FCP prepares for Ontario election
Hospital delays abortion decision
Crown proceeds summarily against woman in pepper spray attack
Feds considering daycare program
Uniqueness of family upheld
Judge urges protection of unborn
Klein indicates support for school choice
Alberta a haven for pornography
Pro-lifers confront hospital union
FCP prepares for Ontario election
BURLINGTON, Ont. – In an end-of-year appeal for assistance, Family Coaliton Party leader Giuseppe Gori said 2003 will “be an election year in Ontario. We will not be a credible contender unless we prepare for it.” The preparations, Gori reports, are well under way. The party has hired an organizer to ensure that the FCP has candidates for every riding. It also plans to hire a campaign manager for a two-month period around the expected election date and is already developing campaign literature. Globe and Mail Ontario politics columnist Murray Campbell wrote in one of his pieces that “far right-wing fringe” parties, including the FCP and the extremely libertarian Freedom Party, could affect the outcome in some ridings. Gori certainly hopes so. “The Progressive Conservative Party,” Gori said, “is going to lose support, especially support from social conservative voters. Those voters are most likely going to switch to us, if we show that we are a viable party.”
Hospital delays abortion decision
BROCKVILLLE, Ont. – The board of governors at Brockville General Hospital has deferred making a decision on requesting that a physician recruitment committee give preference to obstetricians who do abortions. Board chairman Marla Gilliland said there was little interest in raising in the issue: “Most would rather just let it lie.” The board will leave the decision up to the committee and department to choose the most qualified obstetrician, regardless of his or her willingness to commit abortions. She said the focus should be on getting an obstetrician who can deliver babies. However, Gilliland erroneously claimed that under the Canada Health Act, abortions must be provided by public hospitals.
Crown proceeds summarily against woman in pepper spray attack
TORONTO – , In a court hearing on Jan 21 the Crown elected to proceed summarily in an assault-with-a-weapon charge filed against Carol-Ann Trueman. The employee of the Stop 86 women’s shelter in Toronto was charged after Aid to Women counsellor Robert Hinchey was pepper- sprayed in the face while assisting a client at St. Michael’s Hospital last August. A summary conviction carries less of a penalty than an indictable one, but does not entitle an accused to a trial by jury. The justice of the peace also granted a Crown request that Trueman be required to be present for the trial. Pre-trial deliberations are continuing in the matter, with Trueman’s next appearance at College Park provincial court scheduled for Jan. 29 at 10 a.m.
Feds considering daycare program
OTTAWA – The Hamilton Spectator newspaper has reported that the federal government is considering the funding of a joint federal-provincial daycare scheme to the tune of $500 million over five years. A “senior government official” told the paper that Finance Minister John Manley must put up at least a half-billion dollars in the next budget, expected later this month, before the provinces agree to participate. Focus on the Family Canada vice-president Derek Rogusky said the money would be better spent if given directly to parents “and let them decide how they want to spend it.” Research shows many parents would choose to have a mother or father stay home with young children if the family could afford it.
Uniqueness of family upheld
OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the province of Nova Scotia is not acting unconstitutionally when it discriminates between married couples and common-law couples. The court determined that the Nova Scotia Matrimonial Property Act did not violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for failing to include common-law couples within the definition of “spouse.” The majority ruling noted that some couples intentionally choose not to marry and thus imposing on them the obligations of marriage “nullifies the individual’s freedom to choose alternative family forms and to have that choice respected by the state.”
Judge urges protection of unborn
WINNIPEG – Commenting on a report on the death of Patrick Redhead, Manitoba judge Linda Giesbrecht ruled that the province should break new constitutional ground and draft legislation that protects unborn children from the substance abuse of its mother. Redhead hung himself in 1999 and the judge said the only way that death could have been prevented was to protect him from his mother’s alcohol abuse. “The time may have come,” Giesbrecht said, “for legislators … To tackle this difficult issue in order to assist family service agencies to protect unborn children.
Klein indicates support for school choice
EDMONTON – An Edmonton Journal editorial has condemned Alberta Premier Ralph Klien’s suggestion that the idea of school vouchers has merit as a form of “unduly influencing” the deliberations of the Learning Commission into Education Reform. In praising the Edmonton school board’s open boundaries and accommodation of parental choice within the public system, Klein said that province should consider introducing a voucher system. The Journal complained, without evidence, that vouchers “undermine strong public education, drain public money out of the system and inevitably lead to more inequality.” The paper also said that making such announcements before the commission issues a report indicates what the premier would like to see come out of the commission. The Calgary Herald, however, says empowering parents to make educational decisions for their children will improve the quality of education for all.
Alberta a haven for pornography
CALGARY – Newspapers are reporting that the Alberta government’s lack of regulations on the pornography industry is leading the province to become a dumping ground for pornographic material that can’t be sold elsewhere in Canada. The Calgary Herald says that material banned elsewhere in Canada is routinely sold in Alberta, including videos and DVDs depicting violence, people portraying minors in explicit sex acts, bondage, incest, extreme sado-masochism, torture and other depravaties. In other provinces, including Alberta’s neighbours B.C. and Saskatchewan, film distributors pay provincial film boards to view material before it is sold to video stores to ensure it complies with local laws. Sharon McCann, manager for the Alberta Film Classification Board, said there is little use regulating pornography because of the rapid advance of technology and the fact that users of pornography will find ways to obtain such material. Edmonton city council is considering zoning bylaws to limit where certain kinds of pornographic material can be sold.
Pro-lifers confront hospital union
BURNABY, B.C. – Pro-life activists demonstrated at the Hospital Employees Union main office in Burnaby, “taking their message to abortion central,” said Campaign Life Coalition B.C. president John Hof. Hof, serving as a spokesman for the group, said they hoped to “enlighten” the union staff and executives about “the truth about abortion and to demonstrate graphically the reality of what the HEU repeatedly advocates.” Hof said that if union members “have a functioning conscience, perhaps they will change their radical pro-death position.” Organizers hope that union members who oppose the HEU’s abortion advocacy will be awakened to its activities and call the executive to account.