Canadian Muslim rights group urges release of UN's Uyghur report

TRENTON, Canada
The long-anticipated UN report on the alleged human rights abuses against the Uyghurs should be made public now, Justice for All Canada said Friday. The Canadian Muslim organization, a long-time champion of the plight of the Muslim minority Uyghurs, agreed with Canada's UN ambassador Bob Rae who said there is "no excuse" for the delay in publishing the report. "Canada’s UN representative Bob Rae was instrumental in a previous ground-breaking report that set the stage for a global humanitarian response to the Rohingya genocide," Taha Ghayyur, the executive director of Justice For All Canada, told Anadolu Agency in an email interview on Friday. "Canadian activists are calling for similar swift justice and intervention on behalf of Uyghur Muslims, who are living through one of the worst modern genocides since WWII." Rae is not buying the line from Michelle Bachelet, UN high commissioner for human rights, who said she is "trying very hard" to issue the report but is under "tremendous pressure." "There is no excuse for not getting it out," Rae told CBC, Canada's state broadcaster on Thursday. "The only person that controls that is her. It's her report." "I don't think there's any question at all that the Chinese have been making very strong representations but I don't know under what process a human rights commission would say we're going to allow the perpetrators of this injustice — of this genocide — we're going to allow them to comment and see the report and review it and then get their feedback on it before we publish the report," Rae said. China has been accused by human rights groups of keeping more than a million Uyghurs in detention camps against their will. China has denied committing any human rights violation but insists the "re-education camps" were necessary to clamp down on extremism by Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims. Bachelet earlier promised to make the report public by Aug. 31.
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Retired Canadian priest pleads not guilty to sexual assault

TRENTON, Canada

A retired priest pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a Canadian court to a sexual assault that allegedly occurred more than 50 years ago at an Indian Residential School.

Arthur Masse, 92, who was not in the courtroom, entered the plea through his lawyer, George Green.

The indecent assault involves a 10-year-old girl who was a student at Fort Alexander residential school in the province of Manitoba. Sexual and indecent assault are the same charge in Canada.

Masse was arrested and charged in June following a 10-year police investigation. The court hearing was held in Powerview, a small community of 1,300 people northeast of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

While authorities did not identify the victim, Victoria McIntosh, 63, of the Sagkeeng First Nation, stepped forward outside the courtroom and told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that she was the girl who Masse allegedly sexually assaulted.

She vowed to follow the trial to its conclusion.

"I'll be there every step of the way," McIntosh said. "Mr. Masse, come out and speak your truth as well, and I will speak mine."

Sagkeeng Chief Derrick Henderson suggested at an earlier court hearing that Masse be subjected to a sentencing circle, which is a First Nation justice process based on the premise that a crime is committed against the entire community, not just the victim. But the request was based on Masse pleading guilty.

Masse's next court date is Sept. 14.

The Fort Alexander residential school dates back to 1880, when it was founded and run by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate Catholic order. It was a day school which First Nation and Metis children attended and lived at for 10 months of the year. It closed in 1970.

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Canadian Cardinal Ouellet accused of sexual assault

Marc Ouellet is accused in a class action suit that targets more than 80 members of clergy in archdiocese of Quebec, court documents show.

Marc Ouellet (R) was mentioned as being among the favorites at the last conclave that elevated Pope Francis to the papacy. (Tiziana Fabi / AFP)

Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, once considered a strong candidate to be pope, has been accused of sexual assault in a class action suit that targets more than 80 members of the clergy in the archdiocese of Quebec.

The accusation is over the alleged abuse of a female intern from 2008 to 2010, when he was archbishop of Quebec, court documents showed on Tuesday. 

The allegation comes just weeks after Pope Francis visited Canada, where he apologised for the decades-long abuse of Indigenous children in Catholic-run residential schools.

Ouellet is a prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, one of the most important functions within the Curia, the government of the Vatican.

At the last papal conclave that elevated Francis to the papacy, Ouellet was mentioned as being among the favourites. All cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible. Ouellet is now 78.

When contacted by the AFP news agency, the archdiocese of Quebec said in a statement that it had "taken note of the allegations with respect to Cardinal Marc Ouellet" and had no further comment.

The Vatican did not immediately reply to AFP's request for comment.

READ MORE: Pope apologises for 'evil' against Canada's Indigenous people

'F' comes forward against Ouellet

The claims against Ouellet in the civil suit, which the Quebec supreme court ruled could go ahead in May, are among testimonies of 101 people who say they were sexually assaulted by members of the clergy and church staff from 1940 to today.

Ouellet's accuser identified only as "F," says the Cardinal assaulted her multiple times.

The accuser says she had the feeling of being "chased after," according to the documents. When the woman tried to raise the issue, she was told she wasn't the only woman to have such a "problem" with Ouellet, documents show.

She later was advised to write a letter to Pope Francis about her accusations. She was then informed that Francis had named someone to investigate Ouellet.

The woman has not heard of any conclusions in that investigation.

So far, the cardinal is not facing criminal charges.

Two sides of Ouellet?

In February, Ouellet opened a Vatican symposium on the priesthood by apologising for "unworthy" clergy and the cover-up of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, before an audience that included Pope Francis.

"We are all torn and humbled by these crucial questions that every day question us as members of the Church," Ouellet said at the time.

He said the symposium was an opportunity to express regret and ask victims for forgiveness after their lives were "destroyed by abusive and criminal behaviour" that was hidden or treated lightly to protect the institution and the perpetrators.

Since becoming pope in 2013, Francis has striven to tackle the decades-long sexual abuse scandals, although many child protection activists insist much more needs to be done.

In Canada, the Church is facing several class action suits related to sexual misconduct. In the western part of the country, more than 30 students have filed suit against several officials at a Christian school, as reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

READ MORE: Canada's indigenous community finds more evidence of 'cultural genocide'

Source: AFP

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