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Richard Bastien, Citizen Special
Published: Monday, April 21, 2008
Two well-known representatives of Canada's liberal
elite, Ujjal and Raminder Dosanjh, recently argued in
the Citizen ("In defence of baby girls,"
April 11) that abortion based on sex selection is a
morally reprehensible practice that, unfortunately, is
becoming more widespread as a result of the marketing
of gender ID kits, which enable women to find out the
sex of their baby at an early stage of pregnancy. . .
. .
While arguing that abortion based on sex selection is
nothing less than "female feticide," which
is "a practice rooted in misogyny," the two
authors note emphatically that they "firmly
support a woman's right to choose as paramount."
What is thus implied is that aborting a baby on
account of gender is repugnant, but doing so on any
other ground is legitimate. . . . .
. . .one cannot argue that certain types of
abortion, i.e. those based on sex selection, are
"heinous acts of violence and hatred against
women" without implicitly recognizing that
abortion involves the killing of a human being.
Indeed, it is precisely because some abortions are
targeted at female human beings that they are
denounced as heinous. And since a female human being
is, by definition, human, it follows that what is at
stake in an abortion is the life of a human being. . .
.
[More]
"Gay"
Sex Kills
"In light of the irrefutable medical facts, it
should be considered criminally reckless for educators
to teach children that homosexual conduct is a normal,
safe and perfectly acceptable alternative form of
sexual expression (or 'sexual orientation'). "
Commentary by J. Matt Barber
April 21, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Can you imagine
officials at a middle school, junior high or high
school setting aside a day to promote
"tolerance" for heavy smoking and drinking
among children? How about a day where teachers
encourage kids to "embrace who they are,"
pick up that crack pipe and give it a stiff toke?
Neither can I. The public would go ballistic, and for
good reason.
But that hasn't stopped officials in thousands of
schools across the country from promoting other
politically correct and socially "in-vogue"
behaviors that - both statistically and manifestly -
are every bit as dangerous as the aforementioned
frowned-upon behaviors.
That's exactly what the homosexual activist "Day
of Silence" is all about - advancing, through
clever, feel-good propaganda, full acceptance among
children of the homosexual lifestyle. [More]
The "Day of
Silence" in British Columbia
The following is from "Silencing homophobia,:
an article that appeared in "saanichnews.com"
(April 22, 2008):
"The silence is spreading.
"Donning colourful masks, pins and armbands,
hundreds of secondary students across Greater Victoria
kept silent in support of their gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgendered classmates on Wednesday. . . . .
Reynold’s has a very active gay-straight alliance
group, whose members have put up anti-homophobic
posters and murals throughout the school.
“Homophobia in our school is still a big deal but
it’s not as big a deal as the racism and ablism
(against special education students),” said
Reynold’s student Marissa Johnston.
“We have same-sex couples who are out and walk
around the school holding hands. If anyone said
anything... people know not to say anything.”
The Greater Victoria School District was the first
in the province to develop a homophobia policy and
action plan, five years ago. . . . ."
New
Link Posted
"Readers may be
interested in the fact that we received a request to
post a link to the website of "Family and
Life" which has it headquarters in Dublin,
Ireland. A statement on their website (at http://www.familyandlife.org/Pro-Life.html
) gives their purpose as follows:
"The charitable work of Family & Life is
focused on protecting human life and helping women,
children, unborn babies and families in vulnerable
situations. Our work focuses on alleviating poverty in
its complete definition. Some of our major projects
focus on material impoverishment while others focus on
intellectual impoverishment.
"This work is supported by the direct donations
of our supporters. Our donors live in Ireland,
England, Scotland and Wales. We are not affiliated to
any other organization. We do not receive nor seek
state, organizational or corporate funding, nor do we
engage in street collections, lotteries or the
for-profit sale of goods. We plan and conduct our
activities from our National Information Centre at 26
Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1."
In the right-hand
column of this website we have posted a link to the
website of this organization, as we have posted links
to a wide variety of pro-life and pro-family websites,
in each case without implying their total support of
our objectives or our total support of theirs, but in
the interest of mutual support of mutual objectives
and of the provision of information for our readers.
William
Wilberforce's Great Grandson Says if Alive Today
Wilberforce Would Fight Abortion
By Fr. Gerard Wilberforce
March 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - I am writing as
the great great grandson of William Wilberforce, who
campaigned vigorously for the ending of the
transatlantic slave trade in 1807, which ultimately
paved the way for the abolition of slavery itself
throughout the entire British Empire in 1833.
I am often asked what would be the campaigns
Wilberforce would be fighting if he were alive in 21st
century Britain. I believe that there would be a
number of different issues among them human
trafficking and the scourge of drugs. But almost
certainly at the top of the list, would be the issue
of abortion. [More]
Students
Defy University Censorship And Plead For Peaceful
Freedom Of Expression
CALGARY, AB, March 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com)
- The University of Calgary has threatened to
censor one of its own student groups, Campus
Pro-Life (CPL), from publicly displaying the
Genocide Awareness Project (GAP), an educational
exhibit that graphically compares abortion to the
Holocaust. CPL members are going to defy the
university today and tomorrow as they ignore the
new restrictions being placed on their group, and
march onto campus to erect the signs. [More]
Girl
sent to psych ward for homeschooling, parents billed
Battle
over teen's welfare pending before European Parliament
March 30, 2008
By Bob Unruh
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
The parents of Melissa Busekros, the German teen
who was taken by police from her home and placed in a
psychiatric ward because she was homeschooled, now are
being billed by the government for the cost of her
forced stay, according to attorneys who are working on
her case. [More]
An
Important New Web-Page on this Website
March 22, 2008: We announce an
important new web-page which we believe can supply
valuable help to parents and their allies who are
concerned about the erosion of parental and citizen
control over the public schools. We call
it our "Take Back the
Schools Page." Please take a look at
this new page.
[BC Parents and Teachers for Life
and numerous other organizations in the province
have expressed their grave concerns about the Corren
Agreement and resulting changes in provincial
education.
BC Parents and Teachers
for Life passes on for the information of our
readers the following important news release
regarding a review of a teachers' manual that
resulted from the Corren Agreement.]
Text of Catholic Civil Rights League News
Release of March 14, 2008:
“Serious concerns” raised
about teacher guide
The Catholic Civil Rights League today
released what a retired UBC professor of education
calls “a comprehensive, finely detailed,
extensively researched and documented critique” of
a teachers’ manual designed to fulfil a private
contract between the Ministry of Education and two
homosexual activists.Parents
The manual, Making Space, Giving Voice,
explains how K-12 students will be introduced to
“the full range of gender identity and sexual
orientation.”
Walter Szetela, Professor Emeritus of the Faculty
of Education at the University of British Columbia,
describes the League’s review of Making Space,
Giving Voice as “superlative.” Retired UBC
English professor Ross Labrie comments that the review
“raises serious concerns about the dangers to
democracy of an ideologically driven and secretive
policy designed to impose a particular view of what is
claimed to be social justice.”
According to the League, the recommendations of Making
Space, Giving Voice are made at the expense of
core curriculum subjects. It warns that the
‘ideological straitjacket” imposed by the Ministry
on some subjects, like English and literature, “is
spiritually and intellectually impoverishing.” The
Ministry’s manual is also faulted by the League
because it “draws false analogies . . . fails to
make important distinctions . . . and omits
information relevant to informed decision making.”
The League has asked the Minister of Education to
waive the six week deadline imposed by her officials
for public response to Making Space, Giving Voice.
“They gave the public four months to comment on a
single social justice elective intended only for some
Grade 12 students,” said Sean Murphy, author of the
League’s critique. “But they allowed only six
weeks for responses to a manual affecting teaching in
every subject from Kindergarten to Grade 12.”
Murphy, a CCRL director for western Canada, hopes
that the Minister will instruct her officials to
consider the League’s submission, despite the
deadline.
“It wasn’t possible to complete a proper review
of the document in six weeks,” he said.
[Click here for
CCRL contact information and further information
regarding the review mentioned in the above news
release. See the accompanying summary
of the CCRL review.]
"Citizens
win: Canada RAISES age of consent for sex from 14 to
16, despite pressure from homosexual lobby."
[This is the headline Mass.com gave the news conveyed in
the article below by LifeSiteNews.]
Canada Finally Moves Age of
Consent for Sex from 14 to 16
By Thaddeus M. Baklinski
OTTAWA, March 5, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com)
- Canada's new age of sexual consent, raised to 16
from 14, was signed into law on Feb. 28 after passing
in the Senate by a narrow 3 votes.
As reported last December by LifeSiteNews.com, the
Conservative Government's Bill C-2, the 'Tackling
Violent Crime Act', passed the House of Commons on
November 28, 2007. This bill included a provision to
raise the age of consent for sexual activity from 14
to 16. At 14, Canada's age of consent was among the
lowest of Western nations, where it typically varies
between 16 and 18.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper had threatened to
call an election if Bill C-2 wasn't passed in the
Senate by March 1, 2008. Even though the Liberal
dominated senate complained there was not enough time
to meet this deadline, the possibility of giving
Harper an opportunity to launch an election over the
issue pushed them into action.
Nineteen senators voted for the bill, sixteen voted
against, while thirty-one senators - all Liberals but
one - abstained from the vote, and another
twenty-seven didn't show up at all.
[More]
Rainbow
Sash Movement Plots Papal Protest
Gay advocacy group to throw ashes and blow whistles at
pope during April US visit
By Michael Baggot
March 11, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com)
- The Rainbow Sash Movement, a homosexual activist
group, announced their plans to protest Pope Benedict
XVI's opposition to homosexual behavior during his
April visit to the United States.
The RSM plans to throw ashes at the Pope, because
"ashes are an ancient and appropriate greeting
for a sinner who has caused the Church so much
division and pain," stated the movement.
"We will also be greeting him with whistles;
these were used by the Polish People to show shame for
the violation of human rights by the Communist
Government prior to the end of the cold war,"
added a RSM statement.
"We are a community of Catholic GLBT along with
our allies who work for change in the Church. To
continue to hide our identity only enables shame and
homophobia. We are committed to working from within
the Church," says the movement.
The RSM is best known for its large Pentecost Sunday
protests, in which openly practicing homosexual,
bisexual, and "transgendered" individuals
identify themselves as such with multicolor sashes and
demand Holy Communion during Mass.
The Pope has been a vocal opponent of homosexual
"marriage". In January 2007, after praising
traditional families, the Pope said, "projects
that aim to attribute to other forms of union
inappropriate legal recognition appear dangerous and
counterproductive."
[More]
Virginia Cuts
All Government Funding to Planned Parenthood
Senate surprisingly follows House in opposing
abortion funding
By Michael Baggot
RICHMOND, VA, February 29, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com)
- The Virginia Senate decided to end taxpayer funding
to abortion provider Planned Parenthood on Wednesday.
Lt. Governor Bill Bolling cast the tie-breaking vote
and approved the amendment to the state budget
following the 20-20 tie vote among senators.
Attorney general hopeful Sen. Ken Cuccinelli II
introduced the amendment. He explicitly attacked
Planned Parenthood's abortion programs.
"What we are doing is financing an abortion-mill
operator," Cuccinelli said. "This will deny
them that money."
The decision was a surprise, given the Senate's
Democratic majority. Democrat Sen. Charles J.
Colgan's vote in favor of the amendment led to the tie
vote, which was decided by the Lt. Governor's vote.
Despite pressure from fellow Democrats, Colgan sided
with 19 Republicans, stating, "I ran on a
pro-life platform, and most of my constituents are
pro-life." Colgan cited fidelity to his
conscience as a major reason for opposing funding to
Planned Parenthood.
[More]
From
citizenlink.com --Feb.
11, 2008:
[U.S.]
CDC: 1 in 4 Teen Girls Has Sexually Transmitted
Infection
staff
reports
'We’re missing a tremendous opportunity to talk to
them about the benefits of being abstinent until
marriage.'
One in
four teen girls in the
U.S.
has a sexually transmitted infection (STI), according
to a study by the federal Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC). That adds up to more than 3
million girls.
Among
girls who admitted having had sex, the rate was 40
percent, The Associated Press reported. Human
papilloma virus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer,
is the most common STI in teen girls ages 14 to 19,
the CDC found. [More]
[U.S.]
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: Abortion
Isn't Found in the Constitution
by
Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 5, 2008
Warrensburg,
MO (LifeNews.com) -- Supreme Court Associate
Justice Antonin Scalia spoke to students at the
University of Central Missouri on Tuesday night
and told them that abortion isn't found in the
Constitution. He also indicated he would be
lucky to get 60 votes in today's political
climate where abortion rules how senators vote
on judicial confirmations.
"The
reality is the Constitution doesn't address the
subject at all," Scalia said of abortion.
"It is one of the many subjects not in the
Constitution which is therefore left to
democracy."
"If
you want the right to an abortion, persuade your
fellow citizens it’s a good idea and pass a
law. If you feel the other way, repeal the
law," he said, according to a Columbia
Tribune report.
[More]
On this issue we share BCTF
concerns:
New 'Bully' video game
raises teachers' concern
Jennifer Moreau, Burnaby Now
Published: Saturday, March 08,
2008
The B.C. Teachers' Federation is
calling for parents to boycott a new video game
that it says makes light of bullying and promotes
violence.
Bully: the Scholarship Edition
is just one more reason the provincial government
needs to regulate the gaming industry, said Irene
Lanzinger, president of the provincewide teachers'
union.
"We try to teach kids how
to treat each other with respect," Lanzinger
said.
"These games give kids the
counter-message."
Lanzinger said while academics
debate whether violent games lead to violent
actions, teachers see children acting out violent
behaviour at school.
"It is of no comfort to me
that some experts say this doesn't have an impact
on children. It is not a healthy psychological
experience for a child to play a game that
glorifies bullying and violence," she said.
Released March 4, Bully: the
Scholarship Edition shows scenes of violence,
crude humour, sexual themes, tobacco and alcohol
use and "animated blood."
In the trailer, the game's hero
is seen smacking another student.
[More]
Judge
orders homeschoolers into government education
[in California]
Court:
Family's religious beliefs 'no evidence' of 1st
Amendment violation
. . .February 29, 2008
By Bob Unruh
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
A California court has ruled that several
children in one homeschool
family must be enrolled in a public school or
"legally qualified" private school, and
must attend, sending ripples of shock into the
nation's homeschooling advocates as the family
reviews its options for appeal.
The ruling came in a case brought against Phillip
and Mary Long over the education
being provided to two of their eight children. They
are considering an appeal to the state Supreme
Court, because they have homeschooled all of their
children, the oldest now 29, because of various
anti-Christian influences in California's public
schools.
[More]
A follow-up to the article immediately above:
CA Gov. to
Intervene in Homeschool Case
By Heather Sells
CBN News Reporter
March 10, 2008
CBNNews.com
- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he'll
intervene if a court ruling against homeschoolers is
not overturned. And some homeschooling parents say
they'll leave the state, rather than give up their
rights to educate their children. [More]
Deerfield
High School Offers Pornography to Students
DEERFIELD, Ill., March 6
/Christian Newswire/ -- North Shore Student Advocacy
has learned that Deerfield High School, in
Deerfield, Illinois, is offering the books
"Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National
Themes" (Part One & Two) -- laced with
graphic sexual content, including gay sex, pervasive
expletives, religious denigration and mockery -- in
English classes this spring . . . .
"After almost 15 years of
school advocacy and reviewing many objectionable
books and curricula, I have never seen anything this
vulgar and harmful to students," says Lora Sue
Hauser, Executive Director of North Shore Student
Advocacy. "Parents, taxpayers and concerned
citizens must force themselves to read these
excerpts, as horrific as they are, so you know what
kids are being exposed to. The school justifies this
egregious choice because of its themes of hope.
Evidently, all great literature with themes of hope
have already been exhausted so teachers need to
start offering pornography. We say -
enough." [More]
Abortionist
Morgentaler Not on Order of Canada List for 2008
By Hilary White
OTTAWA, February 20, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Earlier
this month, LifeSiteNews.com reported that some
Canadian abortion activists were stepping up efforts
to have Dr. Morgentaler awarded Canada's highest
civilian honour, the Order of Canada, for his years of
advocacy for legalizing abortion and for the thousands
of abortions that he personally has performed.
In a piece appearing in the Globe and Mail, several of
Canada's most prominent abortion advocates proposed a
public campaign to have Dr. Morgentaler awarded the
Order of Canada. They said that the matter was
especially urgent now that he is ill and not expected
to live much longer. The prestigious award is not
granted posthumously.
Cathie Colombo, Dr. Morgentaler's assistant, went so
far as to say it is "blasphemy" that he has
not yet received the award.
But today, a media release from the office of the
Governor General, who is responsible for granting the
award, showed that Dr. Morgentaler is not included on
the list for this year.
More than any other single person, Dr. Henry
Morgentaler is responsible for the current Canadian
legal situation, in which there is no law restricting
or regulating abortion. Morgentaler's decades of
campaigning for abortion resulted in the criminal code
statute prohibiting abortion being struck down by the
Supreme Court in 1988. Since then Canada has been left
in a state of lawlessness, in which abortion is
effectively legal throughout all nine months of
pregnancy.
Jakki Jeffs, the head of Guelph Area Right to Life
Association, told LifeSiteNews.com today that she
contacted the Governor General's office and was told
that the office that oversees the Order of Canada
"had a file" about Dr. Morgentaler and that
he had been nominated several times. Jeffs pointed out
that although this does not mean that Dr. Morgentaler
will be granted the award next year, it is
nevertheless important for pro-life Canadians to let
their opinions be heard.
[More]
Jean Chretien to
Receive Order of Canada for His "Legacy" -
"Same-Sex Unions"
By John-Henry Westen
OTTAWA, February 20, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - It
seems playing a key role in legalizing homosexual
'marriage,' over the objections of a majority of
Canadians, is one way to get named to the Order of
Canada, Canada's most prestigious award.
Governor General Michaëlle Jean will give the
nation's highest honor for 'lifetime achievement' to
former Prime Minister Jean Chretien, making him a
Companion of the Order, on Friday February 22. The
notice that was sent out by the Governor General's
office, noting the award recipients and their major
contributions to Canada, cited Chretien's
"legacy" of homosexual unions.
"His government's legacy includes a number of
social reform and humanitarian initiatives, such as
recognition of same-sex unions and the abolition of
landmines," said the citation. Chretien supported
same-sex 'marriage.' However, he was replaced as Prime
Minister by Paul Martin prior to the issue coming to a
final vote in the House of Commons.
That the honor is being given to Chretien, and that
his support for homosexuality has been singled out as
one of the prime reasons for his receiving the award,
should not come as a surprise to Canadians. Governor
General Jean, who made her first affront to family
values when, during her induction in 2005, refused to
swear on the Bible, awarded same-sex 'marriage'
pioneer Rev. Brent Hawkes with the Order of Canada
last year.
Hawkes' claim to national fame is also his homosexual
'marriage' activism. In 2001 Hawkes illegally
"married" a lesbian couple in his Toronto
church, and when the Canadian government would not
recognize the "marriage" as valid, he took
the government to court. Subsequently, the Ontario
Superior Court of Justice recognized the
"marriage" as legal, beginning a process of
judicial activism that eventually culminated in the
legalization of homosexual "marriage" by
Canada's Parliament. [More]
The
current instances of threats to free speech occurring in Canada make the topic
of this conference particularly timely. BCPTL, as a service to our
readers, passes on this information, from an advertisement by ECP (the
organization putting on the conference):
Ignite
Our Culture - 2008 Western Conference
New
media and a Christian perspective on free speech
March 28 - 29, 2008 |
| Theme: New media and a
Christian perspective on free speech
Free Speech is under attack in Canada
as never before. The Mark Steyn
and Ezra Levant prosecutions before
various Human Rights Commissions have
brought the issue into sharp focus.
What should the Christian response be in
the midst of all the hype? Are
free speech rights absolute? Does
government have a role in regulating
speech? How does the media fit
into the picture? And how does all
of this relate to "New Media"
in this Internet age? Join us for
an insightful weekend of discussion,
analysis, and perspective on one of the
most important issues facing Christians
in our day. [More]
|
Private
member's bill would protect unborn crime victims
By
THE CANADIAN PRESS
From Canoe.ca downloaded Feb. 14, 2008
OTTAWA
- Conservative MP Ken Epp is seeking support for a
private member's bill that would recognize the unborn
as separate victims when their mothers are killed or
harmed in an attack.
Epp says the Unborn Victims of
Crime Act has nothing to do with abortion but is meant
to fill a major gap in the law.
But critics say that's a backdoor
effort to reopen the abortion debate by sneaking a
recognition of fetal rights into Canadian law.
Epp cited several cases where the
killers of pregnant women were charged for the
mother's murder - but not for the death of her fetus.
That's because the law does not
recognize the unborn as human beings until they are
born alive. [More]
BCPTL
Bulletins for January and Special February
Bulletin Posted on This Website
The
November-December, 2007, issue of the British Columbia Parents
for Life E -Mail Bulletin has been posted on our
"Bulletin"
page. The Bulletin is sent
January, 2008,
and the Special Edition February 11th iissue of the British Columbia Parents
for Life E -Mail Bulletin have been posted on our
"Bulletin"
page. The Bulletin is sent
(usually monthly) to members and other pro-family,
pro-life supporters anywhere in the world. If you fit into one of those
categories and wish to receive our bulletin, please e-mail us (executive
["at" sign] BCPTL.org) your request to subscribe, with your
name, postal address, and the e-mail address you wish the Bulletin
to be sent to, and your statement that you are pro-life and
pro-family. Previous issues of the Bulletin are also
available and can be sent to you by e-mail.
Court:
No Opt-out of Homosexual Indoctrination in Class for
Massachusetts Parents
Parents vow to appeal decision all the way to
the US Supreme Court
By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
BOSTON, MA, February 2, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A
federal appeals court panel has upheld a Massachusetts
policy of indoctrinating elementary school students
with pro-homosexual attitudes without their parents
consent.
The three judge panel ruled that a lower court
decision was correct when it denied parents the right
to remove their children from such classes, while
admitting that the purpose of the literature to which
their children were being exposed was to influence
children to "tolerate" gay marriage.
"It is a fair inference that the reading of
King and King was precisely intended to influence the
listening children toward tolerance of gay
marriage," the court admits. "That was the
point of why that book was chosen and used."
[More]
A
Deeply Significant Quotation
"It is a poverty to decide that a
child must die so that you may live as you wish."
(Mother Teresa, quotation in a Focus on the Family
advertisement)
The Day
Humanity Became Cheap
David Frum
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Dave Sidaway,
CanWest News Service
On Jan. 28, 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada
released its judgment in the case of R. vs.
Morgentaler, which struck down the abortion
provision in the Criminal Code. As a result,
Canada became the only Western nation with no
abortion law -- a situation that persists to
this day. This week, National Post writers will
be looking at the legacy of R. vs. Morgentaler.
In today's first instalment, David Frum argues
that the decision served to cheapen the value of
human life.
[Click
here to read an excerpt from David Frum's National
Post article]
Pro-Family
Activist Foresees Homosexual Indoctrination
Program for Grades 7 and 8 Students in Ottawa
Valley, Ontario
We
are grateful to Ken O'Day for this alert for
Ottawa Valley, Ontario parents. Ken has
passed on the following, which apparently
indicates how the program is being presented to
parents:
"Public School Homosexual Indoctrination
Jer's Vision: Canada's Youth
Diversity Initiative is
Canada's First national organization to support
and encourage the work of youth to address
discrimination in their schools and communities.
This winter Jer’s Vision will be coming in to
speak with our grade 7 & 8 students about
the Youth Diversity Initiative. Students will be
listening to a presentation on demystifying and
humanizing sexual diversity. This presentation
increases awareness about gay and lesbian
issues, through trained facilitators who share
their knowledge and experience. The program
seeks to break down myths and stereotypes. A
letter will be coming home with students before
the presentation explaining in more detail the
topic and presentation times. 'Jervision' can be
seen at
http://www.jersvision.org/english/
"
Note:
"Jer's Vison" is listed on its website
as "Canada's Youth Diversity
Initiative." Under programs and
services the organization features two
speakers: Jeremy Dias and Shelly
Rabinovich. Among the topics Jeremy Dias
speaks on are "LGBTQ and youth; LGBTQ in
Canada; LGBTQ and visible minority."
Among the topics Shelly Rabinovich speaks on
are: "sizeism; religious
discrimination; "othering" and
marginalizing people (particularly visible
minorities);. . . LGBTQ issues; polyamory; BDSM
as subculture; religious expression; modern
Paganism and Goddess worship;
Neo-Satanism."
Among the "celebrity" endorsers listed
for "Jer's Vision" are Libby Davies,
Heddy Fry, Svend Robinson, and Bill Siskay.
Jer's Vison is a"a proud sponsor" of
the LBGTQ Film Festival of Ottawa and is listed
as hosting the "opening Gala" in
October of 2007 and was to have hosted
"education workshops and a drag show"
"September
4-11, 2007 (uOttawa and Carleton University,
Ottawa)."
Drug-Resistant
Staph Passed in Gay Sex--US Study
By Amanda Beck
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - A
drug-resistant strain of potentially deadly bacteria
has moved beyond the borders of U.S. hospitals and is
being transmitted among gay men during sex,
researchers said on Monday.
They said methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is beginning to appear
outside hospitals in San Francisco, Boston, New York
and Los Angeles.
Sexually active gay men in San
Francisco are 13 times more likely to be infected than
their heterosexual neighbors, the researchers reported
in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
[Click
here to read the whole article at Reuters online.]
[The immediately-preceding excerpt is also posted on
our "News and Views" page.]
Abortion:
Have we gone too far?
[from
a news release of January 22, 2008 from LifeCanada]
January
28 marks the 20th anniversary of the
Supreme Court decision that removed all legal
restrictions on abortion in
Canada
. In those 20 years, during which abortion has been
allowed throughout all nine months of pregnancy,
almost 2 million Canadian babies have been aborted.
LifeCanada,
a national educational pro-life group, has launched
a media campaign asking Canadians, “Have we gone
too far?” by allowing unrestricted abortion. There
are over 100,000 abortions each year in
Canada
and taxpayers pay for almost all of them.
“This
isn’t health care,” said LifeCanada President
Joanne Byfield. “It isn’t life saving or life
giving. It takes a human life and increases a
woman’s risk of many subsequent health problems.
It is time we re-examined unrestricted abortion.”
[Read the whole
news release.]
Evangelical leader named to U.K commission
upholding equal rights.
Adrian Warnock | posted
on The Christianity Today website Jan. 11,
2008
The appointment of Joel
Edwards, general director of the U.K.'s Evangelical
Alliance, as a commissioner to the nation's Equality
and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has drawn
complaints from gay activists.
Formed to enforce legislation
guaranteeing age, ethnic, disability, gender, and
sexual preference equality, the EHRC brings together
the U.K.'s three previous equality commissions. The
Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007,
which went into effect on January 1, added
prohibitions against treating anyone "less
favorably than he treats or would treat others"
on the grounds of sexual orientation. However,
concessions within the act allow religious
organizations to define standards of sexual behavior
for their members and leaders.
[Click
here to read the whole article on the Christianity
Today website.]
As ‘human rights’
tribunals act like thought police, there is a
simple solution:
Change our human rights statutes
The free-speech controversies currently swirling
around Maclean’s magazine and Alberta
journalist Ezra Levant ultimately can be
attributed to one thing: the legislation that
allows Canada’s human rights commissions to
act as censors. Amend the various human rights
acts blanketing the country and the problem
vanishes.
Disturbingly, however, the issue does not seem
to be on any government’s radar, either in
provincial capitals or on Parliament Hill.
[ More]
Canada
Catholic League Calls for Halt to Use of Human
Rights' Commissions in Free Speech Cases
List of Recent Cases
TORONTO, January 2, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The
news in early December that Mark Steyn and Macleans
Magazine are the subject of a complaint to the B.C.
and federal Human Rights Commissions because of an
article the magazine published, excerpted from Mr.
Steyn's book "America Alone", is a
higher-profile example of an ongoing pattern in the
use of human rights' commissions to penalize the
expression of unpopular opinions, says the Catholic
League in a press release. . . . .
he League provided a list of recent cases where
human rights tribunal were used to quash or attempt
to quash free speech: [bold-facing by editor
of this BCPTL website]
- As noted above, Mark Steyn and Maclean's
magazine for the publisher's reprinting of a chapter
of Steyn's book "America Alone," Complaint
brought in November by the Canadian Islamic
Congress, which said the article subjects Canadian
Muslims to discrimination, hatred and contempt.
- Ron Gray, leader of the CHP, brought before the
Ontario and Canadian HRCs by Edmonton activist Rob
Wells for an article on the party's website critical
of homosexual conduct. Among other things, Mr. Gray
was told by a HRC mediator that "freedom of
expression is an American concept."
- Catholic Insight magazine is the subject of a
complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission
due to material on its website critical of
homosexual conduct. The passages of articles in
question were written in the context of speaking out
against the activists who agitated for adding
so-called sexual orientation to the Hate Crimes Act
in 2003, and the legalization of same-sex
"marriage" in 2005.
- Steven Boissoin, a Christian pastor who faces
punishment by the Alberta Human Rights Commission
for a letter published in the Red Deer Advocate.
(Case brought by University of Calgary professor
Darren Lund.) The judge claimed a
"circumstantial causal connection" could
be made between the letter and an attack on a
homosexual teenager in that city.
- John Di Cecco, a Kamloops, BC city councilor,
fined $1,000 for by the BC Human Rights Tribunal
when a complaint was brought in response to comments
he made about homosexual conduct.
- Knights of Columbus of Port Coquitlam, BC, fined
by the BC Human Rights Tribunal in December, 2005
for how they handled their refusal of the use of
their hall for a lesbian "wedding"
reception.
- Bishop Fred Henry in 2005 was on the receiving end
of a human rights complaint for articulating the
Church's teachings on same-sex marriage in a
pastoral letter. (The complaint was later withdrawn
after a meeting with the complainants, and
substantial expense.)
- In 2002, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission
ordered the Saskatoon Star Phoenix and Hugh Owens to
each pay $1,500 to three complainants because of the
publication of an advertisement that quoted Bible
verses on homosexuality. Four years later, this was
overturned by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal after
the court ruled that the message, though offensive,
didn't reach the level of inciting hatred. The
League was part of an intervention to protest the
labeling of Scriptural passages as hate speech.
- Bill Whatcott, charged with spreading hate against
homosexual persons for the distribution of material
objecting to an advertisement that ran in
Saskatchewan's largest newspaper for homosexuals,
Perceptions, seeking boys for activities that
specifically mentioned that their age was
"….not so relevant". The material
distributed by Mr. Whatcott also objected to
material promoting "gay" culture and
beliefs entering into the Saskatoon Public School
System and the University of Saskatchewan. The
appeal by Mr. Whatcott to the Saskatchewan Court of
Queen's Bench from his conviction and fine of
$17,500.00 by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal
was denied by the Judgment of Mr. Justice F. Kovatch
in a decision received on December 11, 2007.
- In British Columbia, Chris Kempling, a teacher at
a public high school, was cited in May 2001 for
professional misconduct by the BC College of
Teachers (BCCT) for letters published in a local
newspaper. As punishment he was suspended from
teaching for one month. He appealed his suspension
all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, which
finally refused to hear the appeal in 2006.
When some CBC interviews in 2004 became the basis
for a formal reprimand by the Quesnel School
District, Kempling complained to the BC Human Rights
Tribunal on the grounds that his religious freedom
was being infringed, a complaint that the Tribunal
rejected in November 2005.
- In 1999, Toronto printer Scott Brockie was ordered
by the Ontario commission to pay a gay activist
group $5,000 for refusing to print their letterhead.
[More]
| Bishop
Henry Calls for Overhaul of Human Rights
Commissions
By Deborah
Gyapong
Canadian Catholic News
CALGARY
Bishop Fred Henry is
calling for an overhaul of legislation
governing human rights commissions.
"Human
rights laws, designed as a shield, are now
being used as a sword," Henry wrote in a
December 31 email from
Calgary
, in what he described as an increasingly
"bizarre" series of events.
[More] |
Senior
at centre of life-support battle improving
But
. . .[Hospital] still seeking the right to pull plug
Sat Jan 12 2008
By Kevin Rollason
TWO weeks after Samuel Golubchuk's
family went to court to stop doctors from pulling
him off life support last month because he had
minimal brain activity, he showed signs he was
improving neurologically.
A week later, while doctors
still argued to disconnect his ventilator and pull
out his feeding tube, the 84-year-old Golubchuk was
seen by medical staff to be "awake".
But on Friday in court, more than a month after
the battle to keep him alive began, lawyers for the
family and doctors were continuing to argue because
the physicians say they still need to have control
over deciding when to pull the plug.
After court, the family's lawyer, Neil Kravetsky,
said Golubchuk is alive today only because of the
court's intervention. [More]
Catholic
Insight under 'human rights' attack
By Staff
Hardcopy Issue Date: January 2008
Online Publication Date: Dec 18, 2007, 12:24
Catholic
Insight has joined a range of Canadian
publications, groups and individuals who have
become targets of human rights-based legal attacks
recently.
In February 2007, Rob Wells, a member of the Pride
Centre of Edmonton, filed a nine-point complaint
with the Canadian Human Rights Commission,
alleging that C.I. has targeted homosexuals as
being a powerful menace, made negative
generalizations about them, portrayed them as
preying upon children, blamed them for problems in
society and the world, portrayed them as dangerous
or violent by nature, conveyed the idea that they
are devoid of any redeeming qualities and are
innately evil, used inflammatory and derogatory
language to create a tone of “extreme hatred and
contempt,” trivialized or celebrated past
persecution or tragedy involving them and called
for action to be taken against them.
Wells’s complaint consists of three pages of
isolated and fragmentary extracts from articles
dating back as far as 1994, without any context.
C.I. counters that these isolated quotes are not
meaningful without the contexts of the articles
themselves from which they were culled; in fact,
most of them are even out of context from the
sentences from which they were taken. [More]
Democratic
Responsibilities
When Canadians allow fundamental issues of public
policy -- such as abortion, euthanasia, or whether
possession of child pornography should be a crime --
to be decided by courts, rather than by Parliament,
they are shrugging off the perhaps now irksome
burden of self-government. At bottom, democracy is
anti-authoritarian, not because it arrives at
correct, or even principled, conclusions, but
because it imposes on everyone the burden of
thinking and deciding for oneself. How much easier
to allow the nine philosopher-kings on the Supreme
Court of Canada to think and decide for us.
- Ian Hunter
[as quoted on the website
of Ken Epp, MP]
Poll
When a pregnant woman is murdered or assaulted,
the Canadian Criminal Code does not provide for
any charges to be laid in respect of the unborn
child who is injured or dies as a result. Do you
support legislation making it a separate offence
to injure or kill an unborn child during an attack
on the mother?
[Vote
on this on the website of Ken Epp.]
Catholic
Activist "Banned for life" From Publicly Criticising
Homosexuality
Saskatchewan Court Upholds Human Rights Commission Ruling
By Hilary White
REGINA, Saskatchewan, December 13, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The
Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission's decision to impose a
"lifetime" ban on a local Catholic's freedom to publicly
criticise homosexuality, was upheld this week in its entirety by
Saskatchewan Court of Queens Bench.
Bill Whatcott, a licensed practical nurse who lives in
Saskatchewan, is a campaigner against the homosexual political
movement that is sweeping the Canadian legal system. In 2006, the
Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission (SHRC) ordered Whatcott to
pay $17,500 Cn. to four complainants who complained that their
"feelings" and "self-respect" were
"injured" by Whatcott's pamphlets denouncing the
"gay lifestyle" as immoral and dangerous.
Whatcott responded to the decision, "This fine is for telling
the truth [that] homosexual sodomites can change their behaviour
and be set free from their sin and depravity through the
forgiveness of sins and shed blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ."
He added, "Shame on the Saskatchewan Court of Queens Bench
for pandering to homosexual activism and ignoring the truth."
[More]
Precedent-Setting
Ruling Reinstates Canadian Pro-Life Activist’s Nursing License, Cancels
Fine
By Hilary White
REGINA, January 18, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Saskatchewan Court of
Appeals has ruled that the suspension of a pro-life protester’s nursing
license by the Saskatchewan Association of Licensed Practical Nurses (SALPN)
was unconstitutional.
In 2002, Bill Whatcott, a licensed practical nurse, participated in a
protest outside the Regina Planned Parenthood offices. The Association
judged Whatcott’s protest to have constituted “professional
misconduct” and suspended his nursing license and fined him $15,000.
Whatcott admitted in a court hearing to having carried signs with pictures
of foetuses and captions saying “Planned Parenthood Aborts Babies” and
“Planned Parenthood refers for abortions," "God's gift of
life" and “choice is abortion”. Whatcott lost his initial case at
the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench and his appeal was later
dismissed.
Court documents in the appeal note that the SALPN disciplinary committee
did not address constitutional issues of Whatcott’s freedom of
expression. Whatcott’s appeal was upheld by the court that said the case
raised “constitutional law issues pertaining to freedom of
expression”.
The ruling said, “The Discipline Committee did not engage in any of the
balancing necessary to weigh Mr. Whatcott’s right to work, the high
standards to which nurses must aspire and free speech. Given the existence
of the interim injunction and the means to enforce it, one would not think
the Discipline Committee’s decision was a proportionate response.”
The justices wrote that SALPN had failed to demonstrate that the
restriction on Whatcott’s freedom of expression was reasonable “and
the decision is thus unconstitutional.” [More]
A Time to Speak,
A Time to Listen
[From CitizenLink Nov. 6, 2007]
by Stuart Shepard, managing
editor
My conversation with a protester on
the side of an Indiana country road.
The protesters lined up on the grassy shoulder because
there was no sidewalk on this two-lane road through the
cornfields. They spaced themselves 10 feet or so apart,
apparently in a vain attempt to make it seem like there
were more than the 10 or 15 people who showed up outside
Trader's Point Christian Church. Inside the church, the
daylong Love Won
Out conference had just wrapped up.
Produced by Focus on the Family, the conference shares
hope for people who are unhappy with their homosexuality
and who desire to change. But based on the protest signs
out front, you would never suspect that was the gentle
spirit of Love Won Out.
I flipped on my video camera and walked from protester
to protester to get some shots of the signs they were
holding. One woman held a sign that read, "I love my
lesbian daughter."
She looked like someone I might chat with in line at
the grocery store, so I asked if I could speak with her,
making clear I did not want to start a debate. "I
just want to hear you," I said.
[More]
"Social conservatives move on
to next marriage debate"
By Jennifer Ditchburn, The Canadian Press Ottawa
September 27, 2007
[a Canadian Press
report on a conference put on by the Institute
of Marriage and Family Canada]
International Symposium on Euthanasia and Assisted
Suicide
Current Issues - Future Directions
Friday, Nov 30th, Saturday, Dec 1,
2007 at the: Four Points Sheraton - Toronto
Airport Hotel.
Organized by: the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
- Canada
[More]
Non-Canadian Abortion Advocate Recruited to Face
Young Pro-Life Leader
By Elizabeth O'Brien
CALGARY, August 14, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) -
After avoiding public face-offs with pro-lifers for
many years, abortion advocates are stepping up to
the platform. Responding to the Canadian Center for
Bioethical Reform (CCBR) abortion truck campaign, a
pro-abortion top-gun has been brought in all the way
from the States to be interviewed with young
pro-life leader Stephanie Gray on the issue of
abortion.
Abortion advocates have carefully avoided such
encounters in the past, but a recent media frenzy
over the giant billboards depicting aborted fetuses
have caused a long-time abortion warrior to accept a
public debate. . . .
[The immediately-foregoing
selection is also posted on our "Abortion" page.]
CTV Coverage of CCRB Truck Campaign
Shown on YouTube
Coverage of the truck campaign showing the graphic
images and reaction of some bystanders is shown.
Click here to view it.
Read
the Corren Settlement Agreement Yourself
See
for yourself the terms of this agreement.
Click
here to go to a copy of this document on a
British Columbia government website.
BCTL
Request
for
Meeting with
Government Ministers on Parental Consent
for Minors' Health Care Results in
June
21st Meeting with
Attorney-General and Representative of Ministry of
Health
(Unfortunately,
we have since received a letter from the provincial
Attorney General rejecting our request. See
article below.)
On May 16th, B.C. Parents and Teachers for
Life sent a letter to three provincial cabinet
ministers: Shirley Bond, Minister of
Education, George Abbott, Minister of Health, and
Wally Oppal, Attorney-General. regarding the need to
mandate parental consent for health care for minors.
As a result of the provisions of the provincial Infants
Act, as we have pointed out many times as an
example, a fourteen-year-old girl in British
Columbia can have an abortion without her parents'
consent, or counsel, and even without their
knowledge, as a result of a referral by a school
nurse.
In
our May 16th letter we wrote: "We ask
that you, whose ministries have jurisdiction over
health, education, and law, meet with us and with
representatives of other organizations to discuss
the issue of parental consent as it concerns the
health care of minors.
This is a matter that has been ignored for
too long.
We would appreciate it if you would name a
place and time when it would be convenient for you
to have such a meeting.
We would like to inform other concerned
organizations so that we may bring several
representatives of those organizations to the
meeting."
We
were pleased to receive a phone call informing
us that our request for a meeting had been
granted, and on June 21st [2007] representatives of
BCPTL accompanied by representatives of Campaign
Life Coalition BC and REAL Women of BC had a meeting
with one of the cabinet ministers we had asked to
see: Attorney-General Wally Oppal, as well as a
representative of the Ministry of Health, Mr. Craig
Knight. No representative of the
Ministry of Education was there, and, at the time of
writing this article, we have
received from the Education Minister no
acknowledgement of our request. Subscribers to
the BCPTL Bulletin will receive a more detailed
report of the meeting.
British
Columbia Parents and Teachers for Life Written
Presentation for British Columbia Government
Ministers—June 21, 2007
On
the Necessity for Mandated Parental Permission for
Minors’ Health Care
The
report gives a summary of the issue and challenges
provincial government ministers to restore parental
rights in the matter of their minor children's health
care. [Click here
to go to the written form of this presentation.]
British
Columbia
Government Rejects Mandated Parental Permission for
Minors’ Health Care
In
a letter dated September 3, 2007, Attorney General
Wally Oppal made it clear that the government of
British Columbia has no plans to alter the current
situation in which parents have no guarantee of
input into the “health care” provided their
children.
As we have pointed out numerous times, this
means that your fourteen-year-old daughter, if you
have one, could come home having had an abortion as
a result of a referral from her school, without your
consent and even without your knowledge.
The letter from the Attorney General came as a
follow-up to a meeting BCPTL had with him and with a
representative of the Ministry of Health.
[More]
Public
Health Agency of Canada Listed as Partner by
International Day Against Homophobia Group
April
10, 2007
Socially
conservative Canadians may be interested to know that
the website for the "International Day Against
Homophobia" (May 17) lists among "2007
Majors [sic] Partners" the Public Health
Agency of Canada. The same website singles out
as "Fight Against Homophobia Award Nominees"
Members of Parliament who voted in favour of the Civil
Marriage Act.
This
is the act that enabled the official recogition of
homosexual unions as marriages as
"marriages." Check out the
"International Day Against Homophobia" website
and decide for youself if |