Posts filed in Human Rights

Human Rights

Supreme Court Dismisses B’nai Brith’s Leave Application in Lascaris v B’nai Brith Canada

In August 2016, on the eve of the Green Party of Canada’s biannual general meeting, B’nai Brith Canada, a “staunch defender” of the state of Israel, published an article in which it defamed me.

B’nai Brith’s defamatory article was plainly intended to influence a Green Party debate on a resolution calling for the Green Party to support the use of boycotts, divestment and sanctions to bring an end to Israel’s illegal settlements and occupation of Palestinian territory. I was the sponsor of that resolution.

Months later, after B’nai Brith repeatedly published more defamatory statements about me, I brought a defamation action against B’nai Brith in the Courts of Ontario. B’nai Brith immediately responded to my lawsuit by bringing a motion to dismiss my action under Ontario’s new anti-SLAPP legislation. That legislation is designed to bring an early end to lawsuits that lack merit and that are designed to stifle legitimate debate.

In March 2019, a three-judge panel of the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that my defamation action against B’nai Brith had substantial merit and it dismissed B’nai Brith’s anti-SLAPP motion. It also ordered B’nai Brith to pay to me $15,000 in costs.

B’nai Brith subsequently sought leave to appeal the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Today, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed B’nai Brith’s leave to appeal application. The Supreme Court’s decision means that my defamation action can now proceed to trial.

I very much look forward to my day in Court.

Human Rights

I Join With Amnesty International in Calling For An End to Weapons Sales to Saudi Arabia

Yesterday, at the General Dynamics plant in London, Ontario, I joined with Amnesty International and dozens of human rights activists to condemn the Trudeau government’s sale of weaponized personnel carriers to the brutal Saudi autocracy. As I explained in my speech, the Green Party of Canada has long opposed the sale of these weapons to Saudi Arabia. In the 1970s, with the help of Pierre Trudeau’s government, this plant was converted from peaceful purposes to the construction of armoured vehicles. If Canada’s government can expend taxpayer funds to convert these manufacturing facilities into producers of weapons, it can now invest taxpayer funds to ensure that these same facilities contribute to an indispensable transition to a renewable energy economy.

Human Rights

Fossil Fuels Are A Threat To National Security: A Debate With Former CSIS Analyst Phil Gurski

Last month, in a letter to the Hill Times, I responded to an op-ed by Phil Gurski, a former senior strategic analyst with Canada’s spy agency (CSIS), in which Mr. Gurski raised the spectre of potential violence by environmental activists. After the Hill Times published my letter, Mr. Gurski kindly invited me onto his weekly program to debate national security, the threat posed by the fossil fuels industry and terrorism.

In our debate, which Mr. Gurski published today, I argued (starting at 8:58 of the podcast) that one of the greatest threats to Canada’s national security is in fact the fossil fuels industry and that, far from being a threat to national security, those who resist the fossil fuels industry are acting in the national interest.

I also argued that the legislation governing CSIS is broad enough to authorize CSIS to treat the fossil fuels industry as a national security threat, but that the government appointees who manage CSIS have a pro-fossil fuels bias – just like the Liberal and Conservative politicians who appointed them.

Finally, I argued (starting at 25:50 of the podcast) that Western governments and intelligence agencies are ignoring the true causes of terrorism, that there is no military solution to terrorism and that the true solution to terrorism is political in nature.

You can listen to our debate here:

Human Rights

Cuba Battles Coronavirus Despite Punishing U.S. Sanctions

To date, on a per capita basis, Canada and the United States have suffered far more COVID19-related deaths than Cuba.

This week on Dimitri Live, I asked Cuba-based, British journalist Ed Augustin to explain how Cuba has managed to control the virus despite punishing U.S. sanctions.

As Ed explains, an important part of the reason for Cuba’s ability to limit the loss of life is that Cuba has a far higher proportion of doctors, and its doctors and other medical personnel have been going door-to-door to treat and test the citizenry.

I hope you will listen.