chelsa

I'm a 25 year old small business owner trying to make in Alberta. Majoring in International development with a minor in Gender and Sexuality studies means I (try to be) fully involved in activism in my community and globally. My biggest interests lie in the areas of reproductive and sexual health, and access to services. And of course, ranting endlessly about the shambles that politics where I live, both federally and provincially, are starting to fail the public in the name of sating business enterprise. Weird, considering that I'm a greedy corporate bastard myself. ^_^

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By chelsa • 13 years ago

Tories looking to scrap “Affirmative Action” in Federal Hiring Policies?

Story from the Globe and Mail

Listen. I get it. I’ve heard all the arguments about how people should get the job they are competing for based on being the best applicant for the job (this is apparently especially true for fire fighters, but I won’t get into that here). No one should get a job being the less qualified applicant because they have a vagina, brown skin, or are legally blind. Why? Because Canadians believe firmly in the idea of Meritocracy. The people who work the hardest and put in the most effort will get the most returns.

Pull yourself up by the boot straps, Canada!

But I think a nice little thing that people conveniently tend to leave out of this conversation is the role that privilege plays in this big meritocracy game. It’s one thing to say “I believe in an equal playing field” and it’s entirely another thing to acknowledge just what that means.

By chelsa • 14 years ago

A thought on the “Conscience Clause”

Crossposted on my blog, Apathetic in Alberta

After reading this post by Alberta Altruist, I scrapped my work on “The Perils of Online Voting” (which was a whole mess of chaos, best saved for another time), and decided to tackle one of the subjects I am most passionate about: reproductive health. Only because I had no desire to clog up his comments section with my never-ending diatribe on the issue.

This need to discuss what is essentially a dead dog in Canada arises out of the New Wild Rose Alliance party’s policy that, if elected, they would: “Implement legislation protecting the ‘conscience rights’ of health care professionals”

Basically, this means that if a doctor finds the procedure you are hoping to get ...

Crossposted on my blog, Apathetic in Alberta

After reading this post by Alberta Altruist, I scrapped my work on “The Perils of Online Voting” (which was a whole mess of chaos, best saved for another time), and decided ...

By chelsa • 14 years ago

Conservative Canadian MP launches petition to Defund Planned Parenthood

In 2006, the Canadian federal government made a pledge to allocate $18 million over four years to International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) – which, on a completely irrelevant tangent, is the Canadian agency I’ve always wanted to work for. CIDA does a significant amount of international aid work, so it’s not entirely illogical for them to be the filter through which this money is distributed. Further, the UNFPA – a branch of the UN – unequivocally states that reproductive health choices are a fundamental human right. This funding allows people access to reproductive health services where there is a severe drought.

By chelsa • 14 years ago

Shaking up my paradigm: what does Choice really mean?

I’ve long been a reproductive health advocate. While I live in Canada, I follow repro health stories from around the world: cringe when you cringe, cheer at the small victories [there is no criminal regulation of abortion in Canada… though it’s by no means a moot issue here, it’s nothing like the battle currently waging in the US]. It’s an issue that I am very passionate about, because access to reproductive health options is so important to me.
So it was when I found myself pregnant last week that I also found my foundations shaken.
This is not to be read as “suddenly, the white light poured over her, and the rationale of the sanctity of the fetus’ right to ...

By chelsa • 14 years ago

Girl suing school after expulsion for being pregnant

Stumbled on this story in my Twitter feed:

An Arkansas teenager and her mother are suing a private Christian high school over the treatment the daughter received when school officials learned she was pregnant.
According to the lawsuit, officials at Trinity Christian School badgered the teen into admitting her pregnancy, then expelled her on the spot with only eleven days remaining in the school year. After telling the student (who is not named in public court documents) that she was being expelled, school officials escorted her to a Christian pregnancy crisis center, where she was administered a pregnancy test and given counseling. Staff at the crisis center then shared information about the student with the school.
At no ...

Stumbled on this story in my Twitter feed:

An Arkansas teenager and her mother are suing a private Christian high school over the treatment the daughter received when school officials learned she was pregnant.
According ...

By chelsa • 15 years ago

Adventures in lunch meat

So I was grocery shopping on Sunday. Very typical. Very average. Needed some lunch meat, or some absurdity. Anyway, so I’m standing in line at the checkout, when a People… or Stars, or some such celebrity gossip rag catches my eye:

MARY-KATE losing weight again! Stick thin legs! Skinnier than Nicole Ritchie! 89 Lbs! No more diet coach!

It shocked me. It wasn’t a very flattering photo, at all. What would posses a girl that small to think she is not yet small enough?
It all became very clear a few moments later. Maybe it was woman’s world, right next to it. Right on the cover:

These women lost half their weight! Dropped 105 Lbs! Lost 185! Looking fabulous! Find their secrets inside!

Are ...

By chelsa • 15 years ago

I can get behind that.

During my ritual browsing this morning, I happened to notice a really cool post on one of my favourite webcomics that made me sigh contentedly. I mean, people don’t always need a pat on the back for doing the right thing, but I think it helps:

So I am really pissed about Proposition 8 in California. Until I visited this weekend, I had no idea it was such a close-run issue, and when I started getting emails Monday morning from people alarmed at the pro-Proposition-8 ads appearing on my website, I was genuinely horrified. I am SO ANGRY that these homophobic idiots tried to co-opt my website with their crap. Vote against Proposition 8, people. Gay dudes and ladies should ...

By chelsa • 15 years ago

Amy Poehler is my Hero.

Click on pic for trailer.
Amy is coming out with a new digital series with ON networks that celebrates young girls who are changing the world by being themselves. The show – Smart Girls at the Party – aims to help girls find confidence in their own aspirations and talents, and to prove that you don’t have to be famous to be interesting.
Amy, we love you.

Click on pic for trailer.
Amy is coming out with a new digital series with ON networks that celebrates young girls who are changing the world by being themselves. The show – Smart Girls at ...