From: Ashu M. G. Solo [mailto:amgsolo@mavericktechnologies.us]
Sent: Monday, April 08, 2013 7:44 PM
Subject: MEDIA ALERT: Ashu M. G. Solo vs. City of Saskatoon (Mayor's Office) and Councillor Randy Donauer Proceeding to Mediation
Sent: Monday, April 08, 2013 7:44 PM
Subject: MEDIA ALERT: Ashu M. G. Solo vs. City of Saskatoon (Mayor's Office) and Councillor Randy Donauer Proceeding to Mediation
Dear Media:
My prayer recitation complaint against the Mayor's Office
for the City of Saskatoon and Councillor Randy Donauer with the Saskatchewan
Human Rights Commission (SHRC) will be proceeding to mediation on May 29,
2013. On April 18, 2012, Mayor Don Atchison called on Councillor Randy
Donauer to try to lead a diverse audience in a Christian prayer recitation at
the annual Volunteer Appreciation Banquet organized by the Mayor’s Office.
I am attaching scans of a letter that I just received
from the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission on the mediation and mediation
agreement, a letter from the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission on the future
process for dealing with complaints, and my formal complaint form. They
incorrectly wrote the file number in the second letter. Also, the
respondents should be listed as City of Saskatoon (Mayor’s Office) and Randy
Donauer in all of the attached documents. I asked them to change this in
the mediation agreement. The description of the violation in the formal
complaint form was written by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission based on
the complaint that I filed.
I would have liked the mediation to be open to the media
and public, but unfortunately the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission doesn't
permit other people to attend. Also, according to the attached mediation
agreement, I'm not allowed to disclose any information obtained within
mediation or disclose terms of settlement if a settlement is reached.
The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission isn’t
amalgamating my complaint about Christmas messages on programmable bus signs of
Saskatoon Transit buses with this prayer recitation complaint into one case.
In resolving this case, I am unwilling to compromise on
public prayer recitations being totally eliminated from City of Saskatoon
events because this is an extremely discriminatory and bigoted practice.
A “universal” prayer recitation discriminates against agnostics and atheists,
who are a large segment of the population. If people want to pray before
they eat, they can pray to themselves before they eat. They don’t need an
agent of the state leading them in a prayer.
I am unwilling to accept a moment of silence as an
alternative to a prayer recitation because a moment of silence is also an
effort by the government to get people to pray. Therefore, it still
violates the separation of religion and state and freedom from religion
inherent to freedom of religion. Government should not be in the business
of encouraging or discouraging any religious practice, even when neutral to all
religions because many people don’t practice any religion and many people
believe that religions cause harm to society. If people want to pray
before they eat, they can take their own moments of silence. There’s
nothing stopping them. There shouldn’t be an officially specified moment
of silence.
I’ve received over 200 hate messages and over 5 threats and implied
threats. I can forward you some of these if you like. There have
been thousands of racist, bigoted, and hateful comments posted online about me
and my civil rights cases. Canadians should be extremely ashamed of how
racist and bigoted this country is. Religious liberty will defeat
religious bigotry.
He who has the courage to stay the course on the ship of a
righteous cause in a tumultuous and intolerant sea will weather the storm of
bigotry and hatred and see the darkness of tyranny subside for the calm dawn of
liberty.
Atchison, Donauer, and my opponents are extremely petty
for not agreeing to get rid of prayer recitations at City of Saskatoon events
and forcing me to go to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. If this
case goes to trial, I seek a judgment that has the effect of banning prayer
recitations at civic events throughout the province of Saskatchewan and that
has significant persuasive value in other provinces too.
Further information on my civil rights cases and Code of
Conduct complaint is available at http://atchison-discrimination.blogspot.ca.
Best regards,
Ashu M. G. Solo