberately "crossed the line" in an attempt to discredit him as an outspoken opponent to the 2006 Veteran's Charter by including detailed information about his medical and psychological diagnosis and treatment in minister's briefing notes.



Bruyea, who has brought a $400,000 court action against the federal government, said he felt vindicated by the commissioner's findings but called on the federal government to apologize to all veterans.



"An apology would let us live in peace and start to rebuild the shattered trust between the government of Canada and the disabled soldiers," Bruyea said during an interview on CBC's Power & Politics with Evan Solomon.



He said the actions of department officials left him and his wife in a "humiliating state of powerlessness and vulnerability" and in "constant terror" of what the department, which controlled 100 per cent of his income at the time, would do next.



Prime Minister Stephen Harper placed the blame squarely on the department's bureaucrats, saying "the fact that some in the bureaucracy have been abusing these files and not following appropriate processes is completely unacceptable.



"We will ensure that rules are followed, that the recommendations of the privacy commission are implemented [and] that if this behaviour continues, there will be strong sanctions against it," the prime minister told reporters Thursday at an aerospace announcement in Winnipeg.



But Bruyea said the Prime Minister's Office "completely ignored" hundreds of pages of requests he sent about his case.



Privacy breaches 'alarming': commissioner

Bruyea's personal information ended up in March 2006 briefing notes of the former minister in charge, Greg Thompson, while his medical information, including diagnosis, symptoms and prognosis, were also found in a second ministerial briefing note dating back to 2005 under the former Liberal government and then-minister.



In her report, Stoddart said she found it "alarming" that Bruyea's information was shared "seemingly with no controls" among departmental officials "who had no legitimate need to see it."



Stoddart's office also found that documents containing Bruyea's medical information were sent to a veterans' hospital without his consent. While there were other briefing notes containing personal information, Stoddart found those were prepared for the "purpose of a ministerial response to particular issues raised by the complainant and therefore the content appeared appropriate."



The commissioner added she was also deeply concerned that officials from numerous branches of Veterans Affairs, including program policy, communications and media relations, were involved in discussing and contributing to the briefing notes and also had full access to them.



No apology from Blackburn

Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn says he will immediately start implementing the privacy commissioner's recommendations and 'correct this situation.' (CBC)Stoddart recommended the department immediately revise its protocols for handling personal information to ensure it is shared only on a need-to-know basis, and provide training to employees about appropriate personal information-handling practices.



Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn, who took over the portfolio eight months ago after Thompson left politics, says he's now looking at increasing penalties for bureaucrats who break the rules.



Blackburn called what happened in Bruyea's case "grave and unacceptable" and said the department is immediately taking steps to implement her recommendations.



"It's very embarrassing for our department to have that kind of documentation saying we were wrong," Blackburn said. "And I'm telling you, we will implement all those recommendations and it won't be the end of that. We'll go further."



But the minister stopped short of apologizing personally to Bruyea or saying if anyone in Veterans Affairs would be fired as a result of the commissioner's findings.



"This case is before the court," Blackburn told the CBC's Solomon. "It’s for this that I cannot speak on this specific case."



Bruyea said Blackburn spoke with him shortly before his CBC interview and told him he was legally bound not to apologize. He said he told the minister he understood he "has a frustrating job."



"I understand that the bureaucracy in Veterans Affairs doesn't like him," Bruyea said. "I told him that means he's doing a good job if he's actually disagreeing with them."



NDP veterans affairs critic Peter Stoffer said the commissioner's findings show the need for a full public inquiry into the matter.



"These members of the military serve their country, they deserve respect and if their information is being used like confetti through the department, then what these people need is a full inquiry to ascertain exactly who, what, when, where and why," he told CBC News. "Why would they do this?"







Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/10/07/veteran-privacy-breach.html#socialcomments#ixzz11k4agTCA