Posted on 04/28/2004 7:03:12 PM PDT by GMMAC
Liberal dominated Senate Oppresses Free Speech CFAC News Release April 28, 2004 - For Immediate Release
"Today the Senate sounded the final death knell in legislation that will severely limit free speech and freedom of religion and even freedom of the press in Canada," says Brian Rushfeldt, Executive Director, Canada Family Action Coalition (CFAC). "As other democratic nations watch in amazement, Martin's Liberal government and the Liberal controlled Senate have passed Bill C-250, a draconian piece of legislation that will criminalize people who express an opinion contrary to homosexual behaviour, including views based on religion, conscience, morality, and even medical or humanitarian concerns."
Given the undefined, ambiguous wording in this severely flawed piece of legislation, Christians and other faith groups are worried that expressing their religious or moral views, or even quoting from the Bible or another religious text, may become a criminal act, says Rushfeldt. Every Canadian citizen who publicly opposes homosexual behavior will be criminalized, he says.
He points out that terms in the legislation, including 'hatred', 'promoting hatred' and 'sexual orientation' remain undefined. They will be determined only one is "taken" to court.
"I have been accused by homosexual activists of 'promoting hatred' simply for expressing the view that marriage should remain defined as between one man and one woman. Will expressing that view now make me a criminal? Will a religious leader who expresses the view that homosexuality is immoral be convicted of a hate crime? Will a parent who refuses to allow her child to take a sex education class promoting homosexuality be criminalized? Nobody can answer those questions, for it will now be up to the courts to interpret the ambiguous wording in this legislation."
Based on recent court decisions, CFAC has grave concerns about how this law will be applied and interpreted by judges. "There is a growing trend among courts and human rights tribunals to rule against religious freedom in favor of homosexual 'rights'," he points out.
"Civilized democracies are founded upon basic principles of freedom of speech, thought, opinion and religion. The Canadian Liberal government and the Senate have struck a severe and destructive blow against democratic freedoms. It is a little like Communists arresting someone because some authority decided you broke some law."
"The only solution now is to elect a government that will rescind or amend this dangerous undemocratic law. The fight is not over. We will be asking people not to vote for those MPs responsible for this."
There were a lot of Liberals who voted against this in the House, but it still squeaked by. The Liberals had better call an election fast before the persecutions begin under this bill. We intend on shining as bright a light as possible on all persecutions and prosecutions this bill causes.
And we may not have to shine the light too far. Connie and I have received several threats saying Free Dominion will be the first group the homosexual lobby is going to come after. I say, "Bring it on!"
Your observation is correct.
yeah.. I guess but, I'm just frustrated.... it seems that all our "friends" are screwing us.
It's weird that the UK and Ausies have the only leadership we can count on... and I don't know seems that unless I unload a rant now and then my head will explode.
Oh well, I just wanted the Canadians to not miss a fire and forget rant.... I got hacked off when they booed our national anthem and are proud of being a haven for deserters... it still makes me upset about the booing of our anthem by Canadians... like we're the bad guys and the frickin' Taliban are the victims..
Now back to "original" programming....
FROM THE SAME HOMOSEXUAL CANADIAN POLITICIAN WHO RIDICULED 9/11... [ Pete Vere ] 13 Comment(s) ...comes a bill that would outlaw the Bible and Catechism in Canada.
4/14/2004 8:22:05 PM
I kid you not. Canadians are now on the verge of losing their religious and civil liberties. Private Member's Bill C-250 will potentially outlaw the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church in Canada as hate literature. What frightens me and other Canadian Christians is that the bill already passed our House of Commons and is on the verge of passing in the Senate as well.
Bill C-250 is a private member’s bill that enshrines “sexual orientation” in Canada’s anti-hate speech laws. It leaves the expressions “sexual orientation” and “hate speech” undefined. Yet in recent rulings upheld by Canada's human rights tribunals, simply quoting from the Bible and other religious texts can now land you massive fines with the threat of incarceration. Perhaps it is providential that Envoy Magazine has added an electronic edition so that our Canadian readership can remain informed.
The sponsor of Bill C-250 is none other than Svend Robinson. Mr. Robinson hails from the electoral riding of Burnaby in British Columbia. Besides being a member of the Canadian parliament, he is also Canada’s most well-known homosexual. Mr. Robinson abandoned his wife midway through his career as a socialist politician to pursue a male lover. Nevertheless, he should not be confused with the Episcopalian bishop of New Hampshire.
Of course, in Svend’s Canada mocking Christians and insulting Americans does not constitute hate speech. Asked what he thought of born-again Christians, Newsmax reports Svend’s response as follows: “Did they have to come back again as themselves?”
Even more shameful is Mr. Robinson’s response to a recent Canadian effort to support our neighbors to the south during a time of national tragedy. “According to Mr. Robinson,” the National Post reports, “9/11 might instead be named ‘Chile Day' - a sneering reference to the fact that Chilean president Salvador Allende died on the same day in a 1973 U.S.- backed military coup that resulted in shameful bloodshed.”
John Pacheco is one of the key individuals organizing a protest against Bill C-250 on parliament hill for this coming weekend. He discusses the threat this bill poses to religious and civil liberties in Canada on Ottawa's Christian radio station this morning.
John is working with Connie Wilkins who operates FreeDominion.ca -- the Canadian affiliate of FreeRepublic. Connie has set up the following website detailing the Freedom Day protest on Parliament Hill this Saturday: http://www.freedominion.ca/libertyday.htm
Connie and John also sent me the following press-release detailing this event. Below it, I've detailed some ideas on what our sympathetic American neighbours can do to help us:
------------ Ottawa, April 14, 2004 (National Liberty Day Committee)
On Saturday April 17, 2004, thousands of Canadians will converge on Parliament Hill to uphold and defend the fundamental freedoms of speech and religious liberty, and to express their opposition to the totalitarian impulse currently asserting itself in the legislative and judicial branches of the Canadian government.
The rally has been called to draw attention to the imminent passage of Bill C-250, the proposed legislation which seeks to effectively criminalize the _expression of opinions against homosexual behaviour. Organizers and participants believe that the passage of the Bill will accelerate the current persecution of Christians, Muslims, and other conscientious opponents of the homosexual lifestyle. It is feared that the Bill will be used as an intimidation ploy to silence dissent and discussion on the moral and public health risks of the homosexual activity.
Participants are to gather at the Supreme Court at 2:00pm and then peacefully march to Parliament Hill for the demonstration which will feature music as well as speeches from politicians, religious leaders, and other prominent citizens. Organizers are encouraging participants to bring their Canadian flags as a sign of solidarity and unity. The event is scheduled to end by 4:30pm.
For more information on the rally, visit the National Liberty Day Rally webpage at: http://www.freedominion.ca/libertyday.htm -------------------------------
Unfortunately, as previously noted, we Canadians cannot go this alone. Nor can American Christians allow Canadian Christians to fall behind enemy lines in the culture war. So what can you do to help us?
Well, come to the protest if it is possible. If not, please keep us in prayer. Additionally, please remember that despite the anti-Christian and anti-American sentiment of Canada's cultural left, our government still understands that Canadian tourism depends quite a bit on the American dollar. So please go to the following website and tell the Ministry of Tourism that you are an American and a Christian with lots of tourist dollars, that you find Svend's comments about 9/11 offensive, and that you feel Bill C-250 is an encroachment of religious liberty in Canada. The contact URL for our Ministry of Tourism is:
http://www.tourism.gov.on.ca/english/feedback/feedback.html
You might be right, but if I were you I'd avoid booing US teams, our flag, or the Alamo unless I had a large crowd at my back.
But take heart; a short visit to your local mexican embassy should provide all you need to know about our much discussed border security and I think President Bush is still offering candies to anyone seeking 'a better life across the border'.
I was wrong about it being all over the old style news media.
The passing of this bill was a major, and very contentious, issue all over Canada. It was argued in the homes and at the watercoolers. Politicians of all stripes made public statements concerning their position on the bill.
Finally, those opposed to the bill held a filibuster in the Senate to block its passage. That filibuster was finally broken yesterday and the bill was rammed through.
Media reaction? Silence. An eerie, uniform silence from the newspapers across the land. As far as the old style media is concerned, the passage of Bill C-250 didn't happen. There was no controversy. There was no Bill C-250. Since there was no Bill C-250 there was no need to write stories about its passing yesterday.
Uniform, appalling, silence from them all.
Very chilling!
So far we have found only two stories in all of Canada's print media. One of them was only a couple paragraphs at the bottom of an article about another issue. Had this bill been voted down, there would have been screaming headlines coast-to-coast.
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