Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Tuesday, March 05, 2013

UN Rapporteur: Harper's agenda contributing to food insecurity in Canada

Food Secure Canada is hosting over 50 events across Canada Monday, part of a webinar with Olivier De Schutter, the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, who will be delivering his report on Canada in Geneva to the UN Human Rights Council.

"Food is a human right that belongs to every one of us," said Diana Bronson, Executive Director of Food Secure Canada, who are organizing the country-wide webinar.

The Canadian Press is reporting that De Schutter's 21-page report:

    takes direct aim at some of the core items of the Harper government's agenda, saying they undermine access to food.

    These include the controversial decision to cancel the long-form census in 2009, the ongoing Canada-EU free trade negotiations, the scrapping of the Canadian Wheat Board, and how Ottawa oversees the money it transfers to the provinces for social services.

De Schutter visited Canada on a fact-finding mission in May 2012, concluding:

    Canada has long been seen as a land of plenty. Yet today one in ten families with a child under six is unable to meet their daily food needs. These rates of food insecurity are unacceptable, and it is time for Canada to adopt a national right to food strategy.

During his visit, the Conservative government's Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq criticized the UN Rapporteur as "ill-informed" and "patronizing."

Food Secure Canada is hoping that the government will take these latest recommendations seriously.

"Millions of Canadians are hungry, we have escalating rates of diet-induced chronic diseases and we are losing thousands of farmers every year," said Bronson. "This is an urgent, national problem that can and must be addressed."

The cross-Canada webinar will take place starting Noon EST Monday, with an additional session Tuesday, March 5 to be held in French.

Original Article
Source: rabble.ca
Author: rabble staff

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