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We just wanted to take this opportunity to send you an update and an
invitation to come back to City Hall this Tuesday at 12 noon we will be meeting
in the Atrium and at the bottom of the escalators outside the City Council
chambers.
Last week we went with between 25 to
30 believers to pray, read from the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, read from
the Canadian Bill of Rights, read quotes from different political leaders who
stood for rights in the past, to sing the national anthem and to sing Amazing
Grace.
As we were about to start the meeting, a representative of Corporate
Security came and asked us if we were going to have a problem again this week.
Jim Blake responded that he hoped that there wouldn't be a problem with
Corporate Security. To which the security representative said okay fine so you
can gather but no preaching or things like that. So here we clearly see, by this
statement from a representative of Calgary's Corporate Security that gathering
in our City Hall's Atrium is okay but religious speech is
not.
In the group were two elderly people. One was a
World War II Veteran by the name of Sandi De Waal who fought, and watched his
friends die, along his side, for our freedoms, so that we could stand in our
municipal buildings and in other public places and speak without fear of
persecution or prosecution from police and other civic officials and other
governing bodies or individuals.
The other
elderly person was a lady by the name of Daisy. Daisy's husband was World War II
Warrior, as well, and he has now passed to be with the Lord. But he also fought
for our freedoms so that we can live as free men and women in a land strong and
free, as our national anthem states.
Jim Blake,
National Chairman of Concerned Christians Canada was the one that ran our
gathering last Tuesday. I will briefly include a couple of points that he made
in his talk.
He reminded us that when we sing
our national anthem we are singing a pledge that we will stand on guard for
Canada. He even reminded us that it even includes a prayer, "God keep our land
glorious and free."
He also read part of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, relating to our guaranteed fundamental
freedoms that we are granted under that legislation. Along with that, he read
from the Canadian Bill of Rights, the following two
quotes:
The first was from the preamble of the Canadian Bill of Rights which
reads:
Preamble
The Parliament
of Canada, affirming that the Canadian Nation is founded upon principles that
acknowledge the supremacy of God, the dignity and worth of the human person and
the position of the family in a society of free men and free
institutions;
Affirming also
that men and institutions remain free only when freedom is founded upon respect
for moral and spiritual values and the rule of law;
The
second was a quote from Prime Minister Diefenbaker included at the bottom of the
Canadian Bill of Rights:
"I am a
Canadian,
free to speak without fear,
free to worship in my
own way,
free to stand for what I think right,
free to
oppose what I believe wrong, or
free to choose those who shall govern
my country.
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and
all mankind."
For doing these activities we are
surrounded by around 30 officers and staff of Corporate Security and we were
told that we were not welcome and that we had to leave.
After Mr. Blake spoke, that security person came back and told us okay you
said you piece now it's time to go. Jim Blake had agreed and it was after he
agreed that he was presented with a one-year no trespass notice indicating that
he could no longer enter into City Hall for a full year.
That was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. I decided this was
way too much like the regime that I saw growing up in postwar Poland where
people were in constant fear of persecution from people like the Nazis, who
stole their rights and shot and killed for their own wicked purposes.
Being surrounded on all sides with armed officers
threatening us and telling us that we had no rights to freedom of religion,
freedom of expression or freedom of peaceful assembly. Ready to hall us all off
at a moment's notice if we wouldn't shut up and leave. I took a stand and spoke
out against this shameful treatment.
Daisy, the eighty-five year old I told you about, was
confronted by an officer and was told that she should leave, to which she
responded I don't want to leave, I'm going to stay right here. Arrest me if you
want to, but I'm staying.
A couple of people from our group were escorted out by
police officers and warned not to return to the building. Jim Blake was able to
convince Stephen Patterson the Corporate Security Advisor of City Hall to be
wise and not to cause the officers to arrest citizens who are merely exercising
their charter protected guaranteed fundamental rights and freedoms.
He agreed to meet with Jim Blake and to discuss options
for us to be able to freely exercise our rights and freedoms and to find a
balance that would work for everyone, but that would ensure that our rights are
not denied.
So, in good faith Jim Blake will meet with Steven
Patterson on Monday, January 30 to try to work something out but regardless we
are going back Tuesday to exercise our guaranteed fundamental rights and
freedoms at City Hall.
City Hall will demonstrate it's true heart; whether it
truly cares to honour the rights and freedoms of its citizens as it did with
Occupy Calgary or whether it will again arrest its citizens for exercising those
rights.
Please come out and show your support for freedom, for
democracy, and for the right to freely speak one's strongly and deeply held
beliefs in the public forum.
Please don't by the lie that for Christians public speech
in political forums is banned. We were guaranteed these rights and we need to
stand on guard for Canada for our freedom and for this and coming generations.
Please join us Tuesday at 12 noon at Calgary's City Hall at the base of the
escalators in the Atrium.
God Bless,
Artur Pawlowski
Street Church Ministries
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