After the short-lived but excitable volleys between the House of Commons and the Senate, our parliamentarians voted in both houses to enact a fairly broad license for what is euphemistically being called medical aid in dying (MAID). The ink was barely dry before some of the more radical members of the Liberal caucus and senate contingent were calling for the law to [...]
Light is Right Joe Campbell I grew up under the protection of the Hicklin rule. That’s the test for obscenity that England’s Lord Chief Justice Sir Alexander Cockburn formulated in 1868. I don’t mean that I grew up in 1868. I mean, rather, that I safely completed my formative years before Canada abandoned the rule. Chief Justice Cockburn defined published [...]
Whit Stillman, New York City August 1990. My youngest daughter is fond of asking unanswerable questions like “what’s your favorite food?” or “who’s your favorite band?” I usually answer that I’m too old to have favorite anythings anymore, but she hasn’t asked me “who’s your favorite living movie director?” yet, and that would be easy to answer: Whit Stillman. Stillman [...]
From battling pro-life club bans on campus to provincial bubble zones, pro-lifers fight for free speech rights It should not be a surprise to anyone that pro-lifers have been experiencing censorship for decades, but it certainly seems like now, more than ever before, school administrations, city and provincial governments, pro-abortion groups, and even the general public, have ramped up their efforts to [...]
An artist's depiction of the 18 individuals named in the 1993 NDP action against Ontario pro-lifers. Editor’s Note: Silencing pro-lifers is nothing new. The December 1993 Interim reported on the Ontario government of NDP Premier Bob Rae attempt to silence pro-life protesters. The Ontario government wants to make it illegal to peacefully protest abortion or to counsel women in selected [...]
Ileen Kennedy Toronto pro-life activist Ileen Kennedy, wife of long-time Interim columnist Frank Kennedy, passed away peacefully of respiratory problems at the age of 87 at the Cardinal Ambrozic Houses of Providence in Toronto on July 7. From the mid-1980s until about five years ago, the Kennedys were fixtures at any event Campaign Life Coalition held in the Toronto area [...]
Newfoundland Pro-lifes In late June, lawyers for three Newfoundland pro-lifers and the Athena Health Center abortion mill in St. John’s, agreed to the creation of a 40-meter bubble zone around which there will be no protests. Rolanda Ryan, owner of the Athena Health Centre – the abortion facility at the site of what was once Henry Morgentaler’s first Atlantic Canada [...]
Alex Schadenberg Alex Schadenbeg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, was presented the Archbishop Adam Exner Award for Catholic Excellence in Public Life at the Catholic Civil Rights League’s annual dinner in Toronto June 2. Schadenberg thanked his mother Mary van Veen and his deceased father Harry for “instilling pro-life beliefs and values” in him, saying that “Mary van [...]
Paul Tuns When working with our summer students, one of the first lessons is to get them out of the habit of using personal pronouns. No one cares about you, they are instructed, just write about the topic. But as editor, there are privileges, so please allow me a personal essay as this summer I mark two important anniversaries. On [...]
Jason Kenney, a former federal immigration and defense minister, was once thought to be the front-runner to replace Stephen Harper as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, but since the Tories lost power last October, there have been rumours that Kenney would eschew the federal leadership in favour of uniting the right in Alberta or even leave politics altogether. In recent [...]
Andrea Mrozek of Cardus Family says Canadians acknowledge that family is important. On June 1, Cardus Family released a report that explores the gap between Canadians’ realities and their expectations for children and child care, family life, the role of marriage, and caring for the elderly. Andrea Mrozek, program director of Cardus Family, told The Interim the survey as a [...]
The House of Commons passed C-14, the government’s “Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying),” on May 31, a day after defeating ten amendments limiting the scope of euthanasia and assisted-suicide, and a week before the Supreme Court’s deadline to pass a law, after which the practices would be permitted and [...]
On June 29, the Ontario Court of Appeal allowed the Ontario legal profession to exclude graduates from Trinity Western University’s proposed law school. TWU, a British Columbia Christian university, said it will appeal the decision. The Law Society of Upper Canada said it would not permit graduates of TWU’s law school, which is not operational, because the private universities Community Covenant requires [...]
Pro-life MP Brad Trost (Saskatoon-University) told LifeSiteNews that he is “strongly exploring” running for the Conservative leadership. The five-term MP is ascertaining his ability to “put together a professional campaign” before committing, signaling that he is running to win and not merely raise his profile or raise certain issues. Trost was first mentioned as a possible successor to Stephen Harper after the [...]
Light is Right Joe Campbell He told me that we shouldn’t discuss politics because I’m on the right and he’s on the left. “I don’t enjoy talking with someone who’s on the wrong side of history,” he explained. “The wrong side?” I declared, taken aback. “You just acknowledged that I’m on the right.” “I’m on the right,” he replied, “because [...]