Tuesday, February 23, 2010

More About Candidate for New President of Rights and Democracy


Mr. Gerard Latulippe ran in Charlesbourg-Jacques-Cartier as candidate for the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance in the 2000 Election but he was not elected.

According to Joe Friesen and Campbell Clark: "Mr. Latulippe declared his support for Quebec sovereignty in the 1990s, several years after he was forced to resign from Liberal premier Robert Bourassa's cabinet over conflict-of-interest allegations."

According to Paul Wells: "In 1994 Latulippe was delegate-general for Quebec to Brussels when the Parti Quebecois was elected under Jacques Parizeau. Parizeau and his minister of international relations, Bernard Landry, couldn't bear the thought that Quebec's vast network of foreign bureaux be staffed by people who actually liked Canada. So they checked. And anyone who, having been asked, didn't swear their loyalty to the notion of a sovereign Quebec, was fired. That's how Gilles Houde lost his nice foreign post, and Reed Scowen. But Gerard Latulippe had no problem! He gave more than the client demanded,” Le Devoir reported at the time, noting in a Brussels press conference at Bernie Landry's side that he had secretly been a supporter of sovereignty for two years before anyone thought to ask."
http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/02/22/rights-and-democracy-loyalty-and-competence/#


According to Graeme Hamilton: "In 2007, when Quebec was in the throes of debate over the reasonable accommodation of religious minorities, Mr. Latulippe submitted a 37-page brief to a provincial government commission studying the issue. Mr. Latulippe warned that Quebec's open immigration practices were leading to the creation of Muslim ghettoes in Montreal, which could easily become breeding grounds for terrorism."Some ethnic groups insist on living according to their own life codes, which run counter to our values and sometimes even our fundamental rights," he wrote. The smooth functioning of Quebec society, he said, is harmed by "the increasingly large geographical concentration [in Montreal] of immigration from Muslim countries." Among the solutions he proposed were a requirement that immigrants settle outside Montreal and a pre-immigration test to verify that a potential immigrant's values conform with those of Quebec society. He also said such religious symbols as the Muslim headscarf and the Sikh kirpan should be confined to the "private sphere." On the other hand, Catholic symbols such as the crucifix in the provincial legislature reflected Quebec's "national identity" and should be preserved, he said."
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2599979#ixzz0gMJjQaeY 


According to Juliet O'Neill: Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon is expected to decide early next week whether to take the advice of the three opposition party leaders and withdraw his proposed appointment of Gerard Latulippe as president of the troubled Rights and Democracy agency.
 http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=2620317#ixzz0gkIzAIOj 


According to Agnes Gruda: "Mais d'autres voix appuient la candidature de Gérard Latulippe, évoquant sa compétence et son expérience internationale."
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/politique-canadienne/201003/01/01-4256242-gerard-latulippe-un-homme-et-ses-zigzags.php

Monday, February 22, 2010

Minister Cannon Statement on the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights & Democracy)


Minister Cannon Statement on the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights & Democracy)

(No. 72 – February 22, 2010 – 11:40 a.m. ET) The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement on the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights & Democracy):
“I am pleased that an exceptionally qualified candidate, Mr. Gerard Latulippe, is willing to take on the job of President of Rights and Democracy. As required under the legislation, we are now consulting the Opposition Leaders on the candidacy of Mr. Latulippe for the position.
“Mr. Latulippe is currently the resident director for the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Haiti. Before being posted to Haiti, Mr. Latulippe was the Institute’s Morocco country director and senior representative for the region of the Maghreb. He has also worked for NDI in countries such as Jordan, Libya, Iraq, Georgia, Mauritania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Egypt.
“I fully believe that Mr. Latulippe is the ideal candidate to return Rights and Democracy to the promotion of Canadian values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
“I would also like to express the Government of Canada’s support for the decision made by the Board of Directors to engage a private firm to conduct a forensic audit of the organization’s financial transactions, as announced last Friday.”
Rights & Democracy is a non-partisan organization with an international mandate. It was created by Parliament in 1988 to encourage and support the universal values of human rights and to promote democratic institutions and practices around the world. The organization continues to make valued contributions internationally.
In Haiti, Rights & Democracy is currently working on a new four-year program called Strengthening Democratic Governance and Promoting Human Rights in Haiti. This program has three components: Strengthening State Civil Society Dialogue; Strengthening the Office de la protection du citoyen (Ombudsman’s Office); and Enhancing the Political Participation of Women and Supporting Political Party Dialogue.
- 30 -
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Catherine Loubier
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
613-995-1851
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2010/072.aspx 


Comment: Mr. Gerard Latulippe ran in Charlesbourg-Jacques-Cartier as candidate for the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance in the 2000 Election but he was not elected.


According to Paul Wells: "In 1994 Latulippe was delegate-general for Quebec to Brussels when the Parti Quebecois was elected under Jacques Parizeau. Parizeau and his minister of international relations, Bernard Landry, couldn't bear the thought that Quebec's vast network of foreign bureaux be staffed by people who actually liked Canada. So they checked. And anyone who, having been asked, didn't swear their loyalty to the notion of a sovereign Quebec, was fired. That's how Gilles Houde lost his nice foreign post, and Reed Scowen. But Gerard Latulippe had no problem! He gave more than the client demanded,” Le Devoir reported at the time, noting in a Brussels press conference at Bernie Landry's side that he had secretly been a supporter of sovereignty for two years before anyone thought to ask."
http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/02/22/rights-and-democracy-loyalty-and-competence/#

According to Graeme Hamilton: "In 2007, when Quebec was in the throes of debate over the reasonable accommodation of religious minorities, Mr. Latulippe submitted a 37-page brief to a provincial government commission studying the issue. Mr. Latulippe warned that Quebec's open immigration practices were leading to the creation of Muslim ghettoes in Montreal, which could easily become breeding grounds for terrorism."Some ethnic groups insist on living according to their own life codes, which run counter to our values and sometimes even our fundamental rights," he wrote. The smooth functioning of Quebec society, he said, is harmed by "the increasingly large geographical concentration [in Montreal] of immigration from Muslim countries." Among the solutions he proposed were a requirement that immigrants settle outside Montreal and a pre-immigration test to verify that a potential immigrant's values conform with those of Quebec society. He also said such religious symbols as the Muslim headscarf and the Sikh kirpan should be confined to the "private sphere." On the other hand, Catholic symbols such as the crucifix in the provincial legislature reflected Quebec's "national identity" and should be preserved, he said."
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2599979#ixzz0gMJjQaeY 


According to Joe Friesen and Campbell Clark: "Mr. Latulippe declared his support for Quebec sovereignty in the 1990s, several years after he was forced to resign from Liberal premier Robert Bourassa's cabinet over conflict-of-interest allegations." 
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ex-alliance-politician-will-head-troubled-rights-group/article1477863/



Friday, February 19, 2010

Rights and Democracy Controversy on "The Agenda" tonight.

Tonight on The Agenda on TVO @ 8 and re-broadcast at 11: "The controversy at the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development and what it says about the government's appointment process." It will be available in streaming video on The Agenda web page afterward.  http://www.tvo.org/cfmx/tvoorg/theagenda/index.cfm?page_id=7&bpn=779721&ts=2010-02-19%2020:00:00.0

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Canada Tibet Committee denounces Chinese government’s delisting of University of Calgary

News Release
For Immediate Release Canada Tibet Committee denounces Chinese government’s delisting of University of Calgary
(Montreal, Thursday, 4 February 2010) – The Canada Tibet Committee (CTC) is denouncing the Chinese government’s decision to remove the University of Calgary from its list of accredited institutions, ostensibly because the university hosted His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Calgary last September and awarded him an honourary degree.
“Unfortunately, the Chinese government chooses to bully rather than reason in order to resolve differences. Canadian universities are respected worldwide for embracing free and open debate where opinions are expressed without fear of reprisal,” said CTC executive director Dermod Travis. “That a foreign power should be so out of touch as to believe that they can intimidate a Canadian university through such tactics would be even more astonishing if it were not the Chinese government doing the intimidating.”
The Chinese government’s decision to delist the University of Calgary falls on the heels of their criticism this week of the Obama administration for its decision to sell defensive helicopters to Taiwan and the President Obama’s plans to meet with the Dalai Lama later this month.
“Western governments must realize that if we don’t change China through constructive and substantive engagement, China will change us. The decision to delist the University of Calgary is only the latest illustration of the authoritarian measures that the Chinese government will attempt to export to western democracies unless we make it abundantly clear that we will not be bullied by authoritarian regimes in our own countries.”
The Canada Tibet Committee is an independent non-governmental organisation of Tibetans and non-Tibetans living in Canada, who are concerned about the continuing human rights violations and lack of democratic freedom in Tibet.
- 30 -
For more information:
Dermod Travis
Executive Director
514.281.1907 / dermod@tibet.ca


Comment:  If China's accreditation of universities process is based not actually on the academic value of the degrees they confer, but rather on political criteria, is it possible that the Chinese Government has accredited substandard universities because those institutions promise not to allow the Dalai Lama on campus?

Response to a Chinese Ph.D. Student's Query on Canada-China Relations

Question: What's your interpretation of the two "change"s in Stephen Harper China policy that were witnessed in his first and second governments respectively?

My answer: I think that most of the changes in policy in Canada-China relations have come from the Chinese side.  For example granting Approved Destination Status after turning down Chretien and Martin on this over many years.  Canada made no changes to its Refugee Policy nor to the independence of the Judiciary that keeps Mr. Lai Changxing away from Chinese justice in Vancouver.  There have also been concessions on the Chinese side on a wide range of other issues, although not on the Celil case yet.  My interpretation is that the Chinese Government realizing that the Harper Government would be in power for some years recognized that yearning for return of the weak past Liberal approach was counter-productive to Chinese interests in Canada.  For example the Chinese Government now respects that Canada will not engage in fruitless dialogue on human rights and no longer makes the pretence that this or shunning of the Dalai Lama is conditional for "good relations."  The demeaining rhetoric about "friendship" is less applied.  The key is effective maximization of each other's national interests.  For China this is access to Canadian natural resources and the Canadian market for Chinese goods.  In Canada's case it  is promotion of our prosperity through attracting talented Chinese immigrants to Canada and access to the Chinese market as well as effectively standing for democracy and rule of law in China and seeking to support people in China denied their fundamental entitlement to human rights.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs that Government Will Act on "Rights and Democracy" Controversy

Lawrence Cannon on R&D controversy: "I do not intervene in the discussions that are held at the Board level.  Mine is to make sure that this organization is smooth running and that it functions correctly."
http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/TV_Shows/The_National/ID=1404185114 

"Obviously, there seems to be a governance structure problem here, and so I'll be looking at that," Cannon said.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/02/03/rights-democracy-dissent.html

"I can tell you that I intend to have a discussion in the very near future with the chairman of Rights and Democracy in order to get his view and his perspective of things," Cannon said Wednesday.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/760353--rights-group-troubled-cannon-says

 February 6: Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon met with Mr. Braun yesterday and said they both want a "constructive future" for Rights and Democracy.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/a-rights-agencys-future-in-peril/article1458589/ 

February 11: "Le ministre canadien des Affaires étrangères Lawrence Cannon promet d'intervenir d'ici quelques jours à Droits et Démocratie."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hjs-SzBgeXVG9yQDqAdeccra1P0w


Comment:  I think that Mr. Cannon's characterization of the essence of this matter as a "governance structure problem" can lead to a productive resolution once this "governance structure problem" is effectively addressed.  I feel cautiously optimistic that the Board and management of R&D can find a way to work together in harmony again.  There has to be openness, trust and good will on both sides.  There will always be differences of opinion as to priorities and approaches, but at the end of the day R&D has an important mandate to fulfill for Canada and on the nature of that mandate there is in fact a high degree of consensus.

February 19: Le ministre des Affaires étrangères, Lawrence Cannon, serait sur le point d'annoncer une décision dans ce dossier. Selon sa porte-parole Catherine Loubier, il juge «inacceptable» le fait de scruter les origines ethniques d'un groupe d'employés.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/national/201002/19/01-953189-droits-et-democatie-une-enquete-reclamee.php

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Chair of Rights and Democracy Challenged on CTV "Power Point"

Tom Clark, host of "Power Point" quotes anonymous Government source as characterizing "Rights and Democracy"  as a "playground for the left."

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/power-play/feb-1/

Monday, February 01, 2010

Statements of Central Party School on Death of Rémy Beauregard

  1. Nous sommes consternés et éprouvons une douleur profonde après avoir appris la terrible nouvelle du décès le 8 janvier 2010 de notre vieil ami, monsieur Rémy Beauregard, président de Droits et Démocratie. Veuillez accepter nos sincères condoléances et toute notre sympathie à l 'occasion de son départ subit.
    Durant sa présidence, M. Beauregard a constamment attaché une grande importance aux échanges et à la coopération entre l 'École du comité central du Parti communiste chinois et Droits et Démocratie et c 'est sous son impulsion que notre projet a pu connaître des succès considérables. Notre école a tiré grand profit de sa connaissance intime des droits de la personne et de ses réflexions perspicaces, qui nous inspirent une grande admiration. L 'an dernier, M. Li Liandong, directeur du Département de science politique et de droit, dirigeait une mission de notre école au Canada, durant laquelle il fut reçu chez les Beauregard; il y a ressenti personnellement la chaleur de l 'accueil du couple et leur profonde amitié pour le peuple chinois. En novembre dernier, M. Beauregard dirigeait à son tour une mission de Droits et Démocratie en Chine et visitait notre École.
    Sa présence, sa voix et son sourire sont encore bien vivants parmi tous les collègues ici à l 'École!
    Nous vous prions de transmettre toute notre sympathie à son épouse Suzanne et aux membres de sa famille. Nous espérons qu 'ils pourront contenir leur douleur et prendre bien soin d 'eux-mêmes!  Fidèles à la volonté posthume de M. Beauregard, poursuivons sans relâche, côte à côte, les échanges et la coopération entre l 'École du Comité central du Parti communiste chinois et Droits et Démocratie!
    Le Bureau des Affaires étrangères de l 'École du Comité central du Parti
    communiste chinois
     
  2. Nous sommes consternés et profondément attristés par le décès de votre président, Monsieur Rémy Beauregard. Au nom du Centre des droits de la personne de l 'École du Comité central du Parti communiste de Chine, nous exprimons nos plus sincères condoléances et toute notre sympathie à Droits et Démocratie ainsi qu 'à la famille du disparu!
    Monsieur Rémy Beauregard a consacré d 'énormes efforts à la promotion de la coopération académique entre le Centre international des droits de la personne et du développement démocratique et le Centre des droits de la personne de l 'École du Comité central du Parti communiste chinois. Il a fait une contribution exceptionnelle à l 'amitié entre les peuples chinois et canadien.
    Nous chérirons à jamais la mémoire de M. Rémi Beauregard.
    Zhang Xiaoling, directrice, Centre des droits de la personne,
    École du Comité central du Parti communiste de Chine