Quote of the week

“There is no formal structure for finding out about torture.” —An anonymous CSIS agent testifying at Adil Charkaoui’s security certificate hearing, saying the spy agency does not verify whether information it gets is obtained through torture.

Labour days

Thursday, Dec. 18 is International Migrants’ Day, an event that aims to draw attention to the giant industrial relations loophole that is migrant labour. Over the last 20 years, less desirable jobs in Canada have been gradually subcontracted to people willing to do the work if they can at least get a foothold here.

“Without knowing it, you walk into Westmount or Outremont and pass Filipino domestic workers in the street, then you go to a restaurant and eat food picked by Mexican migrant workers,” says Dominique Caouette, professor of political science at the Université de Montréal.

Although these people often live and work here for years, their status as migrants keeps them from ever becoming citizens, which means they don’t have the same rights and recourses as landed immigrants.

“It’s really the hidden face of globalization,” says Caouette. “We’re creating a multi-tiered citizenship in Canada where we’re not all equal.”

UdeM think-tank Cérium is hosting a conference tonight, Thursday, Dec. 18, at 6 p.m. (3744 Jean Brillant, #6450) which uses photography, film and theatre to describe the kind of situations migrant labourers face, including Filipino domestic servants acting out sketches of their experiences. Entry is free. See cerium.ca for details.

Kader at three

Remember all that hoopla a few years back about Abdelkader Belaouni, the blind Algerian dude who sought sanctuary in a Pointe St-Charles church trying to avoid deportation back to his war-stricken country? Well, three years later, the guy’s still there, by now probably so bored Sunday mass must seem like rollickin’ good times.

Belaouni, you may recall, was on his way to securing a U.S. green card when 9/11 turned everything to shit for him. After his passport was confiscated by U.S. authorities determined to send him back to Algeria, Belaouni escaped to Montreal to apply for refugee status here, but, consistent with his luck in recent years, his case was rejected and his deportation order was upheld.

“It’s been a long time now that he’s been waiting to get out of there and be able to continue with his day to day life here in Montreal,” says Nora Butler-Burke of the Committee to Support Abdelkader Belaouni.

In order to sustain an ongoing support campaign, as well as the daily costs of living in sanctuary, the committee is asking for cash donations. There will also be a march on Jan. 10 marking the third year of his incarceration.

Details: soutienpourkader.net or call (514)-495-3519.

by CHRIS BARRY

Sex, rights and brollies

Violent crime and heinous murders are sometimes seen as an occupational hazard for sex workers, but on International Sex Workers’ Rights day yesterday, Wednesday, Dec. 17, Montreal sex workers took to the streets to demand an end to that violence.

Stella, the sex workers’ rights organization behind the day’s activities, has observed the event since 2005, initially started by porn star feminist Annie Sprinkle. Stella coordinator Elsa Lemaire says the day helps unite sex workers in a different but similar battle. “Violence against sex workers is unacceptable, it’s not part of their job,” she says. “We all have a point in common—we no longer want violence, stigma, stereotypes or criminalization against sex workers. And that goes for both male and female sex workers.”

Using bright red umbrellas to create a visual impact, the march began at Préfontaine metro, with demonstrators stopping at Parc Desiré to honour the victims of violence. Organizers spoke of the death of a slain prostitute in the park, known only as “Nicole.” Lemaire says a major priority will be to decriminalize sex work, as workers are often forced to rush through or altogether skip the safe sex negotiations with clients for fear of arrest by police.

Go to chezstella.org for more info.

by LINA HARPER

Look, feel,
shop good

Still shopping for Christmas? Still looking for that missing link that would make this holiday even jollier? And does your sweetiepuss dress like a slob? Then do yourself, him/herself and the underprivileged a good turn and head over to Preloved (4832 St-Laurent) for some last-minute do-gooding.

Until the end of the month, the recycled fashion shop will be offering 15 per cent discounts to shoppers who bring in two cans of non-perishable goods, which they’ll donate to Moisson Montreal, a local food bank (their Toronto store will be donating their cans to that city’s Daily Bread).

“The store’s owner (Julia Grieve) is a mother of three, so for her, this is really personal,” says Montreal manager Colin Seymour. “She just hates to see people go hungry.

“The reaction has been fantastic,” he says. “If customers don’t know about it, they just run to the corner and grab something.”

The store hopes to donate 1,000 pounds of food, but money always helps. “That way the banks can buy what they need instead of trying to make do with what we give them,” he says. Dozens of cans of chickpeas, while nice, does get a bit repetitive.

For more info, visit preloved.ca or moissonmontreal.org.

by PATRICK LEJTENYI

Rear-view mirror

13 YEARS AGO - DEC. 21, 1995–JAN. 4, 1996

On the cover: Lucien Bouchard as Santa Claus, thanks to “dramatic computer enhancement.” The year-end review issue contains no Bouchard interview or real story, other than Mirror editor Peter Scowen comparing politicians to Santa Claus.
•Year-in-review articles include Quotes, the struggles of the left, and gay and aboriginal rights.
•Mainstream news that was overdone, underdone and poorly done: Windows 95, the 50th anniversary of WWII’s end (over), the pan-national student strikes, Mumia Abu-Jamal (under), the Oklahoma bombing and the Canadian Airborne scandal (poorly).
•“House godfather” Frankie Knuckles doesn’t think this whole vocal-less tracks thing will last. “After all, people like songs, not just beats.”
•“Who cares about accuracy?” writes Matthew Hays, lamenting the fair treatment Oliver Stone—“the most paranoid filmmaker in America (if not the world)”—gives his subject in Nixon. “I want some good old-fashioned conspiracy to a hysterical degree.”
• A letter-writer accuses the Mirror of being “ad sluts” because of an ad for a fitness centre offering cheaper memberships to women.

Angel >>Taking the bus There’s some good news for the city’s shivering, huddled, commuting masses coming Jan. 5: there will be more buses on rush-hour roads, especially on busy routes like the 80/535, 24, 105 and 51. Fifty more buses will be added to the streets, upping the bus population by an estimated 10 per cent. Transit advocates say it’s a step in the right direction, but recovering from the steep cuts made to the transit system in the 1990s will take still more time and expenditure. But any help is welcome, particularly as Montreal remains…

Insect >> The car theft capital of Canada According to StatsCan, 22,400 vehicles were stolen in Montreal in 2007. Compare that to Toronto’s 15,300 and Vancouver’s 12,550. The most popular brand with thieves remains the Honda Civic SiR two-door (1999 and 2000 models), along with the Subaru Impreza four-door (2004), Acura Integra two-door (1999) and the Dodge/Plymouth Grand Caravan/Voyager (1994). Experts blame the city’s well-organized crime infrastructure (proximity to a major port doesn’t hurt either). And while the theft rate has dropped by 40 per cent over the past four years, thanks, say the same experts, to better anti-theft devices, professional thieves will always find a better way to steal your car. So take the bus.