Reality Check
traveller_76 said:
The SC is the best check the citizens have against abuse of power by governments. To say otherwise, I'd argue, is quite anti-Canadian
The onus is however on the Canadian citizen who uses this institution to prove the alleged abuse of power by government. Saying so is only sufficient proof on Merb.
As a result of the Supreme Court ruling in Ford v. Quebec, Quebec amended its law on commercial signage to permit the inclusion of languages other than French, provided that the French language is "markedly predominant." This was the only nominal ruling where the government of Quebec conceded and showed some flexibility. (but then again, I do not know my history.
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Now, if you think the Supreme Court will dare rule on employment laws in Quebec, then you are dreaming. Lack of proper representation is not a matter for the Supreme Court. It is up to the government of Quebec to take initiative and have an action plan with clear objectives and a clear timeline to meet those objectives.
traveller_76 said:
As for minorities not being represented in the civil service or in public office, well, there's no point in me responding to that, as my only comment 'well why don't you try applying?' would be considered 'convenient rhetoric'. I'd still like to know though... where are these masses of minorities who've knocked at Quebec's door only to be told sorry, you're not 'pure laine' enough? Perhaps you expect the province to come knocking at your door? Political representation is not only a question of purse or belonging to a represented elite - it is also a question of will, at least in democratic countries like this great country called Canada, which no, isn't perfect but sure is one of the best places to live in the world when it comes to human rights
Concerning the above, please read this 2006 report (emphasis is mine):
http://www.micc.gouv.qc.ca/publications/fr/dossiers/CommunautesNoires-RapportGroupeTravail-en.pdf
"Access to employment was one of the main themes raised during the hearings. It was examined in the public and parapublic service as well as in private enterprises.
Numerous individuals and organizations noted that employment equality provisions in the civil service and the Act respecting equal access to employment in public bodies and amending the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms (Bill 143) were not accompanied by adequate follow-up measures and that managers were not sufficiently accountable for attaining results in the hiring of persons from cultural communities. Similarly, despite efforts apparently made to implement equal access to employment programs (Programmes d’accès à l’égalité – PAE), some participants said the PAEs lacked transparency. Certain participants also emphasized a lack of openness to cultural communities on the part of both managers and employees. The inability of persons from Black communities to keep their job or advance to more senior positions was raised in other discussions. Finally, there was debate on the advantages and disadvantages of PAEs, sometimes referred to as “positive discrimination” or “proactive access to employment measures.” "
traveller_76 said:
True, minorities aren't very well represented in l'Assemblé Nationale. But tell me, is the proportion of minorities in Parliament reflective of their proportion in the Canadian population? How many Muslim, Jewish, Haïtian representatives? Lets jump to conclusions and call Ottawa racist. It saves us from asking more complicated questions like 'why is there underrepresentation in the absense of laws that restrict access to representation?' To me it is a question very similar to 'why don't more Canadian's vote?' The jury is still out on both questions.
No surprise that the NDP has the most visible minorities:
Reality Check
Once more, few women, fewer minorities By John Gray, CBC.ca Reality Check Team | January 03, 2006 | More Reality Check
The deadline to nominate candidates for the federal election has come and gone, and once more it is clear that the participation of women in politics is not a high priority for Canada’s four main political parties.
Women and minorities in parliament
When the Jan. 2 deadline had passed, 999 candidates had submitted their nomination papers to contest the Jan. 23 election for the Liberals, Conservatives, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois. Just a quarter of the candidates were women.
Political leaders always proclaim themselves eager for more representation of women in Parliament, but it seems that no election is quite the right time for radical measures.
A little more than two years ago, as he was headed for his coronation as leader of the Liberal party, Paul Martin made a couple of surprising statements.
Looking ahead to the election that eventually took place in June 2004, he said: "We cannot go into this election campaign unless we have the largest number of women candidates in Liberal riding history."
Enthused, he explained, "We have to go out across this country and, in riding after riding, recruit young women who want to dedicate themselves to the public service."
The harsh reality is that Martin did not reach his target of the largest number of women candidates in Liberal party history. Women constituted 24 per cent of all Liberal candidates in 2004. The Liberals, under his old rival Jean Chrétien, attracted 28 per cent women candidates in the 1997 election.
Nor did Martin achieve great success in terms of getting women actually elected to the House of Commons. Of the 135 Liberals elected in the 2004 election, only 34 were women – 25 per cent of the caucus.
As for the goal of half the membership of Parliament being women, that was a distant target. Of the 308 MPs from all parties, only 65 were women, a long way from Martin's ideal of 52 per cent, and virtually the same proportion as in 2000. With another election on the horizon, the numbers look no better for women. Indeed, the representation of women seems to have been at best an afterthought.
* The highest proportion of women is found in the New Democratic Party, where women constitute 36 per cent of the nominated candidates.
* Thirty one per cent of Bloc Québécois candidates are women.
* Despite Martin's past enthusiasm, only 26 per cent of the Liberal candidates are women.
* Among Conservatives, just 11 per cent of the candidates are women.
The group most active in lobbying for greater representation of women in Parliament is Equal Voice, whose chair, former journalist Rosemary Speirs, concedes wearily that "so far we're battering against a wall."
Another continuing problem, Speirs acknowledges, is that political parties frequently nominate women in those ridings where they have little chance of victory.
Speirs points grimly to the chart published by the Interparliamentary Union in its survey of democratic institutions around the world.
In terms of representation of women, the 65 women elected to the House of Commons in the last election mean that Canada is 23rd in the world – slightly behind Ethiopia, slightly ahead of Latvia.
For advocates like Speirs, the consolation is that women have achieved greater success in making inroads in the political parties than visible minorities have managed.
Of the NDP's 308 candidates, 21 are visible minorities. Of the Bloc Québécois' 75 candidates, nine are visible minorities.
The Liberals and the Conservatives said they do not keep a record of minority candidates.
GG
