I, Ashu M. G. Solo, filed the following:

1. Civil rights case against the City of Saskatoon (Mayor's Office) and Councillor Randy Donauer for prayer recitations at government organized events

2. Code of Conduct complaint against Mayor Don Atchison for potential online campaign advertising violations

3. Civil rights case against the City of Saskatoon (Saskatoon Transit Services) for promoting holidays from only one religion on city buses

4. Human rights complaint against the City of Saskatoon (Executive Committee) for retaliating against me by not reappointing me to the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee and not appointing me to another civic committee or board

5. Human rights complaint against the City of Saskatoon (City Solicitor’s Office) for retaliating against me by trying to deprive me of my right to directly communicate with members of City Council and by telling employees of other City of Saskatoon departments to not talk to me

6. Human rights complaint against the City of Saskatoon (Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Office) and City of Saskatoon (Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee of Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee) for retaliating against me by not considering my submissions to the Living in Harmony Contest

This site contains my media releases, some case documents, emails to City Council, etc.

I don't waste my time arguing with opponents.

The backlash makes me much more determined to fight against bigotry and shows the need for these civil rights cases, so I'll be filing more civil rights cases. You ain't seen nothing yet.

Monday, December 31, 2012

City of Saskatoon Wasting Taxpayer Money on Tote Bags


From: Ashu M. G. Solo [mailto:amgsolo@mavericktechnologies.us]
Sent: Monday, December 31, 2012 11:27 PM
Subject: City of Saskatoon Wasting Taxpayer Money on Tote Bags

Dear City of Saskatoon Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee:

As you know, the City of Saskatoon Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee has spent $500 of taxpayer money on souvenir tote bags and the City of Saskatoon Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Office has spent $490 of taxpayer money on souvenir tote bags in 2012.  I understand that this money is spent every year on souvenir tote bags for distribution at various civic events related to cultural diversity.  I voted against the committee’s expenditure on the tote bags.  Although this might not seem like a large expenditure for the City of Saskatoon, all of these minor expenditures add up.  The city should not be in the business of wasting taxpayer money on souvenir tote bags for people.  Taxpayer money doesn’t grow on trees.  The City of Saskatoon seems to think that it does.  I’m fed up with government waste.  How many parking tickets need to be given out every year so souvenir tote bags can be freely distributed every year?  Over 50. 

The stated purpose of this $990 expenditure on tote bags was to promote the committee.  Tote bags are an expensive way to promote the committee and do not promote the committee.  They’re going to end up in people’s closets or drawers and they will likely never use them again.  They aren’t considered “cool” to use.  If you want to give something out to promote the committee, I suggest that you give out photocopied handouts on the committee for about five cents per handout.  I suggested this before.  The handouts can include pictures of the winning painting from the Living in Harmony contest.  Handing out free souvenir tote bags doesn’t make the people of Saskatoon more respectful of cultural and racial diversity.  It’s ridiculous to think that it does. 

The Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee does not need to promote itself anymore.  This email message is to tell you that the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee has received massive media attention during the past year because of a civil rights complaint that I made against Mayor Don Atchison, Councillor Randy Donauer, and the City of Saskatoon, because of a Code of Conduct complaint that I made against Atchison, and because of a civil rights complaint that I made against Saskatoon Transit and the City of Saskatoon.  Much of the media coverage of my complaints mentioned that I was a representative on the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee.  I made it clear that I’m not speaking as part of my work on the committee because the committee focuses on education and awareness, not advocacy.  You can see more information on these complaints at http://atchison-discrimination.blogspot.ca  

You can see many of the media mentions of the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee by doing a Google search on “Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee” + “Ashu Solo”  This Google search can be seen below:


You can also see many more of the media mentions of the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee by doing a Google search on “Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee” + “Ashu M. G. Solo”  This Google search can be seen below:


As you can see, there are over 6100 hits on “Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee” + “Ashu Solo” and “Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee” + “Ashu M. G. Solo” during the past year.  Furthermore, much of the radio and T.V. media coverage of my complaints mentioned that I was a representative on the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee.  This radio and T.V. media coverage is not included in the over 6100 hits above.  A single mention on T.V., radio, or a news article that I was on the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee does infinitely more to promote the existence of the committee than all of the tote bags that you could ever hand out for free.

The committee does not need more promotion through wasting taxpayer money on tote bags.  Also, the committee does not need more promotion through having ads in University of Saskatchewan student handbooks.  Tote bags and student handbook ads will have an extremely minimal impact in promoting the committee in comparison to the promotion of the committee through the massive media coverage on my complaints.  Taxpayer money should be carefully spent, not wasted like it grows on trees.

Furthermore, the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee retreat should be held at a location that doesn’t cost any extra taxpayer money like City Hall instead of at an extravagant expensive location.  I haven’t been to a retreat, but I don’t see anything wrong with the conference room that we used for meetings.  I understand the retreat is only four hours long.  The committee shouldn’t waste taxpayer money on extravagant expenditures like City Council has been doing because the City of Saskatoon is now really short of revenues and City Council just increased property taxes by 5% and is considering parking meter fees after 6:00 PM and bridge tolls. 

I don’t like that my taxpayer money goes toward these wasteful expenditures and I feel bound my conscience to speak against this in this email message.  Some people might not like this, but I don’t care.  I’m not trying to win a popularity contest or I wouldn’t have made the complaints that I did.  This is my last email message to the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee.  Please forward this email message to newly appointed members of the committee whose email addresses I don’t have. 

I am blind copying this email message to City Council and the media, so that they know about this waste of taxpayer money and can monitor if it happens in the future.  The Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Office coordinator knows more about the tote bags.  If the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee or Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Office wastes money on souvenir tote bags again, I’ll write my own article for the media on this waste of taxpayer money.

Best regards,

Ashu M. G. Solo