Opposition parties call for ban on racial profiling

MPs from all three opposition parties gathered Monday to call on the federal government to put legislation in place banning racial profiling in Canada.

The politicians say they are concerned that the government is compiling a no-fly traveller list that would worsen the problem.

On March 9, during Question Period, Transport Minister Jean Lapierre told the House of Commons that Canada is "developing a special list to keep certain people off flights...this is absolutely the case. We are currently working on a no-fly list."

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"Major questions have to be asked about what mechanism will exist to protect people's rights and ensure they are not racial profiling in the process," said the NDP's Libby Davies, who was joined at an Ottawa press conference by NDP MP Joe Comartin, along with Tory MP Gurmant Grewal and Bloc Québécois MP Richard Marceau, in a statement.

more

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050321.wrac0321/BNStory/National/

(Good for them, I agree. I do have one question tho and that is this: What is the REAL agenda of the faux Conservatives on this one? For a party built on anti-immigrant racism, pro-US & restrictions of individual rights for 'security' purposes, the proposed bill goes against all that. The party has not changed so there is a hidden agenda in the faux Conservatives support but I'll be damned if I can figure it out.)

that the conservatives have the most diverse caucus in Parliament? Maybe having friends and family discriminated against isn't up their ally.

Which of their MPs would be the gay ones, then?

Seriously though, Gay people aren't on the no fly list.

their foundation based on anti-immigrant which was showcased not only by the Reform party but by the morphed Alliance party and, in reality, still is the foundation of the Fax Conservative party despite the pathetic attempt this weekend to put lipstick on the pig.

If they were against discrimination than they would support equal rights and same-sex marriage, wouldn't they? The other two opposition parties are being consistent in that they have spoken out against ALL discrimination, the faux Conservatives choose which aspect of discrimination to speak out on.

The Faux Conservative Party does nothing about an issue UNLESS they can get political capital from it. A prime example was the MD'S issue. The Fax Conservative Party was and is for Canada joining MD'S but thought they could outplay the Liberals on this by standing on the sidelines, they lost.

It is all optics and no substance with them and their participation in this is no different, IMO.

on the issue of gay marriage being a right. I agree with you. That said they have proposed giving gay and lesbian couples the exact same arrangement with a different name. Yeah I know separate but equal is not equal, I'm just a meager red Tory towing party line.

On your claim that the CPC is all optics I again would agree. Everything in politics outside of the voting booth is optics.

As for anti-immigrant remark I don't really know what to say. I can't speak to the Reform days, it's before my time, but the CPC hasn't proposed anything ridiculous to my knowledge. It's entirely possible I missed it. The loony bin has been going crazy over the 'abortion if necessary, but not necessarily abortion stance' so any coverage on that has been minimal. If they have I would be genuinely interested in reading about it.

who might be interested:

Dear Friends,

I marked March 21st, the International Day for the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination, with a call to end racial
profiling in Canada. This month Transportation Minister Jean
Lapierre stated his office is working on a no-fly security list for
Canada. Joined by opposition MPs I held a press conference in
Ottawa calling on the government to ensure peoples rights are
protected and that racial profiling is not taking place. I've
included some information on this latest initiative.

Also, an exciting new website was recently launched
(www.stopracialprofiling.ca). I encourage you to check it out!

Yours Sincerely,

Libby

Federal NDP Multiculturalism Critic

EXCERPTS FROM HANSARD (March 21, 2005) Ms. Libby
Davies (Vancouver East, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, on this International Day for the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination, I draw the attention of Parliament to
the escalation and use of racial profiling in Canada.

The Deputy Prime Minister denies racial profiling exists but
those who are targeted know differently.

On March 9 the Minister of Transport told us that his
department was developing a no-fly list in Canada and yet
there are no provisions to deal with incidents of racial
profiling, no procedures for follow up and we do not know the
criteria or the basis for such a list. The Liberal government
cannot hide behind denials.

We call on the government to support Bill C-296, a bill to
ban racial profiling and to enact policies and procedures to
compel law enforcement and federal departments to eliminate
racial profiling. We must not allow racial profiling to exist in
the name of security. We must not allow people to be targeted
on the basis of their colour, ethnicity or religion.

A new website, www.stopracialprofiling.ca, has launched a
campaign, including an incident report form. We in the NDP
support this campaign and will do everything we can to make
racial profiling illegal in Canada.


NO FLY LIST IN CANADA WILL LEAD TO INCREASED
RACIAL PROFILING
Opposition MPs speak out on the International Day for the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination

OTTAWA -NDP MP Libby Davies teamed up with fellow
MPs, Gurmant Grewal (CPC), Richard Marceau (BQ) and Joe
Comartin (NDP), to highlight the need for legislation banning
racial profiling in Canada.

The Members of Parliament were joined by Shahid Mahmood,
a Toronto man who was barred from flying in May 2004 and
believes he may be on Canada's no fly list.

On March 9th in Question Period Transport Minister Jean
Lapierre responded that his department was developing such a
list for Canada. "Major questions have to be asked about what
mechanism will exists to protect people's rights and ensure
they are not racial profiling in the process," said Davies,
Grewal, Marceau and Comartin.

The Vancouver East MP has introduced a Bill in Parliament
that would ban racial profiling from all federal departments
and jurisdictions. The Bill, if passed, would compel
enforcement agencies to maintain policies and procedures
designed to eliminate racial profiling. The responsible
Ministers would be required to report to Parliament and
Federal courts would hear related cases.

"If the federal government is going to continue to move
forward with increased security measures it is only just to
introduce legislation that specifically spells out that racial
profiling will not be tolerated," said Grewal and Marceau.

Davies and colleagues recognized today as the International
Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination by launching
a campaign to stop racial profiling. A recently developed
website (www.stopracialprofiling.ca) will serve as a place to
bring people together on the issue.

The site includes a range of information on racial profiling and
an Incident Report Form. "We want to collect people's
experiences of racial profiling and present them to Public
Safety Minister Anne McLellan who continues to deny racial
profiling ever happens," explained Davies.

Globe and Mail (excepts below)

Racial profiling denounced by opposition Website set up to
track public's complaints
March 22, 2005

CAMPBELL CLARK OTTAWA Opposition parties banded
together yesterday to charge that the government is falsely
claiming there is no racial profiling in Canada's customs and
security operations, and called on individuals who feel they
have been victims of racial profiling to report incidents on a
website.

"I actually think it's a huge issue. The government is in
complete denial about, one, the scope of the problem, and
two, recognizing that they need to develop some very serious
policies about racial profiling that all federal departments and
law-enforcement agencies have to follow." Joined by
Conservative and Bloc Quebecois MPs, Ms. Davies charged
that Canada's plans to create a no-fly list raises new concerns
of racial profiling, since people could find themselves on a
watch list that causes them to be refused boarding by airlines,
without any explanation.

"If you're on there by mistake, how do you get off? There's no
accountability, there's no transparency, there's no mechanism
for dealing with it," she said.

Feel free to drop me a line (remember it's postage free)
Or email me at: daviel@parl.gc.ca


483 West Block
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6
Ph. (613) 992-6030
Fax (613) 995-7412

2412 Main Street
Vancouver, BC
V5T 3E2
Ph. (604) 775-5800
Fax (604) 775-5811

www.stopracialprofiling.ca
www.libbydavies.ca
CEP 232