Many religious organizations show their unyielding theology and Male Centered Autocracy.
Large Corporations with their entrenched Corporate Culture.
We all face stumbling blocks within our lives and careers placed before us by others. Whether they are protecting their positions in an organization, or simply keeping the corporate or organization line, these people make our lives more difficult, stressful, and challenging.
The image is the first woman, or nonwhite, aboriginal, gay person allowed to become a member of a previously closed association. You’d think this would be a reason to celebrate, but surely these new entrants will suffer numerous difficulties before the organization they are members of will truly change. Like Rosa Parks, changing attitudes, that will allow a nonwhite to sit anywhere they like to on a bus took forever it seems. To say it is a struggle for all those on the bus seems crazy, but when one is dealing with seemingly nonbendable cultural and social rules, everyone involved suffers and struggles. Society can only change when the members of it struggle to change their beliefs and concerns from within. Often Fear and social pressures are the likely culprits that need to be dealt with on a personal and then community level. Most people do not want to share what they have, what they possess with others, whether that be status, a position in an organization, a cultural or social privilege, or personal ownership.
The Church of Rome will not let Women become Priests, mostly because of the financial costs such a move would have upon the Church. That and a man-made myth brought about by Kings, Emperors, and their Bishops hundreds of years ago at The Nicea Conference. Admitting that you wrong is sometimes not done. So rolls the Church. Men’s clubs such as those found in corporations, political parties, and social clubs will invite those who never were members, only when they are forced by social, political, and financial pressures. Social Media’s powerful pull also has a direct effect upon organizations that keep others out, creating an exclusiveness that can be oppressive. Image is after all everything these days.
I wanted to marry a young woman long ago who happened to be Canadian born of Chinese descent. Wow, the response I received that day I approached her parents. They opposed this relationship because I was not Chinese. Their tight, close-knit family unit tried to force me out for over a year. Only after much time did this family become family to me. Religious, cultural, and social myths, personal and social codes of conduct, and acceptance stand before us saying “stand back stranger”. It takes a great deal of courage, patience, and understanding to step forward and claim your prize. What is this prize?
The comedian Groucho Marx once proclaimed “I refuse to join a club that would have me as a member”. Perhaps we need to become members so we can change and assist these organizations in a better transformation. After all, if you see a stumbling block before you please remove it, if not for yourself then for those who will follow you.
OTTAWA – Canada’s parliamentary budget officer says the federal government is overestimating the impact its new immigration plan will have on the country’s housing shortage.
In October the Liberal government announced it was cutting the number of permanent residents allowed into the country between 2025 and 2027.
The PBO has previously reported that Canada needs to build another 1.3 million homes by 2030 to close the housing gap — and today it says the revised immigration plan will reduce that by 45 per cent, or 534,000 units.
The government has projected its new immigration targets will reduce that number by 670,000 units by 2027.
The Liberal plan to cut immigration levels is expected to result in a population decline by 0.2 per cent in each of the next two years.
The PBO noted that would mark the first time Canada sees an annual decline in population.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024.
EDMONTON – Canada’s Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault is apologizing after shifting claims of his Indigenous identity came under scrutiny.
The Edmonton Liberal member of Parliament says he’s sorry he hasn’t been clear about who he is and his family’s history and that he’s still learning about his heritage.
Boissonnault has previously referred to himself as “non-status adopted Cree from Alberta” and said his great-grandmother was a “full-blooded Cree woman.”
The apology comes after reports that a company co-owned by Boissonnault unsuccessfully bid on two federal contracts while identifying itself as Indigenous and Aboriginal owned.
Boissonnault says he never claimed Indigenous status to his business partner, and he corrected the Liberal party as soon as he became aware of its public claim that he’s Indigenous.
The Conservative party has called for Boissonnault to testify before the ethics committee and answer for what it calls serious allegations of fraud.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Intense flooding that hammered British Columbia’s coast last month has led to more than $110 million in insured damage claims.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada says insurers have been working with clients for the last few weeks since the Category 4 atmospheric river caused “significant flood damage” to Metro Vancouver properties in Coquitlam, Burnaby, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, and Surrey.
The bureau says the intense rainfall and wind — which prompted a local state of emergency in North Vancouver on Oct. 20 — resulted in overflowing rivers, sewer backups, and flooding on roads and in parking garages and basements.
It says that while some residential flood insurance is available, it may be limited or inaccessible to some, forcing them to rely on government disaster financial assistance for their recovery.
About 10 per cent of Canadian households cannot access flood insurance, and the bureau is again calling on the federal government to “fully fund” the National Flood Insurance Program.
It says a national program would provide financial protection to high-risk households, and reduce disaster costs to federal and provincial government treasuries.
“Rather than responding with disaster financial assistance in the aftermath of catastrophes, this program would be a proactive, cost-effective approach to managing the financial toll when disasters strike,” the bureau says in a news release.
“While the federal government has committed to its creation, the program has yet to be fully funded.”
It says insured losses related to severe weather in Canada now routinely exceed $3 billion annually and a new record has been set this year, reaching more than $7.7 billion.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024.
