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Stories about the Ontario legislature and the Lord's Prayer:
Ontario moves to preserve Lord's Prayer, add recitation in legislature
It looks like the Lord's Prayer will remain a part of life in the Ontario legislature. House Leader Michael Bryant has introduced a motion to keep the daily reading of the prayer, but also add another prayer, recitation or moment of silence.
Canadian Press, June 12
Ontario to preserve Lord's Prayer, add recitation in legislature
Speaker Steve Peters has the power to vet the second prayer, which can also include a recitation or even a moment of silence. He says a list of eight prayers and a moment of silence will begin the rotation, which could start as early as next week.
Canadian Press, June 12
Ontario to keep Lord's Prayer in legislature
Ontario's governing Liberals tried to say "Amen" Thursday to a thorny proposal to replace the Lord's Prayer in the legislature, opting instead to make time for an additional ritual that would better reflect the province's diverse cultural and religious landscape. Critics called the move a calculated retreat in the face of massive public outcry to preserve a decades-long tradition. But in averting a controversy, the government may have created a new debate over which additional faiths pass muster.
Canadian Press, June 12
MPPs to hear Lord's Prayer -- and others
McGuinty's compromise will see Christian prayer accompanied daily by rotating selection from other faiths
Toronto Star, June 13
MPPs vote to keep Lord's Prayer
Ontario legislature opts to introduce multi-faith rotation
Ottawa Citizen, June 13
MPPs keep Christian prayer, add new ones
Lord's Prayer will continue to open daily proceedings, but will be supplemented with those from other faiths
Globe and Mail, June 13
Legislature breaks for summer after session dominated by debate over prayers
Debates over prayers and new working hours for politicians dominated the spring session of the Ontario legislature, which sputtered to a stop Wednesday amid criticism the Liberal government spent more time banning products and practices than fixing the province's ailing economy.
Canadian Press, June 18
The Lord's Prayer isn't a white thing
The 58-0 vote stirred up some people who are prone to being stirred up. Henry Beissel, head of something called Secular Ontario -- an association devoted to banishing the Lord's Prayer from Ontario town councils -- was in full dudgeon: "This type of religious fanaticism and racism belongs to past centuries and it's time to move on." Racism? Where would he get the idea that Christian prayers are racial things? Perhaps from the Premier himself, who trotted out the diversity arguments back when he first mooted the idea in February, arguing that something more "inclusive" was needed in today's Ontario. Why? He cited figures that show one-third of Ontario's population is born outside Canada, and almost one-half are foreign-born in the Greater Toronto Area.
Father Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, June 18
The Lord's Prayer in the legislature: How would Jesus pray?
If the House is to begin with the Lord's Prayer, why not do it the way that Jesus commanded? In Matthew 6, Jesus says, "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
Reuel S. Amdur, Full Comment, National Post, June 18
Earlier: Stories about prayer in Ontario and Quebec government meetings
Stories about "human rights" tribunals and commissions:
Apology over anti-gay letter not wanted
A peculiar consequence of a recent ruling in the long-running case of anti-gay Albertan preacher Stephen Boissoin is that, in announcing the judicial remedy for his controversial letter to the editor of the Red Deer Advocate newspaper, the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission has ordered a written apology to be given by a man who does not mean it to another man who does not want it. . . . He said he dropped his original demand for an apology when he realized an insincere one "wouldn't accomplish anything."
National Post, June 12
When did the Bible become 'hate speech'?
Four years ago, I wrote an article entitled "Thinly Disguised Totalitarianism" for the religious journal First Things, surveying the erosion of Canadian religious liberty under various regulatory bodies, professional associations and human rights tribunals. I wrote then that "there are no restrictions on freedom of worship in Canada today." That's no longer true. As Ezra Levant details below, the Stephen Boissoin case is an egregious assault on religious liberty, press freedom and freedom of speech. And for those of us who previously underestimated the threat to religious liberty, it serves as a rude correction.
Father Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, June 12
Human rights tribunal has a fine line to tread
Decisions have to take discrimination into account, while reflecting Charter values on freedom of expression
Peter McKnight, Vancouver Sun, June 14
Human rights body to review Internet role
Faced with a growing controversy over human rights complaints and freedom of speech, the Canadian Human Rights Commission yesterday launched a major independent review of how it deals with hate messages on the Internet. "I'm a free speecher. I'm also a human rightser," said Jennifer Lynch, chief commissioner of the CHRC. "We have a responsibility to lead the debate on how we can keep our policy up to date to effectively regulate hate on the Internet."
National Post, June 18
Earlier: Stories about Islam and "human rights" tribunals
Stories about Islam and the West:
Camp set up to screen recruits: mole
The police agent who became a trusted member of an alleged homegrown terror cell described for court yesterday the workings of a "training camp" designed to screen recruits and the "criminal" mind of its accused leader. About a dozen men ran obstacle courses and fired a 9mm semi-automatic handgun in a snow-covered, wooded area in December, 2005, while their "emir," the alleged leader of the group, uttered "terrorist rhetoric," Mubin Shaikh, 32, testified yesterday. When the topic of martyrdom came up, some of the camp participants said they were ready to die. The alleged leader later told the mole he wanted to exploit the willingness of one of the group's youngest members.
National Post, June 12
Tarek Fatah, stop bashing our fellow sock
In his piece 'Islamists who have a problem with free speech should leave,' Tarek Fatah enlightened the Post's readers with the name-calling he directs at anyone he disagrees with, which Muslims across Canada have grown accustomed to. This time around the target was our colleague and fellow sock-puppet (as we have come to be known) in our human rights complainants against Maclean's, Khurrum Awan.
Naseem Mithoowani and Muneeza Sheikh, Full Comment, National Post, June 12
Young terror suspects were dupes, leaders say
Mr. Shaikh, 32, who was paid $300,000 to infiltrate the group, admitted during morning testimony that he was once a drug abuser who lived in the fast lane during a period of teenaged rebellion from Muslim orthodoxy.
Canadian Press, June 16
Also: Canadian Press
Police mole paints altered picture at terror trial
RCMP informer Mubin Shaikh -- the government's star witness -- acknowledged that while this particular youth may have been an unsuccessful shoplifter (he was caught -- twice), he knew nothing about alleged schemes to blow up buildings or behead politicians. Rather, Shaikh said, he knew the young man as a quiet, shy, considerate teenager -- a recent convert to Islam -- who wanted to please the alleged ringleaders of the alleged plot but who, in the main, was just trying to fit in.
Toronto Star, June 17
Teenage recruits 'sheep,' mole says
The youths recruited by a suspected sleeper cell were "sheep" who were kept in the dark about the group's alleged plans to attack innocent people in downtown Toronto and Ottawa, a court heard yesterday. Four teens who attended a terrorist "training camp" in December, 2005, were told they were going to a religious retreat for youths, Mubin Shaikh, the police mole who became the group's "trainer," testified.
National Post, June 17
'Islamophobia' used too often to stifle debate or criticism
There is one aspect of the prolonged human rights debacle involving Mark Steyn and Maclean's magazine that continues to trouble me. This concern goes far beyond the principals involved in a hearing before the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal. My unease lies in the constant use of the term "Islamophobia."
Raheel Raza, Vancouver Sun, June 17
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Suspect had 'jihadi fantasy,' mole tells terrorism trial
The group's alleged leader -- a man who prosecutors claim was the architect of plans to attack Parliament and behead the prime minister -- was "a few fries short of a Happy Meal," said Mr. Shaikh, who was paid $300,000 by the RCMP to infiltrate the circle. The leader even suggested he could convert First Nations people to Islam and have them kill the Quebecois in return for the land, the court heard. "It's a hell of a deal," Mr. Shaikh added.
National Post, June 18
Ringleader lived in `jihadi fantasy,' police mole says
The alleged ringleader of a homegrown terror plot lived in a "jihadi fantasy" with "no clear plan" on how to carry out a massive attack on Canada, the Crown's star witness told a Brampton court yesterday. Even though plans to storm Parliament Hill, behead politicians and detonate bombs may have seemed laughable, it was often accompanied by terrorist rhetoric, said police mole Mubin Shaikh.
Toronto Star, June 18
The Mark Steyn case is the elephant in the Canadian arts community's room
While it's true that the proposed changes to the Income Tax Act, as outlined in Bill C-10, will have a negative impact on the Canadian film industry and will place Canadian film producers in a precarious position, it should leave a reasonable person flabbergasted to see how those who protest against this bill remain silent against an even larger elephant in the room: the Maclean's human rights case.
Anthony Furey, Full Comment, National Post, June 18
Earlier: Stories about Islam and the West
Other stories from the past week:
Priest admitted to gay 'incident,' not sex assault
Ex-chief disputes interpretation of his notes at Cornwall inquiry
Ottawa Citizen, June 12
Televangelist gives back woman's cash
Televangelist Peter Popoff's ministry has reimbursed a Nanaimo woman after she went public with concerns about the fundraising techniques used by the California-based church. Josie Gurney, 58, almost threw away the envelope from Vancouver branch of the Word for the World Ministries, thinking it was just another appeal for money from the parent organization. But she looked inside the envelope and found a cheque for $69.08.
Nanaimo Daily News, June 12
Protesters rail against Darwin exhibition
Charles McVety stood in front of a giant poster of Charles Darwin, and called the father of natural selection a giant racist. "Today, we look up at this picture of Charles Darwin and ask that the truth be known," said the president of Canada Christian College to a multicoloured crowd of 50 prayerful protesters in front of the Royal Ontario Museum.
National Post, June 13
Earlier: Stories about Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
A faith's new land
The Lambeth Conference is held every 10 years by Anglicans worldwide to celebrate, pray and work out issues that are bound to arise in any large family. That is, until now. Held in Canterbury, the historic site that has always been the physical heart of the Church, the meeting this time around will be marred by a boycott by African churches over the issue of homosexuality and its place among the faithful.
National Post, June 14
Earlier: Stories about Anglican and Lutheran schisms over homosexuality
Study aims to debunk 'Catholic guilt' myth
One of the most pervasive stereotypes of Roman Catholicism is being debunked in a new study about "Catholic guilt." The research, which is drawn from 3,290 people aged 13 to 17, finds that Catholic youth are no more prone to guilt than other teens, that more observant Catholics are no likelier to feel guilty than less observant ones, and that traditional guilt-causing behaviours such as looking at pornography or having oral sex does not affect contemporary Catholics any more than fellow teens.
CanWest News Service, June 14
B.C. defends blood transfusion for children
A B.C. court says a child's right to life trumps a parent's Charter right to guide their medical treatment in the case of four sextuplets taken from their Jehovah's Witness parents. B.C. Supreme Chief Justice Donald Brenner has ruled that seizing the four surviving infants to administer blood transfusions, contrary to their parents' religious beliefs, was medically necessary.
Canadian Press, June 14
Earlier: Stories about Jehovah's Witnesses and blood transfusions
Tony Gagliano: A Luminato luminary
The devout Gaetano, who has a home chapel, has given $11 million (with another $4 million to come) to create Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation, which operates out of an airy, smartly renovated heritage building on Queen St. E., next to the Toronto Life offices. "I work for them, but it never dawned on me that they are bosses," says Rev. Thomas Rosica, CEO of the foundation and a man whom Tony Gagliano likens to one of his brothers. "Some people say (Tony's) too good to be true," says Rosica, "but what you see is what you get."
Toronto Star, June 15
Polygamy prosecutor wants Bountiful probe reopened
The special prosecutor looking into polygamy in British Columbia says he intends to ask the RCMP to reopen their investigation into the polygamous religious community at Bountiful to find out whether men in authority fathered children with underage girls. "The law says it is an offence for a person in a position of authority over another to sexually touch someone if they are under 18," Vancouver lawyer Terry Robertson said in his first extensive interview since his appointment this month in the high-profile case.
Globe and Mail, June 16
Earlier: Stories about the polygamist cult at Bountiful
Not everyone in Hindu community laughing over new comedy
He made us rock in Wayne's World, laugh out loud as Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and fall in love with a swamp-loving ogre in Shrek. But Canadian actor Mike Myers is stirring up a different vibe in his new movie, The Love Guru.
Globe and Mail, June 16
Two more MDs quit Grace unit
Two more critical-care doctors at Winnipeg's Grace Hospital have followed the lead of one of their colleagues who quit his shift rather than obey a court order to treat an elderly man on life-support, and more may follow suit. . . . Doctors at the hospital have said they are unhappy that Golubchuk is being kept alive on life-support, but his family says taking him off would violate his beliefs as an Orthodox Jew.
Winnipeg Free Press, June 17
Earlier: New legislation for assisted suicide on horizon
Psychic's claim of abused child has Barrie, Ont., mom demanding apology
A mother from Barrie, Ont., is demanding an apology after the Children's Aid Society launched an investigation into sexual abuse allegations that came from a psychic. Colleen Leduc says her daughter Victoria's teaching assistant visited a psychic who asked if she taught a girl whose name started with the letter "V."
Canadian Press, June 17
Socialists made eugenics fashionable
An exhibition of the history of those scientific ideas that gave a grimy intellectual veneer to the Nazi genocide opened recently at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. The collection centres on eugenics, the notion that humanity can be improved and perfected by selective breeding and the elimination of individuals and groups considered to be undesirable. Entitled Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race, it reveals how it was not thoughtless right-wing thugs as much as writers and scientists, the intellectual elite, who led the movement.
Michael Coren, National Post, June 17
Earlier: Stories about Tommy Douglas
Church fights to help Sudanese family
A church group in Smithers and a local MP are pleading with the minister of Citizenship and Immigration to reconsider her rejection of a refugee claim from a Sudanese woman and her family. When the parishioners at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Smithers heard the story of Augustina Lado, a Sudanese woman stranded in Cairo with her three children, they decided to sponsor her for a new life in their northern B.C. town.
Vancouver Sun, June 18
Rabbi beats speeding ticket
Judge rules that rushing to treat baby bleeding from circumcision a 'necessity'
Montreal Gazette, June 18
Anti-spanking bill heads to House of Commons after Senate approvalA bill that would expose parents to criminal prosecution for spanking their children has cleared the Senate, bound to reopen wounds still sore from a Supreme Court ruling four years ago. Sponsored by Liberal Senator Celine Hervieux-Payette, the bill passed final reading in the Senate on Tuesday night.
Canadian Press, June 18
Earlier: Senators urged to keep spanking legal
Senate to send film tax bill back to House
Liberal senators will amend the controversial film-financing sections of the government's omnibus tax bill, despite the fact that the Commons passed the legislation as a confidence measure.
Canadian Press, June 18
Earlier: Stories about Bill C-10 and controversial films
A tax on everything carbon
Remember when it was said that everyone complained about the weather but no one did anything about it? No more. Tomorrow Stephane Dion announces his new carbon tax -- a tax aimed at changing the weather (eventually). I.ll leave to others the environmental questions, but the carbon tax -- and its apparent popularity in the polls, at least in theory -- points to significant changes in the way that we think about taxation.
Father Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, June 18
June 19/2008
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