Rory Leishman Could the tragic death of Terri Schiavo have occurred in Canada? Most certainly. Under the laws of Ontario, a mentally handicapped patient in her condition can also be sentenced to a slow death by starvation and dehydration. Most Canadians have drawn up “living wills” to prevent some misguided physician from subjecting them to heroic measures that will only prolong the [...]
According to the Associated Press, the Democratic party will make Terri Schiavo an issue in upcoming elections. “This is going to be an issue in 2006 and its going to be an issue in 2008, because we’re going to have an ad with a picture of (House Majority Leader) Tom DeLay saying, ‘Do you want this guy to decide whether you die [...]
Pete Vere The Interim “Bob and I are grateful for all the support Terri received from Canadians,” Mary Schindler shared during our last phone conversation. “We never would have gotten through this without the prayers we received from all over. God gives us the grace to continue when our human strength fails.” Mary paused for a few moments. This was not supposed [...]
Commentary by Steve Jalsevac Special to The Interim More than 20 years ago, when Pierre Trudeau was busy remaking Canada in his own image, we fought against his efforts to impose upon this country, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. During a Jan. 31 press conference, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler defended his government’s decision to bring forth a bill redefining marriage and [...]
Editor's Note: President George W. Bush released this proclamation on Jan. 15. George W. Bush Special to The Interim The Declaration of Independence proclaimed that all Americans are endowed by the Creator with the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, we celebrate the sacred gift of life. We have a responsibility [...]
Interim Staff Court of Queen's Bench Associate Chief Justice Jeffrey Oliphant has told the Manitoba government its refusal to cover the costs of abortions at private facilities is a "gross violation" of women's rights. In a class-action suit filed in 2001, two women who had undergone abortions at Winnipeg's Morgentaler Clinic (now Jane's clinic) claimed that having to pay for the procedure [...]
Right-to-life and disability advocates were shocked this past September, as a new document surfaced in the battle to save Terri Schindler-Schiavo from her husband and the Florida state judiciary. The reported document appears on "Hospice of the Florida Suncoast" stationary under the title, "Exit Protocol." It lays out, in chilling detail, the anticipated physical and medical deterioration Terri would suffer should her [...]
Prime Minister Paul Martin could hardly have made two worse appointments to the Supreme Court of Canada than Madam Justice Rosalie Abella and Madam Justice Louise Charron. As judges on the Ontario Court of Appeal, this pair of judicial activists has demonstrated supreme contempt for both democracy and the rule of law. Consider Abella's ruling in R. v. C.M., 1995 OCA - [...]
Joseph Goebbels famously said that if you repeat a lie often enough, people will begin to believe it. When it comes to the media narrative of the 2004 federal election, it has been repeated so often that despite obvious errors of fact and interpretation, it has become a truism that social conservatives cost the Conservative party its chance to form the government. [...]
New calls to change law concerning 'compassionate homicide' rejected On July 31, police in London, Ont. responded to a 911 call from a sixth-floor room at the Holiday Inn on Exeter Road. Shortly thereafter, David Carmichael was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 11-year-old son, Ian. Ian was believed to have regular seizures and was diagnosed with an aneurysm [...]
Prime Minister Paul Martin insists that Parliament should never use the notwithstanding clause of the Constitution to prevent the Supreme Court of Canada from striking down a law that allegedly violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. During last spring's federal election, he argued: "We have got to ensure that minority rights are protected when challenged by the majority. The only [...]
For Bob and Mary Schindler, this past spring proved tumultuous in the battle to save their daughter's life. Terri Schindler-Schiavo's situation garnered international attention last fall when Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, had her feeding tube removed. Only the last-minute intervention of Governor Jeb Bush prevented the young woman's death from starvation and dehydration. Bush ordered her feeding tube reinserted after the Florida [...]
Paul Jalsevac The Interim Conservative leader Stephen Harper recently set forth a vision in which the Supreme Court would return to its traditional role, one focused on applying rather than making law. "My view is that the role of the court is to apply the Charter to protect the rights laid out in the Charter," said Harper. "The role of the court [...]
On Father's Day weekend, Canadians watched two of their nation's highest-profile dads argue bitterly about which one of them hated child pornography more. It all started during the English-language leaders debate. In the midst of an exchange about using the notwithstanding clause to override Supreme Court decisions, Conservative leader Stephen Harper abruptly raised the issue of child pornography. Up to that point, [...]
The Interim The debate over homosexual marriage in this year's federal election highlighted a deep division between the two major parties' views on the role of the legislature and the proper interpretation of the Charter of Rights. Although "sexual orientation" is not mentioned in the Charter, and its inclusion was specifically rejected by the drafters, activist judges in the Supreme Court read [...]