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'Laws are not as important as Tracy was'
The case of Robert Latimer has polarized society, judges and the media. The hearings before the National Parole Board and its reactions to this case are just as conflicted. While Latimer's appeal to a panel for day parole was refused last December, the board's appeal division granted him his freedom yesterday, rejecting many of the arguments made by those at the first hearing.
National Post, February 28
Canada just became scarier for the disabled
One of the central reasons why Latimer's parole was originally declined in December, 2007, was because he refused to acknowledge that he did anything wrong. He killed his daughter, he argued, out of love. He was putting the girl out of her misery. Perhaps a more candid explanation was that he was putting her out of his.
Michael Coren, National Post, February 28
Fetal rights stir debate on abortion
The political debate on abortion, largely dormant in Canada, is being revived because of a bill that would make it a criminal offence for someone to attack a woman with the intent of killing her unborn child. Bill C-484, which will receive second reading next week, is designed to cover what its proponents say is a gap in the Criminal Code: taking the life of a fetus against the will of the mother.
National Post, March 1
Is abortion too hot a topic for campuses?
Both sides say it was wrong to cancel York U event
National Post, March 4
Earlier: Stories about "mercy killing" and life issues
Other stories from the past week:
Judge flays society in sentencing homeless robber
The violent encounter last August between a homeless panhandler and an elderly parishioner at the entrance to Holy Rosary Cathedral has led a Vancouver Provincial Court judge to question society's willingness to accept homelessness and the chaos it has brought to the city's streets.
Vancouver Sun, February 28
Earlier: Stories about churchgoers allegedly killed by people they helped
A Leap day show for Rossini
Opera chorus will perform 'off-the-wall' religious piece
David Gordon Duke, Vancouver Sun, February 28
Fidel won, so lift the embargo
On Tuesday, Cuba's new president, Raul Castro, met his first foreign dignitary, the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. An odd choice for a regime that still does not permit full religious liberty, to say nothing of the full complement of human rights? It was merely a coincidence; Cardinal Bertone was already in the country, commemorating Pope John Paul II's visit 10 years ago, when Fidel stepped down and Raul took over.
Father Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, February 28
Sextuplets seized from parents were not in danger, lawyer tells B.C. court
Medical opinion, the government's duty to protect children, parental rights and freedom of religion are clashing in a B.C. courtroom over the seizure of four premature babies from a group of sextuplets. The children were taken from their home last year and given blood transfusions, contrary to the beliefs of their Jehovah's Witness parents.
Canadian Press, February 29
Earlier: Stories about Jehovah's Witnesses and blood transfusions
Pakistani family walks out of church after 18 months of sanctuary
A Pakistani family who lived in a church for 18 months to avoid deportation took a short drive this week and came back with their freedom. Hassan Raza, his wife and their six children spent most of the last 1 1/2 years holed up in the Crescent Fort Rouge United Church in Winnipeg, afraid of being arrested and deported if they ventured outside.
Canadian Press, February 29
Earlier: Stories about Islam and the West
Vancouver archbishop in hospital after car crash
Vancouver Catholic Archbishop Raymond Roussin was taken to hospital after his car collided with a pickup truck in downtown Vancouver Thursday.
Vancouver Sun, February 29
My evangelical co-worker won't stop preaching to me
I've heard lots of toxic-office, psychotic-boss and cantankerous-colleague stories. But following you out of the office on your lunch break, stalking you, then pouncing on you in a shoe store and chewing you out for shopping? That's out there. If someone did that to me, I do believe they would soon find their hindquarters in intimate contact with the business end of a size 13 adidas shell toe.
David Eddie, Globe and Mail, February 29
Lawyers get bad vibes from voodoo sting
The police sting is considered a first in the Western world. However, the fact that a police officer disguised himself as a spiritual advisor to draw incriminating confessions from suspects, mixed with the religious overtones and demands of faith from "Leon," makes this sting as controversial as it is unique. In a country where heresy is far from a crime, Justice Terrance O'Connor was forced to go where Canadian judges fear to tread: What is a religion? Should fringe beliefs be treated the same as mainstream faiths? Can the state tamper with faith to solve crime? And what privacy should religious confessions have in the court?
National Post, March 1
$250,000 granted to counter hate crimes
Eleven ethnic and religious groups out of an applicant pool of more than 100 were granted federal funding yesterday in an effort to improve security at their institutions and counter hate crimes. Nine Jewish groups, as well as a Muslim association and a Sikh community, will share a total of nearly $250,000, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day told a small crowd of Jewish leaders at a Thornhill, Ont., community centre yesterday.
Globe and Mail, March 1
A link to the past, and dear departed
Memorial to lost babies a poignant new part of historic Mountain View Cemetery
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, March 1
'Secrets' sell, but there's something to them
As a title, The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die is pretty punchy. Vancouver's John Izzo, one of the biggest and more serious figures in the self-improvement movement, coined it for his latest book and the related Biography Channel TV series. . . . The latest work of Izzo, who has advanced degrees in psychology and religion, is built on a valuable research premise: Go out and interview 200 wise, happy people over age 60 and whittle their life knowledge down to five lessons.
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, March 1
On hope
Saint David's Day! I like to proclaim this whenever it falls on a day when my column appears. And the saint's day delayed by a day in a leap year must be especially lucky. So break out the leeks. Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant!
David Warren, Ottawa Citizen, March 1
Church wants say on condo project
Priests and parishioners at historic St. Basil's Church, part of St. Michael's College in Toronto, are making an eleventh-hour bid today for Toronto City Council to defer an application for two massive condominium towers that will dwarf the church.
Toronto Star, March 3
The truth about Scientology
Jonathan Kay's article on Scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard ("In fear of Xenu," Jan. 18.) certainly didn't give the picture of the religion I have known for the past 40 years.
Yvette Shank, National Post, March 3
Golden Compass becomes cautionary tale
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic school board has decided not to follow the lead of its neighbouring board and ban The Golden Compass from library shelves. While the Halton Catholic board removed the book -- and two others in the trilogy -- from its schools last November, the Dufferin-Peel board last week decided it will instead put a note in the front cover of each book in the series, saying they "in no way represent the reality of the Roman Catholic Church."
Toronto Star, March 4
Earlier: Stories about The Golden Compass
Singh supporters granted extra week for appeal
Supporters of paralyzed refugee claimant Laibar Singh say they have been granted an extra week to launch a last-minute appeal to immigration officials to allow him to remain in Canada for a year. Mr. Singh was due to be deported to India yesterday or his supporters would forfeit a $50,000 bond. After failing in his attempts to remain in Canada, the 49-year-old labourer is living at Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in Surrey. The bond is now due to expire on March 10, supporters say.
Globe and Mail, March 4
March 5/2008
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