Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 09, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE 10 OPINION A10 SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2014 POLL Should Winnipeg police crack down on head shops? Yes 35% No 65% Previous polls: Did the province go far enough in liberalizing liquor laws? Yes, the changes are enough No, stand- alone bars should be allowed Actually, the province went too far I'd like to see six- packs in corner stores Would a junk food tax deter you from buying unhealthy treats? Yes 26% No 74% What should the Winnipeg Blue Bombers do now that Henry Burris has signed with the Ottawa Redblacks? Bring back Kevin Glenn Sign Drew Willy Stick with Max Hall Scout NFL cuts Would you like to see Manitoba Hydro alter its dam- building plans? They should put them on hold They should cancel them They should go full- steam ahead Should Respect in Sport courses be mandatory for Manitoba's hockey parents? Yes, it would cut down on confrontations during games No, most parents know how to behave themselves It won't make a difference either way BLOG OF WEEK: POLICYFIX. CA M UCH critical commentary has been directed at aboriginal students and others who disrupted a recent talk by Phil Fontaine. I would like to offer a response that is different, but that nevertheless agrees that the right to speak and to be heard is essential in a democratic society. I believe that it is too easy simply to criticize the protestors for not allowing Mr. Fontaine to speak. I think we also need to ask: who is being heard, and who is not, on the great issues of our times? And certainly the issue about which Mr. Fontaine was to speak, namely the oil sands and their associated longterm financial and environmental consequences, is one of the most challenging issues we face today. The protesters have been told - for the most part by those who have much more access to the media, and therefore much more chance to be heard - that they should have entered into a dialogue. They should have engaged in a respectful discussion. It is worth noting that this approach has been largely ineffective to date, with respect to other issues that are extremely important to aboriginal people, and ought to deeply concern all of us. For example, recent research now reveals 824 aboriginal women have gone missing or been murdered in Canada, 111 of them in Manitoba. Many aboriginal people have respectfully and repeatedly called for a public inquiry into these appalling occurrences. At least two of the protesters that I know of have been creatively and energetically involved in this work for years. They continue their peaceful vigils for the murdered and missing women and their families. Yet aboriginal women continue to go missing and to be murdered, while calls for a public inquiry go unheeded. Similarly, significant numbers of those aboriginal people displaced by the flood of 2011 have spent months and even years living in Winnipeg hotel rooms, their lives completely disrupted, their children placed at risk in the city. Some have told us, in occasional media stories, how they are suffering. Apparently we do not hear them. I expect, therefore, that the protesters understand the fundamental importance of the right to be heard, since aboriginal people - not necessarily the leadership, but most aboriginal people - have largely been denied that right, for many decades. Those who have criticized the protesters have said by preventing Phil Fontaine from speaking about his role in the oil sands, they acted in a way that is inconsistent with traditional aboriginal values, namely that all have the right to speak. I agree. But on the other hand, the protesters spoke to another important aboriginal value, one that the rest of us might do well to consider, namely that the decisions we make today ought to take into account their effect on the seventh generation. That way of thinking is completely at odds with how our current economic system works. Yet the decisions we make now and in the near future will surely affect the seventh generation. What reasonable person would trust the oil companies - whose legal obligation is to maximize profits for shareholders - to make decisions based on the effects they might have seven generations into the future? That would be naive. And if that is naive, then one can understand the protesters' concerns about Mr. Fontaine's having been hired by the oil companies. The protesters' concern is a concern about the seventh generation into the future, and that is a crucially important aboriginal value. The protesters were also criticized for being disruptive. But any informed reading of history shows those who are the weakest and most disadvantaged are most likely to be able to make gains when they are disruptive. Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr., to take but two examples, were disruptive in their attempts to promote justice in their racially divided societies. Today we honour them. King's " Letter from a Birmingham Jail" is a classic defence of the right to peaceful protest, even when it is disruptive, and is also a sharp rebuke to those who criticize disruptive actions as being somehow inappropriate. A very strong case can be made that, as long as they are non- violent, disruptive activities are an important part of a free and democratic society, because they make it possible for those who have no formal access to the halls of power to make their voices heard. And if they do not make their voices heard, the injustices from which they suffer will persist. Phil Fontaine should have been allowed to speak. He should have been heard. That is a fundamental right in our society. But precisely because that right is so important, we should not simply say to the protesters, " tsk, tsk, you have been bad by not respecting others' right to be heard." If that is all we do, the effect will be to silence protesters who, for the most part, are representative of people whose voices have been largely silenced for decades. Their legitimate concerns will not be heard, again, while the oil companies, and Phil Fontaine, will continue to have multiple opportunities to make their case to the media. I look forward to hearing Phil Fontaine in the near future, and to hearing his answers to what I expect will be some tough questions. I strongly support his right to be heard. But I also look forward - and in fact even more so - to hearing more from those aboriginal people in our midst who have for so long been silenced. And I support their right to be disruptive - as long as it is non- violent - every bit as much as I support Phil Fontaine's right to speak. Jim Silver is professor and chairman, department of urban and inner- city studies, at the U of W, and an active board member of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives- Manitoba. Follow this blog at policyfix. ca. By Jim Silver Criticizing the protesters is just too easy M AYOR Sam Katz is looking for an apology from the writer of an opinion piece in the Uniter . Some of our readers are looking for an apology, too. " Dear Sam, we're sorry that you are our mayor." Would that count? - section22 Personally I would never had heard of the article if it weren't for the lawsuit. After reading it, I think many in Winnipeg have had similar thoughts on this issue. Besides the allegations were not that vindictive and Katz needs a thicker skin. Or perhaps just go out, do the job of mayor and prove how competent and ethical he really is. - urtaxwiz Please don't apologize. Katz made a major mistake in filing this claim, not his first mistake by the way. Force him to remove complaint. Otherwise, see him in court and let him prove his case. He can't. More issues will see the light of day and sooner rather than later we will see Katz's taillights on their way to that unexplainable house in the desert - charlie2 How many are looking for an apology from Katz? - 23943102 If Sam is worried about his reputation, I can see where he might have made some different choices. - JustWondering Disgusting act of bullying by our petty and vindictive mayor. It costs thousands of dollars to get a lawyer to file a suit or to defend one... pocket change for rich Sam, but a small fortune for a student. Sam knows that, that's why he's libelchilling his critics into silence. What Sam doesn't know is what was said in that Uniter article isn't anything that hundreds of thousands of people in this city weren't already saying or thinking. - lollipopsandsunshine Like many, I would have never known of this article, if not for the lawsuit. I had to read the article to find out exactly how damning it really is. Major disappointment - the lawsuit is much ado about nothing! There was nothing in this article that hasn't been written in other articles or been seen on the evening news. Benoit should thank Katz for the publicity. Benoit's article states: ( Katz) denies emphatically that he ever showed favouritism to his friends and will even swear to that on a whole, entire Bible. Perhaps Mr. Katz should open that Bible and read 1 Thessalonians 5: 22: ". abstain from all appearance of evil." This is not the same as calling someone evil. However, if the shoe fits. - Holly Hannah Sam you are just not that smart ( among other things): Q: How many people do you think read the Uniter ? A: Almost no one Q: Do you think your suit brings more ( bad) attention to you or less? A: More Q: What do you think the court would order in the event they find in your favour? A: The remedy is for the court to restore your reputation which it does by the finding against the defendant ( the Uniter ) and usually awards $ 1.00 in damages. Q: What do you get out of all of this? A: Nothing but a lot of bad publicity and a bill from your lawyer ( Robert Tapper) Q: What does your lawyer get? A: A lot of your money - 23668767 " This has been dragging on for many months," Katz said. In fact, it has been exactly two months since the article was written, and a week since the statement of claim was filed. Oh, the humanity. Here's hoping the poor man can bear up under the horrible pain this kid has inflicted over these " many months." Get real. - Maudoug While everyone takes great glee in having something else to malign our mayor about, they should remember this: It is one thing to criticize his performance, freedom of speech allows that. It is another thing to openly call him a crook or accuse him of illegal acts. Many, hiding behind their avatars, have done that on these boards. Josh Benoit identified himself openly. Regardless of his age ( I am not aware of same), if this goes to court he will have to prove his allegations. SK is not bullying. He is exercising his legal rights. - Rodney 2 Plenty of ' sorry' to go around MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Phil Fontaine has just as much right to speak as First Nations protesters have to disrupt his speech. 13% 19% 11% 57% 43% 22% 36% 26% 25% 9% 40% 36% 21% 43% A_ 10_ Feb- 09- 14_ FP_ 01. indd A10 2/ 8/ 14 9: 32: 46 PM ;