The Immoral Deportation of Nay Myo Hein

Honourable Peter Van Loan, M.P.
Minister of Public Safety
Room 157, East Block
Parliament Hill
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada, K1A 0A6


Dear Sir:


My name is Milan Chotai and I am writing in support Nay Myo Hein, a former child soldier currently living in Saskatoon who is scheduled to be deported back to Myanmar on Tuesday, August 18th.


Having some knowledge of the political turmoil in that country, I find the federal court judge's decision absolutely irresponsible. The ruling military junta harshly punishes any perceived state enemy; if Nay Myo Hein actually deserted, I shutter to think what awaits him. Worse, Canada will have been party to it.


Accordingly, I ask that you please allow this young man to stay.


Respectfully,


Milan Chotai

Oka: Our Gaza

As the latest Gaza ceasefire enters week two, I've found myself fascinated by the volume of Canadian outrage riddled throughout unread posts and articles in my news feeder. This nearly unanimous sympathy is certainly understandable: Israel recklessly chose might over right to make a brutal political point.

Yet, it is how these unquestionably genuine sentiments veil our own record, as Canadians, when we've played the role of Israel, that's irking me. Let me explain with an example, courtesy of excerpts from Wikipedia and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

While they didn't launch rockets into towns, it was only 18 years ago when the Mohawk went to war with our nation at Oka. Sadly, George Erasmus, the leader of the Assembly of First Nations, delivered a dire warning, a full two years prior, about the troublingly similar issue (to Gaza) that sparked it - unsettled land claims:

We want to let you know that you are dealing with fire. We say, Canada, deal with us today because our militant leaders are already born. We cannot promise that you are going to like the kind of violent political action we can just about guarantee the next generation is going to bring to our reserves.

In 1989, Jean Ouelette, the mayor of Oka, announced the construction of a members-only golf club to be built on a native burial ground. However, as the Office of Native Claims had rejected Mohawk ownership of the land three years earlier, none of these plans were made in consultation with them. This was despite Quebec's Minister for Native Affairs, John Ciaccia, letter of support:

These people have seen their lands disappear without having been consulted or compensated, and that, in my opinion, is unfair and unjust, especially over a golf course.

Among those buried in the cemetery was the body of Kanawatiron. In 1911, Kanawatiron was part of a native group that objected to the building of a railway through the same area. Under the headline "Indians Threaten War Against Railroad Men," the Montreal Star reported:

Witnesses say there were at least forty braves armed with shotguns, revolvers and bludgeons, who with regular war cry accompaniment, informed the railroad labourers that they could proceed at their peril, as the property they were about to cross belonged to the Iroquois. The navvies [labourers] are said to have retired gracefully.

Seventy-nine years later, the events at Kanesatake would not end so gracefully.

In March of 1990, Mohawks set up a blockade to prevent bulldozers from breaking ground. Mayor Ouellette demanded compliance, but the protesters refused. Finally, on July 10th, after four months of largely peaceful disagreement, he called the Sûreté du Québec to come and enforce an injunction from the provincial superior court to have the blockade torn down. The next day, 100 S.W.A.T. officers armed with concussion grenades, tear gas and assault rifles took up positions around the blockade.

The Mohawk people, in accordance with the Constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy, asked their women - caretakers of the land and "progenitors of the nation" - whether or not the arsenal they had amassed should be used. The women decided the weapons should only be used if the Sûreté du Québec fired on the barricade, and in that event, as defensively as possible.

As word of the escalation spread, local Mohawks were joined by others from across Canada and the United States, who, in solidarity, also blockaded the Mercier Bridge between Montreal and the South Shore suburbs at the point where it passed through their territories. Enormous traffic jams frayed tempers fueling racial hatred that occasionally broke through the surface. The flames were fanned by public figures like radio host Gilles Proulx who repeatedly reminded his listeners that the Mohawks "couldn't even speak French", and the federal Member of Parliament for Chateauguay, who said that all the natives in Quebec should be shipped off to Labrador "if they wanted their own country so much".

Unannounced, the police ultimately attacked the barricade in an attempt to create confusion in the Mohawk ranks and end the stand-off. A 15-minute bullet exchange ensued before the police fell back, abandoning six cruisers and a bulldozer. Unfortunately, 31-year-old Corporal Marcel Lemay was shot in the face and died a short while later. As it became apparent that the Sûreté du Québec had lost control of the situation, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were brought in, but they too were soon overwhelmed, resulting in the hospitalization of ten constables.

Quebec premier Robert Bourassa reacted by invoking Section 275 of the National Defence Act to requisition military support, and on the morning of August 20th, a company of "Van Doos" arrived. Additional troops and mechanized equipment mobilized at staging areas around Montreal while reconnaissance aircraft flew photo missions to gather intelligence. Luckily, conflict never resulted.

On August 29th, at the Mercier Bridge blockade, the Mohawks negotiated a peaceful end to their protest. Sadly, once traffic was flowing again, the Quebec government rejected all further discussions. The federal government did spend $5.3 million to purchase the disputed land and prevent any further development; however, this still left the situation unaddressed, because its ownership simply moved from one level of "foreign" government to another. By September 26th, the Mohawks had dismantled their guns, threw them in a fire, ceremonially burned tobacco, and walked back to their reserves, though many were detained by Canadian Forces, then arrested by police. Some native leaders condemned the standoff at Oka, but others recognized it as a logically inevitable outcome to 500 years of inequality.

Thus, as I read stories and comments chronicling the plight of the Palestinians, I couldn't help but see that of all forcibly displaced people, including our own. While Canadian influence over foreign governments and issues is limited, the ability to continue righting our own wrongs isn't, given similar public interest. Accordingly, I hope the recent strife in Gaza serves as a reminder of our shared responsibility to do better for all who call Canada home.

The Organic Love Letter

Last Friday, I met my friend Peter, an aspiring writer studying in the CBC Prime Time Television Program, for a drink; only, the venue suggested happen to be the setting of a Canadian Film Centre party.

I had wanted to better understand his experience thus far in order to decide whether applying for the Cineplex Entertainment Film Program Producers' Lab would be a good idea. However, Peter recommended I also consider the Telus Interactive Art and Entertainment Program, a collaborative and entrepreneurial pseudo-residence that combines the skills of professionally diverse applicants for the purpose of creating compelling new media products.

So, instead of a chat, he facilitated introductions, and I spent part of the evening mingling with staff from this program. That's how I came to realize the next deadline was Friday, December 19th. I initially wrote it off though, a day of research later; at $8,500, it's by far the more expensive of the two programs. I reconsidered, however, after noticing an obscure graphic advertising a contest to win free tuition:

Show us the outer limits of your creativity by re-imagining one of these real-world items as they could be in a world where the virtual and the real are intrinsically connected and you could win your tuition for the CFC TELUS Interactive Art and Entertainment Program.

• a cup of tea
• a love letter
• municipal garbage services
• haircuts
• glasses
• parenting

We’ll take your ideas as videos, audio recordings, web pages, written documents, animations, or any other form.

This is what I submitted - fingers crossed; what do you think?

April 20th, 2008; night falls in Berlin.

Rena, a beautiful Indo-Canadian journalist, sits silently, bathed in the emerging moonlight, near an open hotel room window. A well-worn laptop hibernates close by her hand, which gracefully scripts the tenderly deliberate words: "Happy Anniversary my love;"

These words unlock others; and, in the hour that passes, flow her deepest feelings of affection for him, future dreams of traveling together, and touching reflections about a sacredly treasured moment they've shared.

A renowned international correspondent, her career separates them often; this anniversary love letter is a cherished ritual that, inside, binds her to him. In 9 years, its creation has been witnessed by none, and ultimately read by just one: Julian.

A knock at the door. Rena greets a deliveryman holding flowers. The attached note reads: "Check your email."

Soon, Vista awakens from its slumber, and Outlook asks if it can display the embedded images of a generic animated anniversary ecard.

She sighs, amused: "Ah, Julian." Her partner, yet near polar opposite, is an introverted programmer to whom everything is automatic: the fridge orders their groceries; Remember the Milk makes his Blackberry beep when he is near Blockbuster and has DVDs to return; and, a Facebook application sends her flowers, plus an ecard, on their anniversary, though Julian usually doesn't realize unless their timezones are less then 4, or more then 8, hours apart, in which case, Skype will start a call the moment he turns their home P.C. on. 

Rena powers down the machine, and for a moment, stares into her letter. She slowly begins folding it equal to a standard envelop, but suddenly stops, and, within the whitespace remaining, adds a simple wish: "Sweetie; next year, would you write me a love letter?"

.
.
.

April 20th, 2009; day breaks in Singapore.

A knock at the door. Rena, dripping wet, steps gingerly from the shower, conservatively dons a towel, and greets a deliveryman holding flowers.

The attached note reads: "Check your email." Disappointed, she sighs dejectedly: "Oh, Julian."

Windows fires up, and Outlook chimes: "You've got mail!"; but in the message, entitled: "The Organic Love Letter", there is no ecard.

Instead, she finds a touching poem Julian bookmarked using Del.icio.us; a detailed Google Map outlining a backpacking vacation through South America, including embedded annotated day-trip suggestions from Lonely Planet; a Google Calendar of dates listing their most memorable moments together, accompanied by lovingly written reflections about each from his Blogger journal; an R.S.S. feed to Rena's most recent news stories, in which she finds, at the end of each, is buried a thoughtful comment by Julian; a carefully constructed library of love songs streaming from Last.fm; a beautiful photo collage, on Flickr, he'd made of their life together; two humorous apple pie-looking tally charts that illustrate, using slices, how many times he wrote either "I miss you", or "I love you", in their Google Talk chats, emails, and SMS messages, respectively; her 3-day local weather forecast; a choice between two Canadian Living recipes for her homecoming meal next week; and, a link to the YouTube video: "Confession".

Rena, left utterly elated and speechless, suddenly becomes anxious: "Confession?"  Closing her eyes, she clicks the link and listens:

Hi Honey! I hope you enjoyed my Organic Love Letter. I'm sorry I didn't write one personally; I tried to, like you do, but realized, in our house, there's only one gifted writer. In fact, I didn't even create this one; it was automatically generated using all the aggregated Web 2.0 content I tagged: "Automatic Flowers"; or, in other words, from the things I do online because I love you. Hopefully Skype will remind me to call this year; but, just in case: Happy 10th Anniversary!"

Overwhelmed by joy, Rena begins to cry, but the phone rings, startling her; she smiles, realizing Singapore is less then 4, or more then 8, timezones from Toronto ...

My short story attempts to explore whether love letters are a quintessentially human Gestalt creation by imagining an intelligent machine that could use metadata to endow an activity report with the same meaning.

Vlogging the Coalition for Change Rally in Toronto

Last Saturday, December 6th, I joined two friends to vlog the Coalition for Change rally at City Hall in Toronto: Mike, a Canadian lawyer based in New York, and Tyler, a Haligonian working in Germany, contribute to "The Purple Soapbox", a collaborative blog about public affairs in Canada. After an inspiring week of political theatre bookended by the Governor General proroguing parliament, we each had questions about this sudden movement that only its supporters could answer.

The experience was certainly memorable. Despite the cold, a large crowd packed Nathan Phillips Square, proudly waving mostly prefabricated signs handed out by nondescript NDP volunteers. More then a dozen unions were in attendance, evidenced by a horizon of colourful banners; drummers marched; reporters multiplied; and, issues organizations like Green Peace and the International Socialists papered.

Mary Walsh began, pointedly tearing the Prime Minister a new one; unfortunately, Stéphane Dion followed by stumbling through his address, while Jack Layton, speaking last, stole the show. As for our activities, before, during and after; interviews were held with: Broken Social Scene, Mario Silva, and a half-dozen savvy "Joe Six-Packs", including two enthusiastic red body-painted York university students, and an ornery card-carrying Conservative from a rival event.

However, chief among highlights was the opportunity to discuss: our misunderstood political system; the antiquated role of Governor General; the egregious incitement of Separatism for personal gain by Stephen Harper; and, the democratic ingenuity behind coalition governance.

To the first point spoke Julie Penner, bemused by the outrage of Canadians seemingly unaware that we, unlike our southern sibling, do not chose our head of state - a fact that actually cuts to the heart of the matter. While parliamentary or unity have been the crises promoted, in truth, it is actually one of Conservative leadership in which our nation finds itself. Progressively poor selections, from Manning to Day then Harper, lead me to question whether Alberta possesses the diversity or depth of thought and culture necessary to groom a national leader. Regardless of the prejudice in this quandary, Canadians should demand that our Prime Minister's two-year, endlessly repeating pattern of bullying and deceit, be ended by an emergency caucus vote through which a party centrist, like Peter MacKay, is installed.

History, namely the King-Byng Affair, divided opinions on the second point. A role diminished in contemporary relevance, and appointed exclusively by the Prime Minister, no Governor General has sought to exercise their extraordinary powers since that 1925 precedent. Unfortunately, this has diminished the faith of many Canadians who rely on our majesty's representative to be democracy's stalwart defender. Accordingly, restoring this responsibly through reforms that target their selection process, mandate and operational Independence, must be a part of the 2009 legislative agenda.

On the matter of Separatist fearmongering, Stephen Harper has no excuse. He partnered with the Bloc Québécois to pass a budget: [2007]. He discussed a coalition pact with them: [1|2]. He ignorantly assumed all Bloc Québécois supporters are secessionists; many, in fact, are simply nationalists who strongly value their cultural uniqueness. That's why Jean Charest, a Liberal and Premier since 2003, was re-elected with a majority on Monday. The Prime Minister's tirade disrespected the decades of struggle for unity that have led to the stability we now enjoy. He also seems to have forgotten the 5 year economic downtown within our second richest province that followed their last referendum - hardly the variable to risk adding during a global recession! But above all, he willfully attempted to divided us for gain; for that alone, he should resign.

Lastly, everyone offered insightful observations that made the benefits of coalition governance clear. Political power-sharing partnerships are premised on the participating parties brokering comprises that advance their individual agendas; yet, in doing so, they actually produce policies agreeable to the widest demographic of voters. No single party could ever claim to do that unless elected by a landslide, which seems unlikely given we have 4 viable national parties in a plurality-based system. Consequently, minority governments will rule into the foreseeable future; perhaps, because our nation is becoming increasingly divided ideologically and seeking some form of proportional representation. However, until the will exists to formally trade-up, coalition governance offers a jury-rigged step in the right direction.

Here is the completed video; if you have 17:29, watch both parts, and leave a comment:

Mixed-Member Proportional Voting Referendum

Honourable Bob Dechert, M.P.
P.O. Box 67075
Mississauga, Ontario
L5L 5V4

Dear Sir:

In light of the recent political turmoil within our newly convened House of Commons, I am writing to ask for your assistance in advocating that the forthcoming legislative agenda include an opportunity for a public referendum on the adoption of a fair and proportional voting system in Canada.

In 2004, the former Liberal government received a recommendation from the Law Commission of Canada to introduce a mixed-member proportional system for federal elections. Accordingly, I would urge you to call on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to broaden his democratic reform program to include electoral reform for the House in addition to his reform proposals for the Senate. Ask him to make a commitment to convene an independent citizens' assembly with recommendations going to Canadians in a referendum after a well-funded and extended public education process. This will allow Canadians to study various proportional voting systems and then choose the best fair voting system for federal elections.

I sincerely believe the recent turmoil and instability in Ottawa are a result of an antiquated system that can no longer accurately represent the true will of Canadians, making the job of our representatives all the more difficult. However, it is my hope that newly elected parliamentarians, like yourself, will instead see this issue as an opportunity to lead on the popular reforms necessary to make our political system work again for all Canadians.

Thank you for your time.

Respectfully,

Milan Chotai