Cathleen’s letter to the editor on so-called anti-terror bill C-51
February 17, 2015 The Globe and Mail Letters to the Editor Liberties, taken In his eloquent article on the “anti-terror” bill, Campbell Clark writes, “CSIS is not allowed to target lawful dissent” (Flawed Anti-Terror Bill Deserves Serious Scrutiny – Feb. 16). I would not be too sure of that. After all, the Canada Revenue Agency has done a terrific job of targeting public interest advocacy groups and charities that dare express an opinion on climate change or the environment. There is no cause for complacency in this case: This bill, if passed, would take us well on the way to a...
Read MoreCathleen’s “GottaGo!” letter in the Ottawa Citizen
Provide safe, accessible LRT toilets 31 January, 2015 It is hard to believe that a citizen’s group (GottaGo! campaign) has had to form to advocate for toilets in our new LRT line. With an estimated 10,000 people per hour going through the system, the need for public facilities is surely blindingly obvious? Not only is this a public health issue (as in, what happens when someone’s “gotta go” and there is no facility available?), it is also an equity issue, as pregnant women, the elderly, and those with chronic disease or even small children, may be effectively confined to their homes...
Read MoreAlma’s letter in the Citizen
Where’s the justice? OTTAWA CITIZEN MAY 17, 2014 2:04 PM Re: Harkat promises fight ‘to the end,’ May 16. Where has my Canada gone now that Mohamed and his wife, Sophie, have lost their struggle for justice? As a result of secret trials where he saw neither the evidence nor his accuser, Harkat is to be deported to Algeria, where he may face possible torture and death. Do we really feel safer because their battle for justice has been lost? Is democracy more secure in Canada because secret trials have been Ok’d? Or has democracy been sacrificed to the so-called...
Read MoreCathleen’s letter in the Citizen on removing the bear/salmon sculpture.
Iconic symbol of the Canadian wild Letter to the Editor, Ottawa Citizen, March 23, 2013 Re: Widow irate at plan for Stanley Cup monument, March 19 and Widow might OK moving sculpture, March 20. Let me get this straight. Canada’s National Capital is planning to remove a sculpture – Bruce Garner’s Territorial Prerogative – an iconic symbol of the Canadian wild, and replace it with a monument to a trophy? For those who don’t know the importance of bear and salmon, I had the good fortune to live for some years very close to the Adams River in the interior of B.C.,...
Read MoreArticle by Cathleen on EI Changes
Democracy is missing By Cathleen Kneen The Ottawa Citizen May 31, 2012 Re: Ideology meets reality on EI reform, May 25. In her column on the changes to the EI program, Susan Riley misses the main point of this legislation. The real purpose of this legislation is to remove the power to amend the EI program from Parliament and place it in the hands of the minister, who can amend the regulations governing the administration of the program with only a cursory public comment period and no accountability to Parliament. There is a clear pattern here, from proroguing Parliament to the omnibus...
Read MoreWell-deserved recognition of Granny Cathleen!
From “The Good News Page” of the April, 2012 CCPA Monitor: Lifetime achievement GUELPH, ON. – Cathleen Kneen, outgoing chair of Food Secure Canada, was presented with a lifetime achievement award from the Organic Council of Ontario at its recent Organic Conference held in Guelph. Her contribution to organics started many decades ago as a farmer in the Maritimes with her husband, Brewster. Cathleen’s work in the food systems movement has always been cutting edge. Her mentorship of community food activists across the country has created a generation dedicated to...
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