Kanadai Magyar Hírlap

Canadian Prime Minister MacKenzie King's crystal ball. King was a spiritualist, participating in seances and table rapping with his close friends.

Until a few days ago, former Prime Minister Paul Martin was still Catholic, Stephen Harper was affiliated with the Christian Missionary Alliance and the late MacKenzie King used to be a slightly unconventional Presbyterian. Then, this information mysteriously vanished from Wikipedia. A quick online search revealed that the sudden disappearance of information concerning the religious affiliations of Canadian politicians-both dead and alive-was a haphazard editorial decision taken after a brief online discussion between the likes of DoubleBlue, Ducio1234 and Skeezix1000, thus confirming the worst misgivings that so many have about Wikipedia.

In a single swoop, denominational information concerning former prime ministers John Diefenbaker, Lester B. Pearson, Louis St. Laurent, R.B. Bennett, and all others starting from September 25, 1926–when Prime Minister Arthur Meighen left office for the second time–was removed. Perhaps this was a watershed moment in Canadian religious history that I had not known about, maybe DoubleBlue and friends discovered something entirely new about our country’s past, or perhaps they simply have not gotten around to deleting Meighen’s Presbyterianism yet.

The casual elimination of information that interests scores of internet users by anonymous individuals confirms the worst about Wikipedia and explains why most university professors strongly discourage their students from relying on a source which can be altered at whim by anyone with a modem. A small handful of anonymous internet users have made an editorial decision, leading to the deletion of key information about Canada’s past on one of the world’s most frequented websites. To make matters worse, they have done so based on spurious logic that the religious views of politicians have never been at the centre of Canadian political discourse. Only recently, Paul Martin’s Catholic faith and that of Joe Clark have come up within the context of the gay rights and the same-sex marriage debate. But apparently information on church affiliation has no place in Wikipedia “infoboxes.” Yet if the religious views of our political leaders are insignificant, then how much more important is it for the average reader to know that Mr. Harper decided to name his children Ben and Rachel, or that RB Bennett never got married?

Deleting public information should not be taken lightly and some of us would support preserving it, even when that information gives rise to questions, debates and beckons clarification. The argument that this information should be deleted from biography summaries and buried within Wikipedia articles only if appropriate suggests that the people who took this editorial decision do not understand the fundamental usefulness of this online encyclopedia. Wikipedia can be helpful when we are looking to find bits and pieces of information quickly and without much effort. But very few people care to be inconvenienced by having to fish through lengthy text to find what they are looking. If we want to spend time doing serious research, then there are is a myriad of sources far more reputable than Wikipedia.

There is little doubt that the personal religious views of politicians are less ubiquitous in Canada than in the United States. Yet nearly every political leader will at some point be asked to divulge his or her personal beliefs. Former Liberal Stéphane Dion–who until recently was widely seen as being secular–revealed on a television program that the environment he cared for so deeply was “given to us by God” and reportedly told host Michael Coren after the show that he was a Catholic. Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe, on the other hand, appears to be an atheist. Mr. Duceppe’s Wikipedia biography still mentions this, indicating that enthusiastic users have not yet gotten around to pressing the delete button. Who could argue with a straight face that religion was not an issue in Stockwell Day’s failed leadership of the now defunct Canadian Alliance? Day’s prior career as an Evangelical pastor and his belief in Creationism made it impossible for him to launch a mainstream conservative movement. Former Prime Minister Joe Clark’s pro-choice views and his support of gay rights occasionally put him at odds with the Catholic Church, yet he confirmed his Catholic faith in public and countered during a Canada AM show eight years ago that “anyone who knows anything about the Roman Catholic Church knows that [abortion] has been an issue of division for quite sometime.”

An online discussion on the importance of the denominational affiliations of our politicians, or even a Wikipedia article on this matter, could serve as a positive experience for all, as it would enrich our body of public knowledge. But relegating information deemed unimportant by a select few to the rubbish heaps of cyberspace serves absolutely no one.

Christopher Adam

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OC Transpo bus

Strikes are causing disruptions for travellers and commuters in both the Hungarian and Canadian capitals this week, with public transit workers on the picket line in Ottawa and essential ground staff engaging in strike action at Budapest’s Ferihegy International Airport. According to the most recent statements by Budapest Airport Zrt, the company that operates Ferihegy, flight delays of around 60 minutes are anticipated on December 12, 2008, but it is unlikely that new flights will have to be cancelled. Ferihegy Terminal 1, however, remains closed to passenger traffic and all flights that would have normally departed from here have been transferred to Terminal 2. This change affects passengers flying with discount carriers, including Wizz Air, easyJet and Jet2.

The public transportation strike in Ottawa, however, is proving to be far more disruptive than the labour dispute in Budapest, in part due to the fact that it coincided with a major winter storm, which dumped more than 30cm of snow on the Canadian capital in a single day. All OC Transpo city bus lines have been cancelled for two straight days, following the walk-out of 2,100 unionized transit employees. The strike has resulted in a 20 percent increase in the number of passenger vehicles on downtown Ottawa’s congested streets. The strike will head into its third day on Friday, December 12th, wrecking the most havoc for students at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, who are writing final exams this week. 

The Carleton University Student Association (CUSA) has tried to alleviate the difficult situation by enlisting the services of a private bus company to offer shuttle bus transport from various points in Ottawa to Carleton’s campus. Shuttle bus service will pick students up every 45 minutes from Merivale Mall, while hourly service is being offered between Place d’Orleans and Carleton University. Students living in Centretown can hop on a shuttle bus at the corner of Bank Street and MacLeod Street every 30 minutes. A representative for the Amalgamated Transit Union, the group behind the strike, suggested that these buses might be targeted by picketers. Meanwhile, CUSA has issued a statement calling upon Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien to return to the negotiating table and come to a “speedy resolution” with striking transit workers.

André Cornellier, president of the transit union, spoke with CTV News yesterday and observed that there was nothing wrong with inconveniencing people during a strike. “It’s about walking the picket line, stopping people from coming in like they would on a normal day. Inconveniencing people, what’s wrong with that?” said Cornellier. A group of OC Transpo workers have picketed outside Ottawa City Hall for two days in a row and their action has led to further delays and congestions for already frustrated drivers arriving to Ottawa from the suburbs during the morning rush hour. A number of Ottawa residents heaped scorn on the picketers, hurling insults and swear words their way.

More than 350,000 Ottawa residents ride on OC Transpo buses every day. The transit service operates approximately 250 bus routes, as well as the O-Train light rail route.

The OC Transpo strike revolves around a dispute concerning salary increases between the City of Ottawa and the Amalgamated Transit Union. The municipal government has offered a 7 percent increase, but union representatives are demanding a 10 percent raise.

Readers are invited to post their comments in English, French or Hungarian using the form below. Please include your name in the “név” field and your e-mail address (which will not be published). Click on the “hozzászólás küldése” button to post your comment.

Canadian Hungarian Journal

We had a couple of articles lined up about Québec’s provincial election, which saw Premier Jean Charest’s Liberals win a razor thin majority last night, the Parti Québécois regain its status as the official opposition and Mario Dumont resign as leader of the Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ) following his party’s truly disastrous performance. Unfortunately, we can’t upload this new material at the moment, because our internet service provider is down and their tech support is missing in action.

We rely on 3Web CIA Cybersurf for our internet access, but we have been unable to access the web as of earlier this evening and it is absolutely impossible to contact anyone at 3Web Cybersurf. Despite the fact that tech support is supposedly available from 8AM to midnight (EST), it isn’t even possible to get through to 3Web’s telephone menu, as it is pre-empted by an automated message indicating that all service representatives are occupied with other clients. One of the biggest unsolved mysteries surrounding 3Web CIA Cybersurf is precisely how many service representatives the company actually has, because this user has thus far never been able to speak over the phone with a single one of them.

Those who have relied on 3Web CIA Cybersurf over the years are probably accustomed to this company’s truly dismal customer service which, at the moment, appears to be entirely non-existent. To make matters worse, the company’s various websites appear to be down at the moment as well.

The comments of other 3Web CIA Cybersurf users are more than welcome on this page. You do not need to register to post a comment. Simply include your name or pseudonym in the “név” field, your e-mail address (which will not be published) and a website, if applicable. Please click on the “hozzászólás küldése” button to send your comment.

Canadian Hungarian Journal

Ferenc Gyurcsány

Hungary’s Socialist Prime Minister, Ferenc Gyurcsány, was undoubtedly disappointed earlier today to discover that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico decided to reject all six suggestions raised by his Hungarian counterpart. These ideas were aimed at improving the two country’s troubled relationship and ensuring the rights of minorities in both states. Gyurcsány, who leads a centre-left minority government, has consistently avoided the use of inflammatory nationalist language and has been cautious when addressing the prickly issue of Hungarian minorities in neighbouring countries. As such, Gyurcsány’s six suggestions for Fico and his leftist-nationalist Slovak coalition reflected this moderation. Gyurcsány recommended that minority schools in both countries be permitted to use textbooks published abroad, noted that both Hungary and Slovakia should launch inquiries whenever there is a possibility that the rights of minority groups have been compromised, suggested the creation of an ombudsman for ethnic minorities in Slovakia and a liberalization of current laws in Slovakia which prohibit the display of most Hungarian national symbols.

Fico’s response to Gyurcsány’s request was swift and uncompromising. The Slovak prime minister said that his Hungarian counterpart’s recommendations were “unacceptable” and claimed that the rights of Slovakia’s Hungarian minority are guaranteed. “A range of laws protect the rights of minorities in Slovakia and our system is one of the best in Europe. As such, it is unwarranted to modify these laws or give ethnic Hungarians more of an advantage that what they already enjoy,” Fico said.

Gyurcsány has been critical of the nationalism which increasingly characterizes the Slovak government and this became especially evident after Slovak police officers brutally attacked reportedly peaceful Hungarian fans at a soccer game in the town of Dunaszerdahely (Dunajska Streda) last month. The attack sparked angry protests in front of the Slovak embassy in Budapest, which led to the burning of Slovakia’s national flag by radical demonstrators. Hungary’s Socialist government has strongly condemned this protest.

Yet one of the major points of controversy is the fact that Fico entered into a coalition agreement with a far-right, ultra-nationalist and deeply xenophobic political party led by Ján Slota. The Slovak National Party’s president has made a string of anti-Hungarian, anti-Roma and homophobic statements. Several years ago, Slota reportedly threatened that Slovakia “will sit in our tanks and destroy Budapest.” Slota has also referred to Slovakia’s Hungarian minority–which forms roughly 9 percent of the country’s population–as “a cancer in the body of the Slovak nation.”

Canadian Hungarian Journal