Closing politics and public life to those who are religious leaves us with a less tolerant society that brings fundamental freedoms into question
Disagreement is normal, if not necessary, in a healthy democracy. Being intolerant and disrespectful toward those with whom we disagree, however, is fatal to that democracy. Historically, Canadians have had the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (and the Bill of Rights before it) for protection. That’s especially important for racial, religious, political or sexual minorities,…
Limiting access to alcohol led to chaos during the Prohibition. Will constraining opioids do the same?
There are so many reasons to be very glad that we live in Canada – one of the main is that we’re governed by the rule of law. Laws and the rules and regulations that underpin them are enacted by democratically-elected governments. They’re enforced and upheld by police and courts that are amazingly upright and…
It’s time for advocates on both sides of the abortion divide to be true to their preferred monikers
There’s perhaps no more contentious topic of discussion in Canada than abortion. Even Canadian lawmakers are hesitant to debate the subject. As a high school teacher of a class called Social Justice 12, I can’t ignore the topic. And my code of ethics requires that I facilitate legitimate research and respectful discussion, all the while…
Every Canadian has the fundamental right to think and believe freely. But an Ontario court has sided with the suppression of the individual
Imagine being a feminist physician unshakable in your conviction that girls and women must be protected from patriarchal oppression. Now picture being asked to assist with a sex-selection abortion because daddy doesn’t want a female child and mother consents to his wishes. Up until May 15, reasonable Canadians would concur that you had every right…
Insisting on righteous victory at any cost is the greasy slope to violence
On the afternoon of May 22, 1856, Preston Brooks, a plantation owner and pro-slavery congressman from South Carolina, strode into the nearly deserted U.S. Senate chamber. There he accosted Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, who had been making a series of fiery abolitionist speeches. Brooks announced that Sumner had used insulting language toward his relative and…
Religious and faith communities are among the most racially and ethnically diverse parts of Canadian society
Depending on political preference, most Canadians would likely agree that diversity is our strength or is a product of our strength. Regardless of the preferred permutation, those views recognize diversity as a central feature of Canadian society. That’s all well and good, but what does that commitment to diversity really mean? A quick scan of…
If the Canada Summer Jobs precedent holds, soon other government agencies will mix public funds and political preferences
In a crucial free speech ruling recently, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the constitution in that country prohibits forcing people to say what they don’t believe. Here in Canada, a young Ottawa lawyer upped the ante recently by filing a Federal Court lawsuit arguing that our Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the right…
The Ontario PC leader once opened his arms to the controversial candidate. Now dumping her is the only choice
Did Ontario PC leader Doug Ford make the right decision in removing Tanya Granic Allen as a party candidate in the upcoming provincial election? It’s a question some Ontario conservatives have been asking for a few days. While there’s no easy answer, let’s see if we can reach a conclusion. Granic Allen is the 37-year-old…
If you probe the granular views of most people, I suspect you’ll find they’re somewhere between the two extremes
There is no abortion law in Canada. Canadians uneasy about that can look across the Atlantic for an alternative way of doing things. On May 25, the Republic of Ireland goes to the polls in an abortion-related constitutional referendum. Abortion was outlawed in Ireland by the Offences Against the Person Act passed by the United…
If abortion is such a hard decision, as even advocates maintain, why aren't women allowed the time to make it?
There are Canadian women whose waiting doesn’t matter. And then there are Canadian women whose waiting is especially terrible and reported on regularly. The Canadian Press reported on Aug. 15 that a 29-year-old whose birth control failed got the abortion she wanted. Except it wasn’t quite fast enough. She waited two months for her abortion…
Disagreement is normal, if not necessary, in a healthy democracy. Being intolerant and disrespectful toward those with whom we disagree, however, is fatal to that democracy. Historically, Canadians have had the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (and the Bill of Rights before it) for protection. That’s especially important for racial, religious, political or sexual minorities,…
