New immigrants guide glosses over gays

I have a new piece up on the Xtra.ca national page today, which will also show up in the forthcoming print edition of Xtra in Toronto. It was one where I was a fairly quick-and-dirty piece canvassing some opinions about the effacement of sexual minorities in the new Discover Canada new immigrants' guide, done entirely after Question Period yesterday, and it turned out fairly well.

In the editing process, however, a great line from Scott Brison was dropped:

“I’ve met with new Canadians and members of ethno-cultural communities in Canada who believe very strongly in the Charter of Rights,” Brison says. “Sometimes, even though there may be some initial opposition to initiatives like same-sex marriage, when they are reminded that it’s a Charter issue and that Charter of Rights is not a buffet and you can’t pick from it the rights you like and leave the rest, and any attack on anyone’s rights is attack on all, they understand.”

Otherwise, it was a fun piece to write.

Immigration bid waylaid

I have a piece in the Toronto Xtra today, which is a bit unusual, though the editor called me up there and asked me to cover it since I do deal mostly with federal politics. It was an issue I had heard of, but I was interested to hear that he'd found the "gay angle" to it. But what was most interesting was to hear the refugee claimant's story. I told him he didn't have to tell me, to just give me broad strokes, but he poured it out to me, and it was absolutely heartbreaking to hear everything that he had been through, and to have to continue to live in limbo, his work permit nearing expiration while he continues to wait on Federal Court delays. At the same time, I had no idea about the ways in which the laws surrounding Federal Court justices were being subverted with these appointments of over-aged deputy justices. Quite an interesting story all around.