| Pension appeal
Gay and lesbian organizations are criticizing the federal government for appealing an Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision which gave retroactive pension benefits to same-sex spouses whose partners died between 1984 and 1998.
Prior to the court decision, same-sex spouses were only eligible for pension benefits if their partner died in 1998 or later.
"The government now accepts that same-sex spouses who pay into CPP are entitled to the same benefits as everyone else," says Laurie Arron, Egale’s Director of Advocacy.
"So this isn’t about principle. It’s about money. It’s about squeezing some elderly gay and lesbian people who they don’t think the public will make a fuss over."
Efficient fixtures
Waterless urinals have been taken out of the City of Calgary and the new Crowfoot library because the province says they’re not approved by the Canadian Standards Association.
The province is also directing Sunshine Village, which spent $150,000 installing dual-flush toilets and water-free urinals, to rip them out because neither are approved by the Canadian Standards Association. Local developers are criticizing the province’s stance. They say Ontario and B.C. approve dual-flush toilets and waterless urinals, despite the fact that they haven’t been approved by the Canadian Standards Association, because they’re environmentally friendly.
Red cross forum
The Geneva Convention has been around for over 50 years and yet it’s contravened every day.
Why aren’t countries around the world following international law and what can be done about it?
Those are some of the topics that will be discussed at a Red Cross Symposium being hold from January 22 to 24.
Speakers at the symposium will include humanitarian aid workers, Canadian peacekeepers, international law experts and human-rights activists.
The three-day symposium will also look at the International Criminal Court, post-conflict refugee experiences, landmines and unexploded remnants of war, people who go missing during war, the effects of war on children and the current situation in Iraq.
Event organizer Beth Iredale says there’s currently a lot of interest in international law because of the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
She says the goal of the symposium is to get Calgarians involved in lobbying for international law to be followed. |
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