quote:

---

She was asleep. Then, suddenly, she was awake. A man was on top of her. He was Levi Barnabas, speaker of the Nunavut legislature. He plead guilty to a charge of sexual assault. That was eight years ago. Last week, he was named to the territory’s cabinet. The premier says Barnabas has cleaned up his act. Some women are asking what message this appointment sends. How serious are the politicians of Nunavut when it comes to dealing with the territory’s high rate of violence against women?

---

The other noteworthy thing here is that Barnabas became a Cabinet Minister by acclamation. Which means no one else wanted the job.

So far.

[ 18 March 2008: Message edited by: N.Beltov ]

I worry about a slippery slope when starting down the road to disenfranchising people convicted of crimes.

I'm missing Quebec, as I'll need to be sharper to make an effort to write such a request in French.

Michelle, I struggle with the same issue. However, I also look at sexual assaults / gender control as a hate crime. I'd need some solid convincing before I believed someone had worked through that level of hate.

Perhaps this MLA could get behind some much needed shelters, or other programs the women of Nunavut have been pushing hard to establish.

This story also reveals the glaring fact that only two of 19 territorial members are women.

Re: acclamation:

quote:

---

One member, Iqaluit Centre MLA Hunter Tootoo, skipped Thursday's forum in protest because he said he's lost confidence in the territorial government.

He said he believes Barnabas will have little time in cabinet before the next territorial election, expected to take place this fall.

"To me, it seemed kind of pointless to have someone put into the executive council that won't have the time to be able to do anything," Tootoo said.

High Arctic MLA Barnabas named to Nunavut cabinet

---

quote:

---

3. Every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein.

---

I believe inmates of prisons won the right to vote after a Supreme Court decision in 1993.

The Charter seems pretty clear.

No matter how repugnant the crime, I don't think I would want to see a repeat of Louis Riel being denied his seat after being elected.

quote:

---

65. The following persons are not eligible to be a candidate:

(a) a person who is not qualified as an elector on the date on which his or her nomination paper is filed;

(b) a person who is disentitled under paragraph 502(3)(a) while they are so disentitled;

(c) a member of the legislature of a province, the Council of the Northwest Territories or the Legislative Assembly of Yukon or Nunavut;

(d) a sheriff, clerk of the peace or county Crown Attorney in any of the provinces;

(e) a person who is not entitled under section 4 to vote;

(f) a judge appointed by the Governor in Council, other than a citizenship judge appointed under the Citizenship Act;

(g) a person who is imprisoned in a correctional institution;

(h) an election officer; and

(i) a person who was a candidate in a previous election and for whom a return, report, document or declaration has not been provided under subsection 451(1), if the time and any extension for providing it have expired.

---

Doesn't seem to include persons with criminal records.

I know that in most jurisdictions, discrimination is allowed in such matters as employment, provision of public services, lodging, etc. on the basis of having committed a criminal offence, unless a pardon has been granted.

In some jurisdictions (Québec for sure, also I think B.C.), such discrimination is only allowed in employment if the offence can be shown to bear some connection with the ability to do the job.