Bureaucrats frequenting Internet porn
OTTAWA – An internal survey on Internet use by staff of Ottawa’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) revealed that employees visit pornographic and match-making websites up to 70,000 times each day. The survey, reported in the National Post and elsewhere, suggests that up to 10 per cent of federal employees’ time is squandered on dubious internet searches. Other websites visited by DFO employees focused on the stock market, sports and computer games.
Abortion at odds with local community
KELOWNA, B.C. – Pro-life leaders in British Columbia are outraged with the mounting costs of bringing abortion services to Kelowna General Hospital. According to figures released by the BC Pro-Life Resource Centre, the cost to taxpayers to bring abortion to the hospital could exceed $1.5 million. It comes at a time when waiting lists for surgery and other medical procedures are at record levels. “We repeat the charge that the (BC) Ministry of Health is using coercion to bring abortion into Kelowna General Hospital,” said Ted Gerk of the Pro-Life Resource Centre. He said the community has been a “sore spot” for the government’s abortion strategy, in that local residents want little to do with abortion.
‘Human rights’ victory for evangelist
TORONTO – The Ontario Human Rights Commission has rejected complaints that a 1998 newspaper advertisement incited hatred against gays. The ad, placed in the Globe & Mail newspaper by Rev. Ken Campbell of Canada’s Civilized Majority, described homosexual acts as “destructive disorientations.” Human rights commission chairman Keith Norton called the ad “highly offensive”, but said as an expression of opinion, it did not fall under human rights code prohibitions. The ad was published to voice objection to a Supreme Court of Canada ruling calling for the province of Alberta to amend its human rights code to protect the interests of gays and lesbians.
Warning about latest Latimer appeal
WINNIPEG – The Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) is warning against an outpouring of sympathy for Saskatchewan farmer Robert Latimer as his latest appeal draws near. Latimer, who killed his disabled daughter in October, 1993, is scheduled for another court appeal in June. He had been charged with second degree murder for the “mercy killing” of Tracy Latimer, who suffered extensive physical impairment. Although subsequent appeals and retrials upheld the murder conviction, Latimer has received lenient sentences from the courts. In a recent edition of its Latimer Watch publication, the CCD warns against undue emphasis on “ableist” arguments to define disability and quality of life. “Anyone who has followed the Latimer case will be well aware of how ableist quality of life arguments are used to justify the termination of a life with a disability,” the CCD says.
Calgary pro-lifer enters bubble-zone
CALGARY – Calgary-based pro-life activist Michael O’Malley is confident that an injunction against right to life activity in the province will eventually be overturned. O’Malley was charged in April for violating the bubble zone law in force at Calgary’s Kensington abortion clinic. The injunction has been in effect since 1992, but O’Malley believes it will soon be overturned for suppressing Charter of Rights guarantees of freedom of religion, speech and peaceful assembly. O’Malley said the secular media seems to be taking a more sympathetic view of his actions. Nonetheless he expressed hope that pro-lifers in Alberta would take a more positive view of his reasons for civil disobedience. “It seems to me pro-life people in other Canadian cities respect and admire the activists who take legal risks like entering bubble zones,” O’Malley said in a letter to Campaign Life Coalition.
Coalition offers help to suicidal man
LONDON, Ont. – The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition of Ontario has an answer for right to die activist and patient Terry Graham. In a recent media release, the coalition said Graham’s desire for suicide as a response to terminal illness is premature. “We encourage Mr. Graham … To first seek help from the best pain experts and palliative care specialists before seeking death,” the coalition said. The coalition also criticized NDP MP Svend Robinson who appeared with Graham in an appeal for the right to suicide. “We are concerned that Death with Dignity and Svend Robinson are exploiting Mr. Graham’s condition by encouraging him to commit suicide rather than directing him toward the necessary care.” Robinson has become the official champion of right to die causes since he championed Sue Rodriguez’s battle for doctor-assisted suicide in 1993. Many have noted Robinson’s penchant for consistently coming down on the wrong side of any moral or life issue.
Lord’s Prayer continues at Queen’s Park
TORONTO – Ontario’s Legislature will continue the traditional of opening sessions with the Lord’s Prayer, despite rulings that the prayer clashes with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In late March, house speaker Gary Carr said the court ruling has no direct bearing on the actions of parliamentarians. He also said the majority of Ontario’s 103 legislators support the prayer. City governments however, could be forced to abandon the prayer. The Canadian Jewish Congress has been at the forefront of efforts to diminish the “Christian tone” of the prayer at civil gatherings. Congress president Keith Landy told reporters in March that he has no objection to prayer, but the Our Father reflects a Christian tone in a pluralistic society. The debate once again focuses on the precarious position of Judeo-Christian traditions in the face of multicultural appeasement.
Poll shows young people still believe
TORONTO – A new public opinion poll has surprised many agnostics with its finding that Canada’s young adults continue to hold to a core of religious belief. The Canada-wide poll, conducted by the Angus-Reid organization, found that 84 per cent of Canadians between ages 18-34 believe in God, and that 62 per cent of that age group accepts the Bible as the word of God. The poll found that while young people are not attending church services in great number, they hold fast to basic spiritual beliefs. The results dispel some concerns that traditional religions have failed an entire generation of “Generation Xers.” Pro-life and pro-family supporters have long contended that many young people in Canada have given up on the cynical values of contemporary secular culture, to embrace a passion for justice and a belief in the equality of all humanity.
Hospital sued for use of mass grave
