Foster gets her say at City Council

Acting Mayor Susan Myers tonight permitted a local Falun Dafa practitioner to mention alleged human rights abuses in China.

In a brief presentation (three minutes and 30 seconds) to Sault Ste. Marie City Council, Kerry Foster talked about her experiences with the spiritual movement.

Around this time last year, Mayor John Rowswell cut off another Falun Dafa practitioner, Sue Kinnaird, when she attempted to raise human rights concerns at a City Council meeting.

That was around the time that planning was just getting underway for Rowswell's China trip.

Rowswell's scheduled return from China was delayed and he didn't arrive back in the Sault until early this morning.

He didn't make it to tonight's council meeting and Acting Mayor Myers allowed the Falun Dafa representative more leeway than Rowswell had previously done.

"Falun Dafa is good," Foster said. "Falun Dafa is an ancient cultivation practice that incorporates gentle exercises and meditation for the development of moral character."

Foster said practitioners feel a need to bring Falun Dafa to the public because they believe this is a special time in the history of mankind wherein every living human being can be offered the opportunity to truly live by the principles of truth, benevolence and tolerance.

With no interruption from Myers, Foster went on to say that a genocide of Falun Dafa practitioners is taking place in China right now.

Foster also claimed that China's Communist Party intends to have every one of the country's 100 million Falun Dafa followers eliminated before the 2008 Olympics.

"This is urgent and requires the attention of every human being," said Foster. "We all need to make ethical choices, not just in our personal lives, but in our public lives, in our communities, in our businesses and in our politics."

Foster said that what we do defines who we are and who we are defines us for eternity.

At that point, Myers asked Foster to stick to the proclamation.

Foster assured her she had only one sentence left and Myers nodded her consent to continue.

"You don't really know the character of a man until something rubs up against it," said Foster. "Every crisis is an opportunity for us to do what is right and this is what Falun Dafa teaches us. Falun Dafa is good."

Acting Mayor Myers then proclaimed Sunday, May 13 as Falun Dafa Day in Sault Ste. Marie and extended greetings to all Falun Dafa practitioners in Sault Ste. Marie and worldwide.

Foster told SooToday.com that the group will be holding open exercises in Bellevue Park to mark the occasion.

Earlier SooToday.com coverage of this story

Will Rowswell cut off Kerry Foster's microphone tonight?