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Headlines for 3 March 2010

Greek workers to stage new general strike

Today, Greek unions have called for another national strike after Prime Minister George Papandreou announced more public-spending cuts.

Announcing a third 24-hour strike of the year for March 16, ADEDY union confederation vice-president Illias Vrettakos said: "The EU and the government need to understand that we will keep taking to the streets until we topple the unfair and anti-social measures which burden the poor without solving our economy's problem."

During last Wednesday's general strike, 30,000 protesters took part in a march in Athens and there were clashes between police and anarchists in central Athens. All flights to and from Greek airports were cancelled, trains and ferries were not running, and public schools, tax offices and municipal offices were all closed. Journalists also held a 24-hour strike.

Immigration minister removed gay content from citizenship guide

Internal documents discovered by the Canadian Press show that Immigration Minister Jason Kenney blocked any references to gay rights in a new study guide for immigrants applying for Canadian citizenship.

The documents show that an earlier draft of the guide contained content about the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1969, and the national legalization of same-sex marriage in 2005.

But Kenney, who fought same-sex marriage when it was debated in Parliament, ordered the sections removed when his office sent its comments to the department last June. Kenney also removed "sexual orientation" from the version of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms presented in the guide.

Although bureaucrats pled with Kenney to have the content reinstated, the 63-page guide was released last November with no mention of gay and lesbian rights.  About 500,000 copies were printed and citizenship applicants will start being tested on its contents March 15.

Quebec Innu fight for hunting rights, threaten development

After the death of a native hunter in Labrador last fall, Quebec's Innu leaders are threatening court action and barricades to disrupt economic development in the region to assert their ancestral hunting rights. Yesterday, Innu from five Quebec communities said that they are willing to block every development project in northern Quebec and Labrador until all of their rights, including the caribou hunt, are recognized. Chief Real McKenzie, on behalf of the Innu Strategic Alliance said yesterday, "It's a war that is getting underway. We are ready to fight."

Last week, in memory of Mr. Bellefleur, 150 hunters from the Innu Strategic Alliance crossed the Labrador border to hunt caribou in memory of Mr. Bellefleur. The Innu's fight against development may include the Lower Churchill Falls hydroelectric project and proposed iron ore and uranium mines.

Conservative nomination of human rights director under fire

The Conservative government has nominated Gérard Latulippe as the new president of Montreal-based human rights group Rights and Democracy. Latulippe has been criticized by Muslim organizations for his past statements on Islam and immigration to the Quebec reasonable accomodation commission.

Latulippe told the commission two years ago that Muslim immigrants don't integrate as well as others and their increased presence poses an "unnnecessary risk of fostering terrorism from within." Canada's Council on American-Islamic Relations says that the views promoted by Latulippe are incompatible with a publicly-funded group.
 
The government has already been accused of political interference in the operations of Rights and Democracy when three staff people were suspended then fired for criticizing the appointment of new directors.  The organization's former president died of a heart attack earlier this winter, and the Conservative government's appointments were met with dissent within the organization.