(no subject)

[theweaselking]

Canada's interim placeholder government orders all non-Christians in department of corrections fired.

Says Vic "Dumbest Man In The Harper Government And That Is Saying Something" Toews, "The minister strongly supports the freedom of religion for all Canadians, including prisoners. [...] However, the government … is not in the business of picking and choosing which religions will be given preferential status through government funding."

Yes, that's right, he said "the government is not in the business of picking and choosing which religions will be given preferential status through government funding" WHILE GIVING PREFERENTIAL STATUS THROUGH GOVERNMENT FUNDING TO ONE RELIGION.

(Christians *do* make up a disproportionate percentage of inmates in Canada, as they do in all Western nations, but despite the correlation between their creed and criminal acts they aren't ALL the prisoners, and they still have the same rights.)

Comments

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

The article claims 57.1% of prisoners in Canada identify as Christian. According to Wikipedia 77% of Canadians were Christian as of 2001. That's probably shifted a bit since then, but I don't feel like holding Statscan upside down and shaking out its pockets to find out. I doubt it's shifted more than 20% downward, which suggests that there are a disproportionately large number of non-Christians in Canadian prisons, and a disproportionately small number of Christians. Which makes this even more grotesquely discriminatory, basically. If they're going to do interfaith that's fine, but there's no particular reason that Christians are more qualified than others to do that.

[supergee.livejournal.com]

Good thing people of other faiths don't commit crimes. "Jesus wept" seems appropriate here. (Blogging this, thanx)

[graethorne.livejournal.com]

reposting, for those who think Canada the Promised Land...

[alienor77310.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think Christians are very much the minority in French prisons, with about 2/3 of inmates declaring themselves as Muslim.

[anktastic.livejournal.com]

I read this and immediately though of you: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/08/world/americas/canada-highlights-war-of-1812-casting-us-as-aggressor.html
Harper sounds like a total doucher.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

The NY Times appears butthurt over the fact that the war of 1812 *was* started by the US, *did* begin with an invasion, and the US *did* lose after we pounded your army, burned down your capital, and turned around again because we, unlike the US generals, didn't think that would "win hearts and minds" and certainly didn't want to be stuck occupying a festering swamp. And, because we're benevolent sorts, we forgave you for it.

(And the "Canada wasn't a nation until 1867" argument makes ALL KINDS of mistakes. Canada didn't self-govern on paper until the 1860s. We didn't own our own constitution until the mid-20th century - and still, there are descendents of the people the US tried to conquer still there, and saying "pssh, you were all British anyway" misses some crucial points both about the nature of the Commonwealth and is like saying "pssh, Geoge Washington was just a treasonous brit": Technically true, misses the point.)