Canada Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau held a “Ladies Night” fundraiser on Nov. 7 in Toronto in which he invited women “to (really) get to know the future prime minister,” during a Q&A focusing on women’s issues. Conservative and NDP MPs complained it was sexist and sexually suggestive, but American feminist icon Gloria Steinem defended Trudeau’s pitch: “If the problem is that [...]
When the Magi set out on their journey to Bethlehem, their maps marked the borders of a large empire which ruled a world of small gods. The times were full of hunger and blood; slavery and tyranny were not exceptions but the rule; and the lot of human life, in general, was a brevity which could be extended and a misery which [...]
In the days before we went to press, two major abortion-related stories broke in the press. MP Stephen Woodworth (CPC, Kitchener Center) introduced a motion that may affect life issues as it focuses on “legal recognition of the equal worth and dignity of every human being.” In another breaking story, the Canadian Press reported that minutes obtained under the Access to Information [...]
Three recent books about Canadian politics go a long way to explain why our politics is the way it is as they highlight the role of marketing and messaging in campaigns and governing. They raise important issues about authenticity and principles in Canadian politics, providing sometimes contradictory lessons. Michael Ignatieff’s political memoir Fire and Ashes: Success and Failure in Politics (Random House, [...]
In my new book The Future of Catholicism (Signal Books/Random House) I devote the longest chapter to the issue of same-sex marriage, and other chapters to abortion, euthanasia, and contraception. But, some critics have argued, why spend so much time on these issues when the book is about the future of the Catholic Church? Simple. Because this is precisely the future of [...]
Steve De Jong has erected a sign on his British Columbia that reads “Every year in Canada, approx. 50 babies are aborted still living and left to die.” The sign highlights the scandal of children who survive abortions but are denied medical care and die. He told The Interim in an email interview that the editor removed a reference about aborted babies [...]
Editor’s note: Bill Whatcott interviewed Mary Wagner and Linda Gibbons in August when both were still incarcerated at the Vanier Centre for Women. Gibbons has since been released but Wagner remains behind bars. When I drove into the Vanier Centre for Women in Milton to interview pro-life prisoners Linda Gibbons and Mary Wagner, I was struck by the contrast between the [...]
The Ontario government has released the results of reports completed more than a year ago showing that the impact of its $1.5 billion per year full-day kindergarten program is mixed. Whatever benefits children gain are likely to fade as they get older. In 2010, Ontario’s Liberal government began rolling out a program for full-day kindergarten in the province, a plan that will [...]
A national pro-life club for homeschoolers has been started by two homeschooled students in affiliation with Student Life Link and Toronto Right to Life. The co-founders are Alexandra Jezierski, organizer of the Letters4Life campaign in support of Motion 312 and 2013 summer student at The Interim, as well as Sarah Blake, a youth board member of Toronto Right to Life. The Homeschool [...]
Ah, Christmas! It’s a wonderful time of the year. Many families will be trimming their trees, wrapping presents, putting up wreaths and boughs of holly, and stringing colourful lights. The old caroling books will be dusted off, eggnog will be consumed, and the unenviable task of last-minute shopping will be suffered by a few well-meaning souls. I’ll be doing many of these [...]
13. Supreme Court hears challenge to Canada’s prostitution law In June, the Supreme Court of Canada heard arguments for and against Canada’s prostitution law, which was challenged by Terri-Jean Bedford, Valerie Scott, and Amy Lebovitch. In 2010, the Criminal Code ban on brothels, pimping, and communication to buy sex was struck down by the Ontario Superior Court and in 2012, a 3-2 [...]
Light is Right Joe Campbell Flyers are masochists. There’s something about being stranded in crowded airports waiting to board overbooked planes that excites them. There’s something about being scanned and probed and having their luggage exposed that thrills them. There’s something about being herded into a fuselage and squeezed into one-size-fits-all seats that challenges them. Flyers enjoy cruising at thirty [...]
The cover of a recent New York magazine promised so much – far more than I knew it would deliver, but I couldn’t resist. “There are over a million terminated pregnancies in American every year,” it read, under the headline “My Abortion,” “yet few women will ever talk about their experience.” Living in a country where actually talking about abortion is discouraged [...]
Hassan Rasouli In a ruling of vital national significance, the Supreme Court of Canada has held in the Rasouli case that the Ontario Health Care Consent Act (HCCA) prohibits a physician from unilaterally terminating life-support for a patient who is incapable of consenting to medical treatment. While this case dealt specifically with Ontario, physicians in other provinces should beware that the Court [...]
How Duck Dynasty became a television and cultural sensation After years of celebrating little-watched cable television shows like The Sopranos (about the mafia and laced with profanity) and Breaking Bad (about a drug dealer and laced with profanity), the North American entertainment media took notice of the ratings success of Duck Dynasty, which attracts millions more viewers. In the February 2013 season [...]