One Public School System in Ontario

I petition the Ontario Legislature to adopt legislation to establish a single, non-sectarian, publicly funded school system made up of English and French language school boards.

Sign the Petition.

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Chris Hadfield and Barenaked Ladies: I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing)

Ms. Sandwalk posted this on her blog and I just had to copy it. Here's Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, the current commander of the International Space Station, singing with Ed Robertson and the Barenaked Ladies band accompanied by the Scarborough Wexford Gleeks choir .

The song was written by Chris Hadfield and Ed Robertson.

You probably have to be Canadian to appreciate this but, what the heck, I'm posting it anyway. It combines science and the Barenaked Ladies. What more could you want?

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Michele Bachmann Lies About Socialized Medicine

Michele Bachmann is an IDiot but I try to avoid commenting on the fact that she's a duly-elected congresswoman from Minnesota. If Americans want to elect someone like her to run their country then that's up to them.

People in the civilized world outside of the USA are puzzled by some of the things she says—they wonder how she can get away with such statements and still be elected. Her recent speech on "Obamacare" in Congress is a case in point. You can see it in the video below. This is the speech where she says, ""Repeal this failure [Obamacare] before it literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens."


Later on her spokesman, Dan Kotman, issued the following statement.

Obamacare is forcing doctors into the employ of cost-cutting hospitals, gives government the authority to determine services that will and will not be covered, has a board independent of Congress that can cut payments for care, and allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to force all health plans to eliminate any doctor that doesn't practice medicine the government's way. The history of government-run health care systems around the world is a history of denial, delay and sadly even death.

It's one thing to attack "Obamacare" but when she attacks healthcare in Canada and all other civilized countries, that's a different issue.

Let me remind you that there's tons of data showing that people live longer in other countries and they survive cancer better. Infant mortality is lower in other countries. And this success is achieved at lower cost than health care in the USA. In other words, Michele Bachmann is dead wrong when she says that socialized medicine is a "history of death."

As I was preparing this post I stumbled across a video of Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama defending American health care in the Senate of the United States Congress. Are Americans embarrassed by speeches like this or is this typical of Americans who have been elected to the Senate? Is it the best that Alabama has to offer?

Sen. Jeff Sessions: 'So We've Got People Who Die Sooner'

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Former Canadian Senator Pat Carney Has Trouble Getting Along with Atheists

Last Sunday (March 3, 2013) CBC radio aired a discussion on "Does religion have a place in public life?" The host was Rex Murphy. You can listen to the entire thing at: Does religion have a place in public life?.

I want to draw your attention to a segment where former Canadian Senator Pat Carny talks about her esperience with atheists. (Carney was a cabinet minister under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.) The excerpt is embedded below. If it doesn't work, click on Pat Carney MP3.

Here how she begins ...

... you're debating the wrong question. It's not the role of religion in public institutions. it's the difficulty of being a person of faith working with people who haven't any ... any religion. And I'm speaking as someone with 27 years in parliament ...

It gets worse. She claims that atheists simply don't share her values, such as the Golden Rule, therefore you can't find common ground when trying to make policy.

All I can say is that it's a damn good thing she doesn't live in Western Europe because those secular societies clearly don't exhibit any of the values she holds so dear.

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[Hat Tip: Thanks to Tony Burns for preparing the audio excerpt.]

Should Chilliwack BC Permit Distribution of Bibles in Public Schools?

Here's a notice from the BC Humanist Association.

Recent secular victories in Chilliwack are at risk.

On November 13th, the Board of the Chilliwack School District deleted Regulation 518 that stated, "The Board approves the distribution of Gideon Youth Testaments to Grade 5 pupils with parental consent." At the same meeting, the Board agreed to draft a new policy to permit the "distribution of materials" by March 2013.

This new policy represents an attempt to use public schools for religious proselytizing in BC public schools.

Superintendent Evelyn Novak intends to gather feedback through February to draft the new policy. While this feedback may not be open to the public, secular voices will be heard.

Please sign the petition below to send the message to the Chilliwack School Districts that BC schools should remain secular.

Sign the Petition. You will have to identify yourself but that shouldn't be a problem if you really believe in a secular school system.

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[Hat Tip: Veronica Abbas at Canadian Atheist.]

New Premier of Ontario: Kathleen Wynne

Last night the Liberal Party of Ontario selected a new leader, Kathleen Wynne. Since it's the governing party, she automatically becomes the Premier of Ontario.¹ I was hoping she would be chosen but in the last few weeks it looked like her opponent, Sandra Pupatello, was going to win.

Kathleen Wynne represents the leftish wing of the Liberal Party of Ontario and that's the view I support. Wynne becomes the first women Premier of Ontario and she joins five other women who lead provincial/territorial governments in Canada. As of today, almost 90% of Canadians live in provinces headed by a woman!

Kathleen Wynne is also the first openly gay person to head a provincial government. She is married to Jane Rounthwaite.² Her sexual orientation wasn't really much of an issue during the campaign. Here she is, thanking her partner Jane during the acceptance speech last night.

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1. Subject to approval by the Lieutenant Governor.
2. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Ontario since 2002.

What Does the Liberal Party of Canada Stand For?

I've long been a supporter of the Federal Liberal Party of Canada. It's the party of Mike Pearson and Pierre Elliot Trudeau—two Prime Ministers that I greatly admire. I even like Jean Chrétien!

Lately I'm having trouble understanding what the Liberal Party stands for. They've just had two leaders (Michael Ignatieff, and Bob Rae) who are complete mysteries to me. I really don't know what they stand for, or what they're passionate about.

Apparently I'm not alone. Here's the view of Thomas Walkom from a column in the Toronto Star a few days ago [Do Canada’s, or Ontario’s, Liberals matter any more?].

On the other hand, it’s not clear what the Liberals represent any more. They would like voters to think of them as the non-Conservatives — the alternative to Stephen Harper federally or to Tim Hudak in Ontario.

But are they?

Paul Adams, an astute political observer writing in iPolitics, argues that the federal Liberals have transformed themselves into the old Progressive Conservatives, socially progressive but fiscally to the right.

I’d go further. I reckon the old PCs of Joe Clark would find federal Liberal leadership candidate Martha Hall Findlay’s talk of dismantling farm marketing boards a bit too right-wing for their tastes

Similarly, Liberal front-runner Justin Trudeau’s enthusiastic embrace of the Alberta oilsands would probably be seen as a tad naive by the Red Tories of former Ontario premier Bill Davis, most of whom believed that strong business required equally strong regulation.

As a party, the Liberals haven’t had a new idea since the 1980s. Individual party members have (Stéphane Dion’s green shift comes to mind).

But the party, as a whole never signed onto Dion’s environmental agenda. Nor has it signed onto anything else.

The Liberals talk of holding policy conventions that would replicate that golden period of the 1960s, when the party embraced medicare, public pensions and welfare reform.

But they never do. Former federal leader Michael Ignatieff hosted a thinkers’ conference that headlined prominent conservatives. Nothing came of it.

The conventional wisdom among Liberals is that strong policy positions should be avoided at all costs in order to avoid alienating voters. Instead, Liberals prefer to talk about what they call values.

We've been discussing this issue with our former Liberal MP, Omar Alghabra, who happens to be a member of Justin Trudeau's team. Justin, for those of you who don't follow Canadian politics, it the son of Pierre Elliot Trudeau and he's running for the leadership of the Federal Liberal Party. We want Justin, and all the other candidates, to speak out on what the Liberal Party stands for.

Omar sent us a link to this video. It's obvious that Justin is avoiding the question. He stands for some trivial issues like legalizing marijuana but what about the bigger issues? How do I tell the difference between the Liberal Party and Conservative Party or the New Democratic Party? I don't think I can vote for Justin Trudeau or for any of the other leadership candidates. In fact, I'm not sure I can vote for the Liberal in the next election. The NDP is looking very attractive.

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The NAFTA Superhighway

I just heard about the NAFTA Superhighway. It's going to be as wide as four football fields. Is that Canadian football fields, Mexican football fields, or American football fields?

I can't wait 'till it's finished.

The good news is that I should be able to drive from Toronto to Texas in less than 24 hours.

The bad news is that Texans will be able to drive to Toronto in less than 24 hours.

I hope they have Tim Hortons at the rest stops.

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How to Turn a University Into a Glorified High School

 

Ian D. Clark is Professor of Public Policy and Governance here at the University of Toronto. He has attracted a lot of attention lately because he and his colleagues advocate the creation of Teaching-only Universities in Ontario. The scary part of this ridiculous idea is that it might soon become official policy of the Ontario government as described in a recent article by Louise Brown in The Toronto Star [Teaching-only universities would cut education costs, author says].

Undergraduate universities that focus on teaching only would create cosier classes, cut salary costs and boost student satisfaction, argues Ian Clark, the former head of the Council of Ontario Universities.

Moreover, he says professors at these new universities should be required to teach twice as many courses as usual — a full 80 per cent of their time with 10 per cent left for research and 10 per cent for administration.

Clark and professor David Trick are co-authors of a controversial new book that calls for new teaching-oriented universities where profs would have much higher course-loads. Simply by doubling the number of courses a professor teaches each semester to four from two could cut the operating cost of educating a student to $9,800 from $14,300 at a campus of 10,000, Clark noted Tuesday at a conference sponsored by the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Having profs teach more courses is one cost-saving tip rumoured to be part of economist Don Drummond’s report next week to Premier Dalton McGuinty.

Centre for Inquiry Canada: Update

 

The Board of Directors of CFI Canada met with a few Associate members last Sunday (Dec. 11, 2011). The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the termination of Justin Trottier as national Executive Director. Ian Bushfield has put together a brief description of the meeting at: The Continuing Story at CFI Canada.

The Board of Directors has emailed a statement to interested parties (see below). You can find out who's on the Board of Directors and who's an Associate Member at: What's Happening at Centre for Inquiry Canada?.

It's difficult to know what the Board has in mind with respect to Justin. They have not given him a paying job but they seem to be holding out hope that he might take over when the acting National Executive Director leaves in March 2012.

According to their statement, the Board is committed to adding new associate members. They say they have made decisions on some of the applications that they have already received. I have not heard from them on the status of my application.

Meanwhile, the Chair of CFI Edmonton, Brent Kelley, has resigned [Resignation as Chair of CFI Edmonton].

On Sunday, December 11, the Associate Members of CFI Canada met in Toronto. This meeting was followed shortly thereafter by a meeting of the board of directors. We, the board, believe it is important to provide you with information about these meetings and the actions and decisions that took place at these meetings.

The meeting of Associate Members was scheduled pursuant to the by-laws of our organization, that is, it was scheduled after the requisite number of Associate Members requested the meeting. The request for the meeting indicated its purpose was to consider the separation of Justin Trottier from the position of National Executive Director (NED), so that topic was discussed. Justin Trottier, who was present at the meeting, was provided a summary of the concerns of some of the directors and he was provided an opportunity to address those concerns. Some Associate Members also expressed their views, as did some of the Regional Executive Directors who audited the meeting.

We believe there was a frank and candid discussion of Justin Trottier’s tenure and the circumstances that led to his separation. We also believe this frank, candid exchange of views was of benefit to the organization.

Shortly after the Associate Members meeting, the board met. One of the issues considered was increasing the number of Associate Members. Among the decisions of the board on this issue were the following:

• The board unanimously agreed to invite additional applications to the position of Associate Member, to ensure broader representation of the supporters of CFI Canada in this important class of membership;
• Application forms can be obtained from the Interim NED, Michael Payton (mpayton@cficanada.ca), or from Kevin Smith, Secretary for the board;
• Because the primary duty of the Associate Members is to elect directors at the organization’s annual meeting, applications will be reviewed carefully, and emphasis will be placed on the applicant’s prior work for and familiarity with the organization, as well as commitment to its mission;
• The board concluded, consistent with the by-laws, that Associate Members should be a subset of the general membership and that the number of Associate Members should be kept at a manageable level;
• The board resolved to act on applications in a timely manner so that applicants would be informed of their status prior to the March 11 annual meeting;
• The board considered and acted on some of the applications it received prior to the December 11 meeting, and accepted applicants will be notified via email.

The board heard a report on the organization’s finances and the status of the organization from Interim NED Michael Payton. Although the organization has no cash crisis, and has sufficient assets to maintain operations in 2012, it was apparent that the organization needs to make efforts to increase donor support, and the board directed Mr. Payton to undertake fundraising. The Interim NED indicated he needed assistance in his new position to deal with the many tasks which require immediate attention.The board expressed appreciation for Mr. Payton’s willingness to step in quickly and assume the Interim NED position given the sudden departure of the prior NED. The board authorized Mr. Payton to seek volunteer assistance and stated it would consider a request to authorize
hiring of additional staff.

The board decided the branding initiative would continue, but that it would be put on hold given the current status of the organization. The organization’s first priorities are to ensure stability and reliable management, raise money, and begin to offer regular programming and services again as soon as possible.

After appropriate motions, the board resolved the following:

• No final decision would be made on Justin Trottier’s possible reemployment in any position until the March 11 board meeting. In reaching this decision, the board carefully considered the views that had been offered concerning Mr. Trottier, both pro and con, as well as his record as NED. We also took into account the fact that we agreed to retain our current NED untill March at which time he will
  voluntarily step down.
• The board would look favorably upon Mr. Trottier’s volunteering of his services to CFI Canada during the period prior to the March 11 board meeting.
  Lorne Trottier took no part in the voting on these motions. The motions carried 3-0, with Tom Flynn absent and Kevin Smith abstaining.

After the board meeting, the board was informed that Justin Trottier would volunteer to assist the organization. CFI Canada welcomes his willingness to volunteer, as it welcomes the willingness of all its volunteers to donate their valuable time and energy to furthering our mission.

One other item the board discussed at length was the perception that there is a lack of transparency and openness in board deliberations. To that end the board will be doing some renovations to the web site which will include, among other things, the posting of our by laws. We will also make available, the application to become an Associate Member along with the guidelines for applying. We will also have a dedicated email so CFI supporters can directly contact the board, the email directors@cficanada.ca
will be up by starting Thursday Dec 15th.

The board is committed to using its best efforts to ensuring not only the survival, but the success of CFI Canada and its important mission. We are well aware that many of the decisions we make are bound to be controversial. We cannot please everybody. At the end of the day we have to rely on our judgment. Our service as directors is not perpetual. Associate Members will be able to reelect or remove us at the March 11 meeting. In the meantime, we pledge to you that we will act in good faith, motivated by what we think is best for the organization and its missio

Thank you for your support.

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The Wreck of the Edmund Fitgerald

 
Twenty-nine men died on November 10, 1975 when the S.S. Edmund Fitgerald sank in a storm on Lake Superior.

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Beavers vs Polar Bears

 
Here's the complete press release from Canadian Senator Nicole Eaton issued just a few days ago [Statment about the Polar Bear]. Her proposal has been widely publicized. Most people think it's a serious suggestion from the Conservative Government. I'll treat it in the spirit that it was intended.

Pray for Peterborough

 
Tomorrow the city council of Peterborough, Ontario will open their meeting with The Lord's Prayer [Agenda].

Saying Christian prayers at public meetings was declared illegal following an Ontario Court of Appeals ruling in 1999. The city council of Peterborough is announcing in advance that it will be performing an illegal act tomorrow at 6:30 PM. I assume the police will be there to arrest the mayor and council members (not).

Veronica will be there.

What's the point of having council members recite a Christian prayer before their meeting? Probably half the council members are not practicing Christians. What's the point of making the audience sit through the Lord's prayer? Many of them are at the meeting to make a presentation. What message does it send if they are not Christian?

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[Photo Credit: Saying prayers at a Durham council meeting [Praying before City Council Meetings]]

Kevin O'Leary Is a Jerk

 

Kevin O'Leary is one of those people who think that the world revolves around entrepreneurs and making money. He's well known in Canada because he's one of the "dragons" on Dragon's Den.

O'Leary recently got in trouble by saying that if he were Prime Minister he would "make unions illegal" and throw union members in jail. He also said; ""Unions are sheer evil." … "Unions themselves are born out of evil. They must be destroyed with evil." … "Look, no one could contain unions in hell. They were so evil they came out of hell and they came upon earth." [NUPGE / OPSEU file complaint with CBC Ombudsman over offensive anti-union comments by Kevin O'Leary].

As you might imagine, Kevin O'Leary is against the "Occupy Wall Street" movement even if he doesn't understand it. To him it must sound like a bunch of "left-wing nutbars" trying to muscle in on his God-given right to exploit the gullible.

Unfortunately he used that expression ("left-wing nutbar") on national television (CBC) and applied it to the guest they were interviewing (Chris Hedges). You can see it for yourself in the video. It's very embarrassing. I'm normally a supporter of the CBC but this makes it look like FOX News.

O'Leary has already been reprimanded by CBC's Ombudsman [CBC ombudsman says O'Leary's 'nutbar' remark violated journalistic standards]. I think it's time he was removed from the "The Lang & O'Leary Exchange."¹

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1. Not because he has a different opinion than I do. Because he's stupid.

Canada's Office of Religious Freedom

 

John Baird is the Minister for Foreign Affairs in Canada's federal government under our Conservative Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. A few days ago he announced the establishment of an Office for Religious Freedom [Rights and freedoms and religion].

Societies that protect religious freedom are more likely to protect all other fundamental freedoms. They are typically more stable and more prosperous societies. This view has been reinforced in consultations I’ve had around the world so far.

I honestly believe it is critically important that Canada is uniquely placed to protect and promote religious freedom around the world.

We are a country of many ethnicities and religions, but we all share one humanity—one of tolerance, one of acceptance, one of peace and security.

Canada has spoken out against violations of freedom around the world.

....

It was former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker who, during his time in office, championed human rights both in Canada and around the world. On the day he introduced the Canadian Bill of Rights in Parliament, he spoke these words:

“I am a Canadian, …, free to speak without fear, free to worship God in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and mankind.”

I pledge to continue this tradition. But I of course can’t do this alone.

And we as a country are compelled to get this right.

That’s why I’m glad each of you is here to share your expertise, insights and experiences.

I’m extremely pleased at the calibre of people gathered here.

I know this is a challenging task, but, then again, Canadians stand for what is right, not what is easy, so I have no doubt we here today are up to that challenge.

It is our common duty to defend the rights of the afflicted, and to give voice to the voiceless.

Our positions will not soften, our determination will not lessen, and our voices will not be diminished until all citizens can enjoy the freedoms and rights we hold to be universal and true.

Through our combined efforts, I am confident that the Office of Religious Freedom can help do just that.

This is so exciting. It means that Canada will soon delete "God keep our land glorious and free!" from the national anthem. It means that all provinces will have to stop funding religious schools—especially when they give preference to one religion over another. It means that there will be federal laws enforcing a ban on saying prayers at public meetings (e.g. Praying before City Council Meetings). It means an end to tax-exempt status for religious institutions.

And, best of all, it means that "Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law: " will be removed from our constitution.

That is what John Baird meant, right?

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Keep the Faith—but not in Our Schools

Coalition Calls for Defunding of Catholic Boards, End to Discrimination Against Gays in Publicly Funded Schools
KEEP THE FAITH—BUT NOT IN OUR SCHOOLS

The Canadian Secular Alliance and its allies are hosting a rally in front of the Legislature at Queen's Park on Sunday, September 18 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. to demand:

• The end of the over $500 million taxpayer subsidization for the promotion of the Roman Catholic religion. Public funding for the expensive duplicate school system must be eliminated to provide one secular publicly funded school system.

• The protection of equality rights for all students—including gay students—by ending the constitutional privilege afforded Roman Catholics to overrule legislation and the courts in favour of religious dogma.

"Equality for all students means ending privileged access to public schools for favoured religious services," says CSA President Greg Oliver.

Speakers represent a cross section of the religious and non-religious.

More information: Canadian Secular Alliance

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MaRS Phase II

MaRS stands for "Medical and Related Sciences." It's a large complex of buildings kitty-corner from where I work, also known as the MaRS Discovery District. Work has now re-started on Phase II—the tallest building in the image below. That image is the view from my building. The Ontario legislature (Parliament Buildings) is just off to the left.

The new building will house dozens of tenants including some research labs associated with my department and our sister departments. The idea is to bring together various researchers in the university community with private companies who might benefit from their research.

When completed, the extra space will make Toronto one of the largest focused centers of medical research in the world. We have MaRS, the University of Toronto, and four major research hospitals within two blocks of one another. In my particular field of biochemistry and molecular biology there are over 200 active research labs with about 500 graduate students in four departments.

I just hope they have a nice cafeteria.

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The Religious Left in Canada

The New Democratic Party's "Faith and Social Justice Commission" has produced a video to prove that you can be religious and socialist.

My position is that religion should be kept out of politics. There should not be a "Faith and Social Justice Commission" sanctioned by the NDP. (Is there also an "Unfaith and Social Justice Commission" for all those atheists who believe in social justice?)

I have no problem with individuals adhering to one religion or another but keep it personal. There's no need to band together in order to influence policy within the government or even within a party. Frankly I don't care why you support socialist progressive policies as long as you do. Don't try and make it look like religion is what motivates you to favor the left because that just makes you look as silly as the right-wing fundamentalists who use religion to defend their position.

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[Hat Tip: Canadian Atheist]

Pretty Money

Canada is about to release a new set of polymer banknotes. Watch the video to see all the security features and the cool windows in the notes. (BTW, is there any country other than the United States that has monocolor money? Is there a reason why the USA makes every denomination of bill the same color?)



What's on these banknotes? The $100 bill depicts Sir Robert L. Borden, Prime Minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. Here's the description of the other images fron The Bank of Canada.

# Theme: Medical Innovation

Canadians have long been at the frontiers of medical research and as a result have helped to save millions of lives worldwide. Notable Canadian contributions include pioneering the use of insulin to treat diabetes, DNA and genetic research, the invention of the pacemaker, and the first hospital-to-hospital robot-assisted surgery.

Researcher at a microscope

The image of a researcher using a microscope depicts Canada’s long-standing commitment to medical research.

DNA strand

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the genetic blueprint of life. Canadian researchers have been at the forefront of mapping our human genetic makeup in this field of medical science.

ECG

This electrocardiogram provides a visual cue to Canada’s contributions to heart health, including the invention of the pacemaker by John Hopps in 1950.

Insulin

The discovery of insulin to treat diabetes was made by Canadian researchers Frederick Banting and Charles Best in 1921.

It's nice that Canada is celebrating science.




The $50 dollar bill has a picture of William Lyon Mackenzie King who was Prime Minister from 1921–30 and from 1935–48. The other side has ...

# Theme: CCGS Amundsen, Research Icebreaker

The vastness and splendour of Canada’s northern frontier have helped to shape our cultural identity. The icebreaker plays an important role in the North, keeping Canada’s historic passages open, undertaking marine search and rescue, supporting isolated communities, and participating in international environmental research. The CCGS Amundsen helps Canada—the nation with the world’s longest stretch of Arctic coastline—to remain at the leading edge of Arctic research, providing the world’s oceanographers, geologists and ecologists with unparalleled access to the North.

CCGS Amundsen, Research Icebreaker

The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Amundsen became a research icebreaker in 2003. It is jointly operated by ArcticNet and the Canadian Coast Guard.

“Arctic” in Inuktitut

This syllabic text is taken from Inuktitut, a language of Canada’s Inuit population. It stands for “Arctic.”

Map of Canada’s northern regions

The map on the back of this note shows Canada’s northern regions in their entirety, including Inuit regions of the Arctic. This image was provided by Natural Resources Canada.

More mention of research and another language. The $50 dollar bill has words from three languages (French, English, and Inuktitut. (I think there's only two languages on American bills. )

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Vote for Omar

Here's the latest video from the Liberal Candidate in my riding. These videos are one of the many reasons why I'm going to vote for him.

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