The Gall: Is He Here As a Guest Worker or Litigator?

Written by Paul Fromm

Saturday, 29 December 2012 04:42

*The Gall: Is He Here As a Guest Worker or Litigator?* *The Tumbler Ridge News (Dec. 29, 2012) reports: "* The 13 miners only arrived in Tumbler Ridge a few weeks ago. Since arriving, they have been learning safety regulations, learning about Canada and Canadian Culture, and learning how to speak English. **It is a skill that some of them have already mastered, at least in part. Huizhi Li is one of the first 13 miners. While his English is halting and broken, and he occasionally needs help from a translator, he speaks far more than the proverbial 100 words of English. 'I feel very good here. It’s very peaceful for me. The environment is very good.'” Now, Li with his Coke bottle specs must be a very quick learner. It seems he's learned enough English and about Canada's Minority-favouring human rights legislation to file a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The *Ottawa Citizen* (December 14, 2012) reports: "The company under fire for hiring Chinese miners as temporary foreign workers at its northern B.C. coal mine has fought back, threatening legal action against the federal government. [image: Photo: The Gall: Is He Here As a Guest Worker or Litigator? The Tumbler Ridge News (Dec. 29, 2012) reports: " The 13 miners only arrived in Tumbler Ridge a few weeks ago. Since arriving, they have been learning safety regulations, learning about Canada and Canadian Culture, and learning how to speak English. It is a skill that some of them have already mastered, at least in part. Huizhi Li is one of the first 13 miners. While his English is halting and broken, and he occasionally needs help from a translator, he speaks far more than the proverbial 100 words of English. 'I feel very good here. It’s very peaceful for me. The environment is very good.'” Now, Li with his Coke bottle specs must be a very quick learner. It seems he's learned enough English and about Canada's Minority-favouring human rights legislation to file a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The Ottawa Citizen (December 14, 2012) reports: "The company under fire for hiring Chinese miners as temporary foreign workers at its northern B.C. coal mine has fought back, threatening legal action against the federal government. At the same time, one of its workers has filed a human rights complaint accusing the United Steelworkers Union of discrimination. HD Mining distributed Huizhi Li’s letter to the Canadian Human Rights Commission along with a letter putting the government on notice that the company may pursue claims for civil damages after federal ministers made public statements about the company. The firm’s Murray River coal mine near Tumbler Ridge has been criticized for hiring 201 temporary foreign workers in place of Canadians. It’s also facing a judicial review in which two unions are seeking to prevent the company from bringing more workers to Canada. Seventeen miners are already in B.C. and another 60 are expected to arrive this weekend. Li — a miner who may have arrived with HD Mining’s first cohort of workers at the end of October — said in his human rights complaint that leaflets and website content produced by the United Steelworkers Union are likely to create contempt for Chinese people. He said information posted to the union’s website alleges Chinese miners will work for reduced wages and in substandard conditions, which denies Canadians opportunity to those jobs. Steve Hunt, the union’s western Canadian director, said the accusation is bizarre, because his union has been fighting for workers’ rights. Hunt pointed out the letter, dated Monday, was written on HD Mining letterhead, and said the union knew it would be only a matter of time before the company made racial accusations. ' don’t think it’s well-founded, obviously. It’s something that we expected all along,' he said. 'When all else fails pull the racial card out and suggest we have something untowards any worker coming in to Canada.'” The fact that the complaint was distributed by the legally aggressive Chinese owned HD Mining might lead a cynical observer to wonder whether one of the company's legal eagles wrote the complaint, rather Mr. Li. Interestingly, he complaint has been made under the notorious Internet censorship provision of the Canadian Human Rights Act -- Sec. 13. This section was repealed by the House of Commons this past June. A Federal Judge upheld its constitutionality this October. the Senate has not yet acted on it. However, since Marc Lemire won a ruling which essentially found Sec. 13 unconstitutional on September 2, 2009, the Canadian Human Right Commission has not pursued any more prosecutions and the two outstanding cases (Arthur Topham & Radicalpress.com and Henry Makow) have been stayed sine die. Li's complaint says in part: " Complaint of violation of Section 13(1) by United Steelworkers Union Publications Dear Sir/Madam: I am writing to tile a complaint regarding an alleged violation of section 13(1) the Canadian Human Rights Act as a result of publications communicated on the Internet by the United Steelworkers Union Local 2009 and United Steelworkers Union District 3. The publications include: 1) A text leaflet on the website of United Steelworkers Union Local 2009 on the "News" page ... I Submit that the publications contravene section 13(1) of the not because they are likely to create contempt for Chinese persons and in particular Chinese mining workers by alleging to the public or union members that they will work for reduced wages and in substandard conditions, thereby denying Canadians the opportunity to those jobs and for adversely affecting the The complaint refers to appendices and is clearly well drafted. Amazing how fast Li, who still needs an interpret, picked up enough English and law to draft what is clearly a complaint to harass and silence the unions for standing up for the rights of Canadian workers. The Ottawa Citizen (December 14, 2012) reported that HD Mining company spokesman Jody Shimkus "denied the company had any role in the complaint filed by Li, who she said was unavailable for an interview Thursday. 'This is an individual complaint, based on the ads the union had.' Asked about Li’s English proficiency, Shimkus said she doesn’t know each miner’s level of comprehension. In October, the company said the Chinese workers would be taught roughly 100 English words, all related to safety. " And as to paying the "temporary" Chinese worker imports less than Canadians, it would seem that the union has based its charges on solid grounds. The CBC (December 10, 2012) reported: "Labour brokers may be charging Chinese miners up to $16,000 for the chance to work in Canadian mines as temporary foreign workers, a CBC investigation has found. The National visited a prominent recruitment agency in Beijing carrying hidden cameras. Investigators posing as miners learned that workers with minimal mining experience are being offered positions in Canadian gold, copper and potash mines. Recruiters said that, once working in Canada, miners would be paid no less than $10 per hour. Permanent workers in Canada’s underground and surface mines are paid on average $25 to $30 per hour. Investigators also learned that workers are asked to pay a deposit of several thousand dollars to secure a spot in a Canadian mine. The agency said that the remainder of the $16,000 fee is taken The recruiters claim that the deduction occurs with the knowledge of the employer, although the agency provided no proof that it was acting on behalf of a specific company or business. In Canada, it is illegal for employers to charge recruitment fees to temporary foreign workers. In a written statement to the CBC News, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada explained that an employer who has requested the services of a recruiter is required to cover all recruitment costs related to the hiring of the temporary foreign worker.' In its report (December 14, 2012), the Ottawa Citizen added: "Kael Campbell, a head recruiter for Red Seal Recruiting who has experience dealing with the mining industry in that region, said HD’s foreign workers’ total pay packages are below what competitors Walter Energy and Peace River Coal offer in a region which had an unemployment rate of 3.8 per cent last October. 'It looks like (HD’s) benefits and end wages combine for about 20 per cent savings,' Campbell said." Paul Fromm Director CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR FREE EXPRESSION] At the same time, one of its workers has filed a human rights complaint accusing the United Steelworkers Union of discrimination. HD Mining distributed Huizhi Li’s letter to the Canadian Human Rights Commission along with a letter putting the government on notice that the company may pursue claims for civil damages after federal ministers made public statements about the company. The firm’s Murray River coal mine near Tumbler Ridge has been criticized for hiring 201 temporary foreign workers in place of Canadians. It’s also facing a judicial review in which two unions are seeking to prevent the company from bringing more workers to Canada. Seventeen miners are already in B.C. and another 60 are expected to arrive this weekend. Li — a miner who may have arrived with HD Mining’s first cohort of workers at the end of October — said in his human rights complaint that leaflets and website content <http://usw2009.ca/firstlevelsubmenutwo.htm> produced by the United Steelworkers Union are likely to create contempt for Chinese people. He said information posted to the union’s website alleges Chinese miners will work for reduced wages and in substandard conditions, which denies Canadians opportunity to those jobs. Steve Hunt, the union’s western Canadian director, said the accusation is bizarre, because his union has been fighting for workers’ rights. Hunt pointed out the letter, dated Monday, was written on HD Mining letterhead, and said the union knew it would be only a matter of time before the company made racial accusations. ' don’t think it’s well-founded, obviously. It’s something that we expected all along,' he said. 'When all else fails pull the racial card out and suggest we have something untowards any worker coming in to Canada.'” The fact that the complaint was distributed by the legally aggressive Chinese owned HD Mining might lead a cynical observer to wonder whether one of the company's legal eagles wrote the complaint, rather Mr. Li. Interestingly, he complaint has been made under the notorious Internet censorship provision of the Canadian Human Rights Act -- Sec. 13. This section was repealed by the House of Commons this past June. A Federal Judge upheld its constitutionality this October. the Senate has not yet acted on it. However, since Marc Lemire won a ruling which essentially found Sec. 13 unconstitutional on September 2, 2009, the Canadian Human Right Commission has not pursued any more prosecutions and the two outstanding cases (*Arthur Topham & Radicalpress.com* and *Henry Makow*) have been stayed *sine die*. Li's complaint says in part: " *Complaint of violation of Section 13(1) by United Steelworkers Union Publications * *Dear Sir/Madam: * ** *I am writing to tile a complaint regarding an alleged violation of section 13(1) the Canadian Human Rights Act as a result of publications communicated on the Internet by the United Steelworkers Union Local 2009 and United Steelworkers Union District 3. The publications include: 1) A text leaflet on the website of United Steelworkers Union Local 2009 on the "News" page ... I Submit that the publications contravene section 13(1) of the not because they are likely to create contempt for Chinese persons and in particular Chinese mining workers by alleging to the public or union members that they will work for reduced wages and in substandard conditions, thereby denying Canadians the opportunity to those jobs and for adversely affecting the* The complaint refers to appendices and is clearly well drafted. Amazing how fast Li, who still needs an interpret, picked up enough English and law to draft what is clearly a complaint to harass and silence the unions for standing up for the rights of Canadian workers. The *Ottawa Citizen* (December 14, 2012) reported that HD Mining company spokesman Jody Shimkus "denied the company had any role in the complaint filed by Li, who she said was unavailable for an interview Thursday. 'This is an individual complaint, based on the ads the union had.' Asked about Li’s English proficiency, Shimkus said she doesn’t know each miner’s level of comprehension. In October, the company said<http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Chinese+workers+fill+mining+jobs/7366971/story.html>the Chinese workers would be taught roughly 100 English words, all related to safety. " And as to paying the "temporary" Chinese worker imports less than Canadians, it would seem that the union has based its charges on solid grounds. The* CBC* (December 10, 2012) reported: "Labour brokers may be charging Chinese miners up to $16,000 for the chance to work in Canadian mines as temporary foreign workers, a CBC investigation has found. *The National* visited a prominent recruitment agency in Beijing carrying hidden cameras. Investigators posing as miners learned that workers with minimal mining experience are being offered positions in Canadian gold, copper and potash mines. Recruiters said that, once working in Canada, miners would be paid no less than $10 per hour. Permanent workers in Canada’s underground and surface mines are paid on average $25 to $30 per hour. Investigators also learned that workers are asked to pay a deposit of several thousand dollars to secure a spot in a Canadian mine. The agency said that the remainder of the $16,000 fee is taken The recruiters claim that the deduction occurs with the knowledge of the employer, although the agency provided no proof that it was acting on behalf of a specific company or business. In Canada, it is illegal for employers to charge recruitment fees to temporary foreign workers. In a written statement to the CBC News, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada explained that an employer who has requested the services of a recruiter is required to cover all recruitment costs related to the hiring of the temporary foreign worker.' In its report (December 14, 2012), the *Ottawa Citizen* added: "Kael Campbell, a head recruiter for Red Seal Recruiting who has experience dealing with the mining industry in that region, said HD’s foreign workers’ total pay packages are below what competitors Walter Energy and Peace River Coal offer in a region which had an unemployment rate of 3.8 per cent last October. 'It looks like (HD’s) benefits and end wages combine for about 20 per cent savings,' Campbell said." Paul Fromm Director CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR FREE EXPRESSION

 

Wow! We Need More Immigrants like Quxia Lin to Hit the Food banks!

Written by Paul Fromm

Friday, 28 December 2012 05:01

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This email newsletter was sent to you in graphical HTML format. If you're seeing this version, your email program prefers plain text emails. You can read the original version online: http://ymlp287.net/zycIdc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WOW! WE NEED MORE IMMIGRANTS LIKE QUXIA LIN TO HIT THE FOOD BANKS! HERE'S ANOTHER TYPICAL CBC PROPAGANDA STORY -- POOR IMMIGRANTS, THEY'RE NOT DOING SO WELL AND, EMBEDDED IN ALL THIS IS THE SUGGESTION THAT SOMEHOW IT'S OUR FAULT. IRONICALLY, IT IS OUR GOVERNMENT'S FAULT FOR LETTING SUCH POORLY SCREENED LOSERS INTO CANADA IN THE FIRST PLACE. Let's look a little more closely and find what broadcaster commentator Paul Harvey used to call "the rest of the story." Here's the essence of the CBC story: "Every Saturday morning, like millions of other Canadian families, Quxia Lin and her children, Emily and Aiden, do their grocery shopping. But it's not like Lin, who was born in China, gets into a car to drive to the supermarket. Statistically, Lin and her kids are more likely to rely on food banks than the average Canadian. Recent studies show that a disproportionate number of recent immigrants use food banks. Among the million people in Canada who used food banks on a daily basis this year, almost half of them were children and new immigrants. Some experts suggest that poverty in Canada is becoming more “racialized,” especially in urban centres like Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. ... Right now, Lin makes a thousand dollars a month on maternity benefits. Before two-month-old Aiden was born, Lin made minimum wage in a clothing factory and Emily, 3, went to subsidized daycare. They share a small apartment in downtown Toronto with Lin's sister, Lisa, who pays half the rent. The $600 a month that Lisa gets as a refugee claimant is the only way they can afford to live in the flat. Quxia Lin and her siblings grew up on a farm near Quanzhou, China. That's where she learned to cook meals like chicken parts, Chinese greens and rice, which are a cheaper option than buying pre-packaged food. The only way Lin can make ends meet now is by stocking up at the local food bank on things that she can't afford to buy, such as diapers, fresh milk and formula. After rent, she has only a couple of hundred dollars a month to live on. ... Lin's sister, Lisa, is both a volunteer and someone who relies on the food bank to take groceries back to the house. Quxia Lin says she had high hopes when she first came to Canada as the new wife of her Chinese-Canadian husband in 2001. But she says the marriage broke down in 2006 when she brought her mother from China to stay with them. When her mother got sick with cancer, Lin’s brother and sister came over and applied for refugee status; both were denied. Their mother died in a Toronto palliative care hospital in 2010. Lin’s brother was sent back to China in November 2011, and now her sister will go back in January. Quxia is understandably worried about where she will live when her sister goes back to China in January. 'Maybe I need to move out soon because my sister is going back to China and the rent is so expensive,' Quxia says." (CBC.CA ( http://cbc.ca/ ), December 21, 2012) Boo, hoo. Well what doesn't add up here? Hope the CBC didn't run this story hoping to garner more support for food banks and a broken immigration system. If Lin's marriage broke up 6 years ago, who and how many fathered BOTH children? How did two "refugee" claimants whose cases have not even been decided, bring over ailing mother? If her family means so much to Lin, why not follow her failed refugee siblings home? When she was in China, did she get as many freebies as she is getting in Canada -- health care, food banks, $1,000 per month? The fact that she has to walk to the store seems to be a big deal for the person that wrote this story Schools are overcrowded and struggle with ESL needs, large parts of our cities are ghettos. European Immigrants who came before (up until the 1970s) didn't get any handouts, they contributed to the.land. Now, except for a few, most of the immigrants here just end up in public housing or on welfare Also some immigrants who come from other countries find it strange that they can go and get food for free rather than buy it, The concept of food banks is a good one but easily abused. Lin and her husband flew to Canada from China in 2001. In 2006, her mother flew to Canada to join them. Her marriage broke down in 2006, Yet, she has a three year old child and a two month old month old baby. Who and where are the fathers of these children? It seems that there are three! After her mother became ill with cancer (and subsequently died in 2010), she brings over her sister and her brother. Who paid for their plane ticket from China? Did both her brother and sister get $600.00 a month as refugee claimants when they arrived before 2010? And, by the way, what did Mommy Dearest's palliative care cost the Canadian taxpayer who often faces long waits for medical treatment in the medical system he and his ancestors have long paid into. Something just doesn't add up with this story!! Seems to me this isn't an immigration issue, but a poor life decisions issue. She comes here from China. Then, her husband leaves her. Fine, that happens. Then she proceeds to try to bring the rest of her family here without having the ability to support them, including her ailing mother who *wink wink nudge nudge* totally didn't have cancer before getting here. In the meantime, she had two kids with someone other than her ex-husband when she can barely support herself. The only immigration issue is the part in the middle, but all of the others she tried to bring here were rejected by immigration. Other things don't add up. She has to get more than the asserted $1000 a month. She gets $1,000 for maternity. Plus she would get Child Tax. She would get the maximum amount about $300 per child and since her children are under 7, she would also get another $100 per child at the end of each month for "healthy kids" benefit. So, that's another $800 a month there. Then, the maximum amount for GST rebate every three months probably adds another $200 there. So she technically brings in about $1800 a month and her sister another $600 and whatever she makes doing odds and ends or under the table) that's $2400. That we know of. She makes more than many a born and raised Canadian -- thanks ti the Canadian taxpayers and our woeful immigration selection system.. We have selfishly mortgaged our grandchildren's future by saddling them with crushing debt. We are also mortgaging them culturally and socially. The Canada they grow up in will be foreign and very different from the traditional Canada most of us once knew. And that...sucks. No people other than Westerners would ever allow this to happen, who actually claim to look forward to that day when we are replaced in our own land. . So, if I were her, I'd stop bitching. She has it better than most Canadians. Oh this article mentions that it takes a while for new immigrants to get used to their new country, to get 'stabilized' as put. How long does this stabilization process take? She's been here for 12 years already. If she doesn't get it by now, maybe we should send her back with her sister. Of course, she does seem very cannily to understand what's on offer for free. Paul Fromm Director CANADA FIRST IMMIGRATION REFORM COMMITTEE IMMIGRANT FAMILIES INCREASINGLY LIKELY TO RELY ON FOOD BANKS ------------------------- * ------------------------- Every Saturday morning, like millions of other Canadian families, Quxia Lin and her children, Emily and Aiden, do their grocery shopping. But it's not like Lin, who was born in China, gets into a car to drive to the supermarket. She has to bundle her kids up for the 30-minute walk from her one-bedroom apartment to the local food bank. Statistically, Lin and her kids are more likely to rely on food banks than the average Canadian. Recent studies show that a disproportionate number of recent immigrants use food banks. Among the million people in Canada who used food banks on a daily basis this year, almost half of them were children and new immigrants. Some experts suggest that poverty in Canada is becoming more “racialized,” especially in urban centres like Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Leonard Edwards, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, reports that one in three poor people are immigrants belonging to a visible minority group. Making ends meet Right now, Lin makes a thousand dollars a month on maternity benefits. Before two-month-old Aiden was born, Lin made minimum wage in a clothing factory and Emily, 3, went to subsidized daycare. They share a small apartment in downtown Toronto with Lin's sister, Lisa, who pays half the rent. The $600 a month that Lisa gets as a refugee claimant is the only way they can afford to live in the flat. Quxia Lin and her siblings grew up on a farm near Quanzhou, China. That's where she learned to cook meals like chicken parts, Chinese greens and rice, which are a cheaper option than buying pre-packaged food. The only way Lin can make ends meet now is by stocking up at the local food bank on things that she can't afford to buy, such as diapers, fresh milk and formula. After rent, she has only a couple of hundred dollars a month to live on. Seeking nourishment On any given day, almost half the people lining up at the Fort York Food Bank in west-end Toronto are recent immigrants. Ravi Sreedharan, the president and founding member of this offshoot of the Daily Bread Food Bank, says the average income levels of the people who use this facility are well below Statistics Canada's definition of the poverty line. They survive on an average of less than three dollars a day after rent. Sreedharan, who volunteers at FYFB and works full-time as a manager at Ernst & Young, says "new and recent immigrants have more challenges when they first come to Canada finding that first job and struggling to get started. “It also can take a while before they get familiar with social programs on offer. But once they find their feet, they stabilize and are less reliant on food banks." Every Saturday, the Fort York Food Bank is buzzing with people — many of them Chinese seniors — in need of food and camaraderie. Sreedharan says isolation among older immigrants is almost as problematic as the concern about going hungry. "A good number of [the people who come in] are surviving on limited pensions from China, and this is where they socialize,” he says. Sreedharan says he is proud of the way the Fort York Food Bank puts 95 per cent of its resources "directly towards program delivery.” Many of the volunteers at the FYFB have relied on food banks or still do. Lin's sister, Lisa, is both a volunteer and someone who relies on the food bank to take groceries back to the house. Came with high hopes Quxia Lin says she had high hopes when she first came to Canada as the new wife of her Chinese-Canadian husband in 2001. But she says the marriage broke down in 2006 when she brought her mother from China to stay with them. When her mother got sick with cancer, Lin’s brother and sister came over and applied for refugee status; both were denied. Their mother died in a Toronto palliative care hospital in 2010. Lin’s brother was sent back to China in November 2011, and now her sister will go back in January. Quxia is understandably worried about where she will live when her sister goes back to China in January. “Maybe I need to move out soon because my sister is going back to China and the rent is so expensive,” Quxia says. _____________________________ Unsubscribe / Change Profile: http://ymlp287.net/ugmjhqsqgsgbbqgwumgguewwmw Powered by YourMailingListProvider

 

Ho! Ho! Ho! And a Jolly Merry Christmas from The Radical Press

Written by Paul Fromm

Friday, 28 December 2012 04:58

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This email newsletter was sent to you in graphical HTML format. If you're seeing this version, your email program prefers plain text emails. You can read the original version online: http://ymlp287.net/z4R5vQ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ho! Ho! Ho! And a Jolly Merry Christmas from The Radical Press HTTP://WWW.RADICALPRESS.COM/?P=1788 ( HTTP://WWW.RADICALPRESS.COM/?P=1788 ) December 25, 2012 Dearest Readers, Well, it’s Ho! Ho! Ho! time again and the season to be jolly! To say the least it’s been one very interesting, challenging year for myself, my dear wife and The Radical Press. Seeing as how today is Christmas and a time to celebrate the birth of the Christ Consciousness within the Heart of Humanity I shan’t go into all the gory details surrounding the events of the past ten months or so. Suffice it to say that they have been enlightening in numerous ways as most things are these days. I just want to take a few minutes to express my sincere thank you to all of the courageous, wonderful, outstanding, loving, kind, conscientious, generous people who have put their shoulder to the wheel in one form or another to help me in this struggle to retain the right to freedom of expression on the Internet in Canada. They know, as I well know, that we’re all in this together in one way or another and that what happens to me personally in terms of Regina’s attempt to jail me and silence my constitutional rights will affect every other Canadian who values the same ideals and principles that I do. Those who are attempting to pull this caper off under the guise of their “Hate Crime” laws will never succeed. Everywhere we look nowadays we’re seeing the fabric of their endless lies unraveling before the public eye and no amount of “laws” designed to shield them from criticism will work. The Truth will come out one way or another. While it’s not New Year’s eve yet I think I can safely say that given the political climate here in Canada at this point in time that 2013 does not bode well in terms change occurring in a peaceful, harmonious fashion. Just watching some of the IdleNoMore videos taken over the past few days by the Indigenous folks across Canada is a strong indication that at least one segment of Canadian society is now fed up with PM Harper and his treacherous, deceitful manner of selling off the nation to foreign interests. My hope is that the rest of the country will stand behind and join with the indigenous people and back their demands as well as the demands of the non-native population who are also fed up with all the lies. For today though I wish the best of the Christmas season to everyone and pray that our hopes and dreams for a better world will only grow that much stronger during these quiet days preceding the New Year. Blessings, Love and Peace to all, Arthur Topham Publisher & Editor The Radical Press “Digging to the root of the issues since 1998″ _____________________________ Unsubscribe / Change Profile: http://ymlp287.net/ugmjhqsqgsgbbqgwubgguewwmw Powered by YourMailingListProvider