A report issued at the behest of the provincial government of Quebec directs the government to fight “homophobia” and “heterosexism” in every sphere of public life and especially in schools. Quebec’s justice minister asked the Quebec Human Rights Commission to create a task force in 2005 and that group has published its report, called, “From Legal Equality to Social Equality: Toward a [...]
Civil liberties association steps into fray The Canadian Civil Liberties Association unexpectedly entered a battle for freedom of speech on the abortion issue, acting as intervenor on behalf of a Saskatchewan nurse sued for demonstrating against abortion. The CCLA filed an affadavit declaring that the organization backed the rights of pro-life nurse Bill Whatcott, who in 2004 was fined $15,000 and given [...]
If you think the Charter of Rights and Freedoms truly safeguards our democratic rights, think again. In fact, in one notorious case, the Charter did nothing to prevent bureaucrats, politicians and judges from squashing the most basic of all democratic freedoms: the right to free election speech. I know all about this case, because it involved my group, the National Citizens Coalition. [...]
The definitive decision on the abortion issue under the Charter of Rights was the Morgentaler case, handed down by the Supreme Court of Canada in January 1988. In that decision, the Supreme Court struck down the abortion provision (Section 251) of the Criminal Code, which prohibited abortions except when necessary to safeguard a woman’s “life or health” and after approval by a [...]
It is hard to imagine gay rights activists being so successful in getting their agenda implemented, were it not for the complicity of sympathetic courts invoking the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in various rulings to advance special rights for homosexuals in piecemeal fashion over the course of several years. Between 1995 and 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada granted new rights [...]
In 1995, Trinity Western University sought certification of a teaching program from the British Columbia College of Teachers. The BCCT governing council refused. Why? Well, BCCT did not approve of TWU’s Mission Statement: “To develop godly Christian leaders: positive, goal-oriented, university graduates with thoroughly Christian minds;” still less with its student conduct code that required students “to refrain from practices that are [...]
Niccolò Machiavelli, the teacher of modern politicians, including Canada’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau, writes that while Romulus founded Rome, the second king, Numa Pompilius, made an even more important contribution by instituting its civil religion. Numa’s contribution unified the Romans. Machiavelli also claims that by making them fearful of the gods, it made the Romans a ferocious military power, which allowed them to [...]
A Toronto-based group, Sex Professionals of Canada, is suing the federal government for maintaining laws criminalizing prostitution and thereby, they claim, endangering the lives of “sex trade workers.” The group’s executive director, Valerie Scott, said that communicating and bawdyhouse laws “are arbitrary,” and “do more harm than good.” The group is challenging Canada’s solicitation laws on constitutional grounds. SPOC calls itself a [...]
The same-sex “marriage” controversy is once again heating up newspaper columns. And once again, some in the liberal press are mocking people of faith. Columnists have led the charge, for it would seem that on the whole, editors show more restraint. A recent striking example was an attack piece written by Jack Todd of the Montreal Gazette published on August 5. To [...]
Is government doing enough to protect kids from pedophiles? Interim Staff The recent capture of pedophile Peter Whitmore has prompted Canadians to debate his surprisingly lax treatment at the hands of this country’s justice system over the past decade. Writing in the Toronto Sun, pundit Linda Williamson noted several consistencies about Whitmore’s criminal behaviour: “his predilection for befriending and ‘grooming’ his young [...]
He rose to more public prominence during battles over the same-sex “marriage” issue that saw him become the target of human rights complaints and threats from the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency to take away his church’s charitable tax status. At a fundraising dinner for the Kitchener, Ont.-based Defend Traditional Marriage and Family organization April 21, Catholic Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary [...]
Organs are being taken for transplantation from the living bodies of thousands of detainees in China's labour camps - a big story out of the world's biggest country. Couple this with a current surge in transplant operations being performed in China's hospitals in advance of hastily cobbled-together restrictions on transplants that take effect July 1 and we have a breaking news story [...]
A move by the Ontario government to “modernize” and streamline its human rights system is eliciting criticisms and expressions of concern from social conservatives in the province. Attorney-General Michael Bryant announced in February that the government will shortly introduce legislation to advance “human rights” and prevent “discrimination.” It also proposes to make the complaints process more efficient by allowing claims to be [...]
The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear the case of Chris Kempling, in what family supporters and free-speech advocates are calling a serious threat to democratic freedoms. Kempling, a teacher and school counselor in Quesnel, B.C., was disciplined in 1997 by the B.C. College of Teachers for writing letters to the editor of the local newspaper denouncing teaching on homosexuality. [...]
Heather MacNaughton, who chaired the three-panel B.C. Human Rights Tribunal in the mixed judgement of the Port Coquitlam Knights of Columbus v. two lesbians, is the same justice who fined Christian printer Scott Brockie and denied an appeal by Christian teacher Chris Kempling. In 2000, MacNaughton was the adjudicator in a Ontario Human Rights Commission decision against Scott Brockie, a Toronto printer, [...]