Calgary And The Aryan Guard: Why There?

Crazy thing: some of it [old style anti-Semitism] is being inflamed however tacitly, by some of Israel’s staunchest supporters. Chief among them: the immigration minister himself, Jason Kenney, and good buddy Ezra Levant, flagbearer of the Western Standard.

Unlike other groups in the “movement,” the Guard does not exist completely online, where it’s safer – as long as you’re careful not to contravene anti-hate laws – and easier to reach more people.

These skins are not afraid to show their true colours, taking to the streets at annual “white pride” rallies, tossing Molotov cocktails through the windows of anti-racists (no good communists?), planting a pipe bomb or two on the doorstep of wayward former members.

What makes them think they can get away with it?

Enter Levant. The former Reformer and Canadian Alliance disciple has been flogging that canard pretty hard ever since the Standard, his news and views mag (now online only) republished the infamous Muhammad cartoons in 2006. Talk about stirring an anti-Jewish backlash.

[...]

Is it any wonder then that groups like the Aryan Guard feel some measure of protection from the authorities, despite their blatantly racist views?

I would also note that in the run-up to the passing of Alberta's Bill 44, which would have in its original form rescinded the hate speech provisions from that provinces human rights act--a repeal which Ezra supported enthusiastically--white supremacists were actively trying to recruit followers to the Calgary area, arguing that after 44 passed it would become land of The Free for Neo-Nazis. Only after an Aryan Guard beefed-up with new recruits marched last year did the province back down from the repeal.

Alberta's Bill 44 To Be Implemented This Fall

...over the non-silent objections of teachers, Lindsay Blackett looks to "the silent majority" for support:

"For those people around the country that think that's somehow wrong, we in Alberta believe in family values, because the family's at the core of what makes a great community. . . . We're taking a lead, here."

Bill 44 may allow parents to drag teachers before the AHRC (Alberta Human Rights Commission) if, for example, they talk about religion or sexuality in class without giving advance notice to the parents, who may then ask that their children be pulled from the class in question.

Blackett is obviously preparing for such an eventuality:

"We're looking at overall governance of the commission and we're also looking at training of staff within the commission. So a lot of those things have to happen and we'd like to get them all tidied up before we actually proclaim the bill into law."

Wow! Beefing up the AHRC! Ezra's gonna be pissed.

Kelly McParland On The Ontario Tories: Yeah, They're Doomed

So there's the campaign line: Tim Hudak is a bigot. A vote for the Tories is a vote for hate. It's no more accurate than was the scaremongering over faith-based schools, but voters aren't any more likely to notice than they did last time.

Interesting in that McParland concedes that the PR war over this issue has already been lost, meaning he has come to realize that his own paper's efforts in that war (should the NP still exist in 2011) will come to nothing.

Instrospection from a journalist? If so, we have the Ed Stelmach to thank. A Tory majority in Alberta looked at its human rights law and decided the code needed to be tweaked to better serve the interests of Gays and young earth Creationists. Journalists, who had promised the government a free ride over any section 3 repeal, got stiffed. Mr. McParland I think has looked at that decision, and despaired. Good for him!

Alberta Torys Strike Back

The Edmonton Whitemud Progressive Conservative constituency Board has proposed a resolution removing section 9 (the parental opt out stuff) from Bill 44. There is some hope it can be put before the Progressive Conservative Party to vote on at its Annual General Meeting in November.

Good on them. Being Torys, I suppose these folks are part of the "silent majority" Culture Minister Lindsay Blackett insists support the bill.

On The Evening Of May 26th, Freedom Died In Alberta

...and I did a little happy dance:

Kent Hehr, Liberal MLAA for Calgary-Buffalo:

Mr. Hehr: Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I bring this amendment.It is again a recommendation by the Sheldon Chumir foundation that returns an element of free speech to our way of life here in Alberta and is, I believe, really the way our society is meant to operate and how we are supposed to best communicate ideas. Ilook to the Sheldon Chumir foundation, who studied this issue long and hard. I, too, agree with their recommendations, and that’s why I bring them forward here. Free speech is a fundamental right in this society that shouldn’t be intertwined very easily with our human rights commissions.

[...]

Many of the most virulent criticisms leveled at human rightscommissions over the last few years concern provisions that seek tomake statements of opinion illegal. Some of the high profile caseshave concerned opinions on the part of the Christian right about theevil (in their eyes) of homosexuality and cartoons and articles perceived by some Muslims to be offensive or even, according to their faith, blasphemous. We do not endorse the sometimes offensive views expressed by people and organizations who havecome under attack pursuant to legal provisions such as section 3 ofthe HRCMA. But we do have grave misgivings about the threats to free expression inherent in such provisions. Accordingly, they have offered some revisions, which you see before you in the act. Really, these are sort of changes, but the nuances are clear. This will return the wording of our act to the pre 1996 version

The Deputy Chair: The hon. Minister of Culture and Community Spirit [, Lindsay Blackett].

Mr. Blackett: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Fundamentally the government caucus believes in free speech. We’ve had a long discussion, and [yada yada yada..]

[...]

[Motion on amendment A4 lost]

Note that the Stelmach Tories have 72 of the 83 seats in the Alberta Legislature. The fate of amendment A4 was entirely in their hands. Note that the whole process of Bill 44 was an exercise in balancing off the rights (pandering to?) Alberta's Socon and Gay communities. Speechies got sweet FA. Suck on that, Speechies.

Speaking Of Which...

"How can people say I'm anti-gay?" [Alberta Culture Minister Lindsay] Blackett asks. "I can't deal with the arts community every day by being anti-gay. They'd pick that up in a minute."

O! Alberta! But they've paved the streets and they actually spend a fair bit on their educational system. Furthermore, they will be amending the parental rights clause of Bill 44 so it will be more difficult for young Earth creationists (for example) to haul teachers before the Alberta Human Rights Commission:

His changes say that for parents to be notified, the class must be "primarily and explicitly" about religion, human sexuality or sexual orientation.

The word "primarily" is new. It means (or so Blackett hopes) that no child can be taken out of any class just because one of those topics happens to come up.

"This is not meant to get Johnny out of math class because you're upset with the teacher, or get Johnny out of biology class because you don't want the teaching of evolution," the minister says.

The changes, he promises, make it clear that teachers are not prohibited from making "indirect references" to the hot-button subjects.

They will still be free, for instance, to talk about gay rights in a social studies class or religion in a conversation about science.

"We are going to make it clear that our intention is not to interfere with a teacher's ability to have discussions with students," says the minister.

"They should not feel threatened or under duress."

Finally, as if to show how silly all this has become, the act will now refer to classes about "human sexuality" rather than just "sexuality."

Actually, this last bit is not at all silly. Every kid in Alberta wants to know how the dinosaurs did it. Its actually a bit of a mystery. Good to know that Alberta teachers will be able to have at the subject in an unconstrained fashion (lots of hissing and whooping).

PS., there is still the issue of whether a parental rights clause like this should be lodged within the Alberta human rights act in the 1st place, but it looks like that train has left the station; third reading could come within weeks.

And here's one final piece on the implications of the legislation.

Bill 44 Going Through

...because "we're not able to retract", according to Alberta Culture and Community Spirit Minister Lindsay Blackett. However, there may be minor changes to the parental opt-out section, particularly:

11.1(1) A board as defined in the School Act shall provide notice to a parent or guardian of a student where courses of study, educational programs or instructional materials, or instruction or exercises, prescribed under that Act include subject-matter that deals explicitly with religion, sexuality or sexual orientation.

[Teachers] had a problem with the wording . . . when it talks about instruction and instructional materials. Some teachers take that to mean any instruction," said Blackett.

"We're looking at how to clarify that."

Not quite sure what is meant here, but my guess would be the teachers are concerned that parents might be able to request an opt-out where, for example, a biology text containing a chapter on Darwin was being used even though the class in question did not concern that chapter.

Meanwhile, Rob Breakenridge laments. He's quite right that AHRC opponents like Bishop Henry have sold their souls over this bill (which the Bishop supports with caveats), but this part is baloney:

Just when it seemed that public demand and political will would finally result in a reining in of the province's much-maligned human rights regime, the Alberta government has fashioned a resurrection of almost Biblical proportions.

Public demand? Or the demands of a few hundred journalists, fringe righties, and blogosphere scribblers?

You know, one thing politicians know how to do better than anyone is count votes. The Stelmach government looked around and realized that the over-haul of their Human Rights Act would involve balancing the demands of the Gay and SoCon communities. If Speechies got stiffed (and they did), that's because the Stelmach government realized there weren't enough of them to be worth the fuss.

(And of course the Aryan Guard marched this year with renewed strength. That helped change a few minds in caucus, I am sure.)

Cognitive Dissonance In The Alberta Legislature

Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Over the weekend the Minister of Culture and Community Spirit admitted that evolution was science, and he said that his government isn’t arguing science. But, you know, despite all of the protestations from the other side about what they’re not doing, we need to remember that it was the Premier himself who said that evolution would be optional if parents objected on religious grounds. This isn’t a fantasy of the opposition; this comes from the Premier. So I want to ask the Minister of Culture and Community Spirit: have you and the Premier figured out why you’re contradicting each other and why the message . . .

Mr. Blackett: Well, Mr. Speaker, I know one thing: I don’t pretend to speak for the Premier[...]if you have a question about what the Premier said, I suggest that you ask the Premier that question.

Mr. Mason: Well, I keep trying, Mr. Speaker.The minister knows that those things are subject to interpretation.It is the interpretation of what is religion that is at stake here.

As an aside, if you are wondering what interpretation of Bill 44 turns a biology class into something that deals explicitly with religion, here's Bishop Henry, who thinks it does not go far enough:

...all education is faith-based to some extent. It's time to ask why the opinions of the majority of the citizens in Alberta are being ignored, i. e., "why should the faith of the atheist and agnostic be the only and the governing paradigm in public education?"

...which is to say, there is no Truth, only faiths. And apparently the agnostic and atheist faith rules in Alberta. Who knew?

h/t Mr Smith.

Alberta Vs. The Creationists, Part III: In Which Minister Blackett Contradicts Himself And Others

"But Lindsay Blackett, the Tory minister responsible for human rights, said in an interview that the intention of the law is to only allow parents to pull children out when the curriculum specifically covers religions, something that only happens for a few hours each school year."

"It's talking about religion (such as) Hindu, or Muslim, or that type of religion, not ... the curriculum with respect to, for instance, evolution," he said.

[...]

Blackett said if people believe the wording of the bill is unclear and could lead to complaints beyond what the law is intended to cover, the government could tighten up the language before it passes.

"If that's the main worry than we can certainly narrow that down, we're reasonable people."

There are two problems with this.

1) Both Alberta Minister of Culture Lindsay Blackett and Premier Stelmach have said explicitly that Bill 44 would allow parents to remove their children from classes in which evolution was taught. So either one of these two guys is lying, or (more likely) they have misread the intention of their own bill, because...

2) the language does not need to be tightened up. In fact, Blackett is correct in the above: the wording of the law states pretty clearly that it applies only where the classroom subject "deals explicitly with religion, sexuality or sexual orientation". The problem is not with the language in the bill, but the language Blackett and Stelmach have used in talking about the bill.

A very confused government, out there in Alberta, I'm afraid...