In the month of June, a parliamentary committee held hearings on C-38, the government’s same-sex “marriage” legislation. The House accepted the committee’s report, debated the issue, considered amendments and passed the bill 158-133 on June 28. The next day, the bill received first reading in the Senate, which proceeded to conduct its own hearings, close down debate and pass it by a [...]
Rev. Royal Hamel As this column is being written, same-sex “marriage” is still up in the air in Canada. Though legal and available in seven provinces and the Yukon, there is still no national law. Yet, the federal Liberals seem hell bent on imposing it on an unwilling public. And, apart from a miracle, it seems they have the numbers to push [...]
Peter Stock The Interim The truth will set you into a frenzy – at least, that was the case recently with the easily agitated MP Don Boudria (Lib, Glengarry-Prescott-Russell), during a mid-June sitting of the Commons. The hyper-sensitive Boudria launched into a tirade against Dr. Charles McVety of the Defend Marriage Coalition for allegedly “cyber-squatting” a website domain name that Boudria had [...]
Interim Staff May 19 could have been the last day of the 38th Parliament, had the minority Liberals not obtained the votes of some extra MPs in advance of a critical confidence motion. Had the government been defeated, so, too, would the anti-marriage Bill C-38 and, barring an election miracle, the political career of Paul Martin would have ended also. After watching [...]
John-Henry Westen The Interim The Christian Legal Fellowship is very concerned with the Kempling v. B.C. College of Teachers decision handed down June 12 by the British Columbia Court of Appeal. The ruling upheld the British Columbia College of Teachers decision to temporarily suspend the teaching licence of Chris Kempling for writing allegedly discriminatory letters to the editor of a local publication. [...]
By Paul Tuns The Interim After months of speculation, Pat O’Brien (Lib, London-Fanshawe, Ont.) put his career on the line and left the Liberal party on June 6, saying he strenuously opposed Prime Minister Paul Martin’s attempt to quickly foist a new definition of marriage upon the country. In its rush to quickly pass C-38 before a summer recess, the ad hoc [...]
John Jalsevac The Interim This past Victoria Day Monday, a crowd of 9,000 traditional marriage supporters converged on Queen’s Park for what turned out to be a powerful and lively demonstration of the desire of Canadians of every age, race and creed to protect the institution of marriage. Begun under the threat of rain, the ominous cloud-covering soon lifted, and the summer [...]
Commentary by Ian Hunter The Interim My brief is to give the Roman Catholic bishop of Calgary, Fred Henry, some unsolicited legal advice concerning his upcoming dealings with the Alberta Human Rights Commission. Before the advice, here is what has happened to date. In January 2005 Bishop Henry issued a pastoral letter on the oxymoron that has come to be known as [...]
As a chaplain to the Knights of Columbus and a fourth degree member, I am proud to present to the readers of The Interim the following letter to all federal cabinet members. It is signed by the official members of the Ontario State Council of the Knights of Columbus and was sent to all federal cabinet ministers: On behalf of the 57,000 [...]
Sue Careless The Interim During a meeting in Mississauga, Ont., the Primate’s Theological Commission has found same-sex blessings, or SSBs, to be a matter of doctrine. At past Anglican synods, those favouring SSBs argued that the controversial rite involved only pastoral care, not doctrine. If the commission’s St. Michael Report is accepted by General Synod in 2007, the earliest that SSBs could [...]
Paul Tuns Editor-in-chief, The Interim • 1969: Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau passes Bill C-150, an amendment to the Criminal Code that decriminalizes homosexuality. • 1982: Parliamentarians debate, but ultimately do not include, special protection for individuals based on sexual orientation within the Charter of Rights. • Late 1990s: Charter challenges are launched in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, claiming that the definition [...]
LifeSiteNews.com Special to The Interim In time for Mother’s Day, a new report was published by the Motherhood Project, containing fresh insights into mom’s attitudes and concerns. The 55-page document contained some obvious, as well as surprising, insights. The study was a rigorous, large-scale investigation, led by a team of social science researchers. The Motherhood Study featured a survey of more than [...]
LifeSiteNews.com Special to The Interim Homosexuals gathered to commemorate the world’s first gay pride parade, held in Philadelphia in 1965, and to present awards to activists and others who have advanced their cause. Among them was former Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien, who was recognized for his part in championing same-sex “marriage” in Canada. Chretien, accompanied by two Royal Canadian Mounted Police, [...]
Lawyers’ letter to parliamentarians on proposed same-sex ‘marriage’ bill Gerald D. Chipeur et al Special to The Interim Dear Members of Parliament and Senators: We, the undersigned legal counsel, maintain active practices or academic interest in litigation, human rights, religious, charity or constitutional law. We have reviewed two constitutional opinions provided by the law firm of Lang Michener, LLP, on the subject [...]
LifeSiteNews.com Special to The Interim Hedy Fry, parliamentary secretary to the Canadian minister of citizenship and immigration, says same-sex “marriage,” as legalized by Bill C-38, is an issue of “equality rights.” Fry is implying that the law would be used to force religious groups to perform same-sex “weddings” within their own congregations. She referred to a meeting of representatives of “Buddhists, Hindus, [...]