February 9, 2010

It's Tuesday, February 9th.

A senior local Afghan official has been accused of corruption and supporting militants.

Currently, He'll be charged formally ... as soon as corruption and supporting militants are actually against the law.

This is The Current.

Olympics & Civil Liberties

Martin Macias Jr. was supposed to be in Vancouver this morning. He's an American student and activist. He had been invited to Vancouver to speak at a conference organized by a group opposed to the Vancouver Olympics. Mr. Macias had been a member of No Games Chicago, a group that opposed Chicago's recent bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. When he arrived at Vancouver International Airport Saturday, border officials detained and questioned him. They never let Martin Macias Jr. in, instread they put him on a plane to Seattle.

The man waiting to meet Martin Macias Jr at the airport Saturday was Chris Shaw. He's a member of the Olympic Resistance Network and the author of The Five Ring Circus: Myths and Realities of the Olympic Games. Chris Shaw was in Vancouver.

Olympics & Civil Liberties

Ray Mey is a former FBI agent. He helped plan the security for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002. He also consulted with the Italian Government for the Winter Games in Torino in 2006. He is working as a security consultant for a variety of private companies at the Vancouver Games. He was in Vancouver.

Vancouver Promo *** This event is now full to capacity. Sorry ***

The Current is going to be heading west for some special programming from Vancouver. So if you're going to be in the Vancouver area on Sunday, February 14th, we'd like to invite you to be part of our live studio audience. We'll be recording a special edition of The Current starting at one o'clock in the afternoon at the CBC building in downtown Vancouver.

To reserve a free ticket, just send an e-mail to TheCurrentInVancouver@cbc.ca. And please be sure to tell us how many seats you'd like.

Listen to Part One:

War Zone E.R.

For more than three years, Major Marc Dauphin had one of the toughest jobs around. He's a Canadian soldier. And he was in charge of the Role 3 Multinational Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Among other things, that meant finding enough supplies, enough operating rooms and enough time in the day to keep the place running.

Every day, doctors, nurses and specialists from many countries counted on him as they fixed broken bones and performed life-saving surgeries. Last fall, Canada transferred control of the hospital to the U.S. military. But just before that change of command, Vancouver-based film-maker Jinder Oujla-Chalmers visited the hospital and followed Major Dauphin. As part of our on-going series, Work In Progress, we aired this documentary. It's called War Zone E.R.

** Warning: This documentary contains some strong language ***

Listen to Part Two:

Kahnawake Evictions

We started this segment with a clip of John Dee Delormier. He's one of the Chiefs with the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, a native reserve near Montreal. He is talking about the band council's decision to hand out eviction notices to 24 non-natives who live on the reserve.

The letters John Dee Delormier has sent say the non-natives are not listed as official members of the community and have no right to live in Mohawk territory. The letters have gone to people with no family or marital ties to the community. And the recipients have been given ten days to leave. This was a band council decision ... one that John Dee Delormier supports.

We invited members of the band council to join us this morning to explain why they are evicting non-natives. The council refused our request. Last week, Grand Chief Michael Delisle said that the council is simply enforcing a long-standing custom and that it's purpose is to protect Mohawk blood-lines.

Kahnawake Evictions - Reserve

The talk of preserving blood-lines has re-ignited a deeper debate in Kahnawake ... one who is a Mohawk. Sandra Schurman knows that debate well. Her mother is Mohawk from the Kahnawake reserve. Her father is not. Sandra has lived on the reserve all her life but she's not eligible for band membership. Sandra Schurman was at her home in Kahnawake near Montreal.

Kahnawake Evictions - Lawyer

For a legal opinion on the move to evict non-natives from the Kahnawake reserve, we're joined by Renée Dupuis. She was the Chief Commissioner of the Indian Claims Commission from 2003 to 2009. She's also a lawyer and a former member of the Canadian Human Rights Act Panel. She was in Quebec City.

Last Word - Olympic Border Guide

We ended the program today with some advice for anyone who plans to enter Canada during the Vancouver Winter Olympics ... something we touched on earlier today as we looked at the balance between civil liberties and security at the games. Nat Marshik is a member of the Olympic Resistance Network. And she has prepared some tips for visiting activists. We gave her the last word today.

Listen to Part Three: