Journalist Banned from Alberta Hospitals
The CCF is seeking judicial review after Alberta Health Services (AHS) banned independent journalist Mocha Bezirgan from all AHS properties across Alberta for one year.
The CCF is intervening in a judicial review of a bizarre Ontario Human Rights Tribunal decision that saw a small town mayor’s bank account garnished for declining a group’s request to make a “Pride Month” Proclamation.
The controversy began in 2020 when Borderland Pride asked Emo’s council to declare June “Pride Month” and display the LGBTQ2 rainbow flag. During debate over whether to make the proclamation, Mayor McQuaker remarked, “There’s no flag being flown for the other side of the coin… there’s no flags being flown for the straight people.” Council declined to raise the rainbow flag, citing the lack of a municipal flagpole.
Council then voted 3–2 against the proposed proclamation. Adjudicator Karen Dawson agreed with Borderland Pride that the mayor’s remark prior to the vote proved that the vote was discriminatory, and awarded the group $5,000 from the mayor and $10,000 from the 1,200-person township. In addition, the mayor and Emo’s Chief Administrative Officer were ordered to undergo a “Human Rights 101” course within 30 days. Shortly after the decision, Borderland Pride was granted an order to garnish the mayor’s bank account, taking the $5,000 plus costs.
(Image by P199 under CC 3.0.)
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