{"id":1475,"date":"2016-11-03T02:13:55","date_gmt":"2016-11-03T06:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=1475"},"modified":"2016-11-03T02:13:55","modified_gmt":"2016-11-03T06:13:55","slug":"monika-schaefer-asks-to-appear-as-a-delegation-at-jasper-town-council-to-appeal-being-banned-from-busking-for-her-political-views","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=1475","title":{"rendered":"Monika Schaefer Asks to Appear As A Delegation at Jasper Town Council to Appeal Being Banned from Busking for Her Political Views"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monika Schaefer Asks to Appear As A Delegation at Jasper Town Council to Appeal Being Banned from Busking for Her Political Views<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

ovember 2, 2016<\/p>\n

Mark Fercho<\/p>\n

Chief Administrative Officer, Jasper Alberta<\/p>\n

cc<\/b> to Mayor and Councillors, and the Habitat for the Arts staff<\/p>\n

bcc<\/b> list extensive<\/p>\n

Dear Mr Fercho,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To follow up after my appearance at yesterday’s council meeting, I am\u00a0requesting a space\u00a0on the agenda of a town council meeting in the near future. The purpose of my presentation will be to address the busking issue.<\/p>\n

I am confident that we will resolve this with a positive outcome, and I\u00a0look forward to letting people around the world know,\u00a0who\u00a0are watching closely. I fully expect to be playing my violin on the streets of Jasper come Spring 2017.<\/p>\n

Background<\/b><\/p>\n

It is hardly a secret that I have been denied a busking permit during the summer of 2016 for the alleged reason of my \u201cpublicly proclaimed non-inclusive beliefs\u201d. TheJasper Community\u00a0Habitat for the Arts<\/b> was given the authority to sell busking licenses on behalf of the town, and Habitat\u00a0employee\u00a0David Baker denied me the license.\u00a0During the summer I tried unsuccessfully to have a meeting with David Baker to discuss the matter. On August 16th<\/span><\/span> Prof Anthony Hall was informed by staff in the administrative office that\u00a0it was Marianne Garrah who was responsible. Both Dave Baker and Marianne Garrah are on copy of this email.<\/p>\n

My appearance at the council meeting on November 1st was unscheduled. Thank you, Mayor Ireland, for giving me a moment to speak.\u00a0 I politely stopped talking when Councillor Wall intervened after about 2 minutes,\u00a0and\u00a0said I was out of order because I was not on the agenda. I would like to point out, however, that many rules and conventions have been broken all summer long in prohibiting me, a long-time and upstanding citizen of Jasper, from busking. I feel that I would not have been out of line had I insisted on another 5 minutes of Council’s time thereby slightly bending “the rules”.<\/p>\n

Everyone knows the story, and there has been a stunning and shameful\u00a0silence from Council on this matter. It is high time that we have a frank discussion of what exactly went down in Jasper Alberta\u00a0Canada in the summer of 2016 with regards to freedom of expression and inclusiveness (NOT!) of someone\u00a0that has a “politically incorrect” view of history.<\/p>\n

Broken Rules<\/b><\/p>\n

What might I be referring to when I suggest that many rules and conventions have been broken? Since we are in a National Park\u00a0in a World Heritage Site, let us start big.<\/p>\n

Article 19<\/b> of the United\u00a0Nations Declaration on Universal Human Rights<\/b> (UNDUHR):<\/p>\n

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”<\/p>\n

Let us continue with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms <\/b>section 2, which ensures freedom of thought and expression:<\/p>\n

“2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:<\/p>\n

(a) freedom of conscience and religion;<\/span><\/p>\n

(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;<\/span><\/p>\n

(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and<\/span><\/p>\n

(d) freedom of association.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Now let us look at some of the statements in the Habitat’s own Values and Principles<\/i> statement, which had been forwarded to me along with the curt email denying me a licence, as if to say that I contravened their values and principles.<\/p>\n

“…We believe that learning never stops<\/p>\n

… We embrace new challenges and ideas…<\/p>\n

We help each other grow through knowledge exchange and support.<\/p>\n

We respect diversity…”<\/p>\n

With respect, I say that it is the Habitat staff themselves who seriously breached their own Values and Principles<\/i>.<\/p>\n

The Situation with\u00a0Monika Schaefer and Busking in Jasper<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"MonikaSchaeferTruth<\/a><\/p>\n

I am a peaceful and\u00a0innocent person. It is as simple as that.\u00a0I have not been charged or found guilty of any crime. Where is the accountability of the licencing agency passing judgement on who should\u00a0or should not\u00a0receive a licence, based on what? Whatever happened to the notion of “innocent until proven guilty”? The Habitat and town treatment of me\u00a0in\u00a0Jasper is more akin to a witch-hunt.<\/p>\n

This denial of busking permit was not the only shutting-out of me since June 2016. Canada Day gig was\u00a0cancelled, and\u00a0Parks Canada prohibited me from playing at their music nights, all due to protests being threatened. Don’t we have a\u00a0police force to keep the peace? I am banned from the Legion of all places – haven’t we been told that\u00a0the veterans fought for freedoms, including freedom of speech?\u00a0Public declarations were made by at least one prominent individual that Monika Schaefer is not welcome in Jasper. Does that kind of public declaration not pose a potential\u00a0danger to me?\u00a0What shameful behaviour in a country that boasts freedom of speech!<\/p>\n

More to the point of this letter, what exactly do\u00a0my political and historical views have to do\u00a0with playing music in the streets? NOTHING!<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Should the busking permit not be more appropriately based on performing ability? I have proven myself many times over in that capacity, judging by all the requests to play my violin\u00a0at fundraisers over the years and decades in Jasper.<\/p>\n

I obviously broke a sacred taboo. Never question the singular event known as \u201cThe Holocaust\u201d. Even if<\/b> the official historiography has changed many times over the decades, and even if<\/b> the so-called holocaust historians themselves have admitted many lies, for example the soap, shrunken heads and lampshades, even if, if, if…<\/b>,\u00a0one may not question anything about this event! This makes it a religious dogma. Take note of\u00a02(a) of the Canadian Charter above, freedom of conscience and religion. Take note of 2(b), freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.<\/p>\n

Interventions<\/b><\/p>\n

The following url leads you\u00a0to one person\u2019s\u00a0intervention on my behalf.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/freespeechmonika.wordpress.com\/2016\/08\/23\/tony-halls-interventions-on-the-denial-of-busking-permit-to-monika-schaefer\/#more-230<\/a><\/p>\n

I know that there were many letters by others\u00a0as well. Some of those were copied to town council, some were only sent to Dave Baker. Some were copied to me, and some were not. Many were supportive of me, and undoubtedly some were not. Yet others may have posed as being supportive, but were in fact undermining me by throwing in\u00a0some kind of poison pill such as profanity or insults. That is a strategy that is used by agents or trolls\u00a0who do not support the cause. I have learnt many things in the last few months about how these things work.<\/p>\n

Who knows if Dave Baker gathered and\u00a0compiled the letters of intervention or not? Those which were not copied to others could easily have been dismissed\u00a0and ended up in the trash. We have no idea of accountability.\u00a0Nevertheless, I am quite sure that you are aware that many people from far and wide wrote in support of me, and are watching what happens in this little \u201cGingerbread Town\u201d of Jasper. Yes, we\u00a0live in a nice little fairy\u00a0tale town. Folks don\u2019t like anybody to rock the boat, as they might get wet.<\/p>\n

Busking Pilot Project\u00a0Trial<\/b><\/p>\n

Sometime between August 16th and 19th<\/span><\/span>, you\u00a0responded to Anthony Hall\u2019s third letter of intervention on my behalf. It was a short letter which did not specifically address any of the issues that Anthony Hall raised, nor is my name mentioned. Here is the contents of the letter as a reminder, and for the councillors to review.<\/p>\n

Dear Anthony James,<\/i><\/p>\n

Thank you for your email, your detailed comments about the busking pilot project are appreciated.<\/i><\/p>\n

The 2016 Busking Pilot Project<\/b> is intended to trial busking in Jasper and gain community feedback, this is the second summer that busking has been tested in the Municipality of Jasper. The 2016 summer busking pilot project was set for three locations in town and will end soon with the coming of fall.<\/i><\/p>\n

Upon completion of the 2016 busking pilot project we will survey the community with specific questions about the busking pilot project. The survey results will be combined with feedback such as yours received through the summer about the challenges, successes and issues experienced during the trial run of busking in Jasper. The results will then be presented to Mayor and Council for direction.<\/i><\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/i><\/p>\n

Mark Fercho<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Chief Administrative Officer
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

Municipality of Jasper<\/i><\/p>\n

I wonder what kind of questions you are\u00a0seeking answers for when you solicit\u00a0feedback. Are you asking for the musician\u2019s ideas on politics or history? Or might you be asking more relevant questions such as those suggested in Anthony Hall\u2019s letter of August 19<\/span><\/span>,\u00a02016:<\/p>\n

1.<\/b> Did the residents enjoy the presence of music in the streets?<\/i><\/p>\n

2.<\/b> Did the visitors enjoy this new cultural feature in the Jasper town centre?<\/i><\/p>\n

3.<\/b> How did the buskers themselves feel about the venues presented to them, including the three fixed busking locations?<\/i><\/p>\n

4.<\/b> Were businesses adversely affected, or did they profit from an increase in customer traffic in the town centre?<\/i><\/p>\n

5.<\/i><\/b> Did regulated busking contribute to keeping visitors in town longer, adding to Jasper\u2019s financial activity?<\/i><\/p>\n

When is this survey to take place? Who is designing the survey? Or is it simply a compilation of feedback already garnered? Who is being targeted for questioning? Who is it\u00a0accountable to? Will it be public and\u00a0transparent?<\/p>\n

Request to Speak<\/b><\/p>\n

I am asking for an opportunity to address council, in a regular council meeting. It is my request as a 35-year long resident of\u00a0Jasper\u00a0no less, to speak to these issues, and have it be put\u00a0on the public record.<\/p>\n

thank you,<\/p>\n

Monika Schaefer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monika Schaefer Asks to Appear As A Delegation at Jasper Town Council to Appeal Being Banned from Busking for Her Political Views   ovember 2, 2016 Mark Fercho Chief Administrative Officer, Jasper Alberta cc to Mayor and Councillors, and the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[696,596,749,778],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1475"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1475"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1476,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1475\/revisions\/1476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}