Reform's Jim Pankiw tables bill to keep politicians from hiding behind the Canada Health Act On June 2, Reform MP Jim Pankiw (Saskatoon-Humboldt) introduced a private member's bill in Parliament that could lead to the end of government - or taxpayer - funding of abortion. Bill C-515 calls for a referendum on whether or not the Canada Health Act should be amended [...]
New Tory premier promptly rebuffs Morgentaler New Brunswickers say it is too early to discern the bent of their new Conservative government elected on June 7, making 33-year-old Bernard Lord the youngest Canadian premier. Yet among social and moral conservatives there is cautious optimism that new blood will mean positive changes. The Tory victory was an unexpected landslide. Lord had been leading [...]
Family values advocates have reason to celebrate a moral victory with the recent affirmation of the traditional view of marriage in the House of Commons. Passed by a vote of 216-55, the motion initiated on June 8 by Eric Lowther, the official opposition children and families critic, asked the House to assert that "marriage is and should remain the union of one [...]
Commons extends common-law status to gays in pension rules MOTION TO RULE OUT HOMOSEXUAL 'MARRIAGE' IS APPROVED M vs. H family law ruling leaves future uncertain The federal Liberals have not yet introduced legislation authorizing the formation of a police force of sex inspectors or "conjugal cops," although government critics argue that such an initiative is necessary to help them implement Bill [...]
FCP LOSES GROUND, BUT LEADER SEES REASON TO HOPE Noted pro-life and pro-abortion incumbents defeated On June 3, the Tory government in Ontario won re-election, capturing 59 of 103 seats. For pro-lifers, the results were at best a mixed bag. As The Interim reported in the months leading up to the election, the three major parties and each of their leaders were essentially [...]
Party offers pro-lifers a precious opportunity The Family Coalition Party of Ontario has been causing pro-lifers to sit up and take notice. Several things have contributed to this positive trend: the Tories have disappointed pro-family voters deeply, and all other parties support the court-injunction against pro-life counselling at abortion clinics. An FCP ad asks the question, "Did your vote put this grandmother [...]
Government should respect traditional units A Liberal MP's recently released book is exposing the connection between family breakdown and poverty, and argues that it is not an economic response that is needed but a moral one. Paul Szabo (Mississauga South, Ont.) notes in his book The Child Poverty Solution that various reports on homelessness and child poverty entirely ignore the root cause of [...]
Choosing a Government (CAG) was produced by the Social Affairs Commission of the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops. It came out in June 1998 and has been widely distributed and is now being studied in various parishes. This 12-page booklet addresses politically-correct concerns that are almost all endorsed by major and some minor political parties. The booklet forgets that there are concerns [...]
For those of us living in Ontario and New Brunswick, the most important political concern at this time should be the upcoming provincial elections and a desire to gain the knowledge we need to prudently exercise our civic responsibility. We should also be trying to influence the way other people vote.Yeah, I know that the two topics you don't discuss in polite [...]
May 14 marked the 30th anniversary of the legalization of abortion in Canada. Did Ontario Premier Mike Harris say anything to deplore this national calamity? No. In fact, he has displayed scant concern about how legalized abortion hurts women and has resulted in the deliberate killing so far of more than two million pre-born Canadian children. Ontario Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty and [...]
This article appeared originally as the editorial in the April issue of Catholic Insight, and is reprinted with permission. Ontario will soon be heading for that pesky duty of citizenship: the ballot box. It's enough to make one grumpy. Old party loyalties are dissolving. The Liberals won with a landslide in 1987. Leader David Peterson then called an election for no reason [...]
While little progress has been made on life issues since the last election, a few MPPs have stood out Just one day after presenting a good news budget May 4, Ontario Premier Mike Harris called an election for June 3. The timing of the call is symbolically important. It indicates that economic issues, taxation and spending will be the focus during the [...]
Pro-lifers say the party aggressively promotes abortion, while claiming to be ‘family-friendly' The Ontario NDP released its election agenda in late February and despite claims that the party is "family friendly," it contained nary a word about abortion or gay rights. The much-heralded, yet quite empty, "Six Commitments" party platform seeks to undo much of the Tory government's spending cuts. It will [...]
Excessive," "overdone," "tedious," "boring," "endless," "interminable." These are just a few of the adjectives of desperation people have been using to describe the Media's relentless coverage of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair. In the face of these incessant protests, however, the coverage rolls on, like a freight train out of control. One popular ploy that members of the Media use in order to maintain [...]
Liberals promise study of discrimination against single-income families Jumping on a gaffe by a junior minister in the federal government, the Reform Party brought the issue of tax inequities between dual-income and single-income families to the centre of political attention recently. During what should have been a routine response during question period, Jim Peterson, the secretary of state for finance, put his [...]