A Canadian Press story inadvertently proved a recent Leger Marketing poll about media practices correct. The story, which appeared in the May 6 Toronto Star, began, "Canada may have the reputation of being somewhat bland, but a new poll suggests many Canadians think their media are sensationalist and biased." How ironic is it that a news report about a poll on the [...]
The 20th anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was cause for much liberal self-congratulation. The federal government announced it would spend $1.5 million in pro-Charter propaganda and Jean Chretien praised the document, calling it "the most profoundly democratic declaration in our history." What was curious about Chretien's self-congratulatory remark (as Trudeau's Justice Minister he was one of the framers of [...]
Liberal MP Paul Szabo (Mississauga South), an outspoken and active pro-life parliamentarian, has written a book on The Ethics and Science of Stem Cells. Szabo told The Interim he wrote the book "To promote discussion among parliamentarians and the public about this very important and timely topic." It was distributed to all MPs and senators and is available to anyone who requests [...]
With the announcement by Stephen Harper on national television that he is "moderately pro-life," it seems that each of the four contenders for the leadership of the Canadian Alliance supports a pro-life position, at least to some degree. As LifeSite has reported: "While former leader Stockwell Day and Dr. Grant Hill were clear on their pro-life stands from the beginning of the [...]
Pro-life and religious groups and opposition parties generally praised the House of Commons Health Committee's recommendations on reproductive and experimental technologies, but condemned its support for the destruction of human embryos for research purposes. The committee, while opposed to the creation of embryos for the purpose of research, would permit licensed researchers to use so-called surplus embryos from fertility treatment (in vitro [...]
Responding to public pressure organized by supporters of Robert Latimer to have the federal government grant a royal prerogative of mercy negating his mandatory 10-year sentence for the murder of his daughter Tracy, a Nova Scotia MP presented a private member's bill opposing the granting of leniency to killers of people with disabilities. Wendy Lill (NDP, Dartmouth) presented Bill M-372 on Oct. [...]
In an Oct. 2 ruling, the British Columbia Supreme Court upheld marriage as the union between a man and a woman, thus barring homosexual unions from the institution. Justice Ian Pitfield stated in his decision that the common law definition of marriage, which is the union between a man and a woman only, cannot be extended to include same-sex relationships. Janet Epp [...]
This past summer, the French high court ruled in favour of a family of a severely disabled French teen in a lawsuit against medical authorities that in effect says the child ought never have been born. The decision in this "wrongful birth" lawsuit implicitly accepts that Nicholas Perruche, who has heart problems and is deaf, dumb, partly blind, and mentally disabled, should [...]
A conversation between U.S. Christian leaders Pat Robertson and Rev. Jerry Falwell on the 700 Club Sept.14 provoked strong media reaction. Both Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition, and Falwell, a Baptist minister and chancellor of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., said that God had lifted his hand of protection from the country and that Americans must repent. Robertson listed insults to [...]
During the Sept. 14 National Day of Mourning, Prime Minister Jean Chretien said, "Words fail us." Especially one word - God. It was a word that was not uttered during the official ceremonies on Parliament Hill. Many Canadians of faith were appalled by government services that failed to mention anything greater than or outside ourselves, reminiscent of other public ceremonies that expunged [...]
A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by Mary Ann Glendon (Random House, $38.95, 333 pages) Mary Ann Glendon, a professor of law at Harvard, leader of the Holy See's delegation to the Beijing Women's Conference and usually one of the clearest thinkers on the issue of human rights, has penned a fascinating but ultimately disappointing [...]
The author of legislation that legalized abortion in Canada will be the chair of the annual Toronto Cardinal's Dinner on Oct. 18. Former Prime Minister John Turner, as Pierre Trudeau's Justice Minister, wrote and guided through the House of Commons the Omnibus Bill that led to the legalization of abortion and homosexuality in 1969. Catholic pro-lifers are scandalized that for the second [...]
The Educated Child: A Parent's Guide from Preschool Through Eighth Grade by William J. Bennett, Chester E. Finn Jr., and John T.E. Cribb Jr. (Free Press, $44.50 hc, pb, 666 pages)The Educated Child, written by a former US Education Secretary (Bill Bennett), a professor of education (Chester Finn) and a former education department bureaucrat (John Cribb), was published two years ago but [...]
American Catholic pro-lifers have set in motion a legal appeal to Pope John Paul II with the hope of excommunicating pro-abortion politicians. "A Canonical Petition to Excommunicate Culture of Death 'Catholics'" was originated by Timothy A. Chichester, executive director of Yankee Samizsdat. Other plaintiffs include Judie Brown, president of American Life League; Stephen Brady, president of Roman Catholic Faithful; Christopher A. Ferrara, [...]
B.C. law bans prayer, handing out roses On June 25, two British Columbia pro-lifers who were witnessing peacefully outside a Vancouver abortuary were arrested. Mary Wagner and Glenn Reed were arrested outside Everywoman's abortion mill where they were praying and holding roses that they give to incoming abortion clients. Campaign Life Coalition B.C. President John Hof told The Interim that although Wagner [...]