Closure of Human Rights Offices Should Send up a Red Flag

Before Harper's Reformers came to power in 2006, the many extreme right-wing groups that played a role in his success, had one common complaint.

OK. Maybe more than one, if you include gay rights, women's rights, reproductive rights , etc., etc., etc.

But the most common complaint that actually encompassed these other things, were human rights.

They felt that our human rights commissions hampered their ability to launch visceral attacks on Muslims, women and gays, in particular; but they had a list.

I didn't think they had a hope in hell of implementing any part of their agenda, and certainly no chance of breaking down the infrastructure that protects Canadian citizens. All Canadian citizens, not just white male Christians.

I have to be honest, I'm having a bit of trouble talking about current events in this country these days. After studying the Reform Movement for several years, I always assumed that this country would never buy into this stuff.

But those clever Reformers, ripped off the green paper, tied themselves up in a big blue bow and sold their party as "new and improved". And now the destruction of Canada begins.

Harper government closes Human Rights Commission offices

The Public Service Alliance of Canada condemns the Harper government's decision to close Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) offices in Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax. The union maintains that the closure of the three offices will make it substantially harder for individuals from marginalized groups to launch human rights complaints.

The three offices slated for closure received 70 per cent of all signed complaints to the CHRC in 2008. The union, which represents CHRC employees, says this latest attack will have a particular impact on racialized people and recent immigrants. In many cases, the closures will make it much more difficult to challenge both systemic abuses and individual instances of discrimination.

And yet we will soon be forbidden by law from the using the words 'Israel' and 'Apartheid' in the same sentence, despite the fact that we are speaking of a country and it's foreign policy, not a people. I will just start calling it 'Icecream' and 'Apple Pie', because there is no way I'm going along with this nonsense.

I have finally started putting my book together though. I have about a chapter and a half completed, and still have a long way to go. I have also been putting up individual pages that will eventually tie in, or give a bit more information. Like this one.

I just feel that the history of this movement needs to be told, because I think they are going to be around for awhile now, and as ugly as it is, it's part of our heritage, I guess.

I'm just afraid of what my final chapter might be.