"Mr. Miguel, please report to the office....immediately"

How would you feel if you knew one of your child's teachers was a convicted murderer?
That's what some Quebec parents are facing these days.

After a heated argument with his wife, a man from Montreal suffered a psychotic break and killed her in their home. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and served seven years in prison, regaining his freedom in 1998. He was hired to teach at a trade school in Montreal, stating on his application that he had never been convicted of a criminal offence. His criminal record was discovered in 2004 and he was terminated by his employer, but he has since been rehired....his union challenged the dismissal, saying that under the Quebec charter of rights, he cannot be fired for a crime not related to his job.

A spokesperson for the Quebec Human Rights Commission has stated, "If you're a convicted pedophile, you can't get a job in a daycare. If you're an arsonist, you can't get a job as a fireman. But if the crime is not related to the job, you can't be discriminated against."

So I guess if he had the qualifications, he could work at my son's elementary school. Or at your daughter's daycare. After all, he kills grown ups, not children, so it's not at all related in any way. And he doesn't pose a threat anymore because he served his time in prison. It's a well known fact that criminals aren't repeat offenders, so we can rest assured we're all safe. He has paid his debt to society, since intentionally taking a human life is deemed forgivable after seven years of free meals and limited television priviledges. And he has a right to earn a living, don't forget, in any work environment not related to his crime. So ruling out slaughterhouses and the snuff film industry, he can work just about anywhere. Geez, give the guy a break! He has rights you know. Many more than his wife...who's dead...because he killed her....anyway, I digress.

What would the world be without human rights? They serve us well at times, but at other times, they defeat the purpose for which they were intended. This is another case of the rights of victims and potential victims are coming second to the rights of criminals.

I don't believe in the death penalty (I see it as too humane, a quick exit from a long and miserable existance), but I do believe that a person who intentionally takes a human life should be forced to live out the rest of THEIR life being punished for their crime. Prison systems these days are a joke (I can tell you with experience having worked in one), and sentencing has become so hollow, political, and lenient, that there is no deterrent. To make matters worse, cases like these prove that, no matter what the crime, your rights as a criminal will be protected moreso than the rights of the innocent people around you....all in the name of Human Rights - which translates into "good politics". How sad.

For anyone who may be opposed to my point of view, and who may think that this man indeed does deserve to earn a living, I have two things to say: one, you wouldn't be so morally high-falutin' if this guy was your son's Grade One teacher. And two, he gave up all the rights of common people when he killed his wife.

Makes you want to think twice about the people around us. Unless we know them well, do we really know them at all?