Poland to withdraw from EU treaty on Violence Against Women

Poland will take steps next week to withdraw from a European treaty on violence against women, which the rightwing cabinet has said violates parents’ rights by requiring schools to teach children about gender.

The justice minister, Zbigniew Ziobro, told a news conference on Saturday his ministry would submit a request to the labour and families ministry on Monday to begin the process of withdrawing from the treaty, known as the Istanbul convention.

“It contains elements of an ideological nature, which we consider harmful,” Ziobro said.

Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) and its coalition partners closely align themselves with the Catholic church and promote a conservative social agenda. Hostility to gay rights was one of the main issues promoted by President Andrzej Duda during a successful re-election campaign this month.

On Friday, thousands of people, mostly women, protested in Warsaw and other cities against proposals to reject the treaty.

“The aim is to legalise domestic violence,” Marta Lempart, one of the protest organisers, said on Friday at a march in Warsaw. Some protesters carried banners saying “PiS is the women’s hell“.

Government Runs Roughshod Over Environmental Protection and Democracy | Ontario Nature

Government Runs Roughshod Over Environmental Protection and Democracy | Ontario Nature: Queen’s Park, Ontario, July 22, 2020 – Yesterday the Government of Ontario passed Bill 197, the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, a law that reflects neither the values nor the long-term interests of Ontarians who understand the importance of a healthy environment and democratic process.

While Ontarians grapple with the social and economic shocks of a global pandemic, the Government of Ontario fast-tracked omnibus Bill 197 through the Legislature, amending 20 pieces of legislation and allotting only the bare minimum of time required for debate. With scornful disregard, the government ignored its legal obligation, under the Environmental Bill of Rights, to provide at least a 30-day public consultation on changes to Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act (EAA), one of our oldest and most important environmental laws.

 Bill 197 holds true to an insidious pattern of environmental deregulation set, for example, by three other omnibus bills that the government has passed since it came into power two years ago. While Bill 197 takes a hammer to the EAA, previous bills gutted the Endangered Species Act, repealed the Toxic Reductions Act and weakened environmental protections under the Pesticides Act, the Environmental Protection Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Aggregate Resources Act. Like the other omnibus bills, the promising title of Bill 197 poorly conveys the actual content of the bill and hides its negative environmental, social and economic implications. These changes will negatively impact the health and prosperity of our communities and the environment for years to come.

Ontario Humanist Society Supports Racial Justice - Ontario Humanist Society

Ontario Humanist Society Supports Racial Justice - Ontario Humanist Society: The Ontario Humanist Society stands in solidarity with the Black community. There is no room for hatred or bigotry in our lives. We have an ethical duty to one another, as fellow human beings, and as members of our communities, to combat racism and discrimination in all forms. Every individual should hold themselves accountable for their personal past. Each of us is responsible for our actions moving forward.
 We ask OHS members and fellow Humanists to work with, but more importantly, listen to the Black community.  By hearing and supporting the Black community, we can help to fight racial hatred, discrimination, and injustice, with meaningful action towards making the world a better place.
 Change does not happen unless we all make it happen together.   Sev Derghazarian President, Ontario Humanist Society

Ontario Humanist Society Opposes Illegal Annexation of the Palestinian West Bank - Ontario Humanist Society

Ontario Humanist Society Opposes Illegal Annexation of the Palestinian West Bank -

The Ontario Humanist Society strongly opposes Israel’s plan to illegally annex West Bank lands as part of agreement signed by the new coalition government. Annexing Palestinian land under occupation violates the Charter of the United Nations and the principle established by the UN Security Council that “the acquisition of territory by war or force is inadmissible.” Further annexation of occupied lands by Israel woul be the opposite of achieving peace and bringing justice to Palestinians and Israelis.

Palestinians deserve to live in peace, without fear that their homes and lands will be demolished or confiscated for the benefit of a different ethnic group. As a secular and rationally-minded group concerned with universal human rights, the Ontario Humanist Society opposes the idea that one religious group or ethnicity should have elevated rights & privileges over another. Instead, the OHS believes that all people should live together with equal human rights and have tolerance for all cultural and religious differences. The Ontario Humanist Society is strongly opposed to apartheid and ethnic cleansing anywhere.

For further information, please see this statement released recently at the United Nations: https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25960&LangID=E

Nestlé Waters leaving Canada is a community success | The Council of Canadians

Nestlé Waters leaving Canada is a community success | The Council of Canadians: This afternoon, Nestlé Canada Inc. announced it will leave the Canadian bottled water market and sell its bottled water brand, Nestlé Pure Life, to Ice River Springs.

This is a significant win for communities across Canada, and everyone who has been fighting the bottled water giant. “Community groups, First Nations, residents across the country and Council of Canadian supporters have persistently challenged Nestlé’s water takings in Wellington County, Ontario and Hope, British Columbia.

This is their victory against the multi-national giant,” says Vi Bui, water campaigner with the Council of Canadians.

The Council of Canadians’ supporters and chapters joined with community groups on the ground to mobilize opposition and deny Nestlé’s many attempts to expand its operations, push for a moratorium on water taking permits, and boycott Nestlé products. Today’s announcement follows a decline in the volume of water Nestlé extracts and bottles, thanks to the groundswell of community opposition, public education and our national Boycott Nestlé campaign.

We know that Nestlé’s departure will not end water takings in Canada, and our work continues to oppose any commodification of water for profit, whether by a multi-national corporation or a Canadian-owned one.