One of the ten international principles of Privacy states that individuals have a right to know what personal information about themselves, is under the custody and control of Government. This includes opinions about the individual.
Well, in June 2012, Government of Newfoundland amended their privacy act, which had previously been based on these principles, to allow a major exception to this situation. Government has given themselves permission to deny access to these records, if the records pertain to employment evaluations.
Basically, government can refuse to hire you now, and they don't have to tell you why. all because telling you might make government look bad. Duh, ya think? This opens the door for abuse, discrimination, and corruption. Government can now refuse to hire someone like, say, a transsexual - simply because they are transphobic, and the individual will never know why.
As all this falls into place, i can't help but wonder why it seems that I am always finishing runner-up in most job competitions i apply for. Even worse, i am now in the process of working on a case where an individual won a job competition, yet was refused the job for reasons that are being kept private.
Bottom line, this new clause is extremely dangerous! it must be exposed, demonstrated, challenged, and changed.
I will report details of this case I am working on, as i become in a position to reveal them. Meanwhile, you can hear more about what I have to say on this clause at this vlog.
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Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Government rejects Citizen's Rep recommendation to remove doctor
I am quite disgusted at what appears to be a sad case of the Newfoundland Government health care system, trying to save face, at the expense of patients. Say what you want about inmates, but they are human beings and they deserve equal health care as everyone else - as per the principles of our health care system.
Well, turns out a Dr Craig has been taking inmates off antidepressants that had previously been prescribed to them. this lead the patients to suffer undue hardship to the point where the Office of the Citizens' Representative accepted and investigated their complaints to the point that they recommended that this doctor be removed!
Well, Government has fired back with a 'peer review' on this doctor, which assessed his work and determined that he had followed protocol. Well, that's fine, but it doesn't solve the problem. If this doctor is ceasing depression meds, is the government saying that the initial doctors erred in prescribing the meds in the first place? and what about the policies? yes, maybe Doctor Craig followed the policies, but what if these policies are the problem??
Bottom line, we have documented evidence that Craig's actions have lead patients into violent and suicidal tenancies; yet the Government is saying this is ok?
So, why am i interested? well, sometimes old policies need to be challenged. In my case as a trans person, i found myself treating a medical condition that is globally recognized, yet was not recognized by my medical system due to their out of date policies.
what bugs me even more, is that mental health patients are now being used as political pawns, much like I and other trans people are, in terms of the political issue of human rights. It also disgusts me to see folks who supposedly care about the patients, stepping up and taking action or making statements that cover their own ass, rather than solve the core problem.
What is really sad, is that this Citizen's Rep has no true power. they do not have Order power - only recommendation power. The Government can, and essentially has, laughed at their report and pissed on it. I say shame to that!
For more of my thoughts on this issue, see my vlog here!
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Well, turns out a Dr Craig has been taking inmates off antidepressants that had previously been prescribed to them. this lead the patients to suffer undue hardship to the point where the Office of the Citizens' Representative accepted and investigated their complaints to the point that they recommended that this doctor be removed!
Well, Government has fired back with a 'peer review' on this doctor, which assessed his work and determined that he had followed protocol. Well, that's fine, but it doesn't solve the problem. If this doctor is ceasing depression meds, is the government saying that the initial doctors erred in prescribing the meds in the first place? and what about the policies? yes, maybe Doctor Craig followed the policies, but what if these policies are the problem??
Bottom line, we have documented evidence that Craig's actions have lead patients into violent and suicidal tenancies; yet the Government is saying this is ok?
So, why am i interested? well, sometimes old policies need to be challenged. In my case as a trans person, i found myself treating a medical condition that is globally recognized, yet was not recognized by my medical system due to their out of date policies.
what bugs me even more, is that mental health patients are now being used as political pawns, much like I and other trans people are, in terms of the political issue of human rights. It also disgusts me to see folks who supposedly care about the patients, stepping up and taking action or making statements that cover their own ass, rather than solve the core problem.
What is really sad, is that this Citizen's Rep has no true power. they do not have Order power - only recommendation power. The Government can, and essentially has, laughed at their report and pissed on it. I say shame to that!
For more of my thoughts on this issue, see my vlog here!
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Saturday, November 3, 2012
no phone calls today Nov 3, 2012
phone is unplugged and will remain unplugged for the day. email if u need me.
Friday, November 2, 2012
What would I say to Transphobic Maryland bloggers?
Tonight, a journalist asked me: if you could meet these bloggers face to face, what would you say?
Well, here is what i drafted up:
Dear transphobic bloggers, I genuinely feel sorry for you. I feel sorry that you are focusing so much of your time on negative energy to slander, defame, bully, misrepresent, disrespect, and indignify, one of the smallest and most oppressed groups of people in this world - an exercise that will add no value to our lives or yours.
I am sorry that you seem to believe something that is completely false (that we are men who wish to utilize transgenderism as an excuse to commit hate crimes). I'm sorry you feel the need to waste so much of your advocacy time attempting to resolve a problem that doesn't even exist.
I also feel sorry for the groups and societal segments who you claim to represent. You are giving feminists a bad name; you are giving cis female a bad name; you are giving members of the LGB community a bad name; and ultimately, you are disgracing your self, your family, and your state!
The world has seen so much great maturity over the past century with regards to acceptance of diversity. Think about the many great milestones! Blacks are now recognized as equal human beings and cannot be 'owned' as slaves. Blacks have also earned the right not to face segregation in terms of public accommodations Women have finally earned the right to vote. Most recently, gays and lesbians are finally gaining access to human rights protection, including the right to marry, the right to retain employment, and freedom from religion.
Trans acceptance is next on the docket. Not only have we arrived, but we are winning. 30 years ago, your blog might have received praise. But in 2012, 99% of this world will see your transphobia as being so blatant that you will not be taken seriously.
Your blog posts are so blatantly transphobic and so full of hate, to the point they are comical. And the membership of people who subscribe to your classification and branding of feminism, is so small, that your voice is now being drowned out by me, and by journalists are more than happy to jump on the chance to write a story that exposes trans haters.
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Well, here is what i drafted up:
Dear transphobic bloggers, I genuinely feel sorry for you. I feel sorry that you are focusing so much of your time on negative energy to slander, defame, bully, misrepresent, disrespect, and indignify, one of the smallest and most oppressed groups of people in this world - an exercise that will add no value to our lives or yours.
I am sorry that you seem to believe something that is completely false (that we are men who wish to utilize transgenderism as an excuse to commit hate crimes). I'm sorry you feel the need to waste so much of your advocacy time attempting to resolve a problem that doesn't even exist.
I also feel sorry for the groups and societal segments who you claim to represent. You are giving feminists a bad name; you are giving cis female a bad name; you are giving members of the LGB community a bad name; and ultimately, you are disgracing your self, your family, and your state!
The world has seen so much great maturity over the past century with regards to acceptance of diversity. Think about the many great milestones! Blacks are now recognized as equal human beings and cannot be 'owned' as slaves. Blacks have also earned the right not to face segregation in terms of public accommodations Women have finally earned the right to vote. Most recently, gays and lesbians are finally gaining access to human rights protection, including the right to marry, the right to retain employment, and freedom from religion.
Trans acceptance is next on the docket. Not only have we arrived, but we are winning. 30 years ago, your blog might have received praise. But in 2012, 99% of this world will see your transphobia as being so blatant that you will not be taken seriously.
Your blog posts are so blatantly transphobic and so full of hate, to the point they are comical. And the membership of people who subscribe to your classification and branding of feminism, is so small, that your voice is now being drowned out by me, and by journalists are more than happy to jump on the chance to write a story that exposes trans haters.
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Canada denies entry to prominent American Actor who is trans 11/02/2012
Domaine Javier is transwomen American who is best-known for her work on an MTV television show; and for being expelled from California Baptist University, due to her being trans; was denied entry to Canada today by Customs and Immigration officers at a Vancouver Airport. Xtra Vancouver's detailed article is a must-read for further details
This story has striking similarities to the situation i faced in Toronto, on US-jurisdictional soil, when i was subjected to aggressive, additional, and unnecessary screening, which cost me to miss a flight and buy a new ticket. At least I was granted access to the USA, but it was ridiculous that I was subjected so to trans ignorance and trans-profiling, which lead to this situation.
This points to the issue of ensuring that trans people, and folks not within a binary gender system, should have 1) access to ID that best-reflects their gender presentation, and not just their genitals 2) have the right to be served equally by staff who have received sensitivity training.
the fact that these Canadian officials would use her trans status, as a reason to search through her bag, then further give her grief over a bottle of prescript pills, that otherwise would have been a non-issue, and that they would hassle her about her volunteer cameo in an upcoming tv appearance, to inappropriately try to state that she was attempting to enter canada to work illegally.
Canada continues to demonstrate its national embarrassment with their transphobic and trans-ignorance, and general negative attitude towards these people.
More to come from me on this topic, for sure!
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Thursday, November 1, 2012
Updated Bio 11/01/2012
Jennifer McCreath is a woman born transsexual, who is best-known for parlaying her trans status with her athletic legacy as a marathon runner, her political activism, and her flamboyant personality; into public educational and advocacy work regarding issues affecting transgender, transsexual, panssexual, and intersexxed individuals.
Born in Halifax, raised in Toronto, she moved to St. John's Newfoundland in 2007 to accept employment as a senior policy analyst with the Provincial Government. Shortly after coming to terms with her transsexuality, she sought a better job, and sought to get herself into better physical condition. While she initially planned to return to Toronto to transition, she quickly fell in love with Newfoundland and decided to transition there. Likewise, while she took up long distance running simply to get in shape, her passion for the sport led her to run 30 marathons between 2007-2011, including 2 qualifications for the legendary Boston Marathon, which she ran in 2009 and 2010.
McCreath quickly became a public figure in Newfoundland when she made mainstream news, first, for being a transsexual government policy analyst, and then, for being a transsexual policy analyst who suddenly lost what was supposedly a safe and secure job, in 2009. Ever since, McCreath has been on a mission to make this world a more accepting place for members of the trans community, both for the benefit of herself, the people around her, and the global trans community.
McCreath successfully played a key role in helping to break down the gender binary barriers, in international sports, when she penned and helped implement a gender-inclusion policy that allowed for the sanctioning of trans athletes into their own sex category, at the 2009 World Outgames in Copenhagen, Denmark, where she participated, and laid claim to becoming the first formally-sanctioned transsexual marathon runner and 1500M freestyle swimmer, in world history.
McCreath continues to work on an ongoing battle with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, to get them to amend their Human Rights Act to explicitly protect members of the trans community; and to get them to provide funding for trans-related procedures that are deemed medically-necessary by Newfoundland doctors.
McCreath has provided policy advise to a variety of government and non-profit organizations, including Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health, PFLAG Canada, EGALE Canada, Canada Blood Services, the Human Rights Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Newfoundland Office of the Chief Information Officer, the Liberal Party of Canada, and the New Democratic Party of Canada.
McCreath has appeared on mainstream provincial and national media outlets, to speak on issues including transsexualism, information access and privacy, human rights, athletics, health care, assisted reproduction, sexual health, air transport safety, and government transparency & accountability. She has also delivered university lectures on these topics, as well as been featured as a keynote speaker at major conferences. She has also been profiled numerously in biographical television and newspaper programs
McCreath lays claim to being one of the few openly-trans individuals in the world, to have founded and managed, a legally-registered non-profit gay-pride organization, in a major city. She has also launched several grassroots trans-specific advocacy and support groups.
McCreath is a frequent newspaper journalist and video and text blogger. She also has experience producing and directing television shows, live entertainment events, and live public demonstrations. She also runs a volunteer transition consulting business.
McCreath has 7 years of professional work experience in the field of Information Management & Privacy Protection. She has worked for the Education Safety Association of Ontario, and Governments of Canada, Ontario and Newfoundland. She holds a Bachelor of Administration (Management Concentration) from Athabasca University; a Diploma from Humber College, in Business Administration; and a certificate in Managing Information Technology Projects; accredited by George Washington University. She also holds Newfoundland Provincial accreditation as a Workplace Safety Representative.
She is passionate about animal rights, environmental issues, professional sports, music, and politics; and she aspires to have biological children, and aspires to become the first openly-trans person to be elected into political office in Canada.
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St. John's Pride "Not In Good Standing" 11/01/2012
This is a screenshot today from the Government of Newfoundland's public-facing website for Registry of Companies. Specifically, a company I proudly co-founded in September of 2010, and sadly, resigned from on March 15, 2012.
When I left, I was reassured by existing executive that steps would be taken immediately to have my name removed from the list of directors, and that a new corporate mailing address would be identified.
Well, as summer approached, I continued to receive envelopes for Pride here at Larkhall, and it was at this point I followed up with an in person meeting with one of the new directors who had joined the organization after I had left. It was also at this point that I had noticed that the organization had fallen into a status of "Not In Good Standing". Once again, I was assured that this matter would be dealt with.
Well, here we are on October, 31, 2012, and not only has nothing changed, I can see that the company missed their deadline for filing their Provincial Annual Return by Company Anniversary date.
I also received a letter address to Pride here at Larkhall the other day, from the Government. While I fulfilled my legal duties of not opening the envelope, I couldn't help but notice that I could actually see through the envelope to the point that I could read a high percentage of the letter in there, and what I saw made me extremely concerned!
I left the organization in March, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem to want to leave me. So in an effort to bring closure to this situation, since private communication proved ineffective, I am resorting to this public-facing blog tonight.
I will not publish any private of confidential information that I was able to see though the envelop, as quite frankly, there is enough information on the Government's public record to allow me to illustrate the risks and harms that make this situation newsworthy on my blog.
The good thing about having your organization legally registered as a non-profit society, with your provincial Government, is that it forces the org to attain and sustain a level of accountability. As an expert in the field of Corporate law, just by looking at this public-facing website, as I did back in the summer, and as I did again today, I can clearly state that the company failed to respond to two information requests from the Government, one which we know was the failure to submit an Annual Return by deadline date.
First of all, it saddens me to see an organization which I worked so hard to get off the ground, fall into what appears to be a state of accountability shambles. As the Corporations Act clearly states, they are now at risk of having their company terminated.
But ultimately what matters for me, is the harm associated with having my name listed as a Director for a delinquent company. and after several months of this being a non-issue, a separate business matter that I am involved with Government about, is now being negatively impacted by this.
St. John's Pride, if you want to take this company into a delinquent status, that's your business, but I've asked for my name and address to be removed numerous times, and I want it done ASAP please. This is now causing so much harm that it is impacting my ability to secure employment and it is impacting my ability to conduct other business matters with the Department of Business.
In conclusion, any paper correspondence that I still get for Pride, is now being marked Return to Sender.
And, if my name and address still appear on the public record by the end of the week, I will be filing an Application with the Superior Court of Justice, and will be asking a Judge to issue an Order that will enforce both Pride and the Department of Business, to get my name and address off this record.
Follow @Jenn_McCreath Tweet
When I left, I was reassured by existing executive that steps would be taken immediately to have my name removed from the list of directors, and that a new corporate mailing address would be identified.
Well, as summer approached, I continued to receive envelopes for Pride here at Larkhall, and it was at this point I followed up with an in person meeting with one of the new directors who had joined the organization after I had left. It was also at this point that I had noticed that the organization had fallen into a status of "Not In Good Standing". Once again, I was assured that this matter would be dealt with.
Well, here we are on October, 31, 2012, and not only has nothing changed, I can see that the company missed their deadline for filing their Provincial Annual Return by Company Anniversary date.
I also received a letter address to Pride here at Larkhall the other day, from the Government. While I fulfilled my legal duties of not opening the envelope, I couldn't help but notice that I could actually see through the envelope to the point that I could read a high percentage of the letter in there, and what I saw made me extremely concerned!
I left the organization in March, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem to want to leave me. So in an effort to bring closure to this situation, since private communication proved ineffective, I am resorting to this public-facing blog tonight.
I will not publish any private of confidential information that I was able to see though the envelop, as quite frankly, there is enough information on the Government's public record to allow me to illustrate the risks and harms that make this situation newsworthy on my blog.
The good thing about having your organization legally registered as a non-profit society, with your provincial Government, is that it forces the org to attain and sustain a level of accountability. As an expert in the field of Corporate law, just by looking at this public-facing website, as I did back in the summer, and as I did again today, I can clearly state that the company failed to respond to two information requests from the Government, one which we know was the failure to submit an Annual Return by deadline date.
First of all, it saddens me to see an organization which I worked so hard to get off the ground, fall into what appears to be a state of accountability shambles. As the Corporations Act clearly states, they are now at risk of having their company terminated.
But ultimately what matters for me, is the harm associated with having my name listed as a Director for a delinquent company. and after several months of this being a non-issue, a separate business matter that I am involved with Government about, is now being negatively impacted by this.
St. John's Pride, if you want to take this company into a delinquent status, that's your business, but I've asked for my name and address to be removed numerous times, and I want it done ASAP please. This is now causing so much harm that it is impacting my ability to secure employment and it is impacting my ability to conduct other business matters with the Department of Business.
In conclusion, any paper correspondence that I still get for Pride, is now being marked Return to Sender.
And, if my name and address still appear on the public record by the end of the week, I will be filing an Application with the Superior Court of Justice, and will be asking a Judge to issue an Order that will enforce both Pride and the Department of Business, to get my name and address off this record.
Follow @Jenn_McCreath Tweet
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