Toronto Star: Toronto Area MP Wants To Silence Nanny With $5000 Pay Off Because Of Domestic Worker Abuse Allegations!!!!
Ruby Dhalla’s family seeks to gag nanny
Nanny Richelyn Tongson has refused to accept a $5,000 payment in her lawsuit against Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla.
DALE BRAZAO/TORONTO STAR
Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla and her family want a judge to force a nanny who claims she was exploited while working at their Mississauga home to accept a $5,000 payment and a gag order not to talk about the deal.
The nanny, Richelyn Tongson, has refused to sign the court papers, saying it would stop her from “ever discussing what happened to me while working for the Dhallas and the horrid things which I had been forced to endure in that household.”
The case returns to court April 4. When the Star first broke the story two years ago of allegations of unfair treatment of nannies in her household, Dhalla, the MP for Springdale-Brampton, stepped down from the Liberal shadow cabinet and said she would work to clear her name.
Tongson, 39, had been hired to look after Dhalla’s mother at the family home.
In a motion filed in Small Claims Court in Brampton the Dhallas claim Tongson reneged on a deal in May 2010 that would have compensated the nanny for unpaid overtime over three months in 2008.
The agreement also called for Ruby Dhalla’s name to be dropped from the lawsuit and for a confidentiality clause that would prevent Tongson from talking about any aspect of the settlement. Tongson would only be allowed to say “no comment” if a reporter called. The deal was agreed to on Tongson’s behalf by her previous lawyer, Charles Sinclair, and endorsed by small claims court judge Robert Barlow.
In her affidavit challenging the motion, Tongson says she was not in court when the deal was struck. She was caring for a family’s 2-year-old child while she talked to the court and her lawyer by cellphone. Tongson says not being present and the fact that English is her second language hampered her from understanding the terms.
The mother of four says in her affidavit that she was not aware Sinclair had agreed to a confidentiality clause or the dismissal of the suit against Ruby Dhalla until she was sent the documents months later.
In an interview Tuesday, Sinclair, Tongson’s first lawyer, said she was aware of the terms agreed to at the settlement hearing.
The nanny’s lawsuit, seeking $15,000 in damages, names Ruby Dhalla, her mother Tavinder and her brother Neil as co-defendants.
Tongson claims it was her belief that all defendents would take part in the settlement and “the settlement was an admission of guilt on all of their parts.”
Although the Dhalla lawyers blacked out the dollar amount of compensation Tongson was to receive in their court filings, her new lawyer, Rafael Fabregas, has put the original agreement into the court file showing it to be $5,000. The settlement also sought to prevent Tongson from filing any future claims under the Employment Standards Act, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Canada Border Services Act or the Human Rights Code.
Tongson said the gag clause has prevented her from signing.
“This is not an attempt to get out of the settlement but rather my personal choice not to wish to have a gag order imposed on me when I have done nothing wrong,” Tongson says in her affidavit.
Tongson made headlines in May 2009 when she and two other nannies who worked at the Dhalla home accused Ruby Dhalla and her family of overworking and exploiting them. The three nannies, interviewed by the Star as part of a series on the exploitation of foreign workers, claimed they had worked long hours in the Dhalla home without being paid overtime, and had to do non-nanny chores such as washing cars, shining shoes, shovelling snow and cleaning the family’s chiropractic clinics.
None of the three caregivers had work permits for the Dhalla home as required of anyone hiring a foreign national under the federal live-in caregiver program. All three women are Phillipines natives.
The most explosive of the allegations levelled by Tongson was that Dhalla held her passport and other personal documents for several months while promising to sponsor her, and that she had to enlist the help of a social agency, Intercede, to get them back.
Ruby Dhalla has vehemently denied she had anything to do with the hiring or supervising the work done by the nannies, who she said were hired by her brother to look after her mother. Dhalla called the allegations “false and unsbstantiated” suggesting a political vendetta was behind the nannies’ claims.
In their statement of defence, the Dhallas say Tongson had fabricated most of the allegations for “the purpose of advancing her immigration claim and political motives.” They countersued Tongson seeking $20,000 for libel, wrongful resignation and impersonation but never pursued the suit.
Tongson repeated the allegations of abuse and overwork to a parliamentary committee which recommended federal and provincial authorities look into the alleged labour and immigration violations. No investigation was started.
“I think it’s all been swept under the carpet,” said New Democrat Olivia Chow, a member of the committee which recommended the investigation. “I’ll look into it.”
The motion, set to be heard April 4 in Brampton court, also asks that Tongson’s claim against the Dhallas be thrown out and costs be awarded to the family.
Howard Levitt, lawyer for the Dhallas, did not respond to an interview request.
BBC Radio: White People Talk About Converting To Islam.
Today in my class, a white queer male classmate talked about his decision to convert to Islam. It was interesting to learn more about Islam. My classmate said that he often gets stares when he goes to the Mosque to pray. Here is a BBC Radio interview about white people deciding to covert their religion to Islam.
Shocking News:Chris Brown Smashes Window After Closeted Black Dyke Robin Roberts Asked Him About Rihanna!!!
Today, Chris Brown was interviewed by Good Morning America host the closeted black lesbian Robin Roberts. During interview, Robin asked Chris Brown about the domestic violence assault case involving his ex girlfriend Rihanna. Chris Brown flipped out after the interview and smashed his dressing room window.
Good Morning America wants higher rating so they used Chris Brown and he fell for the bait.
It is unfortnate that Chris and his publicity department haven’t taught the kid that the media will always bring up the Rihanna incident.
Chris did not handle the situation very well at all! It is not acceptable for Chris Brown to break a window because a journalist asks him some tough questions. He needs to get more mature and learn to handle pressure situations. However, Robin Roberts is pathetic she is a a black woman and she knows how society wants to construct young black men as violent and deviant. I thought Robin stepped over the line attacking Chris and I have lost a lot of respect for her.
On live television a black woman attacked a black man. I believe Robin’s actions are disgraceful, she attacked Chris when he was simply trying to promote his new album.
Robin knows how young black men are stereotyped in society. Would Robin like it if Chris Brown
asked her if she is a dyke? I am asking a serious question. Since Robin Roberts decided to go on the offensive about Chris Brown maybe Chris should have asked Robin her sexuality?
The racist double standards of the white media are deleterious. Chris has to realize since he is a black male celebrity there are different standards for black and white male entertainers.
Mel Gibson and Charlie Sheen can beat women, smoke dope, use racial slurs, and still have A list careers.
First, Robin Roberts questions about Rihanna are tacky since the domestic violence incident was two years ago. Chris has paid his dues and he even passed a course to deal with his anger issues. Robin Roberts was tacky for picking on Chris!
After all, since Robin Roberts decided to get personal with Chris he should have asked her a very personal question about her sexual orientation. Everyone knows Robin Roberts is a closeted black lesbian yet she chooses to hide in the closet.
Since Robin Roberts doesn’t mind asking Chris Brown sensitive questions he should of inquired why she hides her lesbianism?
Black History Clip Of Gay Black Male Couples From The 19th Century & Early 20th Century.
Wow this video clip is just amazing to see black gay male couples from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in America!!
I believe it is very important for black gays and lesbians to reclaim our histories because due to heterosexism our histories tends to be erased.
The photos provide the photographic truth that black homosexuals existed in the past. Our stories are very important and deserve to be told. The photos range from the American Civil War to the mid twentieth century! The love, passion, romantic scenes, and tenderness between the black gay men in the photographs is just very special.
These black gay men were so courageous to live their lives openly in America during times of racial and sexual segregation. This is just a wonderful piece of black gay history.
NY Daily News Update: Alexandra Wallace The Racist UCLA Student Withdrawing From University After Receiving Death Threats.
Alexandra Wallace, UCLA student who created offensive viral video withdrawing from school
By Nina Mandell
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Saturday, March 19th 2011, 3:08 PM
Alexandra Wallace withdrew from UCLA after she made a racist video ranting against Asians.
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Alexandra Wallace, a UCLA student who created a video making fun of Asians, said she’ll leave the university after her family received death threats.
“I made a mistake. My mistake, however, has lead to the harassment of my family, the publishing of my personal information, death threats, and being ostracized from an entire community. Accordingly, for personal safety reasons, I have chosen to no longer attend classes at UCLA,” she wrote in a letter to the Daily Bruin, UCLA’s student newspaper.
The video, which surfaced earlier this month, went viral after the blonde junior posted it on YouTube. In it, she describes Asian students in the library and imitated one saying “Ohhh. Ching chong ling long ting tong.”
The junior political science major removed the video after it received more than a million views and apologized through the campus newspaper and Facebook.
“Clearly the original video posted by me was inappropriate,” she said in a statement to the student newspaper earlier this week. “I cannot explain what possessed me to approach the subject as I did, and if I could undo it, I would. I’d like to offer my apology to the entire UCLA campus. For those who cannot find it within them to accept my apology, I understand.”
But it was too late.
On Monday, the student newspaper reported she contacted police after she received numerous threats. And as news of the video continued to spread, the threats did as well. Her political science professor, Phil Gussin, told the Daily Bruin that he was working with her to make alternative plans to take her finals – because of the nature and volume of the threats.
“What Wallace did was hurtful and inexcusable, but the response has been far more egregious,” he told the paper. “She made a big mistake, and she knows it, but they responded with greater levels of intolerance.”
Her withdrawal from the school came a day after a school spokesperson said UCLA would not punish Wallace.
Associated Press Article: Gay American Tourists Robbed & Assaulted On Caribbean Island St. Lucia!!!
(AP) – 4 days ago
CASTRIES, St. Lucia (AP) — A robbery and assault on three gay American tourists at their vacation cottage has St. Lucia officials scrambling to assure visitors that the southern Caribbean island is safe and welcoming for homosexuals.
Tourism Minister Allen Chastanet issued an apology Monday to three men from Atlanta after masked bandits broke into their mountain rental home in Soufriere. One victim said the gunmen made slurs against gays, white people and Americans during the March 2 assault.
The tiny, tourism-dependent Caribbean country is typically peaceful and a safe place for all kinds of travelers, Chastanet said.
He said the attack was “unacceptable behavior and our destination will not tolerate it.”
Police announced Monday that they have arrested two suspects in the assault and are looking for three more.
This former British territory is not known as a risky place for gays, particularly compared with other, socially conservative Caribbean islands where many gays are not open about their sexuality.
Nonetheless, a victim who detailed his account of the robbery on Facebook said he believes the attack was “partly a gay bashing.”
Michael Baker said he and his companion, Nick Smith, were showering when they heard their friend Todd Wiggins scream in another part of the home. When Baker stepped out of the bathroom, he saw masked men beating Wiggins.
Baker said the armed bandits ultimately beat all three and tied them up.
“They began to tell us that they hated white people. They hated (gays),” Baker wrote. “They told us they had been watching us, and they hated us, and wanted us off the island. They said they would kill us if we did not leave.”
After the attackers left, the men freed themselves, hiked down the mountain and were helped by some tourists, Baker said.
Police said the robbers took about $1,800 in cash and some personal items. They said one of the men was treated for minor injuries at a hospital, and they all left St. Lucia soon after.
But in a Monday evening e-mail to The Associated Press, Baker said two laptops were stolen, a watch and several thousand dollars. He also said he and Wiggins were treated at a hospital for their wounds.
“I have suffered a concussion, and both Todd and I had several stitches at the St. Lucia hospital,” he said. “We have not been notified by any St. Lucian authorities about arrests made. Additionally, our items, to the best of our knowledge, have not been returned.”
Wiggins said he is frustrated with how the assault has been portrayed.
“I feel that the gay media rushed to declare this a hate crime and the St. Lucian police and government officials rushed to dismiss the possibility that any part of the incident was a hate crime,” he said in an e-mail.
Ultimately, Baker said he and his friends will struggle with memories of the assault.
“I don’t know the full motivation that drove these five men, but I do know that I can feel pity for them,” he said.
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Associated Press writer David McFadden in Kingston, Jamaica contributed to this report.
Gayblackcanada 