Please see this Macleans article on the Canadian Human Rights Commmissions. My two cents are towards the end of the article.
Thanks,
Keith
A tribunal rules its own hate-speech law is unconstitutional
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The following article appeared in the June 8th edition of the Hill Times, in commemoration of World Oceans Day.
Saving our Dying Oceans
By Dr. Keith Martin, MP
Our oceans are dying, and without life in our oceans, life on land will perish. The threats to our marine environment, our global life support system, come` from many sources, but all have one common cause: human activity.
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Globe and Mail
April 8, 2009 at 12:53 PM EDT
Adam Radwanski, globeandmail.com: Dr. Martin, thanks for taking the time to elaborate a bit on your call for medicare reform. You wrote this week that the absence of “competition” is holding back our health care system. Are we talking about competition in the form of different providers within the public (single-payer) system, or in the form of private fee-for-service care outside the system for those who can afford it? (more…)
April 7th 2009
By Dr. Keith Martin, MP
Contrary to public opinion, Canada does not have “the best health care system in the world.” We actually rank 26th, and yet have the fifth-highest expenditures for health care. So, which countries fare better than us, and why? The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) just examined this question and came up with some fascinating findings.
Of the world’s top 20 national health care systems, 17 are European. These word leaders share some common traits: They all have mixed systems that combine both public and private providers; everyone is covered; no one is hurt financially when they fall ill; and there is the widespread use of information technology, which improves efficiency and reduces errors and cost.
On April 2nd 2009, Dr. Keith Martin, MP introduced a bill in the House of Commons to decriminalize the simple possession of marijuana.
“The ‘war on drugs’ has been a complete failure. It has not reduced the crime rate, drug use, nor has it saved money or lives. Decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of pot and up to two plants will sever the connection between organized crime and casual users of pot. This bill is bad news for criminal gangs, which are the only beneficiaries of the status quo because it would eliminate demand for their product. As a result this bill will significantly undermine the financial underpinnings of organized crime gangs in Canada,” said Dr. Martin.
Under this bill, marijuana possession would still be illegal, but people would receive a fine rather than being passed through the expensive judicial system.
Nationwide studies and House of Commons committees have found that federal drug and crime policies are not working to reduce drug trafficking and harm. Many have overwhelmingly pointed to this course of action. Also, the monies now used to enforce the law for possession of small amounts of pot could be redirected to programs that reduce the incidence of substance abuse.
“In the medical profession our mantra is ‘do no harm’. We are actually doing terrible harm if we continue to address substance abuse uniquely as a criminal issue from the federal level. The blinders have to come off; we have to take a medical perspective if we are going to reduce harm and drug use in Canada.”
With mounting job losses, one of the best ways to stimulate the economy and get money into the hands of people most in need, is through Employment Insurance (EI). (more…)
“Yes we can” change our mission in Afghanistan
Dear President Obama,
Long after you have left the White House the world will remember the famous words you used to bring a nation to its feet, and to signal the beginning of a new era for the American people: “yes we can.” It is with this same spirit of fortitude and courage that I suggest to you that, “yes we can” change our mission in Afghanistan, to finally forge, as you noted in your inaugural address, a hard earned peace in this tortured country. (more…)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feds compromise security of Canadians
MP Martin blasts the government for tearing up the RCMP’s wage agreement
OTTAWA – Today, MP Dr. Keith Martin blasted the government during Question Period for tearing up a wage agreement Prime Minister Harper announced; one that would simply have given the RCMP wage parity with other police forces across the country.
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