Supreme Court of Canada rules that sex workers can challenge Canada's prostitution laws

The Canadian Supreme Court ruled that the Downtown Eastside Sex Workers United Against Violence group together with former sex worker Sheryl Kiselbach can go forward with a legal challenge of Canada's prostitution laws.

The court ruling was 9 to 0 to dismiss the Conservative federal government appeal. The federal appeal argued that the sex worker group and Sheryl Kiselback lacked any legal standing since no charges had been laid. A British Columbia judge had agreed with the federal government stand but the B.C. provincial court of appeal ruled that the group and Kiselbach could pursue their case because the group had public interest standing. On appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada the position of the B.C. appeals court was upheld unanimously.

The Ontario Court of Appeal has already struck down some laws that are being challenged by the B.C. group. However, the federal government is appealing that ruling to the Supreme Court as well.

Justice Thomas Cromwell writing the unanimous decision of the nine members said:

"The courts have long recognized that limitations on standing are necessary; not every-one who may want to litigate an issue, regardless of whether it affects them or not, should be entitled to do so."

However Cromwell said that the circumstances favored granting public interest standing to the group:

"..Granting standing will not only serve to enhance the principle of legality with respect to serious issues of direct concern to some of the most marginalized members of society, but it will also promote the economical use of scarce judicial resources."

While the group and Sheryl Kiselback applauded the decision they complained about the length of time it took them to obtain standing. One of the lawyers involved, Katrina Pacey, also complained about the five year battle for standing. She said:

"This wasn't an access for justice case, it was to strike down the prostitution laws."

The long delay has resulted in a situation where similar arguments to those of the Vancouver group have resulted in the Ontario Court of Appeal already striking down some prostitution laws. Pacey said:

"We are all in this because we want adult sex work in Canada decriminalized, because we want sex workers to have safety and control, and the ability to determine the conditions and circumstances of their work.Frankly, I don't care how that happens. I don't care if (the Ontario case) does it; I don't care if we do it; I don't care if (Prime Minister Stephen) Harper all of a sudden wakes up one day and says, 'Oh my gosh, what was I thinking?' "All I care is there's safety for sex workers, and whatever measure or means is required to get there, we are on board and ready for the fight."

The next chapter in this continuing battle story will be the Supreme Court decision on the federal government's appeal of the Ontario Court of Appeal decision.

Canada drifting down in openness rankings

Once at the cutting edge of openness in government Canada now finds itself tied for 51st out of 89 countries ranked in terms of their openness. The 30th anniversary of Canada's Access to Information Act is coming up. At the time of passage the Act was regarded as quite progressive but little has been done to improve matters since while many other countries have moved forward. Canada is actually behind Angola, Colombia and Niger!

The Canadian Access to Information act passed in July of 1983 requires an application plus a five dollar fee to access a wide variety of records. Agencies and Departments are to respond within 30 days. However it can actually take over half a year or even more. Even when responses do come only a trickle of information may be released.

Activist groups have been calling for modernization of the act but the government has refused to act calling the thirty year old act a strong piece of legislation. The rankings report says of the Canadian system:"Canada's lax time lines, imposition of access fees, lack of a proper public interest override, and blanket exemptions for certain political offices all contravene international standards for the right of access," "Canada's antiquated approach to access to information is also the result of a lack of political will to improve the situation." They certainly have that right and as long as the present Conservative government is in power that will probably not change. For much more see this article.

Wheat Board supporters lose key legal battle

Supporters of the Canadian Wheat Board which used to have sole power to market some grains in western Canada lost a legal battle when the Federal Court of Appeal overturned a lower court ruling that said that the Conservative government had broken the law when it took away the monopoly over wheat and barley sales without holding a plebiscite on the issue.

When the Conservatives originally passed legislation stripping the board of its monopoly supporters of the Wheat Board filed a lawsuit claiming that producers had to vote on any such changes. A lower court agreed last December but the government appealed. The Appeal court said there is nothing wrong with the government in effect changing its own law through parliament.

Justice Mainville wrote:"I am of the view that none of the arguments advanced by the respondents or the interveners can sustain an interpretation that would preclude the minister from introducing in Parliament legislation which would fundamentally modify the CWB's mandate or which would lead to the repeal of the CWB Act," This is the final nail in the coffin of the Board. The U.S.and big international grain companies had tried for years to destroy the board using international trade rules but always failed.

Farmers by electing the Conservatives have destroyed an institution that served them well. When the Wheat Board conducted its own survey a majority wanted the powers of the Wheat Board retained. However, Conservatives obtained large majorities in rural areas of the prairies and the Conservatives made it clear and a campaign promise that they would curb the power of the Wheat Board. The donations will come pouring in from the giant international grain traders. For more see this article.

Conservative government cuts Internet access program

The Community Access Program(CAP) costing 15 million enabled people to access the Internet at libraries and community centers. The access was either free or very low cost.

A Nova Scotia representative of CAP said:"Basically, Industry Canada has said it has achieved its purpose and the CAP program is being terminated," "I was really shocked." He said that he had been trying to find out the status of the program for months but received no answers. Such a response would be typical for this government. The representative said that he hoped he could have some discussion before a decision was made. That is the last thing that the government wants.

The program paid for web connections, rent in community centers, coordinators and technical support.The representative said many CAP sites will simply close. The sites that remain will not be able to offer help to people or update equipment.

CAP sites also helped people with tax forms. He noted that many cannot afford a computer or high-speed Internet and many also need help filling out government forms on line. Often government departments tell clients to go on line to fill out or download forms.

I personally used a local CAP site when I had a single computer. When I had any troubles I could just access the site. This is a Conservative government and for them the fewer government services the better. It will leave more in taxpayers pockets as the saying goes. Especially the one per cent.! For more see this article.

Budget to cut public service jobs

In keeping with the ideology of the Conservative government the Treasury Board president Tony Clement said that the coming budget will represent a culture shift from "spending enablers" to "cost containers," .

Clement has the task of cutting from 4 to 8 billion from the budget. This is all part of the plan to reduce the deficit and balance the budget. Clement was speaking a Conservative gathering in Ottawa.

Clement said that the government plans will face opposition from public sector union bosses along with the New Democratic Party opposition. Of the NDP he said their only solution is to hire more, tax more, and spend more.

The NDP responded that the Conservatives were out to cut services and reduce the capacity of government to help people. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty maintained that the budget would not contain any draconian measures. This is probably true in that the Conservatives do not want create too much of a voter backlash through their cuts.

In fact some critics complain that the Conservatives are actually buying off the civil servants whose jobs are being cut by providing generous severance provisions. The Canadian Tax Federation a right wing group that used to be headed by the prime minister complains that the severance provisions are far too costly and generous and may almost balance out the savings. See this article.

A report to the government reads:"We are conscious that the Public Service is on the verge of significant changes, driven in part by the immediate requirements of deficit reduction, but also by a more fundamental need to renew public institutions for the future," . As is happening in many countries government services are to be cut and jobs lost. The report notes specifically:"One of the major tasks that senior leaders will face is the deliberate downsizing of the Public Service," For much more see the entire CBC article..

NDP MP Pat Martin swears at Conservative closure of debate

 Pat Martin a Manitoba New Democratic Party MP used distinctly unparliamentary language in a tweet. He may swear by the New Democratic party but he swears at the ruling majority Conservative party. To quote Martin with appropriate omissions: "This is a f--king disgrace ... closure again. And on the Budget! There’s not a democracy in the world that would tolerate this jackboot sh--."
  Martin did not apologize for his outburst but claimed that his language expressed his frustration at the government's tactics. Closure is rarely used in Canada and usually when the opposition is using tactics to deliberately hold up legislation. Martin noted that he is a construction worker by trade and he said that this is the way that they communicate with each other.
    I worked as an inspector on pipeline construction years ago and I can attest that in my experience Martin is telling the truth about construction workers'  language at least in the past. Naturally several Conservative MP's called the language completely inappropriate and expressed their strong moral disapproval. One MP even wants the house speaker to rule on the language since Martin made his tweet while actually in parliament. Of course the Conservatives and much of the media seem to concentrate upon Martin's use of language rather than the inappropriateness of the Conservative use of closure. For more see this article.

Wheat Board supporters protest on Parliament Hill

 A group of farmers opposed to the Conservative government's bill to end the Wheat Board monopoly on marketing wheat and barley in western Canada protested on Parliament Hill yesterday. Drew Baker the farmer who led the rally said: "On our own, we will have little power to negotiate with big American companies, and that concerns me." The U.S. has long challenged the Wheat Board monopoly as giving Canadian farmers an unfair advantage in global marketing.
     Where the U.S. complaints have always failed , western farmers themselves have now achieved what the U.S. and the grain marketing giants have long desired, an end to the Wheat Board monopoly. Farmers have done so by voting in large numbers for the very Conservatives who promised as part of their platform to end the monopoly. A  Wheat Board organised vote later showed that a majority of farmers actually support retaining the system.
     The board is run by directors elected by farmers. Only two of the elected board members favor the changes in the government bill. The remainder support the retention of the single desk system as it is called. The system gives the farmers collectively considerable power to negotiate good prices for grain sales.
      The government legislation would also dismiss the farmer-elected directors of the board. The board had been controlled by members elected by farmers since 1998.
       The Wheat Board has launched a lawsuit challenging the government's bill. The suit claims that the bill violates the Canadian Wheat Board Act. The Wheat Board Act specifies the minister cannot change the system without holding a vote of Prairie grain farmers. The  Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz promised during the latest election campaign a vote would be held. The only vote held was by the Wheat Board itself. The Conservatives claim that the abolition of the monopoly was a prominent part of the campaign platform and since they were elected with a majority they already had a mandate to change the system. For much more see this article.

Budget Watchdog: Deficit can't be eliminated without further govt. action.

What we can expect is cuts in social programs since the Conservatives are not likely to raise taxes. These programs for the most part help those who are not too well off but that will matter little to the Conservatives. There is always private charity to fall back on the preferred solution for conservatives. As the article points out the Conservatives have not been forthcoming about their spending plans to the budget office so far.


Deficit can't be eliminated without further action: Budget watchdog
By Andrew Mayeda, Canwest News ServiceNovember 2, 2009

In a report released Monday afternoon, parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page projects that the federal government will slip into a substantial 'structural deficit' over the next few years, meaning that government revenues will persistently fall short of expenses, even when the economy recovers.
...


Page estimates the structural deficit will hit $12.5 billion in the current fiscal year, before rising to $18.9 billion in 2013-14.


"Although the economy is projected to return to its potential capacity by 2013 . . . without additional policy actions the budget is not projected to return to balance by 2013-14," states the report, which analyzes the fiscal update released by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty in early September.


Page's analysis is significant, because it is akin to saying that an individual simply does not have the income to pay down the mortgage on his or her home.


The report suggests the government will have to either raise taxes — an option the Conservatives have categorically disavowed — or cut spending to eventually balance the books.


In unveiling the fiscal update, Flaherty said the government will eliminate the deficit by constraining spending growth, but will wait until the strength of the nation's recovery becomes clear before deciding which programs to target.


Page notes the structural deficit will be smaller than those of the early 1980s and early '90s, when the country's finances were swimming in red ink.


"However, a more thorough assessment of the sustainability of the current fiscal structure requires a longer-term perspective, in particular taking into account the fiscal challenges posed by population aging," the report says.


Page actually forecasts that the total federal deficit will be smaller this year and next than the Conservatives have projected. The government expects the deficit to reach $55.9 billion this year and $45.3 billion next year, but Page predicts it will be $54.2 billion this year and $43.1 billion next year.


However, Page's longer-term forecasts are worse than the government's. In 2013-14, he is predicting a deficit of $19 billion, compared with the projection of $11.2 billion by the Department of Finance.


Over the next five years, Page projects cumulative deficits of $167.4 billion, while the government has forecast a total of $159.2 billion.


The report suggests the government should be more forthcoming about how it plans to rein in program spending.


According to Page, the government's projections include $5.8 billion in unidentified savings over the next five years through reviews of program spending, including $2 billion this year.


Page says his office has requested expenditure planning documents from the federal Treasury Board, but has thus far been rebuffed.


The budget watchdog's conclusions echo those of veteran economist Dale Orr, who has argued that it will be difficult for the government to balance the budget without significant tax hikes or spending cuts.


Page notes that the outlook for the Canadian economy has improved in recent months, but he forecasts that the economy won't return to its productive potential until 2013.


In a statement, Flaherty said that Page's projections are similar to the government's in terms of gross domestic product, deficits and employment.


"Canada has one of the best fiscal positions in the world and, as the PBO points out, medium term deficit projections are smaller than in the 1980s and '90s and are small relative to the size of the economy," the minister said through a spokesman.


"But we strongly believe permanent structural deficits must be avoided. Once it is clear the economic recovery has taken hold, extraordinary stimulus spending will end, the economy will see significant growth again and deficits will fall. If necessary, we will restrain the growth of future federal government spending to eventually eliminate deficits altogether."

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

Picking and choosing who to help.

Stockwell Day is in Saudi Arabia hoping to persuade Saudi authorities to revoke the beheading sentence imposed on a Canadian citizen. In the case of another Canadian in the U.S. the Conservative government would not even pick up the phone to ask for leniency.
While Stockwell Day is pleading on behalf of a convicted murderer in Saudi Arabia government lawyers were in court trying to prevent Omar Khadr's lawyers from obtaining information that might help in his defence. While France, as well as Canadian lawyers, have spoken up in Khadr's defence the government has been wholly silent.
The article on the Saudi Arabia case is at CBC. I support Day's attempt to have the Saudi conviction overturned but the Conservative government should also have requested clemency in the case of the Canadian convicted in Montana and sentenced to death. In the Khadr case, Canada is in effect an international pariah. Every other western country has intervened on behalf of any of its nationals imprisoned at Guantanamo. Added to this is the fact that Khadr was still a child when imprisoned.

Tories look for Senate allies to crush RESP bill

This is from the Star. Among other articles on the same issue is one in the National Post headlined: "The Liberals hit the political jackpot"! Certainly the Conservatives are put in an embarrassing position in that they are relying upon the unelected senate which they despise to try and defeat the bill! Of course the Liberals could care less if the loss of revenues puts the Conservatives in a deficit position. There is probably a considerable constituency in favor of the bill and the Conservative government will not gain any votes even if somehow it manages to sabotage it.


Tories look for Senate allies to crush RESP bill
TheStar.com - Business - Tories look for Senate allies to crush RESP bill


JACQUES BOISSINOT/THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO
Dan McTeague, the Liberal MP for Pickering-Scarborough East, meets with reporters in Toronto on Sept. 2, 2005. March 08, 2008
Bruce campion-smith
Ottawa bureau chief

OTTAWA–Federal Conservatives opposed to a new tax break for education savings are finding themselves in an awkward situation – blocking a tax cut and relying on the Senate, which they have said should be abolished, to help them stop it.

Conservatives are trying to muster Senate opposition to a Liberal private member's bill, quietly passed on Wednesday night, that would allow parents to contribute up to $5,000 a year to a registered education savings plan for each child and deduct that amount from their income taxes.

Dan McTeague, the Liberal MP for Pickering-Scarborough East who sponsored the bill, said the program would be similar to registered retirement savings plans and help encourage parents to save more for their children's education.

McTeague said yesterday he was willing to compromise on the limit that can be deducted, although he said he was prepared to fight for the bill in the Senate.

The Tories are balking at the price tag, warning the proposal would mean up to $900 million in lost revenues for the federal government.

The proposal would cost the provinces another $450 million in lost revenue, the Tories say.

Conservative MP Ted Menzies, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of finance, accused McTeague of "underhandedly" introducing a measure that would cost the federal coffers – already emptied by a string of Tory tax cuts – almost $1 billion.

"I would argue it's abuse of his privilege by adding that kind of cost onto ... the government through a private member's bill," Menzies told reporters yesterday.

"My plan right now is to talk to the Senators and, there's some reasonable-minded Senators that will look at this and say this is not good use of taxpayers' dollars," said Menzies. But that strategy is raising eyebrows on Parliament Hill, since it was the Tories who slammed Liberal Senators for their delay in considering crime legislation earlier this year. At the time, Tory House Leader Peter Van Loan criticized the "Liberal Senate delay-and-obstruction grinding machine."

Last fall, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, an advocate of Senate reform, said there's "no role in a modern 21st-century democracy for an unelected legislature." But Menzies had chanced his stance yesterday.

"I've always found a use for the Senate. There's some good people there. It's a house of sober second thought," he said.

But the Conservatives, who have painted themselves as tax cutters, could pay a political price for blocking a bill bound to be popular with parents who are already saving for their kids' education and are keen to get a tax break, warned Garth Turner, the Liberal MP for Halton.

"I think this has the potential of being extremely popular. The reaction I've had so far is people are delighted," Turner said.

He said the RESP tax deductions would benefit families more than the Tory savings plan, introduced in the Feb. 26 budget, that would allow anyone 18 or older to save up to $5,000 a year without paying taxes on the earnings or investment income generated.

"This actually allows families to get a net benefit back instantly from when they contribute," Turner said of the RESP proposal.

Under current rules, RESP contributions grow tax-free, but are not tax-deductible. Investment earnings are taxed in the hands of the student on withdrawal.

With files from The Canadian Press