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Tag: Toronto

  • After Seattle, caste battle now reaches Toronto

    After Seattle, caste battle now reaches Toronto

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    Washington: After Seattle in the United States, the caste battle has now reached Toronto in Canada where the two sides — one favouring a ban on caste-based discrimination and the other opposing any such move — have started fighting it out in a district school.

    Last month, Seattle became the first US city to outlaw caste discrimination after its local council overwhelmingly passed a resolution moved by an Indian-American politician and economist to add caste to its non-discrimination policy.

    The resolution moved by Kshama Sawant, an upper-caste Hindu, was approved by the Seattle City Council by six to one vote. The results of the vote could have far-reaching implications on the issue of caste discrimination in the US.

    Proponents of caste discrimination were successful in bringing the motion for consideration before the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). The board at its meeting on March 8, referred it to the Ontario Human Rights Commission as a neutral observer to study and assess the issue. In doing so, the board noted that it does not have enough expertise on this issue.

    The TDSB’s move comes after the February 21 vote by the Seattle City Council which passed an ordinance banning caste-based discrimination in the city. This made Seattle the first city outside India to do so.

    “A ‘Yes’ vote on this proposal is what is in the best interests of all public school students in Toronto. Students can experience caste discrimination in many forms in an educational environment, including by being subject to casteist slurs, discrimination in social and online settings and exclusion from dominant-caste spaces,” Seattle City Councillor Sawant said in a letter to the TDSB members.

    On the other hand, the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), which has been running a campaign against it, said that singling out one community on these otherwise broad markers, had resulted in significant opposition from the Canadian South Asian diaspora.

    CoHNA Canada helped the community send more than 21,000 emails and make numerous phone calls to the trustees to make their voices heard. The TDSB office in North York also witnessed large stand-in protests while the voting was underway, with community residents braving the freezing weather for hours to ensure they were heard, a media release here said.

    CoHNA said the demand from caste discrimination activists for South Asians to be assigned a “collective guilt” based entirely on unverifiable personal anecdotes would be considered bigoted, xenophobic and outright racist if it were applied to almost any other group.

    “This is just colonialism all over again where lawmakers who are supposed to be impartial, make casually Hinduphobic remarks and and echo outrageous propaganda put out by hate groups,” said Nikunj Trivedi, president of CoHNA. “There should be no tolerance for attempts to profile a vulnerable minority group,” he said.

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    #Seattle #caste #battle #reaches #Toronto

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Family of Toronto man allegedly killed by teen girls criticizes law keeping identities secret

    Family of Toronto man allegedly killed by teen girls criticizes law keeping identities secret

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    The family of the Toronto man allegedly killed by teen girls in a “swarming” attack have denounced “flaws” in the criminal justice system, criticizing the opacity surrounding youth cases involving serious crimes.

    Eight teenage girls have been charged with murder over the death of Ken Lee, who was repeatedly stabbed at a plaza near the main rail station in Canada’s largest city in the early hours of 18 December. Three of the girls are 13, three are 14 and two are 16.

    Because of their age, none of the suspects can be identified under Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act and few details can be printed by media outlets because of publication bans.

    “How is the Act protecting the public if we don’t know who these perpetrators are and why they are released on bail?” Lee’s family said in a statement.

    One of the suspects was granted bail in late December and is permitted to return to school. The teen cannot contact her co-accused, possess any weapons or use a mobile phone. She must also remain within the province of Ontario. The remaining suspects are pleading their cases for bail this week and next week.

    Toronto police have also linked the group of teens to a series of assaults at downtown subways stations that same evening.

    “For serious crimes, these perpetrators should not have any privacy rights or bail,” the family said. “The public should be aware of who these individuals are to protect themselves. The perpetrators must be named in order to bring forth more victims, witness(es) and evidence.”

    The family also criticized the court’s decision to permit at least one of the accused to return to school.

    “As a parent, my question to the lawmakers who wrote the Youth Criminal Justice Act is how are you protecting my child if the perpetrator cannot be named and she could be in my child’s school or class?”

    Following the murder of a police officer last month, Canada’s bail system has come under scrutiny, with political leaders and police chiefs calling for tighter conditions, especially on firearms offences, despite evidence that a majority of those out on bail – who are legally innocent – rarely commit new crimes.

    Lee, who had spent years in the city’s shelter system, is believed to have been attacked after he tried to stop the group of teens from stealing a bottle of alcohol from a friend.

    “Just note that Ken was a kind soul with a heart of gold … He was not in the system due to alcohol or drug abuse,” his family said. “He was a man with pride who had fallen and wanted to learn to stand up on his own knowing that he always had his family behind him.”

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    #Family #Toronto #man #allegedly #killed #teen #girls #criticizes #law #keeping #identities #secret
    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )