QUAIA Gets Go Ahead

The term "Israeli Apartheid"

...and of itself does not violate the City's Antidiscrimination policy as it does not impede the provision of services and employment provided directly by Pride or the City to any group on any grounds provided for in the Policy. There is no legal precedent that the phrase constitutes a hate crime under the Canadian Criminal Code.

For the use of messaging containing the term "Israeli Apartheid" to contravene the Ontario Human Rights Code, it would have to be judged by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) to contravene Section 13(1), which prohibits any notice, sign, etc.that indicates the intention of the person to infringe a right under Part I of the Code...

I doubt an appeal to the HRTO would go through.  The provincial section 13

...is infringed by a person who publishes or displays before the public or causes the publication or display before the public of any notice, sign, symbol, emblem, or other similar representation that indicates the intention of the person to infringe a right under Part I

...and I doubt anyone wearing a t-shirt bearing, for example, the words "Stop Israeli Apartheid" on it is telegraphing any such intention.  To giver a specific instance, nobody would suggest that a person wearing such an item of clothing (or waving a banner similarly inscribed) wants Israelis to be denied employment.

And if Rob Ford et al want to cut The City's $120,000 worth of funding based on more straight-forward (cost cutting) grounds, well, there goes another $90,000,000 for local businesses and 600 full-time jobs.

h/t

NP Censors Anti-Censorship Piece

Jonathon Kay's typically awful defense of Charles McVety has been disappeared from the National Post Website. The cached copy can still be found here, however. I'm assuming that it was the sight of bare-assed men that got the piece yanked. In any case, perhaps Mr. Kay will come out and denounce his employers. Perhaps.

So Is Brad Trost Now Distributing Marquee Tourism Event Funds?

SoCons gone rogue, it looks like:

Saskatoon-Humboldt MP Brad Trost isn't backing away from a statement he made to an anti-abortion website earlier this week about Toronto's Pride Week being a polarizing and political event that should not have received federal funding.

And here's the kicker:

Trost said he was aware the federal government, under Canadian Heritage, funded Saskatoon's Pride Festival in June with a $9,000 grant to the Saskatoon Diversity Network.

"I've been aware of it. I'm a fiscal conservative so I've been urging reductions all across the board on all sorts of issues, not just on heritage funding," he said.

The MP said he hasn't reviewed all of the Canadian events that have received funding through MTEP, but so far Toronto Pride Week appears to be the only one he thinks should not have received federal dollars.

"I haven't actually looked through the whole entire list, but it may be that this one is the unique one," he said. "I've seen about a partial list of what was funded through this program, but not a complete list."

Trost hopes MTEP eventually expands to fund smaller events such as local parades.

So now we've got your prototype of a back-bench nobody pontificating on where government ministers should be dispensing funds. All when the boss is overseas.

Anyway, Trost's interview winds up with a mini panic attack:

After the interview was over, Trost accused the StarPhoenix reporter of "ambushing" him with questions about the issue and pressed the stop button on her voice recorder.

Thanks to Mr. Trost for keeping this alive into day four. Looks like my work on the file is done. I would just remind readers that, painful as it is to read, the Lifesite should be on your regular visit list. If you want to chase down political crazies, you have to go where the crazy people go.