Better to Stink than Offend the Scent Phobes

Written by Paul Fromm

Saturday, 02 July 2011 01:55

*Better to Stink than Offend the Scent Phobes* A sign of our declining society is that normal healthy people have to forgo normal healthy practices to accommmodate freaks and weirdos. Heavy sweat, the reek of curry or the gag-inducing stench of kimchee (rotted cabbages and spices favoured by Koreans) may be offensive to most Majority Canadians. We favour regular encounters with soap as well as the addition (according to one's taste or nose) of a spray of perfume for the ladies or a dash of after shave for the men. Since the nouveau Puritans banned smoking from most Canadian workplaces, even more arcane sensitivities are now being catered to. The Majority loses their rights and a tiny minority prevails.. Take the case of one Terence Juba (could the name be African?) working incongruously out of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration offices in Vegreville, Alberta. "*A federal civil servant who says he took 11 weeks of sick leave because his colleagues wore too much perfume and cologne wants all of his sick time allotment restored, claiming his employer failed to accommodate him. * ** *Terence Juba, who processes immigration applications for the Department of Citizenship and Immigration in Vegreville, Alta., said his debilitating scent sensitivity was triggered by certain fragrances he detected in the office, requiring him to use far more than the 187.5 hours of paid sick leave allowed under the Public Service Alliance of Canada collective bargaining agreement.When Mr. Juba put up a scent-free zone sign, his colleagues did not respond well, he told a Public Service Labour Relations Board. * *“They took the view that they were entitled to wear deodorant, use soap and wear perfumes, and in profane terms, they told him to mind his own business,” the board said, summarizing evidence at a recent hearing. * ** *After his complaints, the office imposed a scent-free policy, unfortunately introduced on April Fool’s Day in 2006. * *The policy, sent to all employees, says: “Respecting a scent free policy means ceasing to wear or use items that have a scent attached to them by artificial means.” * ** *Four months after the policy implementation, which he said was largely ignored, Mr. Juba filed his grievance to refill his exhausted sick day bank. 'I grieve that I had to use my sick leave credits for time missed due to the scent issues in the office,' he wrote. His sick days were used over three years." (National Post, June 30, 2011) * ** *Quite fittingly the "scent free policy" was proclaimed on April Fool's Day.* *Government did not accommodate worker's scent-related sensitivity: claim * *A federal civil servant who says he took 11 weeks of sick leave because his colleagues wore too much perfume and cologne wants all of his sick time allotment restored, claiming his employer failed to accommodate him. * *Terence Juba, who processes immigration applications for the Department of Citizenship and Immigration in Vegreville, Alta., said his debilitating scent sensitivity was triggered by certain fragrances he detected in the office, requiring him to use far more than the 187.5 hours of paid sick leave allowed under the Public Service Alliance of Canada collective bargaining agreement.When Mr. Juba put up a scent-free zone sign, his colleagues did not respond well, he told a Public Service Labour Relations Board. * *“They took the view that they were entitled to wear deodorant, use soap and wear perfumes, and in profane terms, they told him to mind his own business,” the board said, summarizing evidence at a recent hearing. * *After his complaints, the office imposed a scent-free policy, unfortunately introduced on April Fool’s Day in 2006. * *The policy, sent to all employees, says: “Respecting a scent free policy means ceasing to wear or use items that have a scent attached to them by artificial means.” * *Four months after the policy implementation, which he said was largely ignored, Mr. Juba filed his grievance to refill his exhausted sick day bank. “I grieve that I had to use my sick leave credits for time missed due to the scent issues in the office,” he wrote. His sick days were used over three years. * *He testified he has suffered scent sensitivity all his life. His symptoms can include headaches, runny nose, nosebleeds, lack of concentration and irritability. He sought medical aid but was told by doctors there was no cure. The government, however, said it “did everything in its power” to accommodate Mr. Juba. He was moved to different locations in the building. He was bought an air purifier. The airflow in the office was tested. The manager called in an external consultant to speak with staff, and employees were reminded regularly of the concern over scent, the labour board heard. To compensate for the negative balance in his sick leave, Mr. Juba was allowed to work overtime, which could then be exchanged for additional sick leave credits. Mr. Juba worked the overtime but then chose pay instead. Mr. Juba did not provide medical information that a particular accommodation was required and did not present any evidence that the employer caused him to work in an unsafe or unhealthy environment, the board heard. An earlier complaint by Mr. Juba to the Workers’ Compensation Board declared his sensitivity was not a disability and not compensable. Mr. Juba had no more success with the labour board. Paul Love, the adjudicator, dismissed the claim last month, saying Mr. Juba did not call any medical evidence to establish the extent of his scent sensitivity or what needed to be done to alleviate it. (National Post, June 30, 2011) *

 

Hear Paul Fromm: The Fighting Side of Me: Living With Hypocrisy

Written by Paul Fromm

Friday, 01 July 2011 01:33

Hear Paul Fromm: The Fighting Side of Me: Living With Hypocrisy [image: RobFord, mayor of Toronto] Host Paul Fromm highlights: - *Globe and Mail* slams gagging of Chinese dissidents but ignores similar suppression of Canadian political prisoners like letter writer Brad Love — parole condition prevented him from writing to any elected official and then to ANYBODY without prior permission! - Mississauga crime reporting shields ethnic (Third World) identity of killers * NATO’s dishonest war against Col. Gaddafi; - Alberta’s upstart populist Wildrose Party votes to abolish anti-Christian, anti-free speech Alberta Human Rights Commission; - Toronto Mayor Ford decides to go to his cottage and celebrate Dominion Day with his family and not march in the “Gay Pride Parade” — organizers throw a hissy fit; - How NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Big Money passed “same sex marriage” through State Senate http://reasonradionetwork.com/20110628/the-fighting-side-of-me-living-with-hypocrisy

 

Red China Jails and Gags Dissidents but So Too Does Canada, CAFE Tells the Globe

Written by Paul Fromm

Wednesday, 29 June 2011 04:09

*Red China Jails and Gags Dissidents but So Too Does Canada, CAFE Tells the Globe* June 28, 2011 The Editor, *The Globe and Mail* Dear Sir: Re: Your editorial "The sound of silence" (*Globe and Mail*, June 28, 2011) Mr. X was sentenced to 18 months in prison for writing numereous letters to representatives. He served 11 months and was saddled with parile conditions forbidding him from writing to the said 20 representatives. These conditions were later increased to forbid him to write to any representative. Finally, he was forbidden to write to anyone without their their prior permission. No Mr X., was not a Chinese dissident like Hu Jia or Ai Weiwei, but prolific protest letter writer Brad Love right here in Canada. In 2003, he was sent ot jail for writing non-violent but strongly worded letters critical of immigration to MPs and other officials . He was charged under Canada's notorious "hate law" and then gagged by judicial fiat. Your editorial is dead on in its criticism of China's gagging of dissidents. You conclude: "The West needs to continue sending the message that human rights matter." Indeed, we should but before we get too preachy, we should get our own house in order. The gagging of pesky letter writer Brad Love is every bit as much a reproach to Canada's judicial system as is the Red China's treatment of dissidents like Hu Jia Ai Weiwei and others is to theirs. Sincerely yours, Paul Fromm Director CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR FREE EXPRESSION 905-274-3868 On human rights, China enforces the sound of silence From Tuesday's Globe and Mail Published Monday, Jun. 27, 2011 7:30PM EDT The tone set by the Chinese state has grown harsher in recent months, and the manner of release of two dissidents in the past few days shows that the security apparatus has found a way to silence its fiercest, most independent critics. The Chinese authorities appear to be worried at the prospect of an equivalent of the Arab spring; their actions against dissidents seemed to intensify after a mysterious call this winter for a jasmine revolution. The harshness may also represent some jockeying in advance of a transfer of power to a new generation of leaders in 2012 and 2013. Hu Jia, 37, was released on Sunday after 42 months in prison, after testifying by phone to the European Parliament, protesting human-rights violations in the period leading up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He won Europe's highest honour for human rights work, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, in 2008. When he was freed this week, dozens of police barred reporters from his home. His wife, Zeng Jinyan, had explained earlier in a blog that he would be deprived of his political rights for one year. Ai Weiwei, 54, an artist, was released last week after being held since April without charges. Human Rights Watch says he has the “sword of Damocles” hanging over his head, and if he speaks out he will lose his freedom again, though no explicit restriction stops him. Some had thought that because of his international fame as an artist and as the son of a renowned poet, the state and the party wouldn't act against him. They thought wrong. Mr. Ai has asked reporters to leave him to his silence. For the first time, China's public security budget has outstripped its military budget. Scores of human rights lawyers and bloggers have been rounded up and made to “disappear,” at least temporarily, according to Chinese human-rights groups and Amnesty International. Censorship of the Internet is being strengthened. Mr. Hu and Mr. Ai are not truly free, and as long as they are not, China cannot claim it is strengthening its rule of law. The West, while engaging with China, needs to continue sending the message that human rights matter.