The Leveller Vol. 1 Issue 4

The LevellerBirdcage-lining journalism since the first well-placed comma.

Carleton’s campus and community newspaper

March 30 to September 2009vol 1, no 4

Colonization from the ground upPages 8–9

Climate research at riskPage 4

Canada–Colombia free tradePage 5

CBC silencedPage 6

Queerying masculinityPage 6

Media setup of ArarPage 7

Get stuffed in Hintonburg2

Hard Core Logo Page 13

Timekode no longer cool…Page 14

www.leveller.ca

by KAren FosTer

Forty-four City of Ottawa employees were laid off on Wednesday, March 25, as Mayor Larry O’Brien and City Manager Kent Kirk-patrick briefed city coun-cillors on the job cuts in a closed-door meeting at City Hall. The cuts are just the latest phase in the “Corporate Realignment” project that began last November.

Alongside these elimi-nations, another 72 em-ployees will be “realigned” in a manner more befit-ting of such a euphemism, moving laterally, or up or down, the corporate lad-der. According to Kirkpat-rick, the cuts and moves announced Wednesday will save the city $4 million a year and “will increase the City’s focus on service excellence, ensure cost-effective service delivery, and position the organiza-tion to make significant improvements in the day-to-day experience of citi-zens’ interactions with the City of Ottawa.”

The Corporate Re-alignment Project was originally commissioned by councillors in Novem-ber 2008, in the hopes of saving the city as much

as $100 million a year. However, its execution by O’Brien and Kirkpatrick has not always been met with approval by those who helped conceive the plan.

Clive Doucet, the only councillor who answered a request for comment, said that the latest cuts correct “the last of the in-efficiencies that the city got lumbered with by the Harris government” and the 2001 amalgamation of city wards. However, Doucet is harshly critical of the fact that the city will spend $7 million in severance when it will surely need to hire more staff very soon.

Noting that there are numerous projects ex-pected to be launched with nearly $500 million in funding requested from the provincial government over the next two years, Doucet suggested that it would have made more sense to find a spot for the 44 laid-off employees in the new organization-al structure. At the very least, he says, it would have been far cheaper to “park” the fired employees until the City could find a suitable place for them.

The City of Toronto re-

cently opted for this “sit-tight” approach. Council-lors there have questioned the wisdom of cuts when new hires will doubtlessly be needed to handle in-creased demand for city services and infrastruc-ture development. They have also argued that more “creative” solutions are available for cutting costs, such as pay freezes and cuts, job sharing, and rationing resources more tightly.

According to media reports, however, the ma-jority of Ottawa council-lors were in support of the

mayor and city manager’s scorched earth approach to the latest round of “re-alignment.”

Meanwhile, public re-action to the job cuts—in comments on news sto-ries and blogs about City Hall—has centred on a few predominant themes. Many are fed up with what they see as childish behaviour from “inept and dysfunctional” coun-cillors and have taken the layoff announcement as a chance to voice these criti-cisms once again.

The layoffs “look bad” to many Ottawans and

city councillors alike, giv-en the recent decision by a sub-committee to put $30,000 toward a lavish reception for municipal politicians in August, and the Ottawa Sun’s revela-tion that the city spent al-most $2 million last year on consulting from Calian Technologies (of which O’Brien is a director and former CEO).

Following from the ongoing controversy that surrounds O’Brien, there is a growing sentiment among much of the pub-lic that there ought to be a

LArry THe KniFe sTriKes AGAinO’Brien cuts jobs in latest “realignment” move

by sTAFF

Documents and audio files posted on the web-site wikileaks.org have exposed plans by the Ontario Progressive Con-servative Campus Asso-ciation (OPCCA) to “take over” student unions, keep the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) “off campus,” and cut funding to Ontario Public Inter-est Research Groups and even campus radio.

The audio files contain candid discussions of how campus Conservatives can create “front” and “shell” groups to fraudulently ob-tain student union fund-ing for political causes that would not be demo-

cratically supported in an open election.

On March 21, the OP-CCA held a closed-door workshop at Carleton University, which was at-tended by about a dozen people. Although the pre-viously leaked documents list Nick Bergamini, re-cently elected Carleton University Students’ As-sociation (CUSA) VP stu-dent issues, as a speaker, he did not attend the workshop and declined to comment on this story for The Leveller.

The practice of estab-lishing front clubs is a familiar one at Carleton. An organized campaign to fraudulently gain ac-cess to student money

through CUSA club funding was exposed by CUSA last year. Many of the students implicated in

that scandal are now key players in the Carleton Campus Conservatives (CCC) and the Carleton

Academic Student Gov-ernment (CASG), a pro-administration student

Tory LeAKs LinK To 2007 CLuB FrAudFront clubs scandal implicates campus Conservatives and CASG

Photo Pax

Continued on page 4

Continued on page 3

2 The Leveller vol 1, no 4, March 30 to September 2009 www.leveller.ca

Lev•el•lernoun

1 Historical: During the English Civil War (c. 1649), one who favoured the abolition of all rank and privilege. Originally an insult, but later embraced by radical anti-Royalists.

2 One who tells the truth, as in “I’m going to level with you.”

3 An instrument that knocks down things that are standing up or digs up things that are buried or hidden.

The Leveller is a publication covering news, current events, and culture at Carleton University, in the city of Ottawa and, to a lesser extent, the wider world. It is intended to provide readers with a lively portrait of the university and their community and of the events that give it meaning. It is also intended to be a forum for provocative editorializing and lively debate on issues of concern to Carleton students, staff, and faculty as well as Ottawa residents.

The Leveller leans left, meaning that it sides with people over private property, and is democratic, meaning that it favours open discussion over silencing and secrecy. Within these very general boundaries, The Leveller is primarily interested in being interesting, in saying something worth saying and worth reading about. It doesn’t mind getting a few things wrong if it gets that part right.

The Leveller is mostly the work of a small group of volunteers. In fact it is produced entirely by volunteers. To become a more permanent enterprise and a more truly democratic and representative paper, it will require more volunteers to write, edit, and produce, to take pictures, and to dig up the stories.

The Leveller needs you. It needs you to read it, talk about it, discuss it with your friends, agree with it, disagree with it, write a letter, write a story (or send in a story idea), join in the producing of it, or just denounce it. Ultimately it needs you—or someone like you—to edit it, to guide it towards maturity, to give it financial security and someplace warm and safe to live.

The Leveller is an ambitious little rag. It wants to be simultaneously irreverent and important, to demand responsibility from others while it shakes it off itself, to be a fun-house mirror we can laugh at ourselves in and a map we can use to find ourselves and our city in. It wants to be your coolest, most in-the-know friend and your social conscience at the same time. It has its work cut out for it.

The Leveller is published every two weeks, at the beginning of the week. It is free.

The Leveller and its editors have no phone or office, but can be contacted with letters of love or hate at [email protected]

Editor-in-Chief Ashley Hunkin

Associate Editor David Tough

Editorial Board Victoria Abraham, Brian Foster, Karen Foster, Sam Heaton, Ashley Hunkin, Doug Nesbitt, Erin Seatter, David Tough, Daniel Tubb

Copy Editor Lauryn Kronick Erin Seatter

Production Daniel Tubb Denise MacDonald Rakhim “Pax”

Listings Karen Foster Denise MacDonald

Advertising Liam Giffin

Publisher David Tough

Logistics Denise MacDonald

Contributors Alan Alanzi, Alex Butler, Sarah Cappeliez, Miranda Cobb, Stefan Currie-Roberts, Laurie Fyffe, Melanie Karalis, Christopher Schultz, Eric L. Smith

Sustaining Members Miranda Cobb, Josh Frappier, Erin Seatter, Daniel Tubb, David Tough

THe LeveLLer is on suMMer HoLidAysThe sun is shining, the ice is melting, and it’s time to put away our laptops until September. We would like to sincerely thank everyone who read the paper, who wrote letters, who thought about writing letters but didn’t, who contributed an article or helped put one together, who bought an ad, who thought about buying an ad but didn’t, who gave us money or compliments and criticisms, who lent us equipment, who carried a paper around, and who let us curl up on your floors, desks, and tables.

Our big ambitious plan is to rest a lot and then to reconvene in some form over the summer and start thinking about how we can make The Leveller a more permanent and more manageable burden for the people who care about it and how it can slowly but surely take its rightful place at the heart of Ottawa’s left, both on campus and off. To do that, we will need all the people who have participated so far and many more.

If you would like to get involved or just generally keep in touch over the summer, please drop us a line. We will almost certainly get back to you, eventually. But first we will be taking a big nap.

[email protected]

Off campusMayfair TheatreOttawa Folklore CentreSunnyside LibraryOctupus BooksNicastrosFrench BakerKettleman’s BagelsWild OatKardish

Glebe Video InternationalThe Arrow and LoonBrittain’s MagazinesCrosstown TrafficBirdman SoundFrancesco’s CoffeeIrene’s PubMorala CoffeeThe Clocktower Pub

Rama LotusHerb and SpiceSpaceman MusicThe Inkspot Tattoo ShopVenus EnvyInvisible CinemaWallack’s Art SuppliesJames Street PubImperial Pub

On campusResidence CommonsSt. Patrick’s Resource Centre Loeb second floor lobbySoutham tunnel Mike’s PlaceGSA loungeOPIRGUnicentre AtriumUnicentre food court

Where to pick us up

www.leveller.ca vol 1, no 4, March 30 to September 2009 The Leveller 3

by ViCToriA ABrAHAM

The student-run Carleton Sustainable Campus Net-work (CSCN) has been trying to make the Car-leton campus more envi-ronmentally friendly for years and has repeatedly pushed for the creation of an official sustainability coordinator. But when the university administration hired Murdo Murchison for that position in March 2009, it did not consult with the CSCN.

Steph Kittmer, who was on the Sustainability Task Force in 2008 and is the coordinator of the CSCN, learned about Murchison from another student and not from the university administration. Chris Bisson, a member of the CSCN, says, “The hiring of the coordinator was done over our heads with absolutely no con-sultation.”

The CSCN, which is an Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) working group, functions

as a hub that tries to bring students together to dis-cuss sustainability issues on campus.

According to Kittmer, a sustainability coordina-tor was needed because “Carleton was one of the few universities that did not have a sustainabil-ity coordinator. All that stuff was trickling back to directors of different de-partments but they were already really busy. There was nobody on campus providing guidance to any of these departments or managers.”

In 2006, the CSCN compiled a list of what it felt should comprise the role of the sustainability coordinator.

Some of the sustain-ability coordinator’s tasks would be to reach out to various departments and involve them in the effort to make Carleton more environmentally and so-cially sustainable and to manage and organize a database of all sustainable campus work completed

by students and faculty. In addition, the sus-

tainability officer would act as a research liaison between students and the Carleton Physical Plant and be responsible for li-aising with the CSCN.

Topping CSCN’s to do list for the coordinator is the completion of the Campus Sustainability Assessment Framework (CSAF), which is meant to evaluate the current status of sustainability on cam-pus, identify initiatives to increase sustainabil-ity, and consider alternate methods to create a more sustainable campus.

As a result of the lack of communication between the university adminis-tration and the CSCN, Bisson is sceptical of the university’s motives in hiring the coordinator. “The administration can hire somebody to make suggestions,” he says, “but they don’t have to act on them. This allows the administration to greenwash their image

and market the campus as an eco-friendly insti-tution without making any actual changes or improvements.”

Kittmer is similarly displeased with the way the administration went about hiring the offi-cer, saying, “I think the administration is really unobservant of student efforts for sustainability on campus.”

A former waste reduc-tion officer in Peterbor-ough, Murchison devel-oped and implemented recycling programs for apartments, created a newsletter promoting waste reduction, and conducted the first waste audit at Trent University. He has outlined his first task at Carleton as the creation of a strategic plan to increase Carle-ton’s sustainability.

This plan will focus on environmental issues; energy, waste, and trans-portation management; and campus planning and renovation projects.

Murchison also plans to foster community in-volvement and raise stu-dent and faculty aware-ness of sustainability issues on campus.

Despite the univer-sity’s covert approach to hiring Murchison, Kitt-mer remains optimistic about this development. She explains, “We are really happy about this. We are looking forward to working with this sustainability officer. It is really promising that Carleton is finally step-ping up to the plate and doing their part to en-sure sustainability on campus.”

What remains to be seen is whether this initial lack of commu-nication between the administration and the CSCN will set a prec-edent for the coming years, with the admin-istration simply green-washing its image, or whether Murchison will fulfill the role envi-sioned by the CSCN.

CAMpus

by WesLey ross

Final appeals by Bruce Kyereh-Addo for the dis-puted Carleton Univer-sity Students’ Association (CUSA) elections were heard on Tuesday, March 24 by the CUSA constitu-tional board.

Interest was high as board members, appel-lants, student media, and observers crowded the meeting room, with over-flow filling the adjoining lounge. Kyereh-Addo was

joined in his defence by Emile Scheffel, volunteer manager of the Demand Better slate.

“I thought it [the meet-ing] was very good, free, and fair,” said Kyereh-Addo. “I’m happy with how they went about it. I thought it was a really good debate.”

Defending the decision to disqualify Kyereh-Ad-do were Chelsea Dunn, member of the Electoral Board, and James Pratt, executive coordinator of

CUSA. Brittany Smyth, current CUSA president and chair of the Electoral Board, recused herself due to a possible conflict of interest.

Kyereh-Addo was con-testing four of his six vio-lations of the Consolidat-ed Electoral Code. Three or more violations are enough to warrant dis-qualification.

The violations includ-ed Kyereh-Addo punch-ing a hole in a wall out-side the elections office

after a heated discussion with the elections staff, as well as campaigning on both DC++, an inter-nal file-sharing network for Carleton students, and social networking website Facebook.com despite an electoral code prohibition against such tactics.

The bulk of the de-fence as presented by Scheffel lay in the con-tention that the Elector-al Board could not prove that Kyereh-Addo or

anyone directed by him committed those offenc-es. “How do we know Bruce was responsible?” asked Scheffel. Howev-er, Dunn defended the board’s decision, saying “one would have to be wearing blinders not to see” that Kyereh-Addo or his team committed the violations.

Both sides agreed the electoral code will need clarification to prevent such problems in the fu-ture.

THe AppeAL THAT neVer endsYes, it goes on and on my friends

governing body. The initiative, spear-

headed by Jeff Farncombe, was called (predictably) the Jeff Farncombe Ini-tiative (JFI). The group began as a slate for the Carleton Campus Con-servatives (CCC) elections in spring of 2007, and in September 2007, it began an active secret campaign to establish front groups.

The JFI also ran a slate for the Carleton Political Science Society (CPSS) in 2007 with Farncombe elected vice president. The JFI won votes by pay-ing the membership fees for new CPSS members shortly before the elec-tion. Farncombe prom-ised that the fees would be reimbursed with the CPSS’s CUSA funding.

Following these two elections, the JFI created

seven front clubs in Sep-tember 2007.

Documents show that the goal of the JFI was to take over the CUSA Fi-nancial Assistance Com-mittee for Clubs and Soci-eties (FACCS) board—the elected body that oversees the distribution of funds to clubs and societies—and to then distribute funds to preferred clubs and societies, including the CPSS, Carleton Pub-lic Affairs Society, and the Model Parliament. One student on the JFI e-mail list refused to participate and exposed the JFI in early 2008.

Following the expo-sure, the JFI fraud was investigated by CUSA, which resulted in CUSA banning Farncombe and two other students, Bro-die Houlette and Devon Monkhouse, from serving

as executives of any CUSA clubs or societies.

Following the ruling, Farncombe stepped down as president of the CPSS and was replaced by Matt Dick, another student in-vestigated for setting up front clubs. Farncombe remained president of the CCC for 2008–09 be-cause the CCC did not apply to become a CUSA club, thus circumventing the ban.

The links between the JFI and the CCC are over-whelming if not absolute. Jeff Farncombe is also vice-president of OPCCA alongside president Eric Merkeley, who is listed on Facebook as the organizer of the Carleton OPCCA workshop. Farncombe did not reply to requests for an interview with The Leveller.

Of the 15 CCC mem-

bers listed on the 2007–08 Clubs & Societies ap-plication, 11 were on the JFI e-mail list. Half of the 2008–09 CCC execu-tive, including Farncombe, Grant Dingwall, Nicholas Young, and James Bowden, are known JFI members. Dingwall is the incoming president for the CCC.

Those involved in the JFI were also operating in part out of the Carleton Academic Student Gov-ernment (CASG) offices on the third floor of the Unicentre.

Andrew Monkhouse, CASG president at the time, has claimed to have disassociated himself from the JFI’s front club efforts when they began in Sep-tember 2007. He sub-mitted an e-mail to the CUSA investigation to support his claim. How-ever, this e-mail contained

a number of inconsisten-cies—including a future date stamp of September 21, 2008, six months af-ter it was forwarded to the investigation—that sug-gested it was doctored.

In addition, a JFI e-mail dated January 8, 2008 directs JFI members involved in creating front clubs to seek the help of Andrew Monkhouse and Brandon Wallingford at the CASG office. E-mails from January and March of 2008 also reveal that Monkhouse was still in contact with the JFI and requesting that JFI mem-bers attend CASG com-mittee meetings and sit on CUSA council as proxies during summer 2008.

Matt Dick, the 2008–09 CASG VP societies and now CASG VP op-erations, was also involved in the JFI. Dick helped es-

tablish three of the seven proven JFI front clubs and was listed as a member of the CCC in 2007–08 even though he told The Level-ler that he votes NDP. Dick claimed that the JFI clubs he established—the Games and Leisure club, Area 51 club, and Civili-zation club—were created for legitimate reasons, but he did not deny that the JFI attempted a takeover the FACCS board.

In 2008–09, Dick was VP societies for CASG and was one of the lead-ing campaigners in favour of the failed CASG soci-eties levy referendum in February. According to the “No” campaign, had the referendum passed, VP societies would have unchecked and unsuper-vised control of approxi-mately $100,000.

Inconsistencies suggest exoneration e-mail doctoredContinued from page 1

GreenWAsH on CAMpus?Carleton hires sustainability czar

BrieFs

City allows abortion harassmentWomen accessing the Ot-tawa Morgentaler Clinic face increased harassment from anti-choice protesters affili-ated with the 40 Days for Life campaign. Clinic staff ques-tion the decision by the City and Ottawa Police Service to allow the protest in front of the clinic. While the City and police argue it is an issue of free speech, clinic staff argue the protesters could exercise that right without engaging in harassment, by moving the protest to more traditional rally points such as Parliament Hill. Clinic staff and patients are mobilizing to get the per-mit rescinded.

Baird putters on high-speed railOn March 17, Minister of Transportation and Ottawa West-Nepean MP John Baird announced plans to improve Toronto–Ottawa–Montreal rail transportation through increased service and modern-ized infrastructure. Some $13 million will be spent in the Ottawa area. An additional $3 million is being spent on the 17th study in 36 years on the prospects of high-speed rail service along the Windsor–Quebec City corridor. The Ontario and Quebec premiers support high-speed rail, but Baird said it would be too expensive and serve too few people. Over half of all Cana-dians live in the corridor and the 401 is North America’s busiest freeway.

Auto bailouts hit workers hardestCanadian Auto Workers (CAW) members occupied an auto parts factory in Windsor on March 19 to protest be-ing laid off without severance pay. The occupation followed CAW voting on concessions as a precondition for federal bailout money for GM and Chrysler. CAW and Chrysler have to reach an agreement by March 31 to get federal–pro-vincial bailout money. CAW has agreed to a $7/hour wage cut but Chrysler wants a $19/hour cut. It is looking for an estimated $2.5 billion bailout. Recent corporate tax cuts have eliminated several billion dollars from government revenues.


by sTeFAn Currie- roBerTs

Despite nearly $30 billion of new federal government spending, this year’s bud-get has managed to put many of Canada’s climate change research projects in jeopardy and led many promising young cli-mate change scientists to leave Canada in search of “greener” pastures else-where.

Having realized that pre-venting climate change is a fashionable idea, and then pledged to do something about it, Harper stumbled upon the notion that it would be better to release a big, old-fashioned stim-ulus budget instead of a veiled attempt to destroy the federal opposition parties.

Unfortunately, this may have caused a spiri-tual crisis for the prime minister, because he can’t seem to make these plans compatible. The 2009 federal budget contained a smorgasbord of stimulus spending, mostly directed at reliable infrastructure projects such as road and bridge building—about $12 billion in all—but major research bodies are being de-funded.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Re-search Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sci-ences and Humanities Re-search Council of Canada

(SSHRC), and the Cana-dian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) will see their budgets cut by $147.9 million over the next three years. The Ca-nadian Climate Impacts and Adaptation Research Network was shut down in 2007, and funding for the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmo-spheric Sciences, which expires in 2010, will not be renewed.

Not only are their bud-gets being cut, but these supposedly arms-length organizations’ research agendas are being more tightly controlled by the government than ever be-fore. In 2008, for example, it was announced that any new NSERC funding will have to be devoted to re-search in the automotive, manufacturing, forestry, and fishery sectors.

Climate change is arguably the most ur-gent challenge facing the world, but it doesn’t offer a short-term economic boost to the economy, and the Conservative government fails to see the value in investing in research that will benefit the country both envi-ronmentally and eco-nomically far into the future.

This approach harms Canada’s adaptation and mitigation efforts and is also at odds with research funding trends across the

developed world. The University of Victoria’s Andrew Weaver, a mem-ber of the Intergovern-mental Panel on Climate Change, has said he’s al-ready lost three of his top scientists to Australia, a country that is actually increasing its climate change research despite a stagnating economy. American president Ba-rack Obama has pledged an increase in funding of billions for basic re-search and has promised that American economic recovery will not be con-ducted at the expense of the environment.

Harper’s approach is at odds with common sense as well. When the economy is in recession, it is the perfect time to support innovative re-search that will help the country move towards more prosperous times. And as the Canadian As-sociation of University Teachers recently said in an open letter to the prime minister, “History has shown that decisions about the merits of scien-tific research are best left to scientists, not politi-cians or governments.”

It seems the prime minister’s tangled revela-tions have left him con-fused. Despite massive federal budget increases, Canada’s climate change research is badly deterio-rating.

nATionAL

45th job on the chopping block: the mayor’s.

But there is arguably more to glean from the latest chapter of the re-alignment saga.

Corporate realignment has primarily been a mat-ter of optics. On the one hand, the layoffs consti-tute a bold public rela-tions move on the part of a mayor whose reign may be over in July, when he goes on trial for bribery charges. Regardless of current public opinion on O’Brien, he was elected on a promise to trim a city structure widely rec-ognized as bloated, and firing 44 staffers sends

a clear message that he’s keeping his word. On the other hand, the secretive meetings and the rhetoric of “restructuring” and “re-alignment” serve to sani-tize what are, at root, real people losing their jobs.

Morale at City Hall has been cited in numer-ous news reports and interviews as the most crippling factor in Ot-tawa governance, and while pink is indeed a cheery colour, it is no morale booster when it comes in the form of a slip—or the looming threat of one.

Moreover, it will not take long for the $4 million in savings to be

overshadowed by the $7 million in severance, and for an eventual influx of new hires to slow city business once again.

Ottawans who have grown tired of fat cats with large salaries tak-ing up space at City Hall understandably laud the job cuts, but the bottom line is that 44 layoffs do very little to put the city’s government back on track and even less to save money. Moving beyond the wasteful im-passes and endless con-sultations that bog down and bring dysfunction to City Council ought to be the real target for cost-cutting reforms.

Continued from page 1

Last slash in O’Brien’s pre-trial restructuring

CLiMATe CHAnGe reseArCH AT risK


inTernATionAL

by MeLAnie KArALis

“What’s Wrong with the Canada–Colombia Free Trade Agreement?” was the title of the conference held at the University of Ottawa on March 24, where Colombian Sena-tor Jorge Enrique Rob-ledo Castillo and a panel discussed the possible negative effects of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Canada and Co-lombia.

The FTA, which would remove some trade barri-ers between Colombia and Canada, has quietly been making its way through Parliament. On Novem-ber 21, 2008, Stockwell Day, the Minister of In-ternational Trade, signed the agreement. This leaves only ratification, which will most likely occur in late spring of this year.

As the discussion at the conference suggested, the FTA will not be in the best interests of either Canada or Colombia. Senator Robledo, who is a second-term senator for the Polo Democra-tico Alternativa, made it clear that the currently proposed FTA would be detrimental to Colombia’s economy. He spoke about

the importance of not let-ting the FTA as proposed be ratified by Parliament.

What is so bad about the FTA? For starters, Co-lombia does not have an impressive human rights record. According to the United Nations, the num-ber of internally displaced persons in Colombia numbers over 4 million, making Colombia third after Iraq and Sudan. In Columbia, 30% of the congress is under investi-gation—the vast majority from the president’s own party—for ties with right-wing paramilitary death squads.

It’s no secret that Co-lombia has the dubious distinction of being the world’s most dangerous country for trade union-ists and labour activists. According to the Inter-national Labor Rights Forum, “more trade unionists are murdered in Colombia every year than in the rest of the world combined.” Sena-tor Robledo said that it is “easier to build a gang than a union.” Canada’s own unions, including the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and Ca-nadian Union of Public Employees, showed their disagreement with the FTA by sponsoring the event.

Canada’s response to these human rights con-cerns has been to sign an Agreement on Labour Cooperation with the FTA. The government believes this will ensure labour laws are adhered to. Laura Carlsen, a po-litical analyst on US pol-icies toward the Ameri-cas and panel member at the conference, said that even if you incorporat-ed labour laws into the FTA, it wouldn’t make the country any more likely to adhere to them.

The Canadian gov-ernment signed the FTA after being assured that human rights condi-tions in Colombia have improved. Peter Julian, an NDP Member of Par-liament, said that since Canada receives its in-

formation on the hu-man rights happenings in Colombia from the government, “there is a constant drumbeat of misinformation.”

Senator Robledo said, “Even if there had not been one single trade unionist killed, from our point of view, we would still oppose the Free Trade Agreement.” In other words, although the human rights issues in Colombia are in-deed very serious prob-lems, they are not the only problem with an FTA between Canada and Colombia. Simply put, from an economic standpoint, Colombia is not ready for the FTA as proposed.

As Robledo pointed out, poor countries do

not reap the same ben-efits of these interna-tional ties as rich ones. Carlsen said that Mexi-co’s poor economic per-formance after 15 years of free trade with Can-ada and the US shows that FTAs are not for all countries.

Robledo argued that the Colombian govern-ment’s persistence in try-ing to secure FTAs with countries such as France, Norway, and Canada, and the European Union, is, in the end, an attempt to secure one with the US. Currently, an FTA is stalled in the US Con-gress, due to worries over human rights conditions in Colombia.

Senator Robledo said that “if Uribe manages to negotiate an agree-

ment with Canada and Europe, it gives him credibility to take to Washington. If Paris and Ottawa say yes, then why not?” On March 20, Norway postponed talks with Colombia, in order to analyze the human rights situation further.

As for Canada, it is clear that Stephen Harp-er’s government supports ratification. Without re-sistance from the oppo-sition parties, it is likely that the deal will be rati-fied in the spring. Peter Julian, NDP Member of Parliament, believes the agreement doesn’t match Canadian values. Does it match yours? If not, you can sign a petition on his site www.peterjulian.ca or contact your Member of Parliament.

Canada–Colombia free trade no picnic

by Melanie Karalis

“Even if there hadn’t been one single trade unionist killed, from our point of view, we would still oppose the Free Trade Agreement.”

Manufactured EI crisisIn recent weeks, labour and community groups have orga-nized protests at the Toronto and Scarborough EI offices. The recession has forced the government to increase EI benefits from 38 to 50 weeks as EI claims have jumped 100,000 in a year to over half a million. In the 1980s, an es-timated 70 to 80% of laid-off workers qualified for 52 weeks of EI with benefits. This figure has fallen to 40%—30% in Ontario—since EI restructur-ing in the mid 1990s. Average EI benefits are $335/week, 25% less than in 1996. Or-ganized labour has regularly accused successive federal gov-ernments of using more than $54 billion in EI premiums to balance budgets and pay off the national debt.

PIRGs attackedPublic Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) have come under attack on campuses across the country in recent weeks. Conservatives tried to seize the Ontario PIRG (OPIRG) executive at the University of Guelph and are campaigning to cut the fund-ing of the Nova Scotia PIRG at Dalhousie University. At a meeting of Queen University’s Alma Mater Society (AMS), a motion was narrowly defeated to remove student representa-tive Kevin Wiener, a campus Conservative present at re-cent Conservative workshops on undermining PIRGs. The motion was introduced after Wiener’s motion to eliminate funding to OPIRG-Kingston was soundly defeated. At Car-leton University, two campus Conservatives were present at the OPIRG-Carleton annual general meeting on March 26 but could not cast votes since they had opted out of mem-bership earlier in the year.

Election season finally over Carleton’s student election season has come to an end with the latest results from the Graduate Students’ As-sociation. Coming soon to a sixth floor office near you will be President Kimalee Phillip, VP Operations Liz Martin, VP External Aus-tin Miller, and VP Academic Nick Falvo, with VP Finance Andrea Balon returning to brave another year. OPIRG, CKCU, Foot Patrol, and G-Spot fans are rejoicing after a successful referendum cam-paign to tie their levies to the consumer price index.

BrieFs


MAGAzine

by sAM HeATon

Canwest Global, the over-reaching Cyclops of Cana-dian private news, is either “lumbering towards” or “teetering on the edge” of bankruptcy, depending on who you ask. The Harper minority government is considering “relief ” for the Winnipeg company, which operates some 20 national television chan-nels, 10 major dailies—including the Ottawa Citizen and the National Post—23 smaller papers, and, don’t forget, FM ra-dio in Turkey.

The Canadian Broad-casting Corporation (CBC), meanwhile, faces massive cuts and layoffs, its agonies a direct result of years of benign neglect followed by outright hos-tility from the current government—which ap-pears to want to trade in its independent state media for a more specifi-cally government-friendly one. The relief for Can-west Global would likely come in the form of de-regulation and tax cuts. Heritage Minister James Moore has said, “The role of the government is to make sure the regulatory

regime, the tax regime, is more flexible, more for-giving, and more open in the future.”

This is essentially the same pabulum used to justify the Harper government’s neoliberal policies in every area and it says little about their plans. Specifical-ly, one facet of the re-lief would be charging carrier fees—usually reserved for specialty channels—to cable companies that carry Canwest stations, a cost that will be passed on to subscribers. Can-west’s monocular gaze has fallen lovingly on the Conservative mi-nority government for some time. All of its major papers, if they did endorse, endorsed Stephen Harper in last year’s dismal federal election, usually citing his famously “steady hand” on the economy.

Should Canwest be forced to file for bankruptcy protec-tion, its founders, the Asper family (the root of Canwest’s unwaver-ing loyalty to Canada’s Libera l–Conservat ive coalition and to Israel’s

right-wing ruling party Likud) is at risk of los-ing control of the com-pany.

What about the CBC? Is the govern-ment looking to change media horses at the gallop? Not exactly, but while Harper and Moore look for a way to save Canwest’s private media hegemony, the Crown corporation’s own requests are falling on deaf ears. Hurt by a decrease in advertis-ing revenue thanks to the recession, the CBC has been forced to cut 800 jobs—8% of its workforce—sell assets, offer early retirement packages, and cut (but not eliminate!) execu-tive “incentive” bo-nuses. The iconic Ca-nadian broadcaster has not asked for increased funding or regulatory changes and has ruled out putting advertising on its radio stations or increasing American programming. Accus-tomed to Conservative unfriendliness to pub-lic broadcasting and without access to com-mercial borrowing, the CBC asked for a line

of credit from Ottawa, which was promptly de-nied. The CBC has also been denied an advance on its regular funding to weather through the hard times.

Meanwhile, Heritage Minister James Moore has been making baf-flingly dissonant com-ments on his vision for the “modernization” of arts and culture. The CBC is “about being where there are market failures, it’s about being a platform for Canadian content,” said Moore, who also criticized the CBC’s reliance on American programming and advertising.

Moore obviously didn’t watch CBC’s modern election cover-age—he claims to get his news from the American entertainment website dailybeast.com. Anyone would agree that the CBC shouldn’t have to rely on noisy advertise-ments and that when it comes to the media, Canada’s border is far too porous, but Moore’s statements clash with the record of his gov-ernment.

If Canada was serious

about funding culture or the arts, it would not be spending money on useless frivolities such as tanks to send to the desert (ask Mussolini); it would fund the CBC in a serious way.

One eighteenth of Canada’s current mili-tary budget would dou-ble CBC funding. While our Leopard 2 tanks sit polished in European warehouses two years after the government bought them, public broadcasting will not likely emerge from the recession (depression?) unharmed.

As for Canwest Global, we hope that like the Cyclops in the Technicolor classic The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, it will fall off the edge of a cliff. Single-owner, for-profit dominance in media across Canada has proven itself to be unsustainable, unac-countable, and uninfor-mative.

If Canwest is inter-ested in offloading tox-ic assets, it could always sell the Ottawa Citizen to The Leveller. And if the Conservative gov-ernment is looking to

favour other media over the CBC, The Leveller is selling ad space—but, of course, our story meetings are public.

by ALAn ALAnzi

“I can’t believe he’s straight! Look at the way he’s dressed up! This is way too confus-ing, girl!” Comments like these are becoming more common in lines at most of Ottawa’s gay clubs.

More heterosexual men seem to be giving up the baggy jeans and lumpy sweaters in fa-vour of skinny bottoms and hot form-fitting tops. These men have become known as met-rosexuals and are usu-ally fashion conscious, well groomed, and physically fit.

But it was not enough to sport the big glasses and giant murses (purs-es for men). For some metrosexuals it’s also about an overall style and attitude that passes for Queer.

What has caused this trend of looking and carrying oneself in such a way as to almost always be mistaken as someone who is gay? Is it suddenly the cool thing? Are these men

doing it as a form of ex-pression to say that they are straight not narrow? There is no clear an-swer.

A Queer Carleton student believes it to be just another element of corporate culture. “I think we should stop stereotyping what is typically gay or typical-ly straight…. The capi-talist model is affecting more than women and homosexuals, so relat-ing clothes to sexual preference doesn’t make sense anymore.”

When asked how he feels about the term metrosexuality, the stu-dent responded that he has “no problem with it but it is not a sexual identity. It has noth-ing to do with who you fuck.” Instead he argued that metrosexuality is more about straight men buying into a new model of masculinity—one that conveniently requires men to invest more in the capitalist culture of consump-tion.

It may be that the growing metrosexual

trend is about buying into a new ideal image of a man, but how does this affect gay identity? For a very long time, gay men have used their images as identifiers, to help register on the “gaydar.”

In other words, look-ing gay makes it easier to approach someone

of the same sex and get your flirt on without fear of the awkward “Sorry I’m straight” response. Insert metro-sexuals into the equa-tion and you end up with total confusion! Not to mention the inevitable safety issues associated with acci-dentally hitting on the

hot-but-straight boy in the library.

Perhaps the image of the gay man has been safely incorporated and normalized in main-stream heterosexual culture, but has the gay man himself been nor-malized? Maybe when there is an acceptance of both the gay man

and his fashionable tools, it will become more appropriate to normalize metrosexu-ality. If Queers didn’t have to fear for their lives when hitting on straight men, they might be more accept-ing of straight guys embracing their im-age.

CBC silenced by media giant’s death rattle

HoT Tops And sKinny BoTToMsQueerying the new model masculinity

One eighteenth of Canada’s current military budget would double CBC funding. While our Leopard 2 tanks sit polished in European warehouses two years after the government bought them, public broadcasting will not likely emerge from the recession (depression?) unharmed.


MAGAzine

by ALex BuTLer

On March 23, Carleton University hosted a panel discussion featuring Ma-her Arar and his wife Mo-nia Mazigh, along with Carleton instructor Faiza Hirji, CBC correspondent Evan Dyer, and the execu-tive editor of the Ottawa Citizen Graham Green. The panel discussed the ethics of journalism and

media coverage of Mus-lims and the effect of these issues on Arar’s case.

After four years, the Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Cana-dian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar has recog-nized the important role officials played in Arar’s rendition to Syria. The in-quiry has shown that inac-curate information about Arar given to American officials by the RCMP led to his deportation and subsequent torture.

With the commission report released and Arar cleared of all allegations of terrorist links, media outlets have covered er-rors made by Canadian officials extensively. How-ever, the role played by the media throughout Arar’s ordeal has been less examined.

The Carleton event was co-sponsored by the Centre for Faith and the Media, an organization whose aim is to advocate accurate portrayals of faith in the media. The organi-zation recently started the Muslim Project to inform journalists about the ef-fects of misrepresenting or stereotyping Muslims in media coverage.

Hirji spoke about the dangers of these stereo-

types. She said that me-dia failures in Canada have “helped to ensure for Muslims in Canada, the last few years really have been a time of ter-ror.” The propagation of stereotypes by the media not only hurts individu-als, but the entire Muslim community in Canada.

The panel debated the appropriateness of de-scriptive terms that could be seen as stereotyping. For example, the Cana-dian Islamic Congress considers the use of the word “Islamist” to de-scribe a terrorist as anti-Islamic. However, the use of the word did not pres-ent problems for Dyer, who stated, “I don’t have a problem with the word ‘Islamist.’” Using words that are politically loaded or lack clear definitions to explain complex situa-tions can unwittingly per-petuate stereotypes of the Muslim community.

The campaign against Arar, however, went be-yond stereotypes. A press release from the Com-mission of Inquiry stated, “Canadian officials leaked confidential and some-times inaccurate informa-tion about the case to the media, for the purpose of damaging Mr. Arar’s

reputation or protecting their self-interest or gov-ernment interests.” While this statement stresses the many transgressions of the Canadian government and RCMP, it does not examine the other perpe-trator: the media.

Journalists printed in-accuracies about Arar. They printed information from anonymous sources that portrayed Arar in a way that was detrimental to public sympathy for his case. However, it was not just Arar that was affected, but the reputation of me-dia outlets. Arar warned that if the use of anony-mous sources continues, “the victim will not just be the individuals, but the integrity of Canadian journalism as a whole.”

Speaking on behalf of a media outlet, Green defended the use of these sources, stating, “I believe that anonymous sources are vital.” Without the important and honest in-formation that can come from anonymous sources, Green argued, many es-sential stories would never be told. However, their use draws into question the ethics of presenting pos-sibly false information, as happened in Arar’s case.

Kerry Pither, who told

Arar’s story of rendition and torture in her book Dark Days: the Stories of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fight-ing Terror, recognizes the positive and negative ef-fects the media had on Arar’s case. “On one hand, publicity stepped up pres-sure on the government to look into the case; on the other hand, it was a curse, as officials eager to cover up mistakes leaked false allegations to the media.”

In Pither’s opinion, there is a lesson to be learned. “The media need to learn from Arar’s case to revisit not only how anon-ymous sources are used, but the manipulation of the media by authorities who cast suspicion on other people, instead of who is responsible.”

It is a critical time for journalism, as the reliabil-ity of the media is increas-ingly being questioned. It is also increasingly neces-sary for media to cover stories such as Arar’s to ensure that such mistakes do not occur again. How-ever, it requires respon-sible journalism to avoid the stereotyping and me-dia manipulation that has occurred in Arar’s case and the cases of other Muslims in Canada.

With the hope that her husband’s ordeal will not be repeated, Mazigh advised that journalists “must be vigilant and open so mistakes are not repeated and lessons are learned.” It is time for Ca-nadian media to rethink their ethics, step back, and judge their own actions in this crucial time.

HoW THe MediA seT up ArArReflecting on the power to construct reality, people

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“The media need to learn from Arar’s case to revisit not only how anonymous sources are used, but the manipulation of the media by authorities who cast suspicion on other people, instead of who is responsible.”

“Canadian officials leaked confidential and sometimes inaccurate information about the case to the media, for the purpose of damaging Mr. Arar’s reputation or protecting their self-interest or government interests.”

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title

, and

the

prov

incia

l gov

ernm

ent h

id b

ehin

d th

e Ont

ario

Min

ing

Act.

As a

resu

lt, o

n th

e mor

ning

of J

une 2

8, ei

ght m

em-

bers

of th

e Ard

och

Algo

nqui

n Fi

rst N

atio

n, le

d by

co-C

hief

s Pau

la Sh

erm

an

and

Robe

rt Lo

velac

e, an

d th

e Sha

bot O

baad

jiwan

Firs

t Nat

ion,

led

by C

hief

D

oree

n D

avis

and

War

Chi

ef E

arl B

adou

r, oc

cupi

ed F

VC’s

min

e offi

ce si

te.

A co

alitio

n of

settl

ers f

orm

ed, c

ompo

sed

mos

tly o

f cot

tage

rs fro

m th

e are

a. Th

ey g

athe

red

and

form

ed a

cam

p ou

tside

the m

ine o

ffice

gat

e. In

late

July,

FVC

laun

ched

a $

75 m

illio

n law

suit

again

st th

e Ar

doch

Al-

gonq

uin

First

Nat

ion

and

a we

ek la

ter a

sked

the

Ont

ario

Sup

erio

r Cou

rt to

iss

ue a

per

man

ent i

njun

ctio

n ag

ainst

the

prot

esto

rs at

the

bloc

kade

, whi

ch,

cont

rary

to th

e re

com

men

datio

n of

the

Ippe

rwas

h In

quiry

, was

issu

ed b

ut

igno

red

by th

e Ard

och

Algo

nqui

n an

d Sh

abot

Oba

adjiw

an F

irst N

atio

ns.

Whi

le th

e co

urt d

id n

ot a

gree

with

the

Ippe

rwas

h In

quiry

, it d

id a

gree

w

ith C

anad

a’s in

tern

atio

nal p

ositi

on. T

wo

week

s lat

er, C

anad

a w

as o

ne o

f fo

ur s

tate

s th

at v

oted

aga

inst

the

UN

Dec

larat

ion

on th

e Ri

ghts

of I

ndig

-en

ous P

eopl

es. A

rticle

26

of th

e dec

larat

ion

affirm

s, “I

ndig

enou

s peo

ples

hav

e th

e rig

ht to

the

lands

, ter

ritor

ies a

nd re

sour

ces w

hich

they

hav

e tra

ditio

nally

ow

ned,

occ

upied

or o

ther

wise

use

d or

acqu

ired.

”

Sta

ndin

g G

roun

d Ju

ne to

Oct

ober

200

7

4O

n M

arch

17,

eig

ht m

embe

rs o

f th

e K

itche

nuhm

ayko

osib

Inn

inuw

ug

(KI)

Firs

t N

atio

n w

ere

char

ged

with

con

tem

pt,

and

six m

embe

rs w

ere

jaile

d fo

r six

mon

ths

for

their

par

t in

resis

ting

plat

inum

min

ing

on th

eir

tradi

tiona

l lan

ds.

In th

e las

t wee

k of

May

, afte

r ove

r 100

day

s in

jail,

Rob

ert L

ovela

ce w

as

relea

sed

early

, fou

r day

s afte

r the

KI s

ix w

ere

freed

. A v

indi

cate

d Lo

velac

e de

clare

d, “

We w

ant n

egot

iatio

ns, n

ot co

nflic

t, bu

t we w

ill en

forc

e our

law

s an

d pr

otec

t our

land

.” W

hile

the p

ublic

eye w

as o

n Lo

velac

e and

the K

I six

, FV

C w

as co

nduc

t-in

g co

vert

expl

orat

ion.

Ove

r 15

test

holes

wer

e dr

illed

in la

te M

ay w

ithou

t a m

onito

r fro

m ei

ther

Firs

t Nat

ions

com

mun

ity p

rese

nt.

In J

uly,

the

Ardo

ch A

lgon

quin

and

Sha

bot

Oba

adjiw

an F

irst

Nat

ions

w

on in

the

Ont

ario

Cou

rt of

App

eal,

and

all fi

nes w

ere

drop

ped.

The

On-

tario

Cou

rt of

App

eal c

alled

on

the p

rovi

nce t

o ne

gotia

te n

ot li

tigat

e, pl

ac-

ing

faul

t squ

arely

on

the O

ntar

io M

inin

g Ac

t. FV

C to

ok it

to th

e Sup

rem

e C

ourt

of C

anad

a and

lost.

Also

in Ju

ly, th

e Sha

bot O

baad

jiwan

Firs

t Nat

ion

inde

pend

ently

ente

red

into

form

al co

nsul

tatio

ns w

ith M

ND

&M

.

In la

te A

ugus

t, FV

C a

pplie

d to

the

Supr

eme

Cou

rt of

Can

ada

to h

ave

July’

s app

eal r

ulin

g ov

ertu

rned

, arg

uing

it a

mou

nted

to a

“lic

ense

to b

lock

-ad

e.” Th

e app

licat

ion

was

dism

issed

in D

ecem

ber.

The

rem

aind

er o

f the

yea

r w

as a

nec

essa

ry h

ealin

g pe

riod

for

the

First

N

atio

ns to

resto

re a

nd re

grou

p. S

o w

hat h

appe

ned

on N

ovem

ber 2

8 w

as a

bo

lt th

at st

ruck

man

y in

the r

esist

ance

com

mun

ity b

y su

rpris

e. Th

e Sha

bot

Oba

adjiw

an F

irst

Nat

ion

ente

red

into

a d

eal w

ith a

gro

up o

f no

n-lo

cal

Algo

nqui

n co

mm

unity

lead

ers (

invo

lved

in th

e Al

gonq

uin

land

claim

) to

strik

e a d

eal w

ith F

VC

allo

win

g ur

aniu

m ex

plor

atio

n.

Thos

e w

ho w

ere

not s

urpr

ised

have

seen

this

happ

en m

any

times

bef

ore

in C

anad

a–Ab

orig

inal

relat

ions

. Afte

r en

ough

pre

ssure

is e

xerte

d by

the

co

mbi

natio

n of

pol

icy,

law, a

nd cr

imin

aliza

tion,

Abo

rigin

al so

lidar

ity b

reak

s do

wn,

com

mun

ities

div

ide,

and

thos

e who

hav

e the

mos

t to

lose

capi

tulat

e.

For t

hose

who

rem

ain

to re

sist,

their

solid

arity

onl

y gr

ows s

trong

er.

A ba

ttle

mig

ht h

ave

been

lost,

but

the

figh

t w

ill c

ontin

ue. I

t ha

s fo

r 50

0 ye

ars,

and

it w

ill n

ot st

op n

ow—

espe

ciall

y w

hen

so m

any

settl

ers h

ave

muc

h to

lose

this

time.

The

She

ll G

ame

Mar

ch 2

008

to p

rese

nt

1In

the

fall

of 2

006,

Fro

nten

ac V

entu

res C

orpo

ratio

n (F

VC

), a

priv

ate

juni

or u

rani

um m

inin

g co

mpa

ny, s

take

d cl

aim

s on

30,

000

acre

s fo

r ur

aniu

m e

xplo

ratio

n. S

ome

of t

he s

take

d la

nd w

as p

rivat

e pr

oper

ty,

but t

he m

ajor

ity o

f it w

as C

row

n la

nd.

Whe

n Fr

ank

Mor

rison

, a se

ttle

r, fo

und

clai

m st

akes

on

his p

rope

rty

in O

ctob

er 2

006,

he

also

disc

over

ed th

at th

e O

ntar

io M

inin

g Ac

t en-

able

d FV

C to

tram

ple

his p

rope

rty

right

s. O

ther

cot

tage

rs fo

und

thei

r la

nd s

take

d as

wel

l. A

fter

a fe

w w

eeks

of tu

rnin

g ov

er b

urea

ucra

tic st

ones

and

find

ing

no a

nsw

ers,

the

Mor

-ris

ons

appr

oach

ed t

he n

eigh

bour

ing

Alg

onqu

in F

irst

Nat

ions

com

-m

uniti

es.

Mem

bers

of

the

Ard

och

Alg

onqu

in a

nd S

habo

t O

baad

jiwan

Firs

t N

atio

ns d

iscov

ered

that

of t

he st

aked

cla

im a

rea,

26,

000

acre

s of i

t was

on

unc

eded

Alg

onqu

in tr

aditi

onal

terr

itory

. This

disc

over

y in

itiat

ed a

se

ries o

f eve

nts i

n w

hich

loca

l res

istan

ce h

as re

veal

ed th

e m

echa

nism

s th

at fe

ed p

rese

nt-d

ay c

olon

ial i

njus

tice.

The

Roo

ts o

f R

esis

tanc

e N

ovem

ber 2

006

to Ju

ne 2

007

by M

irA

nd

A C

oB

B a

nd e

riC

L. s

MiT

H

The

cont

rove

rsy

over

ura

nium

exp

lora

tion

on t

radi

tiona

l Alg

onqu

in la

nds

in E

aste

rn

Ont

ario

gro

ws

from

the

seed

s of

col

oniza

-tio

n, w

hich

are

in

full

bloo

m t

oday

. Th

e on

goin

g str

uggl

e of

the

Ardo

ch A

lgon

quin

Fi

rst

Nat

ion

to r

esist

the

des

truc

tion

of

thei

r la

nd g

raph

ical

ly i

llustr

ates

the

vio

-le

nce

of c

olon

ialis

m a

nd t

he p

ower

of

re-

sista

nce

to it

.N

o Al

gonq

uin

natio

n ev

er si

gned

a tre

aty

to ce

de th

eir h

omel

and.

Alg

onqu

in fa

mili

es

wer

e ph

ysic

ally

and

cog

nitiv

ely

clea

red

off

thei

r ho

mel

ands

for W

hite

set

tlem

ent a

nd

reso

urce

extr

actio

n. Th

ose A

lgon

quin

fam

i-lie

s who

resis

ted

and

mai

ntai

ned

thei

r tr

a-di

tiona

l way

of l

ife w

ere

push

ed b

ack

onto

th

e le

ast a

rabl

e la

nd.

Ove

r 15

0 ye

ars

late

r, th

e O

ntar

io M

in-

ing

Act—

in ta

ndem

with

the f

eder

al In

dian

Ac

t, th

e ju

dici

al s

yste

m,

a po

wer

ful

min

-in

g lo

bby,

and

soar

ing

uran

ium

pric

es—

oppr

esse

s to

no

less

er d

egre

e th

e Ar

doch

Al

gonq

uin

Firs

t Nat

ion

and

thei

r alli

es.

The

case

unf

olds

in

four

per

iods

, fro

m

the

grou

nd u

p.

rA

Cis

Ms

ex

isM

pA

TriA

rC

Hy

CL

As

sis

MA

nTH

ro

po

Ce

nTr

isM

TREATI

ES

&LA

nd

CLA

IMS

RO

YALP

RO

CLA

MATI

On

CO

nS

TITu

TIO

nIn

dIA

nA

CTM

InIn

GA

CTC

hA

RTE

R

Co

Lo

niA

Lis

M

The

Cons

titut

ion

Act

of

1982

(S

ectio

n 35

), an

d th

e Ch

arte

r of

Ri

ghts

an

d Fr

eedo

ms

(Sec

tion

25)—

defin

e th

e rig

hts

and

entit

lem

ents

of A

borig

inal

peo

ples

und

er

settl

er s

ocie

ty l

aw.

Howe

ver,

the

Algo

nqui

n ne

ver

relin

quis

hed

thei

r po

litic

al o

r te

rrito

rial

auto

nom

y th

roug

h tre

aty.

Is th

e de

man

d th

at

Algo

nqui

n pe

ople

s pu

t Ca

nadi

an r

ule

of la

w ab

ove

Algo

nqui

n la

w no

t a

viol

atio

n of

the

ir hu

man

righ

ts u

nder

Can

adia

n la

w?

Colo

nial

ism

is m

ade

up o

f int

erco

nnec

ted

syst

ems

of o

ppre

ssio

n. P

atria

rchy

, whi

ch m

argi

naliz

es w

omen

, car

ries

with

it n

otio

ns o

f ant

hrop

ocen

trism

, a w

orld

view

that

pla

ces

man

in d

omin

atio

n ov

er n

atur

e, w

hich

exis

ts to

be

man

ipul

ated

for h

is b

enefi

t. Th

is ti

es in

with

raci

sm, i

n th

e su

bord

inat

ion

of A

borig

inal

peo

ples

and

any

reve

renc

e or

con

nect

ion

with

Mot

her E

arth

. Cla

ssis

m

emer

ges

as p

ower

hel

d by

rich

men

; all

othe

rs a

re s

econ

d-cl

ass

citiz

ens

or e

ven

surp

lus

hum

anity

to b

e di

senf

ranc

hise

d fo

r the

ben

efit o

f an

elite

few.

Col

onia

lism

and

the

root

s th

at c

ompr

ise

it ha

ve b

een

inte

grat

ed in

to C

anad

ian

inst

itutio

ns, p

olic

ies,

and

pra

ctic

es. T

hese

tool

s of

opp

ress

ion

have

bee

n ra

ised

to a

nor

mat

ive p

lace

of t

ruth

in C

anad

ian

soci

ety.

Trea

ties

and

land

cl

aim

s —le

gitim

izes

thef

t of

Abo

rigin

al

land

an

d m

argi

naliz

es

com

mun

ities

in th

e le

ast d

esira

ble

area

s. Th

e re

sult

is p

rede

term

ined

: ced

ing

of A

borig

inal

tit

le,

tradi

ng

polit

ical

an

d ec

onom

ic

self-

dete

rmin

atio

n fo

r se

lf-ad

min

istra

tion

unde

r th

e th

umb

of th

e co

loni

al in

frast

ruct

ure.

Roya

l Pr

ocla

mat

ion

of

1763

—Cr

own

reco

gniti

on o

f Ab

orig

inal

nat

ions

as

natio

ns

with

pre

-exis

ting

land

righ

ts a

nd o

blig

atio

n to

ac

com

mod

ate

and

prot

ect t

hese

righ

ts.

The

Cons

titut

ion

Act

of

1867

Se

ctio

n 91

(24)

—th

e ba

ne o

f Ab

orig

inal

peo

ple

who

seek

to

ne

gotia

te

right

s to

la

nd.

Sect

ion

91(2

4) s

epar

ates

Abo

rigin

al a

ffairs

, a fe

dera

l m

atte

r, fro

m l

and

and

reso

urce

s, w

hich

is

unde

r th

e ju

risdi

ctio

n of

the

pro

vinc

es.

The

two

leve

ls o

f gov

ernm

ent p

lay

good

cop

/bad

co

p, w

ith fr

eque

nt ro

le re

vers

al.

The

Indi

an

Act

of

1876

—de

fines

st

atus

an

d no

n-st

atus

“In

dian

” und

er th

e co

loni

zers

’ law

and

sha

pes

natio

ns

by

co-o

ptin

g co

mm

unity

le

ader

s th

roug

h th

e Ba

nd

Coun

cil

stru

ctur

e an

d m

akin

g al

tern

ative

soc

ial a

rrang

emen

ts, s

uch

as m

atril

inea

l st

atus

and

her

edita

ry c

hief

s,

“rad

ical

,” ill

egiti

mat

e, o

r ille

gal.

The

Onta

rio M

inin

g Ac

t of

187

3 —fre

e en

try

syst

em g

ives

min

ing

com

pani

es a

nd o

ther

s fre

e ac

cess

to la

nd, b

ased

on

min

eral

righ

ts,

rega

rdle

ss o

f the

sur

face

land

owne

rs’ w

ishe

s.

The

act

stip

ulat

es t

hat

expl

orat

ion

activ

ities

, in

clud

ing

aeria

l sur

veyi

ng, t

ree

felli

ng, b

last

ing

and

drill

ing,

tre

nchi

ng, a

nd t

he c

onst

ruct

ion

of

tem

pora

ry

road

s an

d sh

elte

rs

can

be

carri

ed o

ut w

ithou

t any

pub

lic c

onsu

ltatio

n or

en

viro

nmen

tal a

sses

smen

t.

The

anti-

uran

ium

strug

gle o

n Algo

nquin

tra

dition

al lan

ds is

a

site

for e

xplor

ing

the

relat

ionsh

ips

betw

een

colon

ial

instit

ution

s and

op

pres

sion.

“For

tod

ay’s

gov

ernm

ents

it w

ill s

eem

eas

ier

to d

eny,

pre

tend

, pun

ish

and

final

ly a

bdic

ate

resp

onsi

bilit

y. P

eopl

e ne

ed t

o ta

ke in

itia

tive

on

thei

r ow

n an

d th

ey n

eed

to d

o so

now

. Th

ere

is a

gre

at n

eed

to d

efen

d th

e ea

rth

and

our

rela

tive

s in

cre

atio

n. S

topp

ing

uran

ium

ex

ploi

tati

on is

defi

nite

ly a

n im

port

ant

acti

on in

def

endi

ng t

he e

arth

.”—

Rob

ert L

ovel

ace,

form

er A

rdoc

h A

lgon

quin

co-

Chi

ef, e

xcer

pt fr

om C

itize

ns’ I

nqui

ry su

bmiss

ion,

Apr

il 7,

200

8

Inst

itutio

naliz

ed le

gitim

izatio

n—Th

e to

ols

of c

olon

izatio

n ha

ve b

ecom

e in

grai

ned

in C

anad

ian

inst

itutio

ns a

nd in

turn

nor

mal

ized

and

legi

timize

d


ediToriAL ediToriAL

university Inc.?dealing with the “real issues” of identity politics

This time next year, stu-dents at Carleton will be sitting in bigger classes and encountering fewer professors, instructors, and TAs. We’re being told that, thanks to the finan-cial crisis, universities in Ontario find themselves $450 million in a hole that just keeps getting deeper. One representative for the Council of Ontario Uni-versities (COU) has even warned that several insti-tutions could be forced to shut their doors because the need to shore up hard-hit pension funds will lead to insolvency. Demand-ing solvency protection, COU and individual uni-versities successfully lob-bied the provincial gov-ernment for “a holiday on special payments, waiting for the markets to stabi-lize.” According to the representative for COU, the problem with the government’s approach is that “universities are be-ing treated like businesses. They’re being treated like entities that could go out of existence.”

Treated like businesses! Appalling, no? Actually, at least at Carleton, treating the university like a busi-ness is pretty standard. Recall the letter from Jacques Shore, chair of Carleton’s Board of Gov-ernors, published in issue 2 of this paper. The “gag rules” imposed by the board were shrugged off as something normal for “Carleton [or] any other corporation.” Carleton Inc. is the real body be-hind Defining Dreams, the university’s supposed strategic plan, and it is be-hind the corporate men-tality that allows the Board of Governors and admin-istration to treat students as little more than tuition units and faculty as la-bour expenses. Carleton is, for key people running the institution, a business plan more than anything else—capitalizing on the stuff that brings in cash and cutting the expenses wherever possible.

This is not to poke at the fact that an institution needs economic manage-ment or to suggest that any university can be oblivious of economic motivations. And one can admit that Carleton Inc. has its benefits—students, redefined as customers, can lobby for better ser-vices (and higher grades) on the basis that “the cus-tomer is always right.” But these are business benefits. This is the stuff of “ratio-nal” economic exchange, and not everyone comes to university looking for

that. However, this is pre-

cisely what we’re getting right now. There is not much separating Carle-ton or most other Ca-nadian universities from the bloated big businesses whose beached flounder-ing is splashed across the front page news of late. Just like big businesses, universities act like pri-vate corporations when the going is good, adopt-ing business tactics when they need to create the air of emergency that allows for balancing the books at the expense of quality education and reasonable class sizes.

It is this dual conscious-ness of the university that allows it to play both the paternal educator and the cold administrator. The question is always which hat Carleton will choose to wear at any given time. Will it be the benign pa-ternalist who brings stu-dents cookies or will it be the cold administrator who justifies deep cuts because tough economic times demand that “we all think of the greater good?”

Every university ad-ministrator has to balance these often-contradictory positions, and it is al-most understandable when shortsighted goals are allowed to stand in for vision. What is abso-lutely inexcusable, how-ever, is when Carleton and other increasingly corporatized universi-ties have the tenacity to go to the government, cap in hand and busi-ness suits off, to ask for money because they be-lieve they’re indispens-able. “But we’re a public institution,” they whine, spouting rhetoric about the citizens of tomorrow and their centrality to building a skilled work-force, a strong, liberal nation, and a thriving economy.

To put it clearly, as it stands, that argument just doesn’t float. We know that this system, just like much of the eco-nomic system that is ab-solutely malfunctioning, is broken and the cracks are showing a little too clearly. The contradic-tory arguments just don’t add up anymore. On one hand, we have been repeatedly assured that Carleton (just like Harp-er’s Canada) will weather the economic storm. On the other hand, our fac-ulties have been tasked with brainstorming cost-cutting measures in their departmental meetings

over the last few weeks. Graduate Studies is even proposing to make Dun-can Watt’s dreams come true, by “attract[ing] more grad students and pay[ing] them less.” No doubt, university admin-istrations were relieved after the budget an-nouncements last Thurs-day—which included nothing on student debt or tuition relief and lots from COU’s wish list that will help maintain the status quo. The real concern was balanced books and not the qual-ity of your education.

Undermining the ac-tual purpose of the uni-versity while continuing to prop up a corporate system that is visibly broken is absolutely un-acceptab le—mora l ly, ethically, and realistical-ly. This financial crisis is starting to look like little more than a convenient crisis for administrators who’ve been just chomp-ing at the bit, waiting for an excuse to start trim-ming. The sense of panic generated over the last few months by adminis-trators around the bud-get question has been inexcusable.

Whatever the mo-tivations behind these measures, it’s time for students to get angry. It’s time to demand clar-ity and transparency from the people with the purse strings. No more waffling on the princi-ples of a good education, we must demand a state-ment of principles, ones that will create a healthy and engaging learning environment for what will likely be the biggest cohort of students in years. The solutions pro-posed thus far are quick-fix Band-aids rather than solutions that make us stop and ask what is fun-damentally wrong with the university system. Pity next year’s poor un-dergraduates who think they’re paying for a qual-ity education and come out with a chintzy piece of paper gained without a single positive interac-tion with professors and teaching staff.

It’s time we spoke up against what is nothing short of a threat to the already faltering qual-ity of learning and val-ue of our scholarship. This isn’t about left and right political stances; it is about a fundamental misdirection in the eco-nomic structuring of our universities. These are our universities. It’s time that WE define them.

Almost inevitably the spectre of “ism”-based oppressions will come up in social justice groups. Typically triggered by a seemingly trivial deci-sion, large thematic is-sues about the nature of oppression will explode, destabilizing seemingly stable group dynamics.

But how stable are they? Often when the trivial topics develop into explosive and deep-ly personal fights, they act as a keyhole, expos-ing existing tensions and power dynamics in the group.

A seemingly ir-relevant decision be-comes the place where folks stop biting their tongues, stop taking the unintended daily slaps of racism, homophobia, sexism, ableism, etc., and unleash a barrage of rants and frustrated complaints that seem

disproportionate to the original trivial deci-sion.

The shock of these moments disrupts the appearance of calm, leading to destabiliz-ing fights and debates, which have led to the implosion of far too many promising pro-gressive groups.

Many veterans of “the movement,” hav-ing seen groups col-lapse under the weight of identity tensions, have developed a reflex cringe at the mention of privilege or oppres-sion. The very hint of a group member raising identity issues leads to panicked responses of denial and calls for a pragmatic focus on “the real issues.”

This approach not only treads into an ethically questionable territory by defining “real issues” for the pre-sumably united left as exclusive of issues of oppression, but it also builds a self-fulfilling prophecy of death-by-identity-politics implo-sion.

In actual fact, groups that deal directly with the elephant in the room are able to save them-selves from that inevi-table collapse. In short, proactive approaches to anti-oppression are most often the most pragmatic strategy for building longevity and efficacy in social justice organizing.

The impulse of deni-al sits on a bedrock as-sumption that if social justice groups ignore identity-based power dynamics, the issues just go away. Delusional thinking such as this al-lows leaders to foolishly assume that their group will be the exception to the rule, that they will miraculously dodge the predictable problems of those power dynamics.

Groups cannot stop the issue of oppression from arising; all they can do is determine how, when, and why the issue has come up. Directly addressing the issue, by setting up safe-space practices, running workshops to educate each other, and devel-oping a commitment to accept criticism when called out for oppres-sive behaviours stops the issue from blowing up in their faces.

When group mem-bers are confident that there’s a commitment to take the issue seri-

ously, it makes a ques-tionable action just an incident that’s quickly resolved, instead of a launching point for a lengthy debate on the nature of oppression—thus leaving more time and space for the “real issues.”

The proactive ap-proach is not only prag-matic in the sense of al-lowing groups to dodge tangential and divisive explosions while plan-ning the next day’s rally. It also has a direct im-pact on the power of the rally itself. Groups with a proactive strategy for dealing with identity is-sues are also the sort of groups that recruit di-verse groups of people with diverse perspec-tives on the “real issue.” A diverse group of vol-unteers is more likely to anticipate critiques and develop a stronger and more nuanced defini-tion of the “real issue.”

Groups that don’t deal directly with the identity question turn into groups where vol-unteers waste most of their time silently struggling to deal with the inevitable incidents of oppression—a silent caucus of experts who are unlikely to jump into leadership posi-tions on discussions of strategy or direction. This creation of a silent caucus at best leads to mass resignations, and at worst a kind of to-kenistic diversity.

But internal group dynamics are really only the starting point, or a point to practice working pragmati-cally and productively around the awkward-ness of identity-based hierarchies.

Groups that develop a reputation for dealing effectively with these is-sues are more likely to thrive in coalition envi-ronments, more capable of drawing links be-tween seemingly diverse groups and issues, and inevitably more effec-tive at building the sort of broad-based move-ments and mass mobi-lizations we need.

When fighting for social justice causes, the only reliable re-source is people pow-er; the art of dealing with power relations and identity issues is the central challenge to winning on the “real issues.” If we deal with the issues from the outset, it’s a challenge easily met.

A seemingly irrelevant decision becomes the place where folks stop biting their tongues, stop taking the unintended daily slaps of racism, homophobia, sexism, ableism, etc., and unleash a barrage of rants and frustrated complaints that seem disproportionate to the original trivial decision.


CoMMenT

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by douG nesBiTT

A new fad is sweep-ing Canada: banning things—words, posters, and now people.

The Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) has barred British Mem-ber of Parliament George Galloway from Canada on the grounds that he aided Hamas, which is listed by the Canadian government as a terrorist organization.

Galloway’s crime was sending an aid con-voy to Gaza after the recent war ended. No evidence has been pro-duced that Galloway’s aid convoy to war-torn Gaza was anything but humanitarian, but alas, any mingling with the democratically elected Hamas government in Gaza constitutes aid-ing terrorism. By these standards, we should expect the Red Cross and United Nations to be driven out of Can-ada, in case things like Halloween Unicef box-es are funding Qassam rockets.

Galloway’s outspoken opposition to the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Palestine has rightfully earned him a polarizing repu-tation, including expul-sion from Tony Blair’s discredited “Labour” Party. There’s no need to mount a defence of Galloway’s views—he is more than capable of doing that on his own. Critics of Galloway urge us to “watch him” on YouTube. I have. He’s sure to piss off a lot of viewers, but I’m still wondering how exactly he constitutes a threat

to national security.The only threat he

constitutes is one to the Tory foreign poli-cy agenda. While the CBSA has cited aiding Hamas as the reason for Galloway’s ban, Minis-ter of Immigration Ja-son Kenney has said the ban is about Galloway’s opposition to the war in Afghanistan, including the spurious and com-pletely unsubstantiated charge that Galloway supports the Taliban. That Kenney can’t get his story straight with the CBSA is only one reason that it’s hard to believe the CBSA wasn’t fronting for Kenney’s agenda.

The Tories have es-tablished a pretty con-sistent record of inter-fering in immigration matters to silence op-position to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Since the Tories were elected, they have been trying to drive out the estimated 200 American war resisters in Canada. The deportations fly in the face not only of popular opinion but a parliamentary motion passed in June 2008 to provide war resisters asylum. But given their record of proroguing and appointing sena-tors, we know the To-ries have little time for even the trappings of democracy.

And Galloway’s ban isn’t new either. In 2007, two Ameri-can anti-war activists, including Code Pink founder Medea Benja-min, were refused entry to Canada. Strangely enough, Galloway was in Canada that year, too, and spoke at Car-leton to about 1,000 people.

Last but not least, Kenney has accused the Canadian Arab Federation of being anti-Semitic because it condemned the govern-ment’s uncritical sup-port for Israel during the attack on Gaza. On this basis, Kenney has cut federal funding to the federation, which helps immigrants settle in Canada.

The Tory fixation on borders, from Ken-ney’s newly construct-ed fence to keep free speech out, to Harper’s Cold War arctic jingo-ism, has predictably led the Tories to turn their back on some disturb-ing events in their own backyard.

A few days before

Galloway was banned from Canada, George W. Bush, a man who ought to live out his days in a cell, was al-lowed to speak in Cal-gary at a $400-a-plate, invite-only event.

The day after Gallo-way was banned from Canada, 50 members of the Aryan Guard crashed a rally in down-town Calgary that was celebrating the United Nations-sponsored In-ternational Day to Elim-inate Racial Discrimi-nation. Fortunately, anti-racists drove the Nazis off the streets. A few kilometres away in the teak suburbs of south Calgary, two men, Stephen Harper and Jason Kenney, sit as Members of Parliament. The Tories haven’t said a word about these events in Calgary.

If the past month of bans, funding cuts, deportations, and wild accusations shows any-thing, it is that human rights are a principle to be used or shelved as the government sees fit. The only constant here is the attempt to suppress the voices of those, at home and now abroad, who refuse to shut up about Canada’s increasingly disgusting foreign policy. If you’re a loudmouth like me, I’ll see you at the anti-war march on April 4.

do the ban-ban, and other strategies of war

As a shameless lefty and a student finishing her sixth consecutive year at Car-leton, The Leveller meant love at first sight. Finally, I thought, some critical analysis!

However, I gained a new level of respect for your paper after last edi-tion’s take on the sexual assault centre. As one of the founding members of

the Coalition for a Sexual Assault Centre and a cur-rent support worker for sexual assault survivors, I have spent far too many hours of my life convinc-ing others of the need for adequate support services on campuses. I sincerely thank The Leveller and Victoria Abraham for giv-ing the issue of a campus sexual assault centre the

attention it deserves. The issue is a complex one and I appreciated the thought-ful analysis. You not only reiterated the need for such a service but did justice to the myriad of campus survivors who are tired of having to justify their experiences. Thank you for being an ally.

— Julie Lalonde

Reading Stephen Peltz’s reaction to the coverage, I was taken aback by the way he equates the re-moval of Virgin’s misogy-nist ad campaign with the Carleton administration’s decision to ban an artist’s expression of a legitimate political position and to intimidate students who expressed positions con-sistent with the artists.

Without even wading into the murky waters of the Gaza campaign or the relative merits of Zionism, it is evident that these two issues have their own nu-ances that cannot simply be conflated with taking offence to something or

with what “students are in philosophical agreement with.”

The most obvious dif-ference between the two positions is the means by which they were made to disappear from view. Vir-gin’s advertisement was removed by chastened corporate marketers in re-sponse to the spontaneous coordination of grassroots criticism from people who were justifiably re-pulsed to see women de-picted as nymphomaniac groupies. Conversely, the poster ban was the bureaucratic response to an administration more concerned with looking

good and (perhaps) be-ing sheltered from view-points opposed to its own than with allowing Carleton to be defined by the fermentation of vibrant discourse that ought to be the hall-mark of any respect-able university. Rather than being chastised for presenting these two is-sues they way that they did, The Leveller should be lauded for respect-ing its audience enough to make this juxtaposi-tion and leave the dots as theirs to connect.

— Josh Frappier, first-year political science student

To quote your March 2nd issue, “Actions taken include the first impeach-ment petition against current CUSA President Brittany Smyth, which was rejected by council because it contained a number of inconsisten-cies, including the signa-tures of fake students.

This impeachment campaign is still under-way and will likely return to council this month or the next.” As the head of the impeachment pe-tition, I would like to say, Wrong, Wrong, and Wrong. Firstly, the peti-tion did not have signa-tures of fake students to the best of my knowledge, and furthermore there is no feasible way of know-

ing this as the administra-tion never cross-checked the Student IDs on the petition, because CUSA never let it get that far.

I believe what you are referring to are the 14 signatures that were put on the back of one of the petition sheets because a petition collector ran out of numbered slots on the page.

We then transcribed these onto a numbered sheet SOLELY for num-bering purposes; we not-ed this fact and included the original signatures in our final submission.

Secondly, it was not rejected at council; it was rejected at a Consti-tutional Board meeting that I was neither in-

formed of nor invited to as I should have legally been.

Thirdly, the impeach-ment campaign is at a dead end. This is because I was effectively ignored by CUSA, and the dead-line for challenging the Constitutional Board has long since passed.

Carlos Chacon ig-nored my e-mail request for a challenge sent out to him in December, and Kweku Winful failed to get back to me when I requested to challenge the decision in person in his office January.

— Stephen A Conrad, lead organizer, “Peti-tion to Impeach Brittany Smyth”

Shameless lefty loves The Leveller

Some bans are more equal than others

To err is to Level… or wrong, always wrong, and wrong again

The Tories have established a pretty consistent record of interfering in immigration matters to silence opposition to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

A few days before Galloway was banned from Canada, George W. Bush, a man who ought to live out his days in a cell, was allowed to speak in Calgary at a $400-a-plate, invite-only event.Be a Leveller in september


CuLTure

by sArAH CAppeLiez

At the end of the bridge that leaps over the O-Train tracks, Hintonburg starts slowly, almost shyly. As Wellington Street picks up the slack of Somerset West, echoes of China-town persist. Moving fur-ther west, Hintonburg’s colourful persona begins to show, with definite gusto and a dash of flair.

Merging its histori-cal role as an artist haven with its new function as Ottawa’s arts district, Hintonburg has recently begun to push past its scruffy reputation. Still, a few years back, one might hardly have guessed that this older Ottawa neigh-bourhood would eventu-ally emerge as a foodie destination. A recent stroll down Wellington

reveals a delightful mix of mom-and-pop joints and trendy bistros. Add to this a handful of exotic cui-sines, and humdrum eat-ing may never enter your world again.

Beginning at the stretch just before Somerset West slips into Wellington, you’ll find Dong Ling (1055 Somerset West), a tiny takeout dumpling shop that churns out bags

of the homemade good-ies. The fillings range from basic pork to the unusual “dandelion and egg.” Across the street, New 168 Market (1050 Somerset West) doesn’t look like much on the outside, but its shelves are chock-full of Asian food-stuffs. At the back, a fish market to rival Lapointe’s and a butcher shop make for some interesting sight-ings. For vegetarians, the freezers at the front are stocked with fake meats and the vegetable section is a great place to pick up garlic scapes and fresh lemongrass.

A little further down, Indian Express (1104 Somerset West) showcases a wide array of colourful Indian sweets like mango burfi and jalebi. In the fall, the owners host a neighbourhood Diwali celebration in Somerset Square, right in front of their shop. Also fam-ily run, the super-friendly Phnom Penh Noodle

House (1100 Wellington Street) dishes out soul-satisfying fare at very de-cent prices. The house chilli sauce, displayed on the tables, is also avail-able for purchase. Named for its owner Terry Hino, Hino (1013 Wellington), a Japanese/fusion bistro, is a fan favourite, where the food is the main focus and the somewhat shabby décor holds its own.

Intent on keeping Hin-tonburg’s local flavours alive, the newly formed Hintonburg Supper Club organizes regular meetings in various restaurants. These casual evenings of culinary exploration allow members to discover new haunts. The latest soirée was held March 26 at Viña del Mar (1079 Wel-lington Street), a relatively new Chilean eatery. Viña features home-style dishes like pastel del choclo—a type of Chilean sweet—and sour shepherd’s pie—filled with ground beef, onions, raisins, and ol-ives and topped off with a golden corn crust—as well as popular Chilean street food like empana-das.

A few doors down, Habesha (1087 Welling-ton Street) will also take you to far and wonderful places with its Ethiopian food. The interior is func-tional rather than pretty, but the cheap and filling plates of injera—a sour-dough flat bread—and stewed meats, pulses, and vegetables will keep you fuelled up.

Things get decidedly more upscale as you hit Parkdale and its refur-bished fire hall turned cooking venue, urban el-ement (424 Parkdale Av-enue). Sign up for a cook-

ing demo class with some of the city’s best chefs at this “the hub of the food scene” in Hintonburg, as per Ottawa food writer Shawna Wagman.

To cap things off, Hin-tonburg’s outer perimeter, Holland Street, is a win-ner with its “restaurant row.” This neat little pack-age of restaurants, tucked in one beside the other, comprises a wide range of cuisines, among them a Lebanese grill house (Les Grillades), a joint spe-cializing in roast chicken (The Foolish Chicken), and a wonderful bistro that doles out yummy tapas on Monday nights (allium). Happy eating!

GeT sTuFFed in HinTonBurGRestaurants blossom in unexpected foodie hot spot

Photo Pax

A few years back, one might hardly have guessed that this older Ottawa neighbourhood would eventually emerge as a foodie destination.


CuLTure

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by CHris sCHuLTz

There are probably only a handful of films that spawn rock band names based on its characters. Bruce McDonald’s 1996 film Hard Core Logo is one of them.

The movie is a mock rockumentary about the titular, fictional band, whose members are gui-tar god Billy Tallent (the real-life rock group dropped the extra “l” for reasons unknown), lead Joe Dick (played by Hugh Dillon, of Head-stones fame), and other punk rock bandmates who were legends in their day.

The film is about the band’s last-gasp reunion tour, with a documenta-ry team tagging along to film the events of these fallen icons.

McDonald, the self-professed “outlaw” of Canadian cinema, is ul-timately making a film about the self-inflicted demise of punk rock, us-ing cameos by real punk legends like Joey Ramone to construct his film.

The characters read like composites of Sid Vicious, Johnny Rotten, Joe Strummer, and oth-ers.

The two principal bandmates in the film, Joe and Billy, are antith-eses. The former is an aggressive politico and hard partier, while the latter is a hardworking businessman, concerned

primarily with his post-punk music career.

Both seemingly mean well and genuinely be-lieve in their pursuits, though they aren’t ex-actly honest with each other about what those might be.

Conflicting visions about music, art, careers, and friendship form the core of the film’s narra-tive.

A more serious issue, however, is the presence of the documentary crew and their role in the film—or rather, their role in making a film within a film.

Hidden behind a cam-era for virtually the entire film, the documentarians are privy to the band members’ personal af-fairs. They are also aware of a secret Billy has kept from Joe, and they take advantage of that knowl-edge in order to generate a sensational film.

Objectivity is the common claim of most media, but it is a cow-ardly claim.

McDonald’s film ex-poses the lie that is “ob-jectivity,” showing how knowledge is frequently exploited under the guise of neutrality.

Throughout Hard Core Logo, the documen-tary crew members use the camera as a shield from blame for any an-tagonism they intention-ally provoke, in the same way journalists claim they are reporting “just

the facts.” Claiming to account

for “both sides of the story” is, of course, an attempt to erase the role of the mediator.

How “facts” are used is critical, and the faith journalists place in their ostensibly impartial methodology is unset-tling to say the least.

It seems as though media sensationalism is an innocuous byproduct of reporting, rather than intentional fabrication designed to sell a prod-uct.

In Hard Core Logo, these themes are evident as the documentary team drops hint after hint about Billy Tallent’s ca-reer plans to the oblivi-ous Joe Dick, and then silently retreats into the background to passively observe the fireworks.

At the risk of hint-ing too much about the film’s ending, I will say this: the climax is in-credible.

And the camera sim-ply watches, freed from the wrath of the viewer by the shock of the un-folding spectacle.

Hard Core Logo plays as part of a series of Bruce McDonald double bills on April 21, 22, and 25 at the Mayfair Theatre, 1074 Bank Street. Other films on the double bill in-clude Roadkill, Highway 61, and Pontypool. Check www.mayfairtheatre.ca for showtimes.

Hard Core LogoOn the neutrality of the media


CuLTure

by LAurie FyFFe

With all the theatrical activity going on in Ot-tawa, it’s time to ask what drives people to start a theatre company in the first place. It’s hard work. It’s endlessly frustrating. You’re praised one show, damned the next. Why commit to this insanity?

Evolution Theatre’s artistic director, Chris-topher Bedford, provides some insights.

Evolution is the pro-vocateur behind Insom-nia (2007), The Ventrilo-quist, and This is a Play (2008). When The Level-ler spoke to Bedford, he admitted that the com-pany has reached that “critical five-year mark.”

Does that mean run-ning a theatre company is sort of like being mar-ried?

FYFFE: What has been the greatest challenge for Evo-lution Theatre?BEDFORD: From an ar-tistic perspective, every show we have produced has contained some ele-ment that is unique and that no one involved had ever dealt with before, so each show is a learning ex-perience for us and a huge risk. FYFFE: Organizationally?

BEDFORD: Theatre space is expensive. I would love to produce all our shows at one venue, but that is not a reality yet. And we find ourselves rehearsing in cast members’ basements for large chunks of our process.

The challenge then is taking what you do in a basement and translating it into the performance venue—in the four hours you have before the show opens!

FYFFE: Any high points come to mind?BEDFORD: When the president of The Knowl-edge Circle contacted me after seeing Insomnia, he was very impressed and wanted to help us advance our careers. It was quite a surprise that someone actually saw our work and believed in us enough to support our company. Then, I was nominated as Emerging Artist in the first ever Rideau Awards and as Best Director by the Capital Critics Circle for The Ventriloquist. Lisa Twardowska is nominated for Best Actress at this year’s Rideaus.

I am amazed when I look around at the people I work with and realize

that, a few years ago, I didn’t know any of them and yet somehow we all ended up working to-gether.

I knew we were on the right track when all of these incredibly creative and hardworking people ended up collaborating on our projects.

Okay, so running a the-atre company is not like being married.

But the fact that artists like Bedford are creating worlds of possibility on-stage—and off—is mak-ing the Ottawa theatre scene richer and riskier every season.

Across town, GCTC’s studio space at the Irving Greenberg Theatre is do-ing exactly what it was intended to do—allowing resident company Third Wall and Peer Gynt direc-tor James Richardson to reach more deeply into the traditional classical repertoire.

Henry Beissel’s adap-tation of Ibsen’s script maintained a sharp focus on the playwright’s ambi-tiously globalized Gynt, uncomfortably familiar and timely in his passion-ate defence of a life spent in search of wealth and self at the expense of his soul. The production was

beautifully anchored by Andy Massingham’s per-formance of the title role.

This proves that the-atre, like life, is all about choices and Some Girls, currently on offer from Vision Theatre, is a case in point.

Playwright Neil LaBute has a strong sense of the banal, from which there is little respite in this series of tediously revisited love affairs.

Things perk up when Jan Murray strolls on as the deliciously droll Lind-say, and turns the tables on Joe Marques’ phi-landering Guy. But the playwright quickly recov-ers and resumes his tired march to a lame finish.

Why Vision Theatre would jump from My Name is Rachel Corrie and Life After God to Some Girls is a mystery.

If Some Girls is a farce or tons of fun, this produc-tion doesn’t let loose with the kind of fast-paced, on-the-edge performance style that would make that case.

Further, playwright LaBute’s success and reputation as a renegade satirist was built on writ-ing plays with sexual content that outraged his church, that of the Latter-Day Saints, from

which he was “disfellow-shipped.” That level of anarchy doesn’t exactly overawe in Ottawa.

LaBute’s Guy, engaged in a tour of ugly hotel rooms to which he sum-mons past girlfriends to make amends, comes across not as a gesture of radical relationship building, but ingenuous

mucking about.

Vision Theatre’s Some Girls is at the Arts Court Theatre, March 25 to April 4. For tickets call (613) 564-7240. Third Wall’s Henry V is at the Irving Greenberg Theatre, May 7 to 16. For tickets call (613) 236-5196.

A TALe oF THree CoMpAniesOttawa thespians offer mixed bag of theatre tricks

by LAuryn KroniCK

It’s the third Friday of the month and on the bor-der of Chinatown and Mechanicsville, a line-up of party goers spills out the door of Eri Café Pan African Social Club. It’s shortly after 11 p.m. and another edition of Time-kode, Ottawa’s infamous monthly afrobeat, funk, dancehall, and R&B jam is getting started. The club is nearing capacity as potential revellers squish together to seek admit-tance to one of the city’s no-longer best-kept se-crets.

“I think it’s hit a criti-cal mass with the way it’s going now. Part of Timekode’s attraction is that not everyone knows about it and it’s out of the way. This is what makes it work so well and there is a huge need for this type of music,” commented Nathan Hunter, a regular Timekode reveller who has been attending the event since its birth at Café Nostalgica in 2005.

Nearly four years lat-er, Timekode has grown both in size and in sound, with a regular crew of DJs including host Memetic and Zattar, Adam White, and Eric Roberts. The trio

has welcomed a throng of guest artists, including Wajeed from Detroit and Montreal’s The Goods, and featured other lo-cal talent not limited to Bonjay and Jokers of the Scene.

Much of the event’s success is due to its cross-generational audience and its “unique combination,” noted Alexandre Mattar (DJ Zattar), one of the Timekode’s founders.

“You can’t go to any other night that’s com-parable. And it’s a good arrangement [with Eri Café]; the room has a dif-ferent array, an element that’s more familial,” he added.

Seeing Timekode grow from a small jam to a con-tinuously packed venue has been an eye-opener for Mattar.

“I’ve even heard conver-sations about it on public transit,” he commented. “Anything evolves, but I’m trying to under-pro-mote it [in a way].”

Despite Timekode’s familial feel, one must wonder whether or not it has outgrown its roots as a venue that is off the beat-en path where friends can dance to a different beat. With growing numbers at the door, line-ups are lon-

ger and it can take some time to refill your empty beer glass at the bar. Add-ed to these factors is the sea of bodies inside.

The question of wheth-er or not the event is be-coming too mainstream has crossed some minds.

“I made Timekode through word of mouth,” said Jonathan Brandon, another regular attendee. “That’s how events grow; it’s a natural process. The location makes it what it is and it reaches out to different people.”

But Brandon voiced similar concerns, noticing that it takes longer to get a drink and that the event has grown too large.

“It stresses the experi-ence more or less, with the decrease in service with drinks and the ability to move when dancing,” he added.

In response Mattar has attempted to address the concerns. An extra bar has been added at the front, and there is the poten-tial to add another one if needed. He has also dou-bled the sound system, which translates into a richer musical experience on the dance floor.

But the event is there to stay at Eri Café, be-cause of the relationship

and investment both par-ties have developed over time.

“Eri still has soul,” Mattar said. “We take things as they come. And that’s the whole point of having a night with dif-

ferent kinds of music, exposing younger and older people to music they don’t know so all of this can happen to-gether.”

For those who crave a more intimate dance

party with similar music, Mattar has collaborated with resident DJ Trevor Walker and introduced a new monthly Thursday night party called Muya-frofunke + Timekode at the Mercury Lounge.

TiMeKode no LonGer CooL, sTiLL AWesoMePacked dance party talked about on public transit, but still sticking to its roots

Photo Lauryn Kronick

LisTinGsTues March 31

TALK: Benjamin Zyla. “Canada and NATO: 1989-2009: The myth of a de-cline.” CSDS Speakers Series @ Carleton U (2017 Dun-ton Tower), 12-1:30pm. Examines Canada’s commit-ments to European security in the post Cold war era and challenges the accepted pop-ular and scholarly wisdom that Canada was in decline. Complimentary light lunch provided, space limited. Registration: [email protected] or 613.520.2600 x6671.TALK: Mary Beard. “Roman laughter—or a Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” @ Carleton (303 Paterson Hall), 7:30-10pm. Ancient History lecture to celebrate the Renaissance of Greek and Roman Stud-ies at Carleton. Admission free, reception follows. Info: [email protected] or 613.520.2600 x2529.PANEL: Canadian Organic Growers. “Growing up or-ganic – food for thought” @ Old Ottawa South Com-munity Centre (260 Sun-nyside Ave), 7-9pm. A series of films, presentations, & discussions. Admission free. Call 613.247.4946 to regis-ter.PANEL: Kosovo, Ten Years Later: 1999-2009 @ Library and Archives Canada (395 Wellington St, Rm 156), 7 pm. Speaker James Bissett & Scott Taylor provide a diagnosis of the problem of Kosovo, warn of the dangers, and recommend workable, durable, and legal solutions. RSVP at 613.225.3378 or [email protected].

Wed April 1MEETING: Ottawa City Council Transit Commit-tee @ City Hall (Champlain Room), 1:30pm. http://city.ottawa.on.ca/cgi-bin/docs.pl?lang=en.POETRY: “A Night of Po-etry: Celebrating Poetry Month with the Carleton University Library Modern Poetry Collection” @ Car-leton (Library Staff Lounge: Room 153), 7pm (doors open 6:30pm). MC Rob Winger, poetry readings by Ottawa’s David O’Meara. Cash bar & refreshments. More info: lloyd_keane@

carleton.ca or 613.520.2600 x2739. More on National Poetry Month: www.poets.ca/linktext/npm.htmMUSIC: Slow Down Mo-lasses, Jay Crocker, Sarah Hallman @ The Black Sheep Inn.

Thurs April 2TALK: George Galloway, “Resisting Imperialism From Gaza to Kandahar” @ Bronson Centre Theatre (211 Bronson Ave), 7pm. Fundraiser for humanitar-ian aid to Afghanistan and Palestine. Tickets at CUSA (Unicentre Bldg), Students Federation of U of O (85 University Priv, Room 07), Octopus Books. $15.00 waged, $10.00 students, youth & seniors. Expected to sell out.LECTURE: International AIDS expert Alan Whiteside. “Why HIV/AIDS is still ex-ceptional – Carleton Uni-versity explores Real World Problems” @ Azrieli Theatre (Rm 101), 7pm. Lecture will be followed by a short Q&A and book signing. www.carleton.ca/geography/events/index.htmlCONFERENCE: 5th An-nual Pierre Savard Confer-ence @ U of O (TBT 112). The History Department presents renowned historians and young reserachers for two days of academic exchanges. www.aedhgsa.ca STORY SWAP: Ottawa Storytellers @ Library and Archives Canada (Rm 156), 7pm. The stage open for ev-eryone to share and listen to stories in a fun, relaxed atmosphere. Free admission. www.ottawastorytellers.ca.WORKSHOP: “Cultural Mediations” @ Carleton (IC-SLAC Seminar Rm., St. Pat-rick’s Bldg. 201), 4-5:30pm. Simon Dalby, discussing “Apocalyptic Exceptional-ism: Rosenberg, Clancy and the Prophecy of American-ism”. E-mail [email protected] for a copy of the paper. BOOK LAUNCH: Scott Taylor’s Unembedded: Two Decades of Maverick War Reporting @ Library and Archives Canada (395 Wel-lington St, Exhibition Rm. A), 6pm. Introduction of Taylor’s memoir; celebration of the 20th anniversary of

military magazine Esprit de Corps; book signing to follow. www.espritdecorps.ca.TALK: Mike Nickerson. “Living on Earth as if We Want to Stay,” Young En-vironmental Professionals @ Ottawa Public Library (120 Metcalfe St), 5:30pm. Presentation and discus-sion about how to recre-ate the economy to provide for countless generations to come. www.SustainWellBe-ing.net.PANEL: Ottawa Centre Green Party. “Why are pro-vincial and local politics important in our everyday lives?” @ U of O (University Centre, Terminus Room, 2nd Floor), 7pm. Gilles Pa-quet and Patrick Fafard of the U of O Graduate School of Public and International Affairs discuss how federal, provincial, & local govern-ments divide services, show-ing who holds power over our everyday lives and which orders of government should be targeted by activist citi-zens. FILM: Occupation 101. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East @ Bytowne Cinemas, 6:45pm. Documentary film on the current and historical root causes of the Israeli-Pales-tinian conflict. Tickets $8 (available at Octopus Books or at the door). www.cjpme.org.MUSIC: Passion Pit, Slim Twig, Cale Parks @ Zaphod.NIGHTLIFE: Muyafro-funke + Timekode: the monthly jump-off! @ Mer-cury Lounge (56½ By-ward). $5. IFCO screenings at 7pm; music at 10pm. www.timekode.com.

Fri April 3CONCERT: University of Ottawa Orchestra and Choir @ Saint Brigid’s Centre for the Arts and Humanities (310 St. Patrick St), 8pm. Tickets $20, $10 students. Strauss, Brahms, and Bruck-ner. www.music.uottawa.caFUNDRAISER: Drums: An Evening of South Afri-can Wine, Food, Music and Dance @ Brookstreet Ho-tel Ballroom (525 Leggett Drive, Kanata), 6:30pm. Live music, dinner & live auction

supporting United Way’s “project s.t.e.p.” for the New Ottawa Youth Drug Treat-ment Centre. Tickets $225. Cocktail attire suggested. www.sensfoundation.com MUSIC: The Divorcees @ Zaphod’s.MUSIC: The Burning Hell, The FemBots, The Gertrudes @ The Black Sheep Inn.MUSIC: Luther Wright and The Wrongs with The Jack Grace Band @ The Elmdale Tavern.

Sat April 4DANCE PARTY: Frank and Florian’s Video Dance Party @ Clocktower Brew Pub on Bank St, 10pm. They play music videos. You dance. Admission $5, proceeds to Bytown Billionaires Hockey Club.FILM: Spring into Action: Visions of Living Lightly. Ecology Ottawa & the Liv-ing Lightly Project @ Na-tional Library and Archives Canada (395 Wellington St), 1-4pm. Screening of David Chernushenko’s solution-based film Be the Change followed by competition of short video responses by lo-cal aspiring filmmakers. www.livinglightly.ca/video-contest.CONCERT: “Lovescapes”. Carleton University Choir @ Parkdale United Church (429 Parkdale Ave), 8pm. Tickets $10-20. 613.520.5770.MUSIC: Brasstronaut, Vol-umetrics @ Zaphod’s.MUSIC: Souljazz Orches-tra @ Babylon.

Sun April 5BAZAAR: Bazaar, sushi, and bake sale @ Ottawa Japanese Cultural Centre (Unit B16, 2285 St. Lau-rent Blvd), 1-4pm. Used Japanese goods & memo-rabilia, homemade sushi, bake sale, & silent auc-tion of local artist’s paint-ings. More info: [email protected].

Mon April 6 SALE: “Elliot Extravagan-za” @ Octopus Books. 30% off all books, plus cake, sto-ries & more. All week long children’s books 30% off with stories at 11am and cake and juice all day, every day.

www.octopusbooks.ca.BOOK LAUNCH: Shani Mootoo’s Valmiki’s Daugh-ter @ The Manx Pub (370 Elgin St), 7pm. Poetry reading by Ottawa’s Rob Winger. Hosted by Octo-pus Books.

Tues April 7COOKING: Sophisticated Comfort Food, Urban El-ement @ The Red Apron, 6-9pm. Demonstration cooking class with chefs Jennifer Heagle & Jo-Ann Laverty. Cost: $115. Space limited. www.theurbanele-ment.ca/calendars for de-tails and more classes.TALK: Astronaut Marc Garneau @ U of O (Mont-petit Hall gym), 8pm. Gar-neau will address issues such as: what can and must be done to tackle the pres-sures on the environment after seeing the planet from afar. Tickets $10 , 5$ Stu-dents. Email [email protected].

Wed April 8TALK:. “Science Cafe - Food Supplements: What do they promise? What do they deliver?” @ Wild Oat Bakery Café (817 Bank St). Apollinaire Tsopmo, of the Carleton University Department of Chemistry, talks about the role of bio-active substances, how they might work and some tips for consuming phytochem-icals. Free admission.PLAY: Someone is Going to Come @ Unicorn Theatre, U of O (Academic Hall, 133 Séraphin Marion), 8-10pm. Admission $8-12. [email protected]: Green Drinks Ot-tawa @ Lieutenants Pump Pub, 5:30pm. Those inter-ested, working, or studying all things environmental are welcome for evening of inter-esting and inspiring conver-sation. Continues monthly, every second Wednesday, same location. www.green-drinks.org.MUSIC: CHUO FM Fund-raiser w/ Lefty McRighty and special guests Ray Har-ris, Uncle Sean and the Sin Sisters @ The Elmdale Tav-ern.MUSIC: Willie Nelson @ Ottawa Civic Centre, 7:30pm. Special guests in-

clude Billy Bob Thornton. Tickets $55+.

Thurs April 9MEETING: Ottawa City Council Planning and Environment Committee @ City Hall (Champlain Room), 6:30pm. http://city.ottawa.on.ca/cgi-bin/docs.pl?lang=en.CONCERT: U of O Wind Ensemble @ U of O (Room 112, Tabaret Hall, 550 Cumberland Street), 8-10pm. Admission free, donations encouraged. http://music.uottawa.ca.MUSIC: Torngat @ Za-phod’s.

Fri April 10MUSIC: The Balconies, Dinosaur Bones, The Ur-ban Aesthetics @ Cafe Dekcuf.MUSIC: Bring Me the Ho-rizon, Straight Reads The Line, The Sleeping @ Baby-lon (early show).MUSIC: Thunderheist, Winter Gloves @ Babylon (late show).MUSIC: The D’Urbervilles, Lioness, Suppositories @ Mavericks.

Sat April 11MUSIC: Buck 65, Kyrie Kristmanson @ The Black Sheep Inn.

Sun April 12MUSIC: Coeur de Pirate @ Zaphod’s.MUSIC: Buck 65, Ryan McGrath @ The Black Sheep Inn.

AnnouncementsECOLOGY OTTAWA: Register for new Green Buildings & Workplaces Challenge program and re-ceive an introductory work-shop, resources, advice & ongoing support to make your workplace or residen-tial building a deeper shade of green. Participation is free. Contact 613-850-9101 or [email protected] for more information. Resources available regardless of in-volvement in the program, at www.ecologyottawa.ca/greenbuildings.

Have a Levellerly summer….

see you in the fall!

The Leveller Vol. 1 Issue 4

Documents

Transcript of The Leveller Vol. 1 Issue 4