Quebec bill may target niqabs
Quebec’s provincial government has ignited a row over reasonable accommodation with a proposed law requiring people to uncover their faces when giving or receiving any public service, including giving or receiving health services and teaching and learning at publicly funded schools and universities.
The proposal has been widely seen as a prohibition of the niqab, a veil worn by some Muslim women that leaves only the eyes uncovered.
Alia Hogben, president of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, cautioned that “the bill is not about niqabs.”
Ryerson student files class action suit
Ryerson University student Chris Avenir is suing Ryerson in a $10 million dollar class action lawsuit for not allowing him to be represented by a lawyer at a hearing he was called to for sharing work online.
In 2008, Avenir was charged with organizing and using a Facebook study group called Dungeons/Mastering Chemistry Solution that allowed students to post answers to homework problems.
CFS faces falling membership
The Concordia Student Union (CSU) is the latest group to enter the boxing ring against the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) following a resounding vote to de-federate.
The vote took place March 23-25, with 72 per cent of students voting “no” in response to the referendum question “Are you in favour of continued membership in the Canadian Federation of Students?”
U-Pass rolls in
During the 2009 election campaign, the B.C. premier promised a province-wide U-Pass for post-secondary students across B.C. by September 2010, and the province’s transportation minister has announced that promise will be honoured.
However, Benjamin Newsom, U-Pass program co-ordinator for the Kwantlen Student Association, said he has not yet announced the U-Pass news to students because at the moment he is unsure how the government will implement the plans.
India-bound
Last week, a new bill surfaced in India’s Cabinet that will, if passed in parliament, allow foreign universities to set up campuses on Indian soil. The bill could have implications for Canadian universities looking to expand their horizons and increase their connections to the burgeoning Indian community.
