LOCAL EVENTS WINNIPEG:

PROTEST HONORARY DEGREE TO VIC TOEWS:

As Molly has mentioned before tomorrow there will be a ceremony to present federal Justice Minister Vic Toews with a (dis ?)honorary degree at the University of Winnipeg. It's a strange case of "honour" as one can question the basis for it in terms of service to the community. Has VT saved even one medical patient from a deadly disease ? Has he given even one person hope via raising them from poverty ? Has he established even one innovative social program that has done any good whatsoever ? I don't mean building more prisons. Has he contributed anything whatsoever to the literary or artistic legacy of this country at least once ? Has he even been entertaining and told at least one original funny joke in his life ? In other words has he ever done anything whatsoever to make anyone's life better at any time in the past present or future ? Or has he been a good and crafty political timeserver and held enough offices for enough years to coast into a bizarre "port of honour". What on Earth does "honour" mean in this case ?

Some will be opposing the granting of this 'honorarily' degree. Here's the notice of the protest.

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Vic Toews Honorary Degree Protest
Time Sunday, October 17 · 12:00pm - 2:00pm

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Location University of Winnipeg, Bulman Centre basement
515 Portage Ave
Winnipeg, MB

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More Info

Join the Coalition for Integrity in Academic Accolades on Sunday, October 17th at 12:00 noon in the Riddell Hall Cafeteria (U of W) for a protest of the University of Winnipeg's decision to grant Vic Toews an Honorary Doctorate of Laws. We will be meeting in the cafeteria to coordinate before moving outdoors to the protest... location which will remain undisclosed until Sunday. All who attend the protest are asked to be respectful towards those attending the convocation ceremony.

The sins of Toews are too numerous to list, but here are a few lowlights:
-Vic Toews believes that a bill adding queer Canadians to a list of groups protected by hate propaganda legislation is "a dangerous bill that will toss fundamental Canadian freedoms out the window.”
-Vic Toews has suggested lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10 and is not opposed to putting 10-year-olds in jail.
-Vic Toews spoke in favour of re-criminalizing abortions at the National Pro-Life Conference that was held in Winnipeg in 2004.
-Vic Toews has compared legalizing same-sex marriage to the “government celebrating a Black Mass.” ( Molly Note- In which case it should be right up the Harperite alley. The federal Conservatives seem pretty Satanic to me )

LOCAL EVENTS WINNIPEG:

NO TO VIC TOEWS:

Vic Toews is one (of many) local conservative luminaries, luminous enough for some to think that he should be recognized for his "stellar" career. Others disagree. The following is a notice for a planning meeting for a protest against this award.

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Planning Meeting for Vic Toews Honorary Degree Protest
Time Wednesday, October 13 · 7:30pm - 9:00pm

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Location Rainbow Resource Centre
170 Scott Street
Winnipeg, MB

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More Info

On Sunday, October 17th at 2:00pm, the University of Winnipeg will be giving Vic Toews an honorary Doctorate of Laws during the autumn convocation ceremony. Throughout his career, Vic Toews has consistently represented the worst that Canadian conservatism has to offer. Here are some of his heinous positions: he is against same-sex marriage, he is against hate-speech laws protecting gay people, and he is against the legal right t...o abortion. He also wants to put as many Canadians in jail as possible: he is in favour of ramping up the war on drugs, he is in favour of allowing 10 year olds to be sent to jail, and he fought to end the two-for-one sentencing credit. Recently, Toews got in trouble for referring to the passengers aboard the Tamil refugee ship (MV Sun Sea) as "terrorists". In response, the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) charged that Toews incited "distrust and anger" towards members of the Sri Lankan community.

For all these reasons and more, we believe that Vic Toews should not be granted an honorary degree by the U of W. Doing so would tarnish the value of degrees given to all of its students. Toews' positions are based on ignorance and are in direct opposition to the notions of compassion and justice that should be idealized by institutions of higher learning and the Canadian justice system.

Join us at the planning meeting that will be held on Wed. Oct. 13th at 7:30pm at the Rainbow Resource Centre located at 170 Scott Street (corner of Scott and Wardlaw). At that meeting we will plan the protest that will occur during the convocation ceremony on October 17th.