Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Ottawa FOI Part 3 - Joyce Arthur compares pro-life people to neo-Nazis and white supremacists

The FOI I did regarding the pro-life flag being flown over city hall generated hundreds of letters. Most were from pro-life people, with a handful from pro-choice people.

One of the letters was from pro-abortion Joyce Arthur. No surprise there. It's quite the letter.
From: Joyce Arthur (mailto:joyce@arcc-cdac.ca) 
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2017 1:34 PM
To: Watson, Jim (Mayor/Maire) 
Cc: Deans Diane; McKenney, Catherine; Wilkinson, Marianne; Fleury, Mathieu; Nussbaum, Tobi; Leiper, Jeff 
Subject: Please remove anti-choice flag from City Hall TODAY 
Importance: High 
Dear Mayor Jim Watson, 
Please immediately remove the anti-choice flag from Ottawa City Hall. 
This flag is an affront to women's human rights, and I've heard visceral reactions from supporters in Ottawa who feet "sick to my stomach", "disgusted", "ashamed" and "embarrassed" that their City would disrespect women's rights in this way. 
Please be more sensitive to basic human rights. As a local government, you are bound to the Charter. It is wrong and discriminatory for the City of Ottawa to fly any flag espousing a cause that would remove the constitutional rights of women and transgender people who can get pregnant. The groups behind the March for Life seek to criminalize abortion, but our Supreme Court and lower courts have found that restrictions on abortion compromise women's Charter rights to bodily security, as well as life, liberty, privacy, and conscience. 
Please ask yourself whether you would fly a flag with a message from local residents who are white supremacists or neo-Nazis. We simply ask you to draw the line where it also respects women's rights, as well as the rights of group.  
They are protected as a vulnerable group under human rights codes and the Charter, just like ethnic and other minorities. 
Thank you very much for your consideration.  
Sincerely,
Joyce Arthur
Executive Director
Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC)
P0B 2663, Station Main
Vancouver, BC, V6B 3W3
joyce@arcc-cdac.cawww.arcc-cdac.ca
First, It's hard to imagine a flag that says "March for Life" could actually cause someone to feet "sick to my stomach", "disgusted", "ashamed" and "embarrassed".

Second, "Be more sensitive to human rights". Is there anything more sensitive than supporting the right to life of all human beings, not just female human beings?

Third, " It is wrong and discriminatory for the City of Ottawa to fly any flag espousing a cause that would remove the constitutional rights of women and transgender people who can get pregnant". Since there's no charter right to abortion, nobody's discriminating against women's rights. If anybody's rights are being stomped on it's our right to freedom of expression and conscience.

Finally, "white supremacists and neo-Nazis"? Has it come to this? Comparing people who support the rights of all human beings, are now being compared to one of the most despicable movements on the planet. 

One final thing Joyce. The flag is not an anti-choice flag. It's a pro-life flag. I know you won't stop calling everything we do anti-choice, but you know, it is kind of pathetic.

4 comments:

  1. Does anyone else belong to the Abortion Rights Coalition or is it only Joyce herself? there seems to be no other voice than hers. A one-woman vigilante for pro-choice politicians.

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  2. Hi! If you hear only Joyce, you aren't listening.

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    Replies
    1. Oh. So there's joyce and fern. Thanks for speaking for me!

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    2. Fern and Joyce are two peas in a pro-abortion pod.

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