Posted on 09/21/2006 10:13:36 AM PDT by Heartofsong83
PM's pick for bench draws fire Social activists cite conservative views KIRK MAKIN
JUSTICE REPORTER -- The appointment of an Ontario judge who is seen as an opponent of pro-choice and gay rights has created a stir among social activists.
Spokesmen expressed concerns yesterday about the appointment of Mr. Justice David Brown, a Toronto lawyer who has represented Christian family-value positions in several cases, and has written papers dealing with legal developments involving the sanctity of life.
Judge Brown will sit on the Ontario Superior Court bench in the Toronto region.
"What we are seeing is something we predicted: The Harper government intends to follow in the footsteps of the Bush government in the U.S. with measures like this," said Carolyn Egan, a spokeswoman for the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada.
"In these situations, you find that they not only work for these organizations," Ms. Egan said. "From what we understand, he [Judge Brown] holds these views himself. I think people should be aware of the views he has and how they could potentially impact on future decisions."
Shayna Hodgson, a spokeswoman for Toronto's Morgentaler abortion clinic, reacted with dismay to the appointment. "Slowly, in a stealthy way and under the radar, the Harper government is taking a page from the book of their brothers and sisters in the U.S.," she said.
Ms. Hodgson said the pro-choice movement has been beaten back in the United States by tactics such as appointing judges who oppose abortion and by introducing laws that change the age of consent and rules for notifying parents.
However, Campaign Life Coalition spokeswoman Mary Ellen Douglas said that the courts are packed with judges appointed by Liberal governments, much to the delight of left-leaning pressure groups.
"So long as everything is going their way, they're happy," she said in an interview.
"It's high time we had some balance on the bench. All the judges who have been appointed had the same left-wing agenda as the people who are complaining now. I think it's refreshing to finally have some balance."
While Judge Brown's main area of legal expertise is energy, he has shown considerable interest in issues surrounding the sanctity of life: abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide. He also represented Focus on the Family (Canada) and REAL Women of Canada in a court intervention against the constitutionality of same-sex marriage.
Gilles Marchildon, executive director of the gay-rights organization Egale Canada, said: "From the information we have gathered so far, it would seem that he is very qualified and has a great depth of experience. But we're concerned that he seems to have been involved in representing opponents of equality in virtually every big lesbian-gay-bisexual-trans case there has been."
Judge Brown acted in defence of anti-abortion demonstrators barred from going close to abortion clinics. He also acted for REAL Women in defence of the right to spank children several years ago.
A newsletter from the organization later praised his "eloquent arguing in support of the important role of the family in raising children and the obligations of parents to correct their children."
Reached at his former law office at the firm of Stikeman Elliott yesterday, Judge Brown said he could not respond to any questions.
"In my past incarnation, I would speak to you," he said. "In my present incarnation, you would have to speak to Chief Justice Heather Smith."
However, Chief Justice Smith could not be reached for comment.
The government has also come under fire this week in regard to another of the 10 judges it appointed on Monday: Mr. Justice Jacques Léger. Judge Léger, a former Conservative Party president, was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court.
Ping!
The Left across the world, it seems, can't understand that this is what happens when you win elections: you get to decide stuff, and the people who LOST the election do not. But then again, leftism and democracy have never gone hand-in-hand.
Canadians journalists have been waiting so long to be able to mimmick their american counterparts about those issues ie the war & the courts. It is so pathetic to watch them:not a single original thought or analysis anywhere.
What was it that some leftist said at the UN conference on gun control after the Brazilians defeated the proposed gun ban? "Some things are too important for a democracy to decide."
Please send me a FReepmail to get on or off this Canada ping list.
Wow, they must be physic, predicting that a conservative leader will have conservative values. Those liberals, gotta hand it to 'em, they called this one right!/sar
Just like the liberals in the US, they want to impose religious tests for judicial office. No traditional Christian believers need apply.
For an excellent explantion of the fundamental differences between liberal and conservative thought (and by "thought," I don't just mean what we think, but why we think it), read A Conflict of Visions by Thomas Sowell. Constrained thinkers (that's us) and unconstrained thinkers (libs) view the world in fundamentally different ways. Sowell places the two "visions" (which are basically gut feelings about how the world works) side-by-side and explains why each one leads to the conclusions it does.
It's not quite as easy a read as most of Sowell's other work, but it's great if you want to understand the basics of human political thought. Everything comes down to how we view cause-and-effect relationships.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Good for Harper. Sticking to Conservative values.
Nothing like keeping liberals (both small "l" and capital "L") angry by nominating judges who will uphold laws rather than reinventing them like liberal judges often do.
And we're seeing something that is even more predictable - Liberals and CMSM criticizing Harper's every action as being motivated by the desire to follow George (aka "El Diablo") Bush.
Surprise, surprise ... hypocrytical leftists.
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