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I've been trying to write about the latest Jason Kenney outrage, but I'm so angry and appalled that it's been difficult to organize my thoughts. The Harper Government continues to try to remake Canada in the image of the United States, in ways which offend the majority of Canadians. Emboldened by lack of serious dissent from the Official Opposition, they creep ever outward on their social conservative limb, away from core Canadian values. The latest version of this comes in the form of Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney lashing out at refugee claimants and changing the rules of entry for Mexicans and Czechs. Kenney points to a large backlog of refugee claims, and the small percentage of claims accepted from these countries, as proof of the claimants' lack of validity. But where did the backlog of claims really come from? The Harper government created a shortage of staff on the Immigration and Refugee Board when it failed to replace retired Board members a...

Cody Originally uploaded by JnL I've mentioned that on most Monday holidays, we've gotten in the habit of meeting friends at a leash-free park. Usually the eight of us - James, Lori, Allan, me, Cobalt, Denim, Cody, Tala - spend the morning together, the humans strolling along watching the canine play. In May we went to Cherry Beach for the first time, a leash-free park on Lake Ontario. James had his camera, of course, and his photos from the day are now online. If you go to this set , the photos from that day are at the end; click on "4" on the bottom. They're excellent photos. Enjoy.

This video is two years old, but for some reason I've never seen it before. A thoughtful wmtc reader passed it on. I found it very moving. The song is called "Camilo" by the band State Radio.

We're back from Stratford and back online. We had a wonderful time and I'll report soon. I see our friend Mr Kenney has been busy in my absence. I'll be posting on that, too, of course.

This blog has brought me many riches, first among them, an amazing community and wonderful friends. I can't imagine how much scarier and lonelier our move from New York City to Canada would have been without wmtc - the advice and support, the cheering section, and the very real and lasting friendships we've made through this blog. Before I re-started my activism here, every friend we had in Canada, we first met online. Blogging has also brought us some fun freebies here and there - books, DVDs, invitations to movie screenings. But for friendship plus freebies, nothing tops this. This morning we're driving to Stratford, Ontario for two plays at the Shakespeare Festival and a little getaway. We're staying at Across The Bridge bed and breakfast , as the owners' guests. Earlier this year, I received an email from the owners, Eric and Kelly, US-to-Canada immigrants who bought an old house in Stratford and renovated it into a B-and-B. They said wmtc helped them on their ...

Oops, this has been sitting in drafts... On the day of Kimberly Rivera's recent federal court hearing , San Francisco-area activists delivered a petition signed by 6,000 Americans to the Canadian Consulate, calling on the Harper Government to respect the will of Parliament and allow US war resisters to stay in Canada. Watch the video here . Photos and information about the San Francisco action is here on Indy Media .

It's amazing the things you find on YouTube. I have no idea who made this video, but I sure do like it. Seeing Canada's "Minister of Censorship and Deportation" go after Jean Chrétien is especially interesting on the day the former Prime Minister received such a lofty and rarely bestowed honour from the Queen. You know, the Jean Chrétien who kept Canada out of the Iraq War? The war that Stephen Harper and Jason Kenney both supported? Please watch, then let Jason Kenney know you support Iraq War resisters. Let Them Stay!