For three days in mid-February, people from all over the country will meet in Ottawa to hear speakers and to discuss and vote on political principles at the United Alternative Assembly. Some pro-lifers see the convention as a new opportunity to significantly influence what may be a major emerging force on the Canadian political scene. The United Alternative Assembly runs this coming Feb. 19-21 at the Ottawa Congress Centre. The registration is $300, or $99 for students who ... (Continue reading)
Voters in many municipalities in Alberta had their chance to decide whether or not they wanted video lottery terminals, and in the province's two largest cities, Edmonton and Calgary, they decided yes, they do. In fact, VLTs, labelled the crack cocaine of gambling by critics, were kept by all but six of the 31 communities that voted on the issue. The communities of Canmore, Coaldale, Cardston, Lacombe, Stony Plain, ... (Continue reading)
The leader of the Ontario Liberal Party is promising to extend full and equal rights to homosexual partners in every area of law except marriage. Dalton McGuinty said if he is elected premier, his government would pass legislation to extend full benefits, pension, spousal leave and adoption rights to same-sex couples. He stopped short of endorsing homosexual marriage, however, because it falls under the federal government's jurisdiction. Duncan Fulton, press secretary for McGuinty, told The Interim in an interview that ... (Continue reading)
Pro-life movement condemns attack on Slepian Police in Canada and the U.S. are on the trail of James Charles Kopp, said to be a material witness - but not a suspect - in the slaying of Buffalo ob-gyn Barnett Slepian. Slepian was shot in the back through his kitchen window, by a sniper hiding in the bushes outside, on Oct. 23. Slepian became the seventh abortion provider to be murdered since 1977, and the third since ... (Continue reading)
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada will pick a new leader this fall, but the candidates hold out little hope for pro-life, pro-family Canadians. Seeking the leadership are former prime minister Joe Clark, backroom advisor Hugh Segal, former Manitoba cabinet minister Brian Pallister, Québec lawyer Michael Fortier, and Saskatchewan farmer and free-trade opponent David Orchard. If the Oct. 24 vote fails to produce a clear winner, a second vote ... (Continue reading)
On Sept. 2, police in 12 countries simultaneously arrested almost 50 people. The sting, dubbed Operation Cathedral, was described by authorities as "the most extensive child pornography sting in history." Begun by the British National Crime Squad six months ago, it uncovered a database with more than 100,000 pornographic photographs. Police have seized "boxes of pornography, various software materials, and hardware," 8mm film, and videotapes. Some suspects had personal databases of 10,000 images, including some depicting children as ... (Continue reading)
In May 1996, conservatives of all stripes and political parties met in Calgary at a Winds of Change conference. Their purpose was to find common ground, in order to "unite the right." Christian Heritage Party leader Ron Gray went to the conference but was refused entry. He says many fiscal conservatives don't want moral conservatives as part of their coalition. He says they think it could doom their chances at forming a government. "Citizens are concerned about moral decay," ... (Continue reading)
A Liberal MP is working to give relief to parents who forgo careers to stay at home with their children. MP Paul Szabo (Mississagua South), is the chairperson of a Liberal caucus committee exploring ways to address the issue of unpaid work in the home. He says parents who stay at home to take care of preschool children are entitled to equal treatment. Szabo wants to give them a ... (Continue reading)
Shortly after his 1996 re-election, Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori initiated an ambitious program of population control, featuring "sex education" and sterilization in the heavily Roman Catholic country. Critics of the program see population control as a trade-off with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and foreign governments for much-needed economic aid. American G. Joseph Rees, a Congressional committee staff aide, went to Peru to investigate charges of human-rights ... (Continue reading)
Earlier this spring, pro-life evangelist Ken Campbell purchased a full-page ad in The Globe and Mail. The ad condemned the "bathhouse morality" of many homosexuals, and argued against the recent Vriend decision, in which the Supreme Court of Canada forced Alberta to add "sexual orientation" to its human rights legislation. In the ad, Campbell said the ruling is an "assault on the foundations of faith, family, and freedom in Canada." That prompted Toronto homosexual Philip Shea to file ... (Continue reading)
The same day the Ontario government announced that abstinence must be taught in sex ed classes in all schools across the province, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists heard at its annual conference that more teenagers are becoming sexually active, pregnant, and infected by sexually-transmitted diseases. On June 29, education minister Dave Johnson announced a new health and phys ed curriculum for grades 1-8, including requirements for sex ed. ... (Continue reading)
Joanne Van Halteren was a nurse with 16 years experience and a respected leader in the obstetrics wing of the Markham-Stouffville hospital in Ontario. Her expertise in emergency neo-natal resuscitation was recognized by the hospital, and she was given responsibility for certifying other healthcare professionals in the technique. She loved to care for newborn babies and their mothers. She even volunteered at the hospital's breast-feeding clinic. Still, after a 1994 ... (Continue reading)
An April 7 announcement by St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto has fuelled a debate about the role of a publicly-funded religious hospital. St Mike's said nearby Wellesley Hospital—which the Roman Catholic institution had just taken over, in a government-mandated merger—will no longer provide abortions, sterilizations, or condoms. AIDS Action Now, the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League (CARAL), the Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics, and the Access to Healthcare Action ... (Continue reading)