Why do right-wing populist governments vote with the left at the EU? This is a question that has perplexed many. Why is it that conservative countries like Hungary, Italy, and Poland almost uniformly stand with the rest of the European Union countries in supporting far-left measures? Are they strong-armed, bullied, afraid of losing friends, afraid of losing trade opportunities, afraid of retaliation [...]
From the editor’s desk: In the United Kingdom, the House of Lords is debating whether to legalize euthanasia. We have a report on it in “And then there was this” on p. 17. I wanted to highlight one part of the on-going debate on that side of the lake, namely Lord Falconer’s comment during the third committee stage debate that the Terminally [...]
Oswald Clark, U.S. Correspondent: As Congressional leaders worked on a deal to extend Obamacare subsidies where Democrats insisted on funds for abortion and Republicans resisted, President Donald Trump told the Republican leadership on Jan 6. “you have to be a little flexible on Hyde, you know.” The Hyde Amendment, federal law since 1976, bans federal funds from being used in Medicare, Medicaid, [...]
Tamara Jansen, Special to The Interim: Unless this Parliament chooses a different path, Canada will allow MAiD for people whose only condition is mental illness. That means men and women struggling with depression, trauma or overwhelming psychological pain could be steered toward death by a system that too often cannot offer timely treatment, consistent follow-up or even basic support. This is why I [...]
Paul Tuns: Andrew Lawton stands up to speak in the Chambre during Question Period. © HOC-CDCCredit: Bernard Thibodeau, House of Commons Photo Services On Dec. 5, the House of Commons debated C-218, Tamara Jansen’s private member’s bill that would put an end to the planned March 2027 expansion of euthanasia to people suffering solely from mental illness. C-218, An Act [...]
Paul Tuns: On Dec. 14, pro-life conservative José Antonio Kast won 58 per cent of the vote in the Chilean presidential election against Jeannette Jara of the Chilean Communist Party, which has ties to Cuba and Nicaragua. Kast will be sworn into office on March 11. Kast is a married Catholic and father of nine children, who had served as a city [...]
Paul Tuns On Jan. 14, beleaguered Quebec Premier François Legault, 68, announced he would step down as premier and leader of the party he founded before a provincial election later this year. Legault led the right-of-centre Coalition Avenir Quebec to two majority governments in 2018 and 2022. Seeking re-election four years ago, CAQ garnered 41 per cent of the vote, nearly as [...]
Paul Tuns: Delegates at the Alberta United Conservative Party (UCP) annual general meeting Nov. 28-30, held in Edmonton, passed several pro-life and pro-family motions including a call to defund late-term abortions, restricting, and upholding parental rights. Campaign Life Coalition endorsed 12 of the 36 policy resolutions and all 12 passed, most with large majorities of the more than 4000 delegates attending the [...]
Gideon Spevak: Queen’s Park is taking an increasing interest in the management of school boards throughout the province of Ontario. In April, Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra announced a provincial supervisor would be appointed to take over the Thames Valley District School Board serving the London, Ont., area in southwestern Ontario, for the reason of financial mismanagement within the board. A provincial [...]
Oswald Clark: On Nov. 25, the U.S. State Department’s annual report on human rights practices in foreign countries stated it would classify state-sponsored abortions as human rights abuses. Also, among human rights violations, the State Department will highlight in its annual country reviews sex change treatments for minors, arrests for hate speech, government DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) hiring practices, and the [...]
Paul Tuns: Conservative MP Jamil Jivani criticized the Liberal-Bloc plan to remove good faith religious exemption from hate crime law. The Liberals have agreed to a Bloc Quebecois amendment to Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, that would eliminate the religious exemption from Canada’s hate crime laws. Current law permits sincerely held religious views do not violate federal hate crime [...]
Paul Tuns: In October, Quebec Premier François Legault and Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette introduced Bill 1, a proposed constitution for the province which would constitutionally guarantee access to abortion and euthanasia. The bill, if passed, “enacts the Constitution of Québec, the Act respecting the constitutional autonomy of Québec and the Act respecting the Conseil constitutionnel,” and it would have “primacy over any [...]
6. Alberta protects kids, women from transgender ideology Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has shown leadership in not only requiring parents be notified when their children want to socially transition to the opposite sex at school by using a different name or pronoun, ban minors from receiving hormones that stunt their natural growth, and protect women from competing against imposter “transgender” women, she [...]
From the editor’s desk: In October, Compact published a provocative essay by Helen Andrews titled “The Great Feminization” in which she argued that cancel culture is essentially feminine: “Cancel culture is simply what women do whenever there are enough of them in a given organization or field.” The thesis is not Andrews’. She borrowed it from the pseudonymous J. Stone and an essay [...]
Interim Staff On Oct. 6, the British Columbia legislature debated for an hour a motion condemning Association for Reformed Political Action’s (ARPA) “views and policies.” NDP MLA Rohini Arora (Burnaby East) introduced Motion 38, “Views and Policies of Association for Reformed Political Action.” The motion stated, “That this House condemns the intolerant views of the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA), including [...]