Pro-family forces are generally pleased with the recent Robin Sharpe (or kiddie porn) ruling issued by the Supreme Court of Canada. The court upheld most of the law. Where concerns exist is over the two exceptions provided by the court (in a 6-3 split decision). The concern varies, however, depending on who you speak to. The exceptions are for "any written material [...]
With two official leadership races in this country underway in this country right now - the Canadian Alliance federally, the Progressive Conservatives in Ontario - our minds are focussed on the role of pro-life Canadians in politics. Many of us (too many of us) limit our involvement in politics to the voting booth, if that much. On one hand, it is understandable [...]
The federal government released Canada's 1998 abortion stats in December 2000, figures which show a small decline form the previous year in the number of unborn children killed in this country. Quebec, Nova Scotia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Yukon, however, showed a year-over-year increase in abortions. Pro-lifers are always glad when governments release abortion statistics because of the ammunition it provides against [...]
By Paul Tuns The Interim The head of the political arm of Canada's pro-life movement took a better-late-than-never approach to the prominence some religious leaders gave to abortion as an election issue for Christians to consider as they cast their votes on November 27. Campaign Life Coalition national president Jim Hughes told The Interim he would have preferred a generally stronger and earlier [...]
Editorial The Interim, Nov. 2000 The basic principle of pro-life voting is the following: being pro-abortion (or "pro-choice") disqualifies a person for public office. This includes those who claim to be "personally opposed" to abortion, but are unwilling to do anything to stop it. The right to life is the fundamental human right, on which every other right depends. It follows that [...]
In the days following the death of Pierre Trudeau, a memorial Mass for the former prime minister was held at the Roman Catholic cathedral in a major Canadian city. A young woman, known to us here at The Interim, attended the Mass to pray for Trudeau, and to try to come to terms with his legacy from the perspective of her faith. [...]
Pro-lifers who've been at it for any length of time have experienced many frustrations. One of the most peculiar is the tendency of so many otherwise pro-life Canadians to vote Liberal, even when the Liberal candidate in their riding is pro-abortion. Experienced pro-life leaders say that Catholics are especially loyal to the party, even though the party hasn't been very loyal to [...]
Espousing radically conservative views on abortion, capital punishment and same-sex unions in a largely liberal country is not the route to 24 Sussex Drive," wrote Robert Lewis, editor of Maclean's magazine recently. Mr. Lewis was responding to protests that the magazine's July 10 cover headline "How scary?" beside a photo of newly-elected Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day, was a bit over the top. [...]
This month's editorial cartoon is about scratching the surface - of this newspaper. Recently we've received a handful of letters from readers who feel that The Interim is hateful toward people who are homosexual. The gravity of the charge, and the apparent sincerity of those who have written, merits a response. Even a casual reader will no doubt be aware that we strongly [...]
By Paul Tuns The Interim British Columbia MP Svend Robinson confronted pro-life activist Father Tony Van Hee on Parliament Hill in December, in what many observers feel is an assault on religion and free speech. On Dec. 7, the gay NDPer, who last year introduced a petition that sought to remove references to God from the Constitution, grabbed the Jesuit priest's pro-family [...]
Often today we hear people say that some idea or movement is "prophetic," or that "So-and-so is a real prophet." In the case of a person, what's meant is that he's a "radical"; that is, that he stands up to the powers-that-be, and challenges the status quo. Our culture idolizes "prophets" and "prophetic" movements. Our heroes are "radicals," and our history is [...]
Being in the business of reporting on abortion, by far the most heated battle of the culture wars, we at The Interim like to think that nothing can surprise us. Time and again, we've seen how abortion is unlike any other issue in our society, and that when it comes to abortion, the normal rules of fair play don't apply. Every once in [...]
The impending doom that underlied the news stories when the world's population reached six billion earlier this year is unfounded, and worse, a sign of the devaluation of human life. There is little reason to believe that the earth becomes a worse place to live with each new person. However, Princeton University "ethicist" Peter Singer seems to believe so. He stated in [...]
Many Canadians probably take for granted that medicine is one area where rational investigation and a commitment to tangible and verifiable data is a fundamental requirement. Careful observers of developments in the field are noticing challenges to this assumption on a number of fronts. One of the greatest threats appears to be from homosexualist radicals who take issue with anyone who characterizes [...]
It's finally summer again, the time of the year when people try to spend a bit of time on things they like to do - like taking a vacation - and not just on those normal, everyday things that need to be done - like going to work and doing the daily chores. Well, stuck between those two alternatives are those things [...]