The South Bayview Bulldog

The government will ban  the entry of  polygamist immigrants to Canada effective with legislation to be tabled in the House of Commons. Today (Wednesday, November 5, 2014) Immigration Minister Chris Alexander and Status of Women Minister Kellie Leitch appeared at a news conference to make the announcement. They stood behind a placard on the lectern which said Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices.  This message pointed to the underlying problems of polygamy as it is practiced in many places as seen by Ottawa. These are such things as forced marriages, female circumcision and even so-called honour killings. Dr. Leitch has been a long-time crusader against the circumcision of girls and women. 

The U.S. mid-term elections have seen the Republican Party overturn the long-standing supremacy of the Democrats in the 100-member Senate. With voter feeling for the Democrats running lukewarm in most parts of the country, the Republicans were able to snatch away Democratic-held Senate seats in Arkansas, Colorado, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia taking them to the necessary 51-seat majority needed to control the U.S. upper house. They were also soundly re-elected in the lower assembly, the House of Representatives. The victory in the Senate means the defeat of a critical power broker, Harry Reid of Nevada, as Senate leader. The new leader will be Mitch McConnell, Republican leader in the Senate. The full meaning of the Republican win across the legislative branch is unknown but it could be profound. An enormous inventory of issues ranging from the Keystone Pipeline to the Mexican border to the threat of the so-called Islamic State will be given new life. It opens the way for the Congress to pass a budget, something it is required to do each each year by law but has failed at because of divided politics. 

Employment lawyer Janice Rubin will lead the outside investigation into the background of the Jian Ghomeshi situation at the CBC. Ms. Rubin is a founder of the Toronto firm of Rubin Tomlinson where her partner is Christine Tomlinson. The parameters of the probe were not published but the executive vice-president of the CBC, Heather Conway, wrote to staff saying Rubin would begin her work immediately. Conway urged anyone who worked on “Q” or an earlier Ghomeshi show — “Play” — to contact Rubin with any complaints, concerns or experiences involving harassment, discrimination, violence or other inappropriate workplace conduct.