Le Québec n'est ni bilingue, ni multiculturel, dit Landry

L'ancien premier ministre du Québec Bernard Landry.
Archives La PresseCatherine Handfield

La Presse

L'ancien premier ministre Bernard Landry a profité des festivités entourant le 30e anniversaire de la Loi 101 pour lancer, hier après-midi, un appel aux immigrants qui choisissent de s'établir au Québec.

«C'est pour nous un devoir d'intégrer (les immigrants) et de leur dire la vérité. Le Québec n'est pas multiculturel, a dit M. Landry, soulevant les applaudissements de la foule. La culture de Vivian Barbot (députée bloquiste de Papineau, d'origine haïtienne) et la mienne sont les mêmes. Ses ancêtres ne sont pas venus de l'île d'Orléans, mais elle contribue à enrichir le grand courant culturel honorable qui s'appelle la culture québécoise.»

«Le Québec n'est pas bilingue non plus, a poursuivi M. Landry. La langue officielle du Québec, c'est le français. La langue commune du Québec, c'est le français pour tous les gouvernements du Québec.»

L'ancien politicien a prononcé ce discours de 10 minutes devant l'immeuble de l'Office québécois de la langue française, rue Sherbrooke Ouest, dans le cadre d'une manifestation organisée par le Mouvement Montréal français.

Il a conclu cet hommage à Camille Laurin, le père de la Loi 101, en disant que seule la souveraineté du Québec pourrait mettre un terme à l'anglicisation des nouveaux arrivants.

«Ce jour-là, quand notre choix sera fait, ce sera tellement plus simple pour ceux qui choisissent de vivre parmi nous de savoir où ils viennent d'avance, a poursuivi M. Landry. Quand on choisit d'aller vivre au Danemark, on sait qu'on devra être Danois. Quand notre drapeau flottera devant l'édifice des Nations unies, quand on choisira de venir au Québec, on saura que c'est pour être Québécois et Québécoise.»

M. Landry a préalablement cité certaines statistiques qu'il a qualifiées d'«inquiétantes». Il a souligné que 50% des immigrés ayant fréquenté des écoles québécoises choisissent un collège anglophone pour poursuivre leurs études. Et que 50% d'entre eux ont comme langue d'usage la langue anglaise. «C'est méprisant (de la part des immigrés), et c'est triste pour eux», a fait valoir M. Landry.

Une heure plus tôt, la députée du Bloc québécois Maria Mourani a pour sa part demandé aux immigrés de choisir le français puisque «le Québec est la seule place en Amérique du Nord où on parle français. Si on préfère l'anglais, on peut aller au Canada ou aux États-Unis», a déclaré Mme Mourani.

Bernard Landry, comme plusieurs autres personnalités souverainistes, a profité de la fête pour dénoncer le jugement rendu mercredi dernier par la Cour d'appel du Québec, qui invalide la Loi 104 et que Québec compte porter devant la Cour suprême. Cette disposition de la Loi 101 empêche un élève d'une école anglaise privée non subventionnée de faire le saut dans le réseau public anglophone.

Le chef du Bloc québécois, Gilles Duceppe, a lancé un appel aux chefs des trois autres partis à Ottawa. «Qu'ils disent aujourd'hui que d'aucune façon les institutions canadiennes et fédérales ne doivent entraver le français au Québec et affaiblir la Loi 101, a-t-il déclaré. C'est à l'Assemblée nationale et à elle seule de décider de toutes les lois concernant la langue française, et à personne d'autre.»

«Je trouve ça honteux et méprisant, a dit l'ancien premier ministre Jacques Parizeau, qui n'a pas fait de discours malgré les appels de la foule. Je suis encore estomaqué que ça puisse arriver.»

Les allocutions ont débuté vers 13h30 à la station de métro Mont-Royal. Quelque 2000 personnes ont marché rue Saint-Denis jusqu'à l'immeuble de l'Office québécois de la langue française, où les organisateurs ont rallumé le micro.

Plusieurs politiciens souverainistes - dont Pauline Marois et de nombreux députés péquistes et bloquistes - étaient du rassemblement pour saluer la Loi 101 et son défunt père, Camille Laurin. Même le porte-parole de Québec solidaire, Amir Khadir, s'est permis un «Vive le Québec libre!» à la fin de son discours, avenue du Mont-Royal.

PCUn buste de Camille Laurin?Francine Castonguay-Laurin, veuve de Camille Laurin, a annoncé hier qu'elle avait entamé des démarches afin que soit érigé un buste en bronze de celui qui est considéré comme le père de la Charte de la langue française. Elle souhaiterait que ce buste soit érigé sur un emplacement significatif, à proximité de l'Assemblée nationale. Mme Castonguay-Laurin a fait cette annonce au cours de la manifestation organisée par le Mouvement Montréal français pour souligner le 30e anniversaire de l'adoption de la Loi 101. «Vous en entendrez parler, a déclaré Mme Castongauy-Laurin aux militants présents. Vous pourrez contribuer.»

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070827/CPSPECIAL13/708270419/-1/CPSPECIAL13

Singh can return to temple, with conditions

Must post $50,000 bond, present himself to officials if ordered out
Elaine O'Connor, The Province (Vancouver)
Published: Thursday, August 23, 2007
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=93b54dd6-8348-4923-9b96-1e4a908b388b

For $50,000, Laibar Singh can return to the Abbotsford temple where he sought sanctuary last month, for the rest of his legal stay in Canada, the Immigration and Refugee Board ruled yesterday at his detention hearing.

Singh, a failed refugee-claimant who entered Canada on a forged passport in 2003 claiming political persecution, suffered paralysis after a brain aneurysm a year ago. He requires intensive medical care, including thrice-weekly dialysis.

He was ordered deported on July 8, but fled to the temple July 7 and escaped deportation. He was arrested Aug. 13 after leaving the temple to seek medical attention and again ordered deported.

But at the 11th hour, on Aug. 18, he was granted a 60-day stay of deportation by Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day. Singh had been detained at the North Fraser Pretrial Centre.

Board member Mark Tessler ruled that Singh could return to the Gurdwara Kalgidhar Darbar Sahib temple that harboured him so long as he met several conditions to ensure he will present himself to Canadian Border Services Agency for deportation when and if the time comes.

Singh must post a $50,000 bond and produce a letter from Gurdwara officials promising to relinquish him when the time comes. Singh must report to the refugee board by phone weekly.

"As Mr. Singh is not about to be removed [from Canada] for 60 days, the imperative to consider alternatives to detention are quite a bit higher," Tessler said. "If Mr. Singh were a person in good health I may be more inclined to continue his detention."

Another Immigration and Refugee Board member had previously ruled that Singh was too great a flight risk to be let out of prison.

Singh's lawyer, Zool Suleman, said yesterday he was "reasonably happy with the outcome."

"We're guardedly optimistic and we are happy that release has been ordered, but we find the terms a bit onerous," Suleman said, citing the high bond amount.

Suleman said he has launched an appeal with the minister of immigration on humanitarian grounds, which means Singh's case could drag on much longer than 60 days.

The counsel for the minister, Gregory Zuck, had asked that Singh not be released from detention because he posed a significant flight risk. If released, he said, Singh should at least be subject to a $150,000 bond.

Many in B.C.'s Sikh community have urged the government to grant Singh citizenship on humanitarian grounds due to his frail health and the lack of adequate health care in India.

He has garnered letters of support from federal and provincial politicians and a number of unions, religious and cultural groups.

It costs the Canadian health-care system more than $146,000 a year to care for the 48-year-old. A medically staffed flight home would cost taxpayers $68,700.

Singh has four children in India.

Paralyzed refugee claimant gets 60-day stay of deportation

Canadian Press

The federal government has granted a 60-day stay of a deportation order to a paralyzed Indian refugee claimant who was to have been removed from Canada on Monday.

Supporter Harpreet Singh says Laibar Singh is happy to be remaining in Canada for now.

The Sikh community asked people to e-mail the immigration minister as well as Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day, and thousands of e-mails were sent, he said.

More than a dozen politicians and community leaders also urged the federal government to allow Laibar Singh to stay in Canada.

Since July, Laibar Singh has lived in sanctuary at a Sikh temple in Abbotsford, east of Vancouver.

He left his safety zone Monday to seek treatment at a hospital, where he was arrested.

His lawyer, Zool Suleman, wants his client to be allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds. Suleman said if his client is deported back to India, his health will be in danger.

The lawyer says Singh has no one to care for him in India and doesn't have money to support himself there.

Harpreet Singh said Laibar Singh will be returning to the temple and that his health expenses will be borne by the local Sikh community.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/08/19/deport-refugee.html

Refusing to be silent

by Sue Collis
August 22, 2007

On Friday, August 10, 2007 my husband, Shawn Brant, was denied bail for the second time on charges relating to the closure of the CN main line, a provincial highway and the 401. Shawn is a member of the Mohawk Nation, from the community of Tyendinaga. The larger context for the charges he currently faces include unresolved land claims, poverty, suicides and polluted water throughout First Nations communities across Canada.

It would certainly be nice if, by 2007, the Canadian justice system had become a bastion of tolerance, devoid of bias. Unfortunately, what I saw on August 10th was a few isolated snippets from newspaper reports being treated as determining factors in whether another First Nations person was locked up or returned to his family.

As I drove home, I found myself contemplating the best way to tell my children that they would have to wait an unknown period of time before seeing their dad, and wondering how to explain (to a seven and five-year-old) why this was the case.

As the reality of our severed family hit me, I reminded myself how much worse it is for the thousands of families in First Nations communities who lose their babies to CAS (the Children's Aid Society) because they don’t have enough money to feed them. Or for the mothers who bathe their babies in water that is just as likely to make them sick as it is to clean them. Or for the families who face the horrible grief of burying their children after they decide to take their own lives rather than live on without hope for anything better.

And thinking about that, I was of course reminded about why Shawn is in jail to begin with: because the Canadian government recognizes that my husband is a person who can put a voice to that suffering. Shawn has been at the forefront of a process of carving out a national platform that exposed Canada's dismal and embarrassing record towards First Nations peoples. For perhaps the first time, an environment was being created where Canadians at large cared whether First Nations children lived or died.

In trying to understand how bunk 18, dorm 4 of the Quinte Detention Centre has become my husband's home, I have had the opportunity to reflect on how this all began.

It was shortly after the election of Mike Harris in Ontario in 1995: Dudley George lay dead and the infamous 21.6 per cent welfare cut had been imposed. While severe to everyone on fixed income it was particularly devastating to First Nations communities. In the absence of economic opportunities, compounded with geographical isolation and the still very prevalent impact of residential school abuses, the cut to welfare was crushing. But there was hope.

Organized labour rallied and kicked off a campaign of rotating economic disruptions. It was a plan designed to target government and private industry, starting small and escalating over time unless the government met the movement's demands. “We can't have passive resistance,” said Sid Ryan, president of the Ontario division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. “We have to send a strong message to Mike Harris and the business community that if they want to change the social network it's going to be one hell of a fight.” “The safety of kids is at issue,” Ryan said. “The transportation is going to be shut down, likewise GO trains . . . There's going to be chaos in the highways.”

Starting in places like London and Kitchener Waterloo, infrastructure was targeted and the cities systematically shut down. In October 1996, labour converged in Toronto and in one massive show of solidarity some 300 businesses, government buildings and services were completely shut down.

The Toronto Transit Commission, which normally carried two million riders daily, was completely stationary. The Canada Post facility responsible for sorting 50 per cent of the country's mail was shut. Pearson International Airport cancelled numerous flights as passengers rearranged their schedules to avoid the chaos of the day. The Canadian Auto Workers disrupted the airport's cargo terminal for five hours. Libraries were closed, marriage licences unavailable and garbage pick-up cancelled. Essentially all municipal services were either shut down or curtailed. Hospitals across Toronto cancelled all non-essential surgery and rescheduled chemotherapy sessions.

In short, the single largest municipality in the country came to a grinding halt. Millions of dollars were lost to the economy province-wide. United Steelworkers representative Carolyn Egan described the day as, “…only one battle. We haven’t won the war.” And Ryan warned at the time, “If we don't see the language, if we don't see the promised changes...in 48 hours, we'll be calling a province-wide strike.”

A decade later, in November 2006, the Mohawk community of Tyendinaga—in response to unresolved land claims, polluted drinking water, overwhelming poverty and suicides in all First Nations communities—launched a campaign similar to those days of action. It announced a plan of rotating economic disruption. The campaign started with road closures and business disruptions.

In March, a quarry on Mohawk land was taken over and permanently closed. On April 20 the CN main line was closed for 30 hours and on June 29, the CN main line, highway 2 and Highway 401 were simultaneously targeted and closed for a 24-hour period. And the message resonated. In the lead up and wake of June 29, Aboriginal issues enjoyed enormous support from the Canadian public with Angus Reid showing 71 per cent of Canadians wanting actions on land claims and 41 per cent of Ontarians prepared to acknowledge rail blockades as justified given the current landscape.

It is worth noting the reactions to these two very similar campaigns. The economic repercussions of the labour movement's rotating and escalating city shut-downs far surpassed those on June 29, and yet no labour leader was ever jailed, let alone charged. I am left to wonder at the difference in the government's response. The message appears to be if you are Indian, somehow your grievances do not warrant the same respect or attention. You are to suffer in silence.

As lawyer Howard Morton said at Shawn's bail review, “There is not a right that exists in this country that was not achieved through varying degrees of struggle and civil unrest.”

If in the year 2007, Shawn is to sit in jail for forcing attention to the national crisis that the subhuman conditions throughout First Nations communities have become, when literally centuries of following the “appropriate channels” of redress have utterly failed, then so be it.

Locking up Aboriginal people who are not prepared to ignore the atrocities of the state or suffer silently is certainly not without precedent in this country. In 1924 the Canadian government employed the military to kill one Mohawk traditional Chief in an effort to break the Iroquois Confederacy and bring the Mohawks under the control of the current Indian Act Band Council system. Many other Chiefs were imprisoned for a total of seven seasons without valid charges. My husband is just completing the end of his first season behind bars and says: “I should sit with pride and honour sit for six more to equal the sacrifice my ancestors made for us, so that we might have a chance to exist.”

The June 29 events inspired pride and hope across Indian country. Perhaps that is what the government considers most dangerous.

Sue Collis is the wife of Shawn Brant, and mother of two children. She lives in Tyendinaga, Mohawk Territory.

http://www.rabble.ca/in_her_own_words.shtml?sh_itm=63e6719638099df2069905bd6c53e96f&rXn=1&

Canada looks to Mexico for more workers

JENNIFER DITCHBURN

Canadian Press

August 16, 2007 at 4:56 PM EDT

OTTAWA — While the United States Congress turns up its nose at immigration reform, Canada is poised to start negotiations that would bring even more Mexican workers into this country.

An agreement to strike a commission into increased labour mobility is expected to be among the key accomplishments connected with next week's summit of North American leaders in Montebello, Que.

Mexico's ambassador to Canada, Emilio Goicoechea, said in an interview that the idea is to expand an already successful program that brings in thousands of Mexican agricultural workers every year.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Prime Minister Stephen Harper will hold a private meeting Wednesday.

“The first step will be a declaration from the leaders and the political will to do it, and the question of how it will happen will be up to a working group that will work out the details with Mexican and Canadian legislation,” Mr. Goicoechea said Thursday.

In June, the U.S. Senate rejected a bill that would have allowed more Mexican workers to legally enter the country and would have granted citizenship to some of the millions already there illegally. Since then, Washington passed a bill cracking down on illegals, sparking an outcry from American farmers who depend on the workers.

Canada currently takes in 12,000 Mexican workers through the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program, but is examining ways it could bring in even more people to fill low- or semi-skilled jobs. There has also been talk about more mobility for energy workers, especially for Alberta.

Mexico is also expected to raise with Canada the issue of contraband weapons flowing north and south from the United States, and what can be done collaboratively on the issue.

The discussions are another indication of the deepening relationship between Canada and Mexico, a hemispheric success story for both countries. Bilateral trade has been increasing, and there has been more co-ordination in areas such as energy, defence and security.

Canadian prime ministers, including Stephen Harper, have cultivated closer personal ties with their Mexican counterparts over several years.

Mr. Harper was one of the first leaders to congratulate Mr. Calderon on his victory last year,
and attend his November inauguration.

“They're becoming good friends, they trust each other, and that's something really important in order to develop better relations in the future,” said Mr. Goicoechea.

Still, a few irritants remain.

Canadian officials acknowledge that the number of Mexican visitors turned away at airports and land crossings is increasing, a sore point with the Mexican government. Last year, a high-profile Mexico City lawyer was turned away at Vancouver's airport when attempting to visit a client.

And some Mexican agricultural workers have complained of ill-treatment by Canadian employers. The issue has gained a high-profile particularly in Quebec, where news reports say the Canadian government has done little to investigate the allegations.

Mr. Goicoechea said his country would like to see a system set up to protect and assist seasonal workers when they're in the country. He said for example that a worker who is fired with or without cause has little recourse, and few resources sometimes to even buy a ticket home and settle accounts.

“Basically, what Mexico wants is that the human rights of Mexican workers who come to Canada are respected, and that there exist mechanisms that can quickly resolve disagreements between parties.”

Uncensored Arar report faults CSIS

JANICE TIBBETTS, CanWest News Service-

Friday, August 10

OTTAWA - Canadian security officials suspected that Maher Arar would be questioned "in a firm manner" when the United States deported the Ottawa engineer to his birth country of Syria, newly declassified portions of an investigative report into the incident revealed yesterday.

"I think the U.S. would like to get Arar to Jordan, where they can have their way with him," Jack Hooper, assistant director of operations for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, wrote in a memo described in newly disclosed passages of the Arar report.

A censored version of the report by a commission of inquiry headed by Justice Dennis O'Connor was published last September.

Because of its blacked-out passages, the initial version appeared to put the lion's share of blame on the RCMP, while CSIS escaped virtually unscathed.

Last month, the Federal Court ordered that more of the information be disclosed, ruling that it would be in the public's interest and not harmful to the country.

Suspected of terrorist ties, Arar was flown to Jordan and from there to Syria, where he was imprisoned for a year and tortured before being released and returned to Canada.

O'Connor's report cleared him of all terrorist links.

The newly uncensored passages also reveal that the CSIS security liaison officer in Washington, in a memo to his superiors two days after Arar's deportation, "spoke of a trend they had noted lately when the CIA or FBI cannot legally hold a terrorist suspect, or wish a target questioned in a firm manner, they have them rendered to countries willing to fulfil that role."

Arar, he said, was "a case in point."

The original version of the report deleted mention of the CIA and the FBI.

Arar's lawyer, Lorne Waldman, described the declassified sections as "shocking and disturbing."

He accused the government of abuse of power for trying to shield information from the public for a year in the name of national security.

"What we're really seeing is the government withholding information because it is embarrassing," Waldman said.

The more complete report also reveals that a Canadian security team, which visited Syria in November 2002, concluded that officials there "did not appear to view this as a major case and seemed to look upon the matter as more of a nuisance than anything else."

CSIS spokesperson Giovanni Cotroneo refused comment on the new revelations. He stressed, however, that the report concluded that the security officials neither participated nor acquiesced in the U.S. decision to send Arar to Syria.

The new version also places more blame on the Mounties, revealing that an RCMP anti-terrorism squad, in seeking search warrants in early 2002, failed to reveal to the presiding judge that the information came from an unnamed country with a poor human rights record or that it may have been obtained through torture.

In September 2002, the Mounties also kept a judge in the dark while seeking a warrant to wiretap Arar's phone, failing to mention that their information came from an uncorroborated confession by terror suspect Ahmad El Maati, which was likely obtained under torture in Syria.

"The candour was lacking and that's very significant because we rely on our agencies, when dealing with national security investigations, to be truthful when seeking warrants," Waldman said.

Waldman called on the federal government to immediately implement the Arar report recommendation to set up two independent oversight bodies to monitor the RCMP, CSIS and other agencies involved in national security.

Although the censored information represents less than one per cent of the 1,200-page report, Paul Cavalluzzo, the Arar commission lawyer, said the issue goes to the heart of government accountability.

He denounced the RCMP's failure to disclose information in court, in particular, as an affront to the justice system because applications for national security warrants take place in a closed courtroom with a judge only hearing the government's side before making a decision.

Arar was arrested by U.S. authorities in September 2002 while travelling through New York on his way back to Canada from a vacation in Tunisia.

The report concluded that his deportation was "very likely" the result of an inexperienced RCMP anti-terrorism squad passing on false intelligence to the U.S. that labelled Arar and his wife "Islamic extremists."

Former RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli was forced to resign in the wake of the Arar report after he publicly changed his story on what he knew and when he knew it.

Arar was given a formal apology from the federal government this year, along with $10.5 million in compensation for his ordeal.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday it is up to Liberal leader Stéphane Dion to explain the Arar affair to the public.

"Let's be clear - we're talking about events that occurred under the previous government," Harper told reporters in Yellowknife. "So I would suggest to you that in terms of asking what actually happened, those questions would be best directed to Mr. Dion."

Harper added that Arar has been compensated for his ordeal and reiterated that the government intends to implement all the recommendations in the Arar report.

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=079558ec-3d0c-4cd1-ba78-f42abc931feb&k=62119&p=1

Manifestation contre «les abus» du SCRS

http://www.ledevoir.com/2007/08/17/153668.html

Quelques dizaines de personnes ont manifesté hier à Montréal pour dénoncer «les abus» du Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité (SCRS) et le Partenariat pour la sécurité et la prospérité, dont discuteront en début de semaine prochaine le premier ministre Stephen Harper et ses homologues américain et mexicain. Les manifestants se sont réunis au square Dorchester, puis se sont rendus au siège montréalais du SCRS.

Pour voir le photo reportage: http://photos.cmaq.net/v/CSIS_Abuse/

MYTHS & REALITIES IN MR. LAIBAR SINGH'S CASE

MYTHS AND REALITIES IN MR. SINGH’S CASE: KNOW THE FACTS BEFORE YOU MAKE UP YOUR MIND!

* Mr. Laibar Singh was never handed down a deportation order prior to the one he received in July 2007. He has, therefore, never been "illegal" in Canada before taking sanctuary. Everyone in sanctuary has overstayed a deportation order, not just Singh.
* Mr. Laibar Singh arrived on a fake document, which he declared to Canadian immigration authorities. This is not illegal as international and Canadian refugee law recognizes the reality that many asylum seekers will be forced to travel on fake documents.
* Mr. Laibar Singh has not exhausted all his legal avenues. He has a pending Humanitarian and Compassionate review.
* Mr. Laibar Singh's refusal as a refugee claimant must be understood in the context of a climate where an increasing number of sanctuary cases -- currently at least 10 sanctuary cases across Canada -- represent a growing movement of faith communities that are witnessing and responding to the structural flaws in the immigration and refugee system.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION TODAY TO PRESSURE IMMIGRATION MINISTER FINLAY!

At this point, we are calling on all supporters, friends, and allies to PRESSURE IMMIGRATION MINISTER DIANE FINLAY to stay Mr. Singh’s deportation and demand that he be accepted on his pending humanitarian and compassionate exemption.

* CALL (PREFERABLE)

: (613) 996-4974 or (519) 426-3400

* FAX: (613) 996-9749

* EMAIL: minister@cic.gc.ca and Finley.D@parl.gc.ca

======> SAMPLE LETTER <========

Minister Finley,

Regarding: Laibar Singh

I am writing regarding the situation of Mr. Laiber Singh. I am sure that you are aware of the case of Mr. Laiber Singh, who is currently in custody and is facing deportation on Monday August 20, 2007.

Mr. Laibar Singh is a paralyzed Punjabi refugee claimant who has been in sanctuary since July 7 2007 at Abbortsford Sahib Kalgidhar Darbar Gurudwara. Mr. Singh came to Canada in 2003 and his refugee claim of persecution at the hands of state police has been rejected based mostly on minor inconsistencies. Mr. Singh suffered from an aneurysm in August 2006 that left him paralyzed and unable to feed himself. Mr. Singh spent four months at Vancouver General Hospital and had also been at the George Pearson Centre receiving 24-hour care since December 2006.

While in sanctuary, Mr. Singh’s health deteriorated and had to be hospitalized. On Monday August 13, while in the hospital, Abbottsford police and Canadian Border Services Agency officers detained Mr. Laibar Singh.

I believe these actions to be a violation of sanctuary and am deeply concerned about the fate of Mr. Singh. It is outrageous that the Canadian government would deport a man who is already struggling to life a live of dignity and autonomy, and whose physical health is so fragile.

Mr. Singh has the support of many community members, South Asian organizations, human rights groups, and disability advocates. I join these voices in expressing my support for Mr. Laibar Singh. For the sake of his own safety, for the well-being of his physical health, and based on the life that Mr.Singh has already established, I fully support him and demand that you approve his application for permanent residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds immediately.

Sincerely,

NAME:
ADDRESS:

Bouchard à court d'arguments pro-diversité

La tourne de la Commission sur les accommodements raisonnables servira-t-elle à convaincre ou à consulter?

Québec -- Pour «convaincre la population que la diversité ethnique, c'est un enrichissement culturel», il faut des arguments, or ces arguments, «je vous garantis qu'on les cherche!», a confié hier au Devoir le coprésident de la Commission sur les accommodements raisonnables, Gérard Bouchard. M. Bouchard estime que, bien que leur tournée en soit une de consultation, les deux présidents devront «répliquer» à certains discours des participants. Ces discours, M. Bouchard prévoit qu'ils seront défavorables à la diversité: «On va se faire dire, dans toutes les régions dans lesquelles on va s'arrêter [...], que l'immigration et la diversité, ce sont des emmerdements.

Et puis, ces gens-là n'auront pas lu l'article [du sociologue américain Robert] Putnam [présenté hier dans Le Devoir], mais ils vont nous tenir un discours qui va dans le même sens, mais un discours beaucoup plus sommaire et musclé», a-t-il déclaré hier lors d'un entretien téléphonique.

M. Bouchard estime que «nous, les intellectuels, on a mal fait notre travail», depuis une décennie au moins. «On a posé et on a postuléque la diversité était bonne et enrichissante pour le Québec sur le plan culturel. Mais on ne l'a pas démontré avec les études nécessaires. Nous étions certains que personne ne voudrait soutenir la position contraire», admet-il. Pour bien marquer le point, il insiste: «Est-ce qu'on connaît un seul article présentant un argumentaire solide et convaincant démontrant de façon concrète en quoi la diversité ethnique est une source d'enrichissement culturel?» Certes, il y a des études sur l'enrichissement économique du Québec. Mais sur le plan culturel, la chose est quasi impossible à trouver, affirme-t-il.

Il insiste: il croit, lui, à la richesse de la diversité pour le Québec. Et il s'adresse un reproche: «Je n'ai jamais contribué à bâtir cet argumentaire.» Ainsi, dans le grand public -- les «gens qui ne sont pas des intellectuels mais qui regardent les nouvelles à TVA ou à TQS, dans le meilleur des cas au téléjournal» --, comment arriveront-ils, Charles Taylor et lui, à «déconstruire» les discours fréquents, qu'il présente ainsi: «C'est bien plus simple quand on est tous pareils. Il est alors plus facile de prendre des décisions car les débats sont plus rapides, les gens partageant les mêmes codes.»

Littérature

Dans l'autre camp, celui des chercheurs qui tentent de mesurer les effets de la diversité, il y a une littérature qui se développe depuis quelques années, à laquelle le sociologue Robert Putnam vient d'apporter une contribution importante avec son article «E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the Twenty-First Century» (publié dans la revue Scandinavian Political Studies).

Ceux-là croient démontrer que la diversité nuit, par exemple, à la solidarité, au moins dans un premier temps. Avec de bonnes politiques publiques, les choses peuvent être corrigées à moyen et à long terme, estime M. Putnam.

Mais M. Bouchard se montre plutôt critique envers ce dernier. Il note dans un premier temps que plusieurs chercheurs ont démontré que les indicateurs de solidarité ou de «capital social» de Putnam étaient sans doute dépassés. Les composantes de la vie et des liens communautaires se sont transformées. Il faudrait mesurer autre chose pour découvrir un autre capital social. Deuxièmement, Putnam met «peut-être sur le compte de la diversité ce qui doit être imputé aux pathologies de la société américaine». Putnam n'a étudié que les États-Unis. «S'il travaillait sur le cas de Montréal» avec les indicateurs choisis, sans doute que les résultats seraient différents, argue M. Bouchard. Malgré la grande diversité de la métropole, les statistiques sur la santé sont bonnes, la ville est «remarquablement sécuritaire» et la démocratie ne «s'y porte pas trop mal», soutient-il.

Au Canada anglais, fait remarquer M. Bouchard, il y a des auteurs, comme Keith Banting et Will Kymlicka, qui cherchent à répondre, avec force données, aux arguments comme ceux développés par Putnam. (Notamment dans Multiculturalism and the Welfare State: Recognition and Redistribution in Contemporary Democracies, Oxford University Press, 2006.)

http://www.ledevoir.com/2007/08/17/153678.html

Dumont défend sa position sur l'immigration

Malorie Beauchemin

La Presse

Québec

Forcé de défendre sa position sur l'immigration, Mario Dumont persiste et signe. Le chef de l'Action démocratique du Québec veut maintenir le niveau actuel d'immigrants reçus, soit autour de 45 000 nouveaux arrivants par an, mais refuse de l'augmenter comme le suggèrent les libéraux.

«Maintenir le ratio actuel, ce n'est pas freiner l'immigration, a expliqué M. Dumont, en entrevue téléphonique à La Presse, alors qu'il se trouvait en tournée en Abitibi-Témiscamingue. Le seuil a déjà été considérablement augmenté il y a quelques années, et on l'avait alors approuvé. Mais il faut être prudent.»

Le chef de l'ADQ dit croire en l'intégration et estime que le Québec a besoin d'un flot «important» d'immigration, pour des raisons sociales et économiques, notamment pour assurer le rajeunissement de la population, compte tenu du faible taux de natalité des dernières décennies au Québec.

«Dans la vie, il n'y a pas que des considérations économiques, ajoute-t-il toutefois du même souffle. On a évité jusqu'à présent des ghettos qui sont fermés et qui vivent en vase clos en dehors de la société. Il faut continuer à éviter ça.»

M. Dumont affirme qu'il faut éviter à tout prix les erreurs commises ailleurs dans le monde, où certaines sociétés «ont vécu des cas d'immigration trop concentrée, trop rapide». La France, notamment dit-il, a eu à composer avec de lourds problèmes de violence concentrés dans des quartiers multiethniques. À l'été 2005, des émeutes s'étaient propagées dans plusieurs banlieues de Paris, symbole de la colère des communautés issues de l'immigration.

Ainsi, le chef de l'ADQ rejette a priori l'idée de voir le nombre d'immigrants reçus annuellement augmenter dans les prochaines années de 30%, comme le suggère un scénario qui sera étudié en commissions parlementaire cet automne.

«C'est considérable, 30%, soutient-il. On a le devoir de prendre tous les moyens pour assurer la francisation. C'est pas banal dans l'avenir du Québec, dans la protection de son identité.»

M. Dumont soupçonne le gouvernement de M. Charest de vouloir augmenter les seuils «de façon radicale» et y voit une «incohérence» dans la gestion libérale de l'immigration.

«C'est quand même le gouvernement qui a coupé dans les budgets de francisation, qui a coupé dans l'aide aux organismes pour l'intégration, souligne le leader adéquiste. Alors, que ce même gouvernement, après avoir coupé dans les mesures diverses, linguistiques et socio-économiques, propose de rehausser les seuils, ça me paraît être une contradiction.»

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070815/CPACTUALITES/708150562

Que. protesters denounce CN lawsuit against Ont. Mohawks

Tuesday, August 14, 2007 | 3:09 PM ET

CBC News

CN Rail's multimillion dollar lawsuit against a group of eastern Ontario Mohawk protesters is racist and colonial, says a spokesman for protesters who demonstrated in Montreal Tuesday afternoon.

Jaggi Singh was among two dozen demonstrators affiliated with the People's Global Action speaking out against the lawsuits launched by CN after activists from the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory near Deseronto, Ont., blocked the company's tracks on two occasions.

"Mohawk activists in Tyendinaga stood up for the rights of their land, quite legitimately," Jaggi Singh said to reporters at Montreal's Via station.

"As it happens, CN's rails go through their land, and yet it's the Mohawks who are being victimized, the Mohawks who are being criminalized."

Singh urged CN to drop the lawsuit, and said there will be more protests against the railway if it does not.

The protesters said the lawsuit is a deliberate attack on native communities.

The rail blockades in April and during the aboriginal day of action on June 29 were part of a continuing protest against the slow pace of land-claim negotiations between Mohawk leaders and the federal government concerning a parcel of land that the Mohawks say they never properly surrendered.

Among those named in CN's court actions is Shawn Brant, a frequent spokesman for the Tyendinaga protesters, who was denied bail on Friday.

He has been in custody on charges of mischief and breaching bail conditions since surrendering to police on July 5.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/08/14/ot-cn-mohawks-070814.html

Charkaoui’s challenges

For more than four years, Moroccan-born Montrealer Adil Charkaoui has lived in a Kafkaesque state of limbo. Accused of being an al-Qaeda sleeper agent, he was arrested under a security certificate in May 2003, and spent almost two years in detention before being released under strict conditions. Unable to challenge the secret evidence against him, he continues to live under virtual house arrest and a cloud of suspicion.

Charkaoui’s supporters are asking the public to demonstrate their solidarity by showing up at Federal Court next week as he challenges the restrictions of his release, as well as the leak of secret information from CSIS.

“He’s going to be asking that the conditions against him be dropped entirely,” says Mary Foster of the Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, noting that in February, the Supreme Court handed down a suspended judgment deeming security certificates unconstitutional.

Proceedings begin at the Federal Court (30 McGill St.), on Wednesday, August 22, at 9:30 a.m. and continue until Aug. 24. Organizers ask anyone who wishes to attend e-mail justiceforadil@riseup.net to be informed of changes to the court’s schedule. For more info see www.adilinfo.org.

by Christopher Hazou

Ottawa rejected Guantanamo refugees, reports show

JENNIFER DITCHBURN
Canadian Press
The Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070816.ASYLUM16/TPStory/National

August 16, 2007

OTTAWA -- The Canadian government balked at several requests from Washington to provide asylum to men cleared for release from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, newly released documents say.

The material, obtained by The Canadian Press under access-to-information legislation, indicates the Bush administration asked Canada to accept detainees of Uyghur descent from China's Xinjiang region who were deemed to be no threat to national security.

The United States was not prepared to resettle the men in its own territory, but could not send them back to China for fear that they would be persecuted. Canada seemed ill at ease with taking on refugees to remedy a massive public-relations headache for its southern neighbour. Today, 17 of the men are still being held and live in isolation for 22 hours a day.

"Canadian officials indicated to the U.S. delegation that the men would likely also be inadmissible under Canadian immigration law, requested the exact ground for ineligibility to enter U.S. territory," according to a Foreign Affairs briefing note prepared about a meeting last May.

U.S. officials travelled to Ottawa on three separate occasions in late 2005 to press their case with the Liberal government. By May, 2006, Washington had persuaded Albania to take five men, who now live in squalid conditions.

A week after the transfer to Albania, the Americans were back in Canada meeting with both political aides and bureaucrats from several departments and Prime Minister's Stephen Harper's office.

Under the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement, refugees cannot make claims to enter Canada from the United States except in exceptional cases, such as fear they would face the death penalty in the United States.

Notes prepared for then-foreign-affairs-minister Peter MacKay in February suggest the government was still uncertain about whether it had the appetite for any future transfers.

"There has been no final decision by the Government of Canada as to whether to formally discourage or encourage the U.S. from making formal referrals for resettlement. ... [Foreign Affairs] will need to consider the bilateral and multilateral implications."

One of those implications could be Canada's relationship with China. News reports in the United States said Beijing urged several countries not to take the Uyghurs, although there is no suggestion Canada was in that group.

Mr. Harper has criticized China's treatment of a Canadian citizen of Uyghur origin, Huseyin Celil, who has been sentenced to life in prison. China has cracked down on Uyghur dissidents from Xinjiang, an area rich in oil and gas.

Chinese agents were allegedly allowed into Guantanamo to interview the detainees, and Chinese officials want Washington to ship them to Beijing.

The 22 men were transferred to U.S. custody by Pakistani bounty hunters after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Several of the Muslim men maintain that they were en route to Iran and Turkey to seek refugee status.

Mohamed Tohti, president of the Uyghur Association of Canada, argues that if Canada wants to force China to negotiate on Mr. Celil's case, it would rapidly gain Beijing's attention by taking in Uyghur refugees.

"The worst has already happened - Celil has been sentenced to life in prison," Mr. Tohti said in an interview. "So you have to make waves to make the Chinese government come to the table."

Amnesty International Canada has also pressed Canada to take the Guantanamo Uyghurs.

Suspect Anything? Religious profiling by Canadians lands asylum-seeker in custody

By MIHAD FAHMY, GUEST COLUMNIST
Edmonton Sun
Thu, August 16, 2007

Benamar Benatta's story reads like a work of fiction conjured up in our post-9/11 world.

It's almost as if someone wondered what would happen if a Muslim man, who knew something about airplanes, was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Benatta knows exactly what would happen, and it is with shame that we must admit it's no work of fiction.

At age 27, Benamer Benatta was a lieutenant in the Algerian military with training in aviation electronics.

In December 2000, he travelled to the U.S. to attend a training course along with fellow members of the military. At the end of the course, Benatta decided to desert the military and not return to Algeria.

ASYLUM

Having chosen to claim political asylum in Canada, Benatta was stopped at the border on Sept. 5, 2001, found to be travelling on a false document and held in isolation at the Canadian Niagara Detention Centre.

As a result, it was not until Sept. 12, 2001, that he learned of the terrorist attacks in New York City. This was the same day he was told he was being held as a suspect.

By this time, Benatta was in U.S. custody, thanks to the Canadian officials who had driven him across the border on Sept. 12 and handed him over to the American authorities.

Held in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York, Benatta was denied access to a lawyer, and subjected to conditions that the United Nations found could be described as torture.

Even though the FBI cleared him of any terrorism suspicions in November 2001, he continued to be imprisoned for close to five years. In July 2006, Benatta was allowed to return to Canada and resumed his claim for refugee status.

Benatta is now calling on the Canadian government to conduct a review of the actions of Canadian officials in illegally transferring him to the U.S. His lawyer, Nicole Chrolavicius, says that to date, no such public review is forthcoming.

While some may balk at the idea of yet another public review of the actions of Canadian security and border officials, the issues that are raised in this case warrant nothing less than a comprehensive and independent review.

Without granting him access to a lawyer and without giving him a hearing of any sort, Benatta was transferred to the U.S., not as a refugee claimant, but as a suspect in the worst terrorist attacks in American history.

Canadians are entitled to know how such basic civil liberties were disregarded.

In addition, Canadian officials identified Benatta as a suspect, presumably because he was an Arab Muslim man who also was an aeronautical engineer.

No amount of post-tragedy panic and frenzy can justify such blatant racial and religious profiling, especially given the consequences.

NAIVE

What's more, it would be naive to assume that we have now moved past that initial period of heightened suspicion (a.k.a. discrimination). Ask any Muslim or Arab man who has crossed the border in the last six years and he will tell you that the ramifications of 9/11 continue to resonate.

Having failed to immediately implement the Arar Commission's recommendations on creating an oversight mechanism for security agencies, the government has left Benatta with no option other than a public review.

Its inaction, along with our own complacency, leaves the door wide open for further abuses.

Deportation nearer for paralyzed Sikh man

JANE ARMSTRONG
The Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070816.BCSINGH16/TPStory/National

August 16, 2007

VANCOUVER -- A failed refugee claimant who sought sanctuary in an Abbotsford Sikh temple but landed in jail after he made a brief trip to the hospital is a step closer to deportation.

An Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada member yesterday ordered Laibar Singh, 48, to remain in custody until arrangements can be made for him to be flown home to India on Monday.

It was a disappointing decision for the ailing Mr. Singh, who was partly paralyzed by an aneurysm last fall. Too infirm to attend the hearing, he listened to the proceedings from a cellphone at the North Fraser Pretrial Centre in Port Coquitlam, where he's being cared for by medical staff.

Throngs of supporters from British Columbia's Sikh community lined up for more than an hour to get one of 50 seats available in the small immigration hearing room.

Mr. Singh's lawyer, who had hoped to get his client released, was saddened by the development and appealed to Immigration Minister Diane Finley to intervene and permit Mr. Singh to remain in Canada.

"Given the huge amount of community support here, it would be remiss on the part of the minister to not speak to this personally," Zool Suleman told reporters outside the downtown office building where the hearing occurred.

Mr. Singh's plight has galvanized Sikhs across British Columbia's Lower Mainland, especially in Abbotsford, where he was holed up for a month.

Supporter Surdev Singh Jatana said fellow Sikhs were prepared to shelter Mr. Singh indefinitely and pay his medical expenses until his condition improved.

"We never thought in a country like Canada that this would happen," Mr. Jatana said. "He was getting better and most of us were wanting him to get better, and be able to look after his children."

Mr. Singh, a widowed father of four, entered Canada illegally in 2003 and soon after made a refugee claim, alleging he faced persecution by Punjabi police because he had been falsely linked to a Khalistan nationalist group whose goal is to form a Sikh state. His claim, made in Montreal, was rejected and he was ordered deported, but he fled to Vancouver.

Mr. Singh's children are all in India.

But the lawyer for the Canada Border Services Agency painted Mr. Singh's actions in Canada in a darker light.

Gregory Zuck told the hearing Mr. Singh has been dodging authorities since his refugee claim was rejected three years ago. He failed to show up for ordered appointments with immigration authorities, then moved from Montreal to Vancouver without providing a change of address.

After he fell ill in Vancouver, border services withdrew Mr. Singh's arrest warrant until he recovered.

Then, one day before Mr. Singh's scheduled deportation last month, a visitor appeared at the Vancouver long-term care centre where he was being treated, Mr. Zuck said, and asked to take Mr. Singh to a temple to pray.

Mr. Singh vowed to return but did not.

At the time, border officials had arranged for a private plane, complete with private nurse and doctor, to take Mr. Singh back to India. The tab was nearly $69,000, which is still owed to the private aircraft company, Mr. Zuck said.

Canadian authorities had also arranged for Mr. Singh to be taken to a renowned New Delhi hospital to be assessed.

However, Mr. Suleman argued that his client won't get proper care in India, noting he doesn't have the money to pay for top-quality rehabilitative care.

The lawyer asserted that Canadian authorities, in arresting Mr. Singh in the hospital, breached a long-held tradition to respect the walls of a place of worship. The only reason Mr. Singh left the temple earlier this month was to get needed medical treatment for an infection, Mr. Suleman said.

Immigration and Refugee Board member Otto Nupponen said he sympathized with Mr. Singh but refused to release him, saying he posed a flight risk.

"Mr. Singh is in a truly difficult position," Mr. Nupponen said, but added Canadian officials have shown restraint and sensitivity in dealing with his case.

"Canada Border Services Agency went to great lengths to ensure the removal order was effected as suitably and compassionately as possible."

Townsfolk sad to see Mennonites move away

School rules push out 'good neighbours'

They have integrated into Quebec society, getting jobs at local businesses, making friends in the area, and learning French.

But members of Quebec's only Mennonite community won't send their children to government-approved schools, balking at the teaching of evolution, the acceptance of gays and lesbians and low "morality standards."

Now, fearing child-protection officials will seize their children, 15 English-speaking Mennonite families in this small community in the Montérégie region say they will move to Ontario or New Brunswick, where laws allow their private schools.

But this "reasonable-accommodation" story has a twist.

Here, other townsfolk - mostly francophone Catholics - support the Mennonites' primarily English school, deemed illegal by Quebec's Education Department.

"It boils down to intolerance to our religion" by education officials, said Ronald Goossen, who in the early 1990s was among the first Mennonites from Manitoba to move to Roxton Falls, a sleepy town on the Rivière Noire, about 100 kilometres east of Montreal.

"It's kind of sad because we enjoy the community, we have friends and we have good rapport with our neighbours.

"But when they threaten to take our children and put them in foster homes, that's beyond what we can accept," said Goossen, 56, a hog farmer who also works in a local factory.

He said about 30 members of the community - young couples and their school-age children - will have to move before school starts. The others will follow.

News media reports last year about unsanctioned schools led to a complaint to the Education Department about the Mennonite school.

Parents were warned they'll face legal proceedings if their children aren't enrolled in sanctioned schools this fall.

That could lead to children being taken from families, Goossen said.

The Mennonites established their own school in the late 1990s, initially in a community member's home.

Since 2002, it has been housed in the Church of God in Christ,

a spartan, vinyl-sided church down the road from Roxton Falls' steepled Catholic church.

Last year, eight children were enrolled in Grades 1 to 7; this fall, 11 students were expected.

Children are taught reading, writing, math, science, geography, social sciences and music. The education is mostly in

English, but French also is taught.

For the school to be legal, the teacher would have to be certified and Quebec's official

curriculum would have be taught.

"To do that, we would have to send teachers to schools we don't want to send our children to," Goossen said.

Community members disapprove of other schools because "we don't agree with the emphasis on evolution, which we consider false; we don't like the morality standards; and we don't like the acceptance of alternative lifestyles," he said.

Some Mennonite communities shun automobiles, electricity and other modern technology. Those in Roxton Falls drive cars and use electricity, their main distinguishing characteristics being beards on men and modest dress for women.

Last year, another small Quebec town - Hérouxville, in the Mauricie region - fueled the debate over reasonable accommodation of religious minorities by adopting a set of standards that spells out acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

In Roxton Falls, the vast majority of non-Mennonites strongly support the school, said the town's mayor, Jean-Marie Laplante. This week, he wrote letters to the Education Department and Education Minister Michelle Courchesne in an effort to save the school.

He said it should at least get a one-year reprieve, allowing the Bouchard-Taylor commission on reasonable accommodations to take a stand on such schools.

"We want to keep these people here - they're part of our community," Laplante said.

"They're good neighbours. They integrated into the community, they work hard, they have farms, they work in businesses in the region. They're everywhere - it's not a sect that closes itself off from others."

For a town of 1,300 people, losing "15 families hurts - it hurts economically, but it also hurts because everybody loves these people and we're saying: 'Why? Why is this happening?' "

Several non-Mennonites interviewed yesterday concurred.

"These schools are okay in other provinces; they should be allowed here, too," said Claude Dutilly, taking a break from mowing his lawn next to the Mennonite church and school.

"We should be open-minded. These are good people, part of the community. The children are respectful, well-behaved."

Education Department officials visited the Roxton Falls Mennonites in November and told them their teaching methods failed to comply with requirements.

It sent them a reminder letter in June and stressed that the community could face legal procedures.

"We are not trying to prevent them from living their life the way they want, but they have to obey the law when it comes to

educating their kids," said department spokesman François Lefebvre.

The community can send children to public school or open a private school, which would require permits and certified teachers, he said.

"They would have to follow the curriculum, but religious private schools can add specific classes dedicated to their faith."

The community could home-school their children but would have to follow the official curriculum and make arrangements with the local school board, Lefebvre added.

"Kids who are home-schooled have to use the same materials as those in public schools and be evaluated as well," he said.

In Ontario, parents who home-school children are not required to follow the province's curriculum.

"They may do so if they wish and they are highly encouraged to do so, but it is not a requirement," said Ontario Ministry of Education spokesperson Patricia MacNeil.

Parents must notify the local school board each year, she added. The school board can investigate if it has reasons to believe that parents are not giving proper instruction.

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=8aa6f3f4-45fd-42d3-ad45-38b1106bddfc&p=1

Believes Plan Contains 'Fatal Flaws'. Government Remains 'Judge And jury' of itself

Believes Plan Contains 'Fatal Flaws'. Government Remains 'Judge And jury' of itself

JULIET O'NEILL, CanWest News Service

The federal government's promise of an independent and speedy process to clear a backlog of unfulfilled and breached Indian treaty obligations may not be so independent or speedy after all, says a longtime advocate of reforms.

Rolland Pangowish said yesterday that the government plan for "specific claims" legislation contains potentially fatal flaws that will leave the main promises of independence and speed unfulfilled. As it stands, the plan is "not the significant transformation" the government has claimed.

Pangowish co-chaired the 1997-98 First Nations-Canada Task Force on Specific Claims Policy Reform, directed the Assembly of First Nations lands and treaties unit 1990-2003, and is currently technical adviser to Ontario First Nations chiefs on claims.

He says that while the government may have left the impression a proposed independent tribunal is going to take charge of the claims process, clear a backlog of 800 claims for land or compensation and get cracking on new incoming claims, the reality appears quite different.

The government will remain "judge and jury" of itself, deciding whether to accept, reject or negotiate a claim, and the tribunal only kicks in later - as many as three years later - if negotiations fail, a claim is rejected or all parties agree to a referral to the tribunal. The fate of the 800 or so claims already in the system has not been made clear by the government, he said.

A truly independent process would establish an arm's-length body to process claims and determine whether the government is legally obligated to act, he said.

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=d5c1a9b2-ae4c-47df-8e44-12f615031a62

City councillor to mediate in dispute over harassment

Complaints about police soared this summer among black residents of Côte des Neiges

KATHERINE WILTON, The Gazette

Allegations of police harassment and abuse of black residents in Côte des Neiges have become so numerous this summer that a city councillor will meet with both parties tomorrow to try to defuse the tension.

"I have had more complaints (about police harassment) over the past six weeks than I have had over the past 10 years," said Marvin Rotrand, councillor for Snowdon, which is part of Côte des Neiges/N.D.G. borough.

"We have made a lot of progress over the past several years. If there is a problem now, we need to fix it."

Rotrand said at least 10 or 12 people have stopped him on the street or at civic functions to complain about heavy-handed tactics by local police officers and members of Project Advance, a special unit set up to crack down on street gangs.

Simonetta Barth, commander of Station 25, will be at tomorrow's meeting.

Inspector Paul Chablo, head of public relations for the Montreal police department, welcomed the meeting. "It is always better to sit down and discuss things than go to the media," he said.

Black leaders say their community is outraged by two cases of alleged abuse this summer.

On June 13, a 26-year-old Châteauguay man and his mother were arrested for obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest after a confrontation with a police officer from Station 25.

Lynwald Cox claims an officer provoked a confrontation after ticketing him for making an illegal left turn.

Police contend Cox became agitated after receiving the ticket and pursued a police officer in his cruiser, leading to the clash.

About one week later, police arrested Charles Ross, a tourist from New York, after he asked why they were manhandling a woman who they believed was taking pictures of them with her cellphone camera.

Ross was slapped and roughed up by members of Project Advance, said Noel Alexander, the president of the Jamaica Association of Montreal, who witnessed the confrontation near Victoria Ave. and MacKenzie Sts. at 10:45 p.m. on June 21.

Alexander said two officers were manhandling Karla Kirkos, 32, when Ross yelled out: "Hey, fellas, what are you doing?"

According to Alexander, two or three other officers rushed toward Ross, slapped him, handcuffed him and dragged him across the street, forcing him to sit on the sidewalk.

Ross was arrested and charged with assault. Alexander said he asked the officer in charge what was going on and said he was told: "This is a police operation."

The Gazette was unable to contact Ross at his home in New York this week.

Kirkos told The Gazette she was standing outside a restaurant when the officers tried to take her cellphone from her, saying she wasn't allowed to take pictures of them. She said she had taken out her phone to call a friend who was supposed to pick her up after she had ordered food.

Chablo said officers involved in the incident have a completely different version of events.

According to the police report, Kirkos began taking pictures of the officers as they were questioning a man.

The report said she started yelling hysterically at police after they asked her to move on. Chablo said the officers didn't try to take her cellphone.

As for Ross, the report says it was he who grabbed a police officer and punched him in the face.

Chablo urged members of the public not to get involved in police interventions because "you are obstructing justice."

"If you aren't happy (with what you see), take down the car number or police officer's name and call the local commander."

He said he isn't surprised that versions of events differ greatly.

"Sometimes people come in the middle of a situation and they don't know what happened before," he said.

Michael Gittens, president of the Côte des Neiges Black Community Association, said he is concerned by the reports of harassment, particularly since relations with police had been good over the past few years.

For five or six years, the association has given one-day training sessions to new police officers assigned to Côte des Neiges to help them better understand the multicultural community.

Gittens said members of his association, who were running a leadership program for youths in Nelson Mandela Park, had to go to Station 25 recently to complain that a few officers were harassing teenagers in the park.

"Why is this happening now after all the work that we have done? We expect more understanding from the officers."

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=1794f830-86c9-45ff-80f0-9bc8312d5947

B.C. refugee claimant ordered deported — again

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

CBC News

A man who sought refuge in an Abbotsford, B.C., temple to avoid deportation must stay in a detention centre until he's sent back to India next week, the Immigration and Refugee Board has ruled.

Supporters for Laiber Singh were out in force Wednesday outside the venue where the immigration detention review was being held in Vancouver.
(CBC)

The board said on Wednesday Laiber Singh is a flight risk who won't co-operate with the deportation order if he's allowed to leave detention.

Singh, 48, was arrested at Matsqui-Sumas-Abbotsford General Hospital Monday night after leaving the Kalgidhar Darbar Sahib Society temple to seek medical attention.

Singh, absent from Wednesday's hearing because of his medical condition, will now be deported on Aug. 20, the board said.

He entered Canada on a false passport four years ago, then applied for refugee status, claiming political persecution if he was sent back to India. His application was rejected and he was ordered deported on July 8.

He took sanctuary at the Abbotsford Sikh temple before he could be deported.

A large group of Singh's supporters showed up at the building in downtown Vancouver where the hearing was held to protest the Canada Border Services Agency's "unfair" arrest methods.

Swarn Singh Gill, the leader of the Kalgidhar Darbar Sahib Society temple in Abbotsford, B.C., said on Wednesday it was unfair to arrest the ailing Laiber Singh in hospital.
(CBC)

"The [Sikh] community is very upset right now," Swarn Singh Gill, the temple leader, said Wednesday. He said arresting the man while he is in hospital with medical problems was unfair. Singh is paralyzed and requires dialysis after suffering an aneurysm last year.

Immigration officials chose not to enter the Sikh temple to carry out the deportation. Singh was only taken into custody after he left the temple to seek medical attention.

Zool Suleman, Singh's lawyer, said Wednesday there is little hope for his client now; the last possibility would be to file for a federal stay of removal.

"There's just barely enough time. The earliest this can be heard would be Friday or on Monday morning, but the removal arrangements might well be effective by then," Suleman told CBC News.

"I think this is something we'll consider within the next few hours in terms of whether we're going to go forward with a federal court matter."

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/08/15/bc-singh.html

To view report:

http://www.cbc.ca/clips/rm-hi/brown-singh070709.rm

Refugee claimant arrested at hospital after leaving B.C. temple

Paralyzed man took sanctuary in Abbotsford, B.C., temple after losing refugee claim
CBC News

The Canada Border Services Agency has detained a man who sought sanctuary in an Abbotsford, B.C., Sikh temple after he left to seek medical attention Monday night.

Laiber Singh was arrested at Matsqui-Sumas-Abbotsford General Hospital at 10 p.m. PT after leaving the Kalgidhar Darbar Sahib Society temple.

Supporters wheel Laiber Singh out of the Kalgidhar Darbar Sahib Society temple where he had taken sanctuary in Abbotsford , to speak to reporters, July 9, 2007.

The 48-year-old is the subject of a deportation order issued July 8.

Faith St. John, the agency's Pacific region spokeswoman, told CBC News on Tuesday that detainees do have access to necessary medical treatment.

"In cases where there are health concerns, the Canada Border Services Agency consults with medical professionals and relies on their expertise to determine if a person is in a condition to travel," St. John said, declining to comment on Singh's case.

"Based on this informationm, we identify ways to best accommodate the individual," she said.

Singh's lawyer, Zool Suleman, said Singh, who is partially paralyzed, went to hospital to seek medical attention.

"It's unclear at this time where he's being held and what Canada Border Services' intentions are for him," Suleman said.

"We're extremely concerned, given his health condition, that he has been detained."

Suleman said his main concern is ensuring that Singh is receiving proper medical attention while in detention.

Came to Canada on false passport

Singh was healthy when he entered Canada on a false passport in 2003. At a refugee hearing, he argued he would be persecuted by police in the Indian state of Punjab who have accused him of links to separatist militants.

But since arriving in Canada, he has developed serious medical problems. After suffering an aneurysm, he was partially paralyzed.

He then argued that if deported to India, he would die because he wouldn't get proper medical treatment there.

After losing his refugee claim and appeals, Singh was ordered deported, but turned to the temple for sanctuary.

Supporters at the temple said they would take care of Singh and provide medical treatment, and that doctors and nurses had volunteered to take care of him.

He has no family in Canada, but has children in India.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/08/14/bc-laibersingh.html

PQ leader wants complete control

Immigration; Quebec not a bilingual province, Marois insists

MARIANNE WHITE, CanWest News Service

Published: 19 hours ago

Quebec should have total control over its immigration to send a clear message to newcomers that the province is a francophone state, not a bilingual one, Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois said yesterday.

The comments came as Action Démocratique du Québec leader Mario Dumont continues to take heat for suggesting the province has reached the limit of immigrants it can assimilate, and as a politically-charged commission starts to look into the whole immigration issue and how to accommodate for religious and cultural differences. The issue is widely referred to as reasonable accommodation.

Marois believes Quebec needs to attract more immigrants, especially to cope with a declining birthrate and employment needs, but she stressed the province has to send a very clear message to those who decide to settle in Quebec.

"Many of them believe that they are settling in a bilingual state. It's not true. Quebec is a francophone state that respects the rights of its anglophone minority. And when you live in Quebec, you live in French," she said.

She pressed Premier Jean Charest to negotiate with the federal government to gain control over the 40 per cent of immigrants to the province that it does not already handle. Under a 1991 agreement, Quebec can choose the immigrants who have money to invest here and decide how it integrates them. But Ottawa keeps dealing with refugees and immigrants coming to reunite with family members.

Marois argued it's fair to ask for that since Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government recognized Quebec as a nation. Having additional powers would allow Quebec to choose immigrants that will more easily blend into Quebec's culture and values, Marois added.

Immigration Minister Yolande James said the province already picks 60 per cent of its immigrants and can target the specific types of workers most needed.

"We have all the power we need to select our immigrants," she said after a cabinet meeting.

The PQ leader also joined the Liberals in asking Dumont to clarify his statement that the limit on immigration has already been reached. "It's easy to say something like that, but when you have to prove it, it's more difficult," Marois said.

Dumont has so far refused to explain his comments.

- - -

Flashpoints: How we got here from there

Several incidents during the past two years illustrate the difficulties of reaching reasonable accommodation with minority groups:

Jewish General Hospital

The Quebec Human Rights Commission this year recommended the hospital, its auxiliary and an unnamed third party pay $10,000 in moral damages to two ambulance technicians ejected from a kosher cafeteria two years ago after one worker took in his own non-kosher meal. Noting the absence of public signs for the non-kosher eating area, the commission found the hospital had not done enough to accommodate the ambulance workers. In April, the hospital settled with the ambulance workers, agreeing to pay them $7,500 each. The hospital has also set up a public lounge for people who take in their own meals, kosher or otherwise.

Hérouxville resolution

In January, the council in Hérouxville, a small town about 40 kilometres north of Trois Rivières, adopted a "code of conduct" which discourages special treatment for newcomers of different religious or ethnic backgrounds. The Hérouxville norms permitted Christmas tree displays and coed swimming, and forbid the stoning of women or the covering of faces, apart from at Halloween. Several neighbouring towns adopted resolutions supporting Hérouxville. But municipal officials in Huntingdon, about 60 kilometres southwest of Montreal, responded in February with a resolution in favour of immigration and multiculturalism, and opposed to mixing religion and politics.

Hijab in sports

A Quebec soccer referee sent off 11-year-old Asmahan Mansour during a tournament in Laval in February after the Ontario girl refused to remove her hijab. Mansour's team withdrew from the competition in protest. The Quebec Soccer Federation went on to prohibit hijabs permanently. Two months after the soccer incident, five Montreal girls were stopped from competing in a tae kwon do tournament in Longueuil because they would not remove their head scarves. A referee told the girls he was applying a World Tae Kwon Do Federation rule forbidding scarves, bandannas and jewellery under a helmet.

YMCA tinted windows

The YMCA on Park Ave. and St. Viateur St.installed frosted windows in February 2006 so that male Hasidic Jewish students at a nearby building would not see women exercising. The Congregation Yetev Lev on Jeanne Mance St. paid $1,500 to have the frosted windows installed. In response to some members' complaints, petitions and a poll, the YMCA decided this year to revert to its previous practice of using clear windows with blinds.

Veiled Muslim women

Following intense media coverage and threatening phone calls, Quebec's chief electoral officer, Marcel Blanchet, changed the election law in March to oblige everyone who votes to show their face. Blanchet had originally said Muslim women who wear full-face veils, known as niqabs, would not be required to remove their veils to confirm their identify at a voting station. Blanchet said he made the about-face to preserve "the integrity and serenity of the electoral process" during the March 26 provincial election.

Montreal police

An internal Montreal police department newsletter, l'Heure juste, suggested in its Oct. 30 edition that female officers defer to male officers when dealing with Hasidic men out of respect for a religious culture that discourages fraternization between males and females. The police department later said the advice was not official policy, but merely a possibly useful scenario based on anecdotal evidence. Yves Francoeur, president of the Montreal Police Brotherhood, rejected the notion of different treatment for different groups as potentially discriminatory, both to the public and to police officers.

Kirpan in schools

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in March 2006 that barring Montreal student Gurbaj Singh Multani from wearing his dagger-like kirpan to school violated the federal Charter of Rights and could not be considered a reasonable restriction on his right to freedom of religion. The kirpan challenge dated to 2001, when Multani, then 12, attended Ste. Catherine Labouré elementary school in LaSalle. His kirpan - a symbol of Sikh faith - previously undetected, fell to the ground while he was playing in the schoolyard. Efforts to reach an accommodation between the Marguerite Bourgeoys school board and the family failed, and the case ended up in the courts.

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=2a647f1c-e0a2-4037-a179-d77afb0340f7

Let the debate begin

Commission unveils timetable on accommodation hearings

ANN CARROLL, The Gazette

Quebecers will finally have a chance to say how they really feel about accommodating newcomers, the Bouchard-Taylor commission says.

After five months of preparation, research and focus groups, the Consultation Commission on Accommodation Practices Related to Cultural Differences has unveiled a schedule of hearings and informal "town hall" meetings across Quebec, from August until December.

The commissioners - sociologist and historian Gerard Bouchard and philosopher Charles Taylor - are to submit a report and recommendations to Premier Jean Charest on March 31, 2008.

"It's important for us to reach as many people as possible and give them the opportunity to express themselves freely," Taylor said yesterday at a news conference in Montreal.

"A lot has remained unsaid (about immigrants) and there's an unease that has not yet clearly been expressed."

Charest created the commission on Feb. 8 - six weeks before the provincial election - to avoid the political minefield of defining reasonable accommodation with immigrants.

From the norms adopted by the Hrouxville council for newcomers to a ban on Muslim girls wearing hijabs during sports competitions, accommodation flashpoints all but derailed the election campaign and helped boost Mario Dumont's Action Democratique du Quebec to second place at the polls.

Bouchard and Taylor declined yesterday to be drawn into the political storm over accommodation.

They also refused to comment on Dumont's recent speculation that Quebec might have maxed its limits for integrating new immigrants.

Immigration quotas are a "difficult and complex question" that requires more data than now available, Bouchard said.

The commission, with a budget of $5 million and an advisory panel of 15 government and academic experts, has been asked to examine accommodation practices and make recommendations.

Reasonable accommodation is a legal notion, defining equality in a diverse society. But the phrase in Quebec has come to encompass everyday gestures that help integrate immigrant customs and religious practices into the broader society.

Taylor and Bouchard said they are taking the widest possible view of their mandate, and will look at the root problem of integration in Quebec society.

"Everyone knew there were immigrants in Quebec," Bouchard said. "But it's now as if, all of a sudden, Quebecers have really become aware of immigrants."

The awakening has only exacerbated Quebecers' old fears of losing their identity, he said.

Old-stock francophone Quebecers, sometimes called Qubcois de souche, are a minority in Canada and North America and seem insecure in the face of immigrant minorities in the province, Bouchard said.

That might explain why the issue of reasonable accommodation is now more hotly debated in Quebec than elsewhere in Canada, he added.

Quebecers need to regain confidence and show the "openness and generosity of spirit" that majorities have toward minorities in their midst, Taylor said.

Commission findings might help dispel some of Quebecers' fears, Bouchard said.

Concerns about a veiled Muslim woman's right to vote, for example, might seem disproportionate in light of the fact Muslim women make up less than one per cent of the population in Quebec, he noted.

The commission's first citizens forum and hearings takes place in Gatineau Sept. 10-11.

Montreal public hearings and "town hall" meetings are scheduled Nov. 26-30.

The commission has also asked the Institut du nouveau monde, an independentpublic-information and consultation organization, to organize four forums.

The first province-wide forum will be held in Montreal Aug. 24. Interested individuals must register with the institute online (www.inm.qc.ca) or by calling 1-877-934-5999, Local 263.

Meanwhile, the Quebec Human Rights Commission is taking a closer look at the place of religion in Quebec society. The commission has set up a link on its website (www.cdpdj.qc.ca) to provide statistics, research documents and previous legal judgments on the issue.

The commission is also seeking public input, and has launched a competition for research papers. The best submissions are to be published by Laval University Press.

Taylor said his group is working closely with the provincial human rights commission. But the two commissions have different mandates, he added.

The Bouchard-Taylor commission will go beyond the strictly legal aspects of accommodation, and evaluate everyday concessions people make to get along.

"A number of our recommendations will go beyond their (human rights) mandate," Taylor said.

For information on the Bouchard-Taylor commission, see www.accommodements.qc.ca

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=ec4ec029-c021-4571-a25e-fa73850b3857&k=99148

«Une majorité qui craint ses minorités»

Charles Taylor et Gérard Bouchard
Photo Patrick Sanfaçon, La Presse

Katia Gagnon

La Presse

Dans tout le débat sur les accommodements raisonnables, les Québécois de souche se comportent avec les minorités issues de l’immigration comme s’ils formaient eux-mêmes une minorité sur leur propre territoire, estiment les coprésidents de la commission Bouchard-Taylor. Ces derniers s’attaqueront au cours des trois prochains mois à la question brûlante de l’intégration des immigrants.

«On vit tout le paradoxe d’une majorité qui craint ses minorités. Il faut changer ça, parce que ça n’a pas de fondement objectif», a déclaré hier l’historien Gérard Bouchard, lors du dévoilement du document de consultation qui servira de base aux échanges avec la population.

«Il faut en arriver à un point où nous assumons notre rôle de majorité», poursuit-il, et «être une majorité, ça s’accompagne de responsabilités, comme voir à ce que les droits des minorités soient respectés».

Le débat des derniers mois sur les accommodements raisonnables a montré que le Québec est à «un croisement». Il a révélé un «malaise identitaire», croit M. Bouchard. Une crise sérieuse, alimentée par les non-dits, et aussi, par un profond clivage entre l’élite intellectuelle québécoise et les simples citoyens.

«Nous craignons que le débat sur les questions qui sont au cœur de ce débat ait laissé de côté la population. Le message qui passe, dans cette controverse, c’est "voici le temps de nous écouter. On a quelque chose à dire". Ça ne sera pas dans la langue des intellectuels, mais ça va être clair», souligne Gérard Bouchard.

Les deux coprésidents ont donc opté pour la formule de consultation la plus ouverte possible. Dix-sept rencontres se tiendront dans toutes les régions du Québec. Quatre forums seront organisés à Montréal par l’Institut du nouveau monde. Les citoyens sont fortement invités à faire connaître leur opinion sur le site internet de la commission.

Déjà, une préconsultation auprès de plusieurs dizaines de groupes a révélé aux deux intellectuels l’ampleur du malaise social. «On voyait rapidement à quel point les gens étaient angoissés par les accommodements et tout ce qu’il y a derrière. Comme si les Québécois avaient l’impression que leur culture vit une sorte de vide alors que celle des autres est très consistante, très forte», résume M. Bouchard.

Les rencontres des trois prochains mois risquent-elles de virer à la séance de défoulement ? Peut-être, admet Gérard Bouchard. «Bien sûr qu’on s’aventure en terrain glissant. Mais il faut le faire. Il faut œuvrer sur les terrains glissants qu’on a évités jusqu’à maintenant. À nos risques et périls, nous allons donc naviguer sur ces terrains glissants», dit-il avec le sourire.

Une armée de cerveaux

Les deux coprésidents seront accompagnés dans ce périple par une véritable armée de cerveaux : ils se sont adjoint les services d’un comité-conseil formé de 15 experts de différents milieux, chargés de l’épauler sur diverses questions.
`
Car la consultation ne portera pas que sur la question pointue des accommodements raisonnable : les coprésidents ont interprété le mandat qui leur a été donné par le gouvernement de façon très large. «On ne peut pas débattre du caractère raisonnable d’un accommodement sans se demander quel est le bon modèle d’intégration ? Quel est le modèle de laïcité ? Sinon, on passerait totalement à côté», estime l’autre coprésident, le philosophe Charles Taylor.

Au cours des trois prochains mois, les citoyens et les groupes sont donc invités par la commission à se prononcer sur toutes les questions qui touchent à l’intégration des immigrants, énoncées de façon franche, voire brutale, dans le document de consultation.

Parmi elles, un enjeu qui a ressurgi dans l’actualité récente: y a-t-il trop d’immigrants au Québec ? Les deux coprésidents jugent d’ailleurs inappropriée l’intervention toute fraîche du chef de l’ADQ, Mario Dumont.

«Ce n’est pas le moment pour quiconque de se prononcer là-dessus», estime Gérard Bouchard. «Il est parfaitement légitime de se questionner sur le nombre d’immigrants qu’on accueille au Québec. De là à dire que la capacité d’accueil est atteinte… Je crois que la réponse doit s’appuyer sur des données très fiables, qui n’existent pas présentement.»

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070815/CPACTUALITES/70814230/5050/CPPRESSE

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Plus sur les "accommodement raisonnable" dans La Presse:

Deux Hérouxvillois présenteront un mémoire
Ce que la commission vous demande
Questionnaire sur les accommodements

Dumont accusé de vouloir freiner l'immigration

Dans une entrevue publiée dimanche dans La Presse, Mario Dumont disait que le Québec avait atteint la limite de sa capacité d'accueil d'immigrants. Photo Armand Trottier, La Presse

Jean Charest accuse Mario Dumont de vouloir fermer la porte à l’immigration et « isoler » le Québec, une vision « à l’opposé » de celle proposée par le Parti libéral, selon le premier ministre.

Le 25e congrès des jeunes libéraux, qui portait notamment sur les questions d’identité nationale et de défi démographique, s’est conclu hier avec un discours du chef du Parti libéral axé sur l’ouverture sur le monde et la nécessité de faire face aux défis démographiques qui se dessinent, notamment par l’apport des immigrants.

« Vous avez proposé d’augmenter les niveaux d’immigration, a lancé le premier ministre aux jeunes militants dans son discours de clôture. Pour faire ça, il faut comprendre et avoir cette confiance dans notre capacité d’accueil et bien saisir les enjeux pour l’avenir du Québec. Ce que vous proposez, c’est une composante incontournable de la solution aux défis démographiques. »

Or, M. Charest a par la suite cité devant les médias un extrait de l’entrevue du chroniqueur de La Presse Patrick Lagacé avec le chef de l’ADQ Mario Dumont, accusant à mots couverts ce dernier de vouloir fermer la porte à l’immigration.
«Le Québec a atteint la limite de sa capacité d’accueil d’immigrants», dit-il. Fin de la citation. Ça, c’est la vision de Mario Dumont de l’avenir du Québec, a souligné le premier ministre. Il me semble qu’il y a là-dedans une déclaration qui ne correspond pas à ce que moi, je pense être l’avenir du Québec et de notre capacité à nous, comme Québécois, d’absorber, d’attirer chez nous des bras, des cerveaux, des cœurs et de les intégrer. »

Vision «trop ethnique»

La veille, le ministre des Affaires intergouvernementales et de la Francophonie, Benoît Pelletier, avait affirmé que Mario Dumont avait une vision « trop ethnique » de la nation québécoise.

M. Charest a estimé dans son discours que les Québécois avaient à choisir entre le Parti libéral « qui veut étendre l’espace québécois », et les autres partis qui veulent « ériger de nouvelles frontières » ou encore « isoler le Québec de ses partenaires ».

« Je veux ouvrir le Québec. Face aux deux partis du repli sur soi, nous sommes le parti de l’épanouissement du Québec », a-t-il dit devant une foule de jeunes libéraux comblés.

Le premier ministre a aussi accusé le chef de l’opposition de museler les députés de son caucus, après que le président de la commission politique du PLQ, Christian Ouellet, eût qualifié samedi Mario Dumont de « dictateur ».

« On sait que la liberté de parole à l’ADQ n’est pas monnaie courante dans la députation. Il y a un contrôle très strict de M. Dumont sur ses députés, a dit M. Charest. On peut comprendre pourquoi quand on constate, comme cette semaine, que le député de Berthier, M. Benjamin, affirme être souverainiste et dit qu’il voterait oui à un référendum et qu’il y a plein d’autres députés à l’ADQ qui sont souverainistes. »

Dans une entrevue au Devoir publiée la semaine dernière, l’adéquiste François Benjamin, ancien président de la Maison des Patriotes, a déclaré qu’il voterait en faveur de la souveraineté du Québec si la question revenait sur la table.

« Avec le temps, M. Dumont ne pourra pas empêcher ces contradictions de remonter à la surface », a conclu le chef libéral.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070813/CPACTUALITES/70813017/6737/CPACTUALITES

Regardez la version longue de l'entrevue de Patrick Lagacé avec Mario Dumont.