After all....who are we to judge...
Posted on 03/05/2010 2:57:20 PM PST by Maelstorm
Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is free to disagree with the rights enjoyed by homosexuals, but he is not entitled to censor those legal protections in a document that purports to tell the story of Canada.
A new citizenship study guide was issued last year to give immigrants a better and more complete understanding of Canada, including its strong attachment to collective and individual rights. It offered a more truthful picture of our history, warts and all, and noted that Canadians have both rights and responsibilities.
The goal, in part, was to ensure that newcomers understood the country they were about to embrace. Among other things, the citizenship guide made it clear that we are selective about rights. The country's generosity, for example, does not extend to "barbaric cultural practices that tolerate spousal abuse, honour killings, female genital mutilation, or other gender-based violence."
Notably absent from an otherwise commendable document, however, was any reference to gay rights or equality rights. It turns out that bureaucrats had wanted to include the fact that homosexuality was decriminalized in 1969 and same-sex marriages are permitted, but Mr. Kenney or his office ordered those references deleted.
The government also eliminated the fact that Canadians "are protected against discrimination based on race, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or age."
These are important omissions, particularly at a time when many immigrants are arriving from parts of the world where homosexuality is illegal and where discrimination is widely practised. New Canadians need to understand that while they may not immediately share Canada's sense of justice, the law protects certain groups from open prejudice.
If they cannot abide the idea of gay marriages, or the equality of men and women, then they should consider whether Canada is the right country for them.
Mr. Kenney has not hidden the fact he is opposed to same-sex marriages, but his government has abused its authority by interfering in the proper presentation of a key Canadian document. The minister also displayed poor political judgment with actions that will be interpreted by others as evidence that the Tories have a secret agenda.
When it comes to legal rights, the government cannot pick and choose among those entitlements and protections that it personally favours, and those it dislikes.
wow
That’s one he** of a wart.
“I am a Lumberjack . . . .”
BOHICA, eh!
Here again we meet the two ends of the political poll, freedom and equality. In a free society, the market place will often decide what is acceptable and what is not. It is strictly a utilitarian philosophy. People have the right not to be restricted as long as they do not harm others, and the right to determine their own goals. There is no such thing as homosexual or heterosexual rights. You can be anything that you want as long as it does not harm your neighbor’s rights. Equality dictates that everyone must have the same opportunities, results, and wealth. You do this by taking from the ones that have the resources and giving it to the ones that have the needs. The market place does not determine what is acceptable, but the government makes that determination. Only a strong centralize government can enforce equality, such as the Soviet Union or Cuba. Equality may sound like a good thing, but it goes against nature and economics. In a free society some people are going to succeed and some people are going to fail.
Yeah, right. That explains why they won’t give it to us in a referendum and rammed it down our throats!
Pound sand Trudopeans.
Kant wrote that paternalism is the worst despotism imaginable. You have politicians that believe that they know better than the voters what is best for them. It is for your own good, except you are too stupid to know what is good for you. That is the way that many in government leadership believe.
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