Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

From Libby Davies

Dear friends,

Recently the Conservative government in Ottawa tried to sneak controversial changes into the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) through the House of Commons via C-50 (the Budget Implementation Act). These sweeping changes give enormous powers to the Minister to decide which categories of immigration applications will be processed, and which would be ignored or discarded. It also restricts several kinds of applicants based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds that Canadian sponsors can use to bring their relatives into Canada, and gives the Minister extraordinary powers to deny visas to those who meet all the immigration criteria and have been waiting for years to have their cases conclude. NDP Immigration Critic Olivia Chow has done excellent work in opposition to these unfair and misguided changes. To learn more about the changes, visit her website.

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Transsomatechnics: Theories and Practices of Transgender Embodiment
A Transdisciplinary International Conference, May 1- 3, 2008, SFU Harbour Centre

Keynote Speakers and Plenary Speakers

Cabral, Mauro - Bio, “My Name is Truth”, Trans Issues within Human Rights Frameworks
Murray, Samantha - Bio, Banded Bodies: The TransSomatechnics of Obesity Surgery
Noble, Bobby - Bio, Transed-Nationalisms: On the Limits of Whiteness
Najmabadi, Afsaneh - Transing and Transpassing Across Sex-Gender Walls in Iran
Namaste, Viviane - BioKnowledge for whom?  Trans Women, HIV and the Field of “Trans Studies
Pugliese, Joseph - Transpositions of Transsomatechnics
Sullivan, Nikki - Bio, The Matter of Transsomatechnics

My name is Kiran Arora and I am a Ph.D. student at Syracuse University, in the Marriage and Family Therapy department. I am conducting a research study which seeks to understand the impact of political violence in Punjab India, on Sikh diaspora in Vancouver.

Specifically, I would like to understand your views on what it means to be living in Vancouver, Canada as part of the Sikh diaspora. Further, I would like to understand how the political violence in Punjab, India has impacted you, your relationships and your position in the world, as a member of the Sikh diaspora in Vancouver.

This study will be pioneering in the field of Marriage and Family Therapy because this topic area has not been studied before. Bringing forth the unique experiences of the Sikh diaspora will be informative for those working in the mental health field. It will also allow the unique stories and voices of Sikh diaspora to take space in academia, where these voices can be acknowledged, and understood.

I am looking for potential volunteers for my study and hope that you will consider participating. If you wish to participate you must meet the following criteria:

1. You must be born outside of India, to parents who were born in India.
2. You must have experienced (first hand or second hand) some of the events affecting the Sikh community in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
3. You must reside in Vancouver.
4. You must self identify as a Sikh.

Participation in this study would be completely voluntary and you may withdraw at any time if you choose to participate. Your confidentiality is of utmost concern, and measures have been put into place to ensure that your confidentiality is protected.

I would be happy to discuss this with you in detail on the phone. The format of this study will be interviews, where I would be interviewing you for 90 to 120 minutes.

If you are interested in this study, please phone/email me. I will give you further information at that time, and also answer any questions or concerns you may have.

Kiran S.K. Arora
kiransarora@gmail.com
315.383.5400 - Syracuse, N.Y.
604.719.1871 - Vancouver, B.C.

March 21 is a time to remember those who fought against racism and for equality and human rights. We must honour them by taking up the torch and continuing the struggle, especially at a time of relentless neoconservative efforts to roll back our gains.

A more recent example of these efforts is the Harper minority government’s refusal to participate in the upcoming United Nations International Forum to Against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Xenophobia.

A further look at the Harper government’s record on human rights and equality makes it obvious that the Conservatives have no interest in fighting racism and discrimination.

In two years of government under the Conservative Party, it has:

• eliminated the Court Challenges Program,
• eliminated the Law Reform Commission,
• scrapped valuable literacy and equity programming to communities, including Aboriginal communities,
• reduced social development programs under the Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC),
• reduced programs that facilitate cultural awareness under Multiculturalism,
• refused to recognize Aboriginal rights in Canada and in the international forum, and
• detained racialized people under security certificates without proper due process.

Furthermore, the Conservative government, in its pursuit for corporate profits over the universal welfare of Canadians, continues to make cuts to quality public services and to privatize these services. It ignores the historical role that quality public services have played in Canada in ensuring equality and human rights.

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Rights, Not Wrongs: The role of unions in creating a better world

A joint conference for human rights activists in the labour movement sponsored by the BC Federation of Labour and the BC Teachers’ Federation. The conference will focus on emerging human rights issues, featuring leading BC human rights specialists in First Nations, peace, anti-poverty, women’s rights, antiracism, international issues and many more.

• Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
• April 3-5 2008
• Keynote Speaker: Stephen Lewis, Friday April 4th @ 7:30PM

Organized by the BCTF Committee for Action on Social Justice and the BC Federation of Labour Human Rights Commitee. For more information, visit www.bctf.ca or www.bcfed.ca. Download the Rights not Wrongs poster (pdf).

OTTAWA - The picture of employment of historically marginalized Canadians in the federal public service is not as rosy as the government would like to have us believe, says the Public Service Alliance of Canada, a union representing more than 100,000 federal public service workers.

“The report submitted by the Canada Public Service Agency to Parliament on Employment Equity support many of our arguments that we presented earlier this week to the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights,” says Ed Cashman, the PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President for the National Capital Region.

• Read the report submitted to Parliament here (pdf)

For example, the government claims it is meeting its targets with respect to the representation of persons with disabilities relative to their labour market availability. However, the number of persons with disabilities who are hired into the government is below their labour market availability rate.

“In other words,” says Cashman, “the federal government is meeting its legal obligation not through proportional hirings but through injury and illness of workers already on the job. Some workers become persons with disabilities through the course of their careers.”

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Lawyer, senator, union leader agree minorities are unwelcome

Don Butler, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Justice Canada is a “very poisonous, toxic department” that drives visible minorities out the door, says a high-profile former Justice lawyer.

Mark Persaud, who left Justice in 2003, told a Senate committee the atmosphere during the decade he worked there was rife with “overt racism and intimidation of employees.”

His testimony came on the heels of charges by a senator and the Public Service Alliance of Canada that racism is blocking visible minorities from being properly represented within the federal public service. Nova Scotia Senator Donald Oliver, who is black, bluntly asserted at Monday night’s Senate committee meeting that “it is racism that is preventing visible minorities from progressing in the public service.”

And Ed Cashman, a PSAC vice-president, told senators that racism is “the elephant in the room” that nobody in government wants to talk about.

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As the PSAC celebrates Black History Month, it recognizes and honours the contributions of its Black members and members of African heritage. The actions and dedication of these members have helped advance the PSAC and put us in the forefront in the struggle for human rights and equality. Their strength, courage and vibrancy are exemplified in the success of the union in negotiations, membership representation, political advocacy and the various committees, including the Equal Opportunities and Human Rights Committees.

This year, we commemorate the contributions of an astounding labour and human rights advocate who was one of the founding members of the PSAC: James Calbert Best. The son of a human rights activist and a railway porter, his career in the federal public sector began in the Department of Labour in 1949, where he co-founded the Civil Service Association of Canada, one of the organizations that merged in 1966 to form the PSAC.

• More at the Ottawa Citizen: Man of stature remembered as ‘ideal public servant’

Cal was born in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, and as a young man founded, with his mother, the first African-Canadian owned newspaper in that town, The Clarion. The paper covered local news and sports, but more importantly, delved into the deeper racial issues facing black people in Nova Scotia and across North America. It featured the case of Viola Desmond, who has been referred to as a Canadian Rosa Parks. In 1946, she was arrested and fined for sitting in the “whites only” section of the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow and refused to move when authorities tried to force her to.

After achieving degrees in political science and public administration, he embarked on a 49-year career in the federal public sector, including a term as Canadian High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago.

Even in retirement, his considerable contribution continued. In 1999, he served as a member of the Treasury Board President’s Task Force on the Participation of Visible Minorities in the Federal Public Service.

Cal Best died in the summer of 2007 at the age of 81.

In honour of Cal Best, the PSAC reaffirms its commitment to combating racism in the workplace and extends this invitation to every PSAC member to contribute to the forging of solidarity between all sisters and brothers.

The PSAC is encouraging its members to commemorate Black History Month by organizing or participating in an event that raises awareness about this month, particularly the contributions of Black workers in the Canadian labour movement. Notify the PSAC’s Programs Section of any activities you hold by calling (613) 560-4387 or by e-mail at lambas@psac.com.

Sharon McIvor is a member of the Lower Nicola Band, a practicing member of the Law Society of British Columbia, and a Professor of Aboriginal Law at Nicola Valley Institute of Technology, where she is on the executive of her trade union, the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators. For many years, Sharon McIvor has been a national leader in the Native Women’s Association of Canada and the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action.

Recently, in an unprecedented constitutional case, Sharon McIvor successfully challenged the continuing preferential treatment given to males and those whose Indian status is traced from male ancestors, as a violation of section 15, the equality guarantee of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

On June 7, 2007, in McIvor v. Canada, Judge Carol Ross of the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that the federal government must remove sex discrimination from the determination of Indian status and restore equal Indian status to First Nations women and their descendants.

This is a ground-breaking decision that may affect the Indian status of more than 200,000 Aboriginal women and their descendants.

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Picket and Rally

Wednesday, January 30, 4 pm
Picket outside the U.S. Consulate in Vancouver (1075 W. Pender)

War and Occupation are a Health Crisis.

The Israeli occupation is a health crisis for Palestinians. In particular, the total siege by the Israeli Occupation Forces in Gaza effectively detains Palestinian men, women and children in what amounts to a giant open air prison, creating a mounting health emergency by denying even the basic necessities of life. In addition to the Israeli-created public health crisis, Palestinians face arbitrary and criminal military violence from the Israeli occupiers.

The conditions in Gaza demonstrate clearly the criminal nature of the Israeli occupation:

Ongoing killings, assassinations and air attacks by Israeli occupation forces; already in January, 2008, Israeli occupying forces in Gaza have killed 26 Palestinians, including children and women, and wounded 44 others. This death toll does not include the countless others whose physical and mental health hangs in the balance of the siege.

Tens of thousands are denied access to safe water and sanitation as raw sewage runs through the streets. General scarcity of food, clean water, and fuel, resulting in malnutrition, disease are a public health clamity. Gaza is on the verge of a humanitarian, health and environmental crisis, threatening the lives of 1.5 million civilians.

Surgical operations and medical aid are suspended at hospitals due to lack of power and supplies, leaving patients languishing in need of medical attention. Furthermore, medical personal are unable to reach people due to the siege conditions.

Blockade of supplies for UN Relief and Works Agency which supplies over 900,000 Palestinians in refugee camp; humanitarian aid is suspended in a region where 85% of the Palestinian population depends upon humanitarian aid their basic needs for survival.

The U.S. and Canadian governments share culpability for this disaster as they continue to support the Israeli occupation. The U.S.A. provides billions of dollars in aid to Israel annually, much of it military aid. Meanwhile the Canadian government has over the last several years shifted to a position of essentially unconditional support for Israel at the U.N. and was the first government to cut humanitarian aid to Palestinians following their democratic election in 2006, punishment for not voting for the ‘correct’ representatives.

Peace, justice and health for Palestinians are impossible under conditions of occupation and siege. We must speak out! We must ACT NOW to break the siege and end the occupation.

Break the Siege on Gaza!

Canada & U.S. - stop supporting Israeli war crimes!

End the Israeli Occupation! Free Palestine!

Organized by the Health Now! Campaign, Alliance for Peoples Health, Al Awda – Palestinian Right of Return Coalition, International League of Peoples Struggles participating organizations in Vancouver (BC Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Grassroots Women, Ugnayan Ng Kabataang Pilipino Sa Canada/Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance, SIKLAB, Bus Riders Union, Filipino Nurses Support Group), Free Ahmed Sa’adat Campaign.

Email contact.

The next Human Rights Committee meeting will be February 12th

• Human Rights Committee meeting
• Tuesday, February 12th, 5:45PM
• PSAC Vancouver RO, 5238 Joyce Street
• participation via conference call is available, if requested in advance

Agenda

• Election of delegate to BC Regional Convention
• More TBA

Please RSVP to Regina Brennan - brennar@psac.com

Human Rights Committee Meeting, November 6th

In attendance:

• Chair - Sargy Chima
• by phone – Floyd Knelson
• Food - Wanda Mundy and Sharon Tieman
• Alexander Bishop
• Tracy Shudo
• Carol Pegura
• Rhonda Brain
• Kim Forster
• staff resource person - Regina Brennan

Regrets from Todd Harding, Carolyn McGillivray, and Valerie Hargreaves

Agenda

1. Chair and minute taker
2. Planning for the Human Rights Day dinner
3. Poster contest
4. Announcements
5. Conferences and Conventions
6. Planning for next year

Continue reading below or download the BC Human Rights Committee meeting minutes - Nov 6 2007

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SIKLAB-CANADA READIES FOR THE INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS’ ALLIANCE; ENCOURAGES MIGRANTS IN CANADA TO JOIN

Filipino migrants in Canada are set to bring their fight for their rights to a new level.

SIKLAB-Canada, a national formation representing migrant Filipino workers, is readying for the historic launching of the International Migrants’ Alliance (IMA) in June 2008 in Hong Kong.

“There is an urgent need to form the IMA,” explains Roderrick Carreon, Chairperson of SIKLAB-Canada, “The issue of migration has become a global phenomenon and the focal point for much intense debate and discussion among academics and politicians on how to administer and manage international migration. It is now also time for those of us organizing around migrant rights to join together internationally to focus on the real lived experience and exploitation of migrant workers, the structures behind global migration, and the impacts of imperialist globalization,” continues Carreon.

There are over half a million Filipinos across Canada, the majority of whom are women who have entered the country as live-in domestic workers under the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP). SIKLAB is actively campaigning for the scrapping of the LCP calling the immigration program “anti-woman and racist”.

Under the LCP, migrant workers are required to live-in their employers’ home for 24 months, hold only temporary immigration status, and are tied to their employers because of the required employer-specific contracts under the program — conditions, which SIKLAB argues breed exploitation, abuse and oppression of Filipino migrant workers in Canada.

“We know that our community’s migration to Canada as cheap and expendable labour is shared by many other migrant and immigrant communities,” says Glecy Duran, Vice-Chairperson of SIKLAB-Canada, “Because we are here and legislated to perform low-wage and dangerous jobs that no other Canadians will perform, migrants of all nationalities, especially those of colour, share a common experience of exploitation. We need to unite,” adds Duran.

The objectives of the IMA are:

• To promote the rights, livelihood and welfare of migrants, refugees and displaced persons all over the world;
• To defend the interests of migrants, refugees and displaced persons from attacks of imperialist globalization and its lackeys;
• To forge coordinated and joint actions and plans in advancing the rights and well-being of im/migrants and refugees.
• To intensify campaigns for just wage, job security, against commodification and against criminalization of undocumented migrants and immigrants.
• Extend support and cooperation among the members.
• To further promote international solidarity and cooperation with progressive and genuine anti-imperialist organizations and alliances.

The IMA was initiated by the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) Study Commission on Migrants and Immigrants, and aims to be a broad international formation of progressive and anti-imperialist migrant organizations of various nationalities.

As a convenor of the launching the IMA, SIKLAB-Canada is also inviting other like-minded organizations of migrants and immigrants in Canada to join the significant founding of the IMA.

For more information: SIKLAB-B.C.: Glecy Duran, siklab@kalayaancentre.net; 604-215-1103
–
SIKLAB-British Columbia
Advance the Rights and Welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers and Their Families
Member of SIKLAB-Canada
c/o Kalayaan Centre, 451 Powell Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6A 1G7
Phone: 604.215.1103 | Fax: 604.215.1905 | http://www.kalayaancentre.net

2008 PSAC NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR RACIALLY VISIBLE MEMBERS
Be the Change: Create a Better World!

We are pleased to announce the call out for PSAC racially visible members in good standing to apply to participate in the PSAC National Conference for Racially Visible Members, which will be held March 7 to 9, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, under the theme “Be the Change: Create a Better World!”

DEADLINE TO APPLY FOR BOTH DELEGATES AND OBSERVERS
JANUARY 16th, 2008 at 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES

The objectives of our 2008 PSAC National Conference for Racially Visible Members are to:

• Educate, politicize and mobilize racialized members by making links between the union, the workplace, the community and equality rights.
• Create and/or strengthen networks within our union and our communities.
• Enhance and support leadership development of racialized members in our union, workplace and beyond.
• Develop an analysis on what is racism, the impact of racism and how to fight against racism.

Resolution, Application and other
Forms (English)
Forms (French)

To: All Lower Mainland Locals, Area Councils and Committees

Greetings Sisters and Brothers!

Our 2007 Union School is fast approaching and I am very excited and pleased to extend an invitation to all PSAC members in the Lower Mainland who are not attending the school to join us this year to hear two incredible speakers who will be speaking on November 2nd and November 3rd at the Metrotown Hilton in Burnaby (6083 McKay Avenue).

November 2nd, 2007 : We are greatly honoured to present Malalai Joya, member of the Afghan Parliament and world renowned activist as our keynote speaker at the school. She will open our school at on Friday, November 2nd at 12:30 pm.

Malalai’s upcoming visit to Vancouver and to our school represents a rare opportunity for us to hear directly about conditions in Afghanistan. Malalai is one of Afghanistan’s most courageous politicians and a dedicated defender of the rights of the Afghan people and women in particular. She has survived four assassination attempts and was recently suspended from the country’s parliament to which she was democratically elected in 2005. Despite this, she continues to speak out both in her own country and around the world.

• The week prior to the school, Malalai Joya will also be speaking at several engagements in Vancouver & Victoria - visit bclabouragainstwar.ca for details.
• Malalai Joya will be speaking at the stopwar.ca rally in Vancouver, Saturday October 27th - visit stopwar.ca for details.

November 3rd, 2007: Malalai’s key note speech at the school on Friday will be followed by a panel discussion on defending public services with PSAC National President John Gordon and Seth Klein - BC Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) - on Saturday, November 3rd at 9AM. We are very pleased that John will be joining us - please take advantage of this great opportunity to hear him speak about defending quality public services, collective bargaining, and other important issues in our union. John, along with Seth, will also be pleased to answer questions after the panel presentations.

John Gordon was elected as the PSAC’s National President in May 2006 at the PSAC’s Triennial Convention. John had been the Union’s National Vice-President since 2000. Prior to 2000, he was the National President of the former Union of Public Works Employees component (now Government Services Union). He has also been a union activist in the broader labour movement with extensive involvement in the Labour Council of Metro Toronto and the Ontario Federation of Labour.

Seth Klein is the BC Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), a public policy research institute committed to social, economic and environmental justice. He is a frequent media commentator and public speaker on public policy issues. He has authored numerous studies and newspaper articles.

We very much hope that you are able to join us to hear these amazing speakers. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or would like more information. Hope to see you there!

In solidarity, Amal Rana, Regional Education Officer

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo boasted of her country’s recent economic growth. However, a Philippine labour activist, during a visit to PSAC on October 11, explained that this growth has occurred amid a continuing increase in human and trade union rights violations.

• Send an email to the Canadian & Philippine governments, demand justice and human rights now!

“Human rights violations under the Arroyo regime has surpassed the record under the Marcos dictatorship,” says Arnel Salvador, the deputy executive director of the Workers Assistance Center (WAC) in Cavite province, Philippines.

Salvador’s one-month tour in Canada seeks to raise awareness among and gain support from Canadians, particularly the labour movement, for the Filipino workers’ struggles against the spate of labour repression and human rights violations under the Arroyo regime.

From the time Arroyo assumed power on January 20, 2001 until June 30, 2006, more than 60 leaders, members, organizers and supporters of trade unions and workers organizations have been killed. They are among the more than 800 victims of political killings of progressive activists and critics of the Arroyo regime. Aside from killings, other trade union violations include assaults on the picketline, illegal arrests and detentions, grave threats, intimidations, abductions and harassment. According to the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR), an independent workers research institute in the Philippines, there were 982 cases of trade union and human rights violations victimizing 77,028 workers from 2001 to 2006.

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To: PSAC-BC Locals/Branches

Please let your Aboriginal, GLBT, People with Disabilities and Racially visible members know that the next PSAC-BC Human Rights Committee meeting is Thursday, October 11th at 5:45 pm at the PSAC Vancouver Regional Office #200-5238 Joyce Street. Please RSVP by October 9th as a light dinner is planned.

Out of town participants are welcome to join via teleconference. Please RSVP by October 9th to ensure a call is set-up.

Also, note that the committee is holding a poster design contest.

114 women missing from just 2 areas in British Columbia, the Highway of Tears between Prince Rupert and Prince George and the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.

• OCTOBER 4, 2007 VIGIL 1:00 PM—5:30PM
• CRAB PARK 101 E. WATERFRONT ROAD, Vancouver

Please join us for a vigil, BBQ and benefit to remember the well over 500 missing and murdered Aboriginal women across Canada, and to honour the missing and murdered Aboriginal women who have disappeared from the Down-town Eastside and the Highway of Tears here in British Columbia.

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PSAC-BC Human Rights Committee Invites You To Make Submissions To Our Poster Contest

The PSAC-BC Human Rights Committee is made up of PSAC members from the Aboriginal, Racially Visible, Persons with Disabilities or GLBT groups. We meet with other members from these groups about once a month to discuss items of interest, for group discussions and to build our confidence by practicing public speaking.

The goal of our committee is

• To actively promote and encourage members from Human Rights/diversity groups to participate in the union and in society as a whole
• To educate union members at large on sensitivity and inclusiveness in the union

Our responsibilities include:

• To attend Committee meetings or send alternates to ensure that each group has a voice
• To serve as positive spokespersons for respective constituencies
• To organize activities and events for special “diversity days”
• To forge links with other human rights groups/coalition partners in the community
• To raise the profile of the equity/diversity union members in a positive manner within the union and the workplace

As such, we are offering all of our members the opportunity to present, in art form, a poster submission on what they feel the PSAC-BC Human Rights Committee represents, to, for and about its members.

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Human Rights Committee Minutes September 12th, 2007

*In attendance: Members: Wandy, Tracy (chair of meeting), Carol (minute taker), Kim, Sargy, Craig Staff: Janelle*

Continue reading below or download the Human Rights Committee meeting minutes - Sept 12 2007 (pdf)

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