Nothing could have prepared Gillian DeSouza for the news she would receive during what was supposed to have been a routine pregnancy care check-up in June of 2008. At the 20th week in her pregnancy, the doctor told Gillian and her ... (Continue reading)
An appreciation of the gift of being a dad The arrival of this past June’s Father’s Day caused me to reflect on what the occasion means to me. As I gazed around the table and viewed my family, I observed my partner in life, affectionately known as mom, and my children, each with his or her own uniqueness. The good Lord is a co-Creator with us, the parents, and stands beside us throughout life’s journey. As dad, ... (Continue reading)
On Sept. 23, the Madam Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein of the Supreme Court of British Columbia quashed polygamy charges against Winston Blackmore and James Oler. The legal reasoning is rather technical and narrow – the defense claimed and the justice agreed that former Attorney General Wally Oppal had gone “special prosecutor shopping” – but that doesn’t change the reality that the decision will be read, at the very least, as tolerance for polygamy in Canadian law and perhaps an endorsement of ... (Continue reading)
At the age of 25, Andrew Scheer ran for office under the banner of the new Conservative Party of Canada in the NDP stronghold of Regina-Qu’Appelle, defeating former NDP leadership candidate Lorne Nystrom by just under 900 votes. Although he was confident he would win, he told The Interim in a recent interview, “There was an element of ‘wow.’” Scheer, now 30, has a rare combination ... (Continue reading)
In the wake of the launching of the first-ever Campaign Life Coalition student-run fashion show benefit, it seems that mainstream media and grassroots pro-life, pro-family groups may be on the same page. And, with back-to-school shopping season upon us, the timing couldn’t be better. In August, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, an award-winning American radio talk show host whose weekly program boasts over 8.5 million listeners, threw her name behind Colleen Hammond’s book, ... (Continue reading)
Once again the assembled chiefs of police in Canada have called for an increased number of officers to deal with what they describe as a “spiralling increase” in the amount of child pornography on the internet. They explained to a press conference that a quarter of a million separate internet addresses in Canada are actively downloading the most horrendous scenes of child sexual abuse, giving talk radio ... (Continue reading)
It’s an annual event now, like some sort of grotesque birthday – the attempt to make the spanking of one’s child a criminal offence. The zealots have failed so far, but be warned that each time, they come a little closer. For most of us, the normal ones, the issue is largely irrelevant. Spanking is sometimes helpful, and frequently a waste of time, but is hardly ever ... (Continue reading)
Over the last few months, numerous groups and media outlets have noticed that the world’s population is aging –alarmingly so in the developed world – yet few identified the solution to the problem. From the business pages of the daily papers to financial advisers, from the International Monetary Fund to the C.D. Howe Institute, alarm bells have been ringing about the rapidly aging populations of Canada, the United States, Japan and Europe. The developing world is also aging, though not as ... (Continue reading)
But nostalgia for kid’s shows doesn’t stand scrutiny During the four years I wrote a daily TV column, I could always rely on at least one study a year, often more, decrying the debilitating effect that television had on the young mind. Among the most recent is a University of Washington report that blamed TV viewing for preventing babies from learning language, while in the U.K., a survey of ... (Continue reading)
The last time I saw my dad alive was as he walked, arm in arm, with my mum through the departure gates of Toronto airport. It was symbolic. He turned around to wave goodbye. In a few weeks, he would be dead. I found out after his death that he had been suffering from agonizing bone cancer that had taken hold of his spine. This, combined with ... (Continue reading)
On June 3, the Institute for Marriage and Family Canada released Private Choices, Public Costs, a report on the cost family breakdown to taxpayers. Interim editor Paul Tuns spoke with Rebecca Walberg and Andrea Mrozek, co-authors of the report. The Interim: Why did you choose to look into the public costs of individual, private choices such as marriage, living single and divorce? What was the impetus for such a study? ... (Continue reading)
On June 3, the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada released a report entitled, “Private Choices, Public Costs: How Failing Families Cost us All,” detailing the cost of family breakdown in Canada by examining the relationship between poverty and family structure. Co-authors Rebecca Walberg and Andrea Mrozek say that the cost of poverty alleviation for broken families is “a bare minimum” of nearly $7 billion annually to taxpayers. The ... (Continue reading)
As Easter weekend rolled around, and with it the end of my agonizing Lenten sacrifice of caffeinated drinks, I couldn’t help but remember childhood Easters and the ritual rolling out of 50s- and 60s-era biblical epics on the big three U.S. networks. The big event was always Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 remake of his own 1923 silent-era Mosaic blockbuster, The Ten Commandments, alongside less-esteemed widescreen biblical adaptations like King Of ... (Continue reading)
Part two of a piece offering advice to those suffering in the aftermath of a miscarriage. (Continue reading)
A Quebec couple has launched a $3.5-million lawsuit against Montreal Children's Hospital for allegedly putting their infant daughter back on artificial food and hydration without their approval. Marie-Eve Laurendeau gave birth to Phebe Mantha at LaSalle Hospital in November 2007. After a difficult delivery, Phebe was transferred to Montreal Children's Hospital in serious condition and put on life support. According to the lawsuit, Laurendeau and Phebe's father, Stephane Mantha, were told by doctors that their daughter had little chance for survival ... (Continue reading)
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Great news reported on the front page of today's Globe and Mail: The Conservative government has offered an ...
At one point yesterday I was convinced that the Democrats had more than 220 votes and thus enough ...
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An appreciation of the gift of being a dad The arrival ...
On Sept. 23, the Madam Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein of the Supreme Court of British Columbia ...
In the wake of the launching of the first-ever Campaign Life Coalition student-run fashion show ...
Over the last few months, numerous groups and media outlets have noticed that the world’s ...
On June 3, the Institute for Marriage and Family Canada released Private Choices, Public Costs, ...
Part two of a piece offering advice to those suffering in the aftermath of a ...
A Quebec couple has launched a $3.5-million lawsuit against Montreal Children's Hospital for allegedly putting ...
