Politics
Tuesday January 5, 1999
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VANCOUVER, BC, Jan 5 (LSN) In a ruling handed down last Wednesday, the BC Court of Appeals rejected an appeal brought by the BC College of Teachers against Trinity Western University (TWU). The college attempted to thwart the university's attempt to set up a new program that would enable them to provide full training for teachers because, arguing that graduates of TWU would not be broad-minded enough to deal with the public school environment.
According to court documents the College objected to TWU's Christian "world view" and also accused the university of "discriminatory practices" in regards to homosexuality. In fact, the controversy stemmed from the BCCT's criticism of the university's code of conduct disallowing homosexual behaviour by students while attending the institution. The College said that allowing TWU a teaching program was "contrary to the public interest" since it is "a private institution which appears to follow discriminatory practices that public institutions are, by law, not allowed to follow."
The judges ruled two to three in favour of Trinity Western and ordered the College to approve their application for a new teaching program. The Catholic Civil Rights League intervened in the case on behalf of TWU.
Commenting on the decision, Linda Rasmussen of the Canada Family Action Coalition-BC said, "The Court has upheld the right of a person to hold religious values and not be discriminated against in the workplace. As educators it is worrisome that the BCCT has demonstrated a lack of tolerance and acceptance towards those with different views."
For the full details on the case see:
http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/ca/98/07/c98-0756.txt
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NEW FEDERAL TAX ON BLANK CASSETTES AND CDs TO HURT PRO-FAMILY MOVEMENT
OTTAWA, Jan 5 (LSN) - The Canadian government has imposed a huge new tax on blank audio cassettes, DATS and recordable CDs that is expected to hike the retail cost of these items. The tax was made effective for Jan. 1st, 1999, but the final levy will not be set until the Fall of this year - after the copyright board holds public hearings. It will, however, be retroactive to Jan. 1st.
Bill C-32, which authorized this move, was recently shepherded through Parliament by Heritage Minister Sheila Copps. It is intended to compensate Canadian "artists" who suffer lost income because of home copying of compact discs and cassettes. The levy is payable by manufacturers and importers.
The proposed levies work out to a $1.50 tax on a 90 minute blank cassette and a $2.50 tax on a CDs, both much more than the usual full cost of these items for bulk purchasers. To give an idea of its impact, The Interim may have to increase the price of its Fr. Ted on Tape set from $30 to $36.45 to cover this new cost.
The Interim, Campaign Life Coalition, churches, charities, non-profit organizations and many others totally unrelated to the music industry use hundreds of thousands of blank cassettes and CDs. The legislation does not provide exemptions for such situations.
The new tax not only hikes prices but also, as some critics have already observed, treats all tape purchasers as criminals by making them subsidize the music industry's loss from illegal copying.
There is no word yet on whether the government plans to introduce legislation forcing the music industry to subsidize the enormous economic cost associated with the moral depravity they have shepherded through modern Canadian society. Some observers suggest such an obligation, accurately measured, would bankrupt modern musicians several times over.
Critics of the new tape tax urge Canadians to contact their MPs as well as the Copyright Board Canada to request exemptions from the levies for all organizations and enterprises that are clearly using blank media for purposes not related to the music industry.
Copyright Board Canada, which will set the final levy, can be contacted at: Suite 800, 56 Sparks St., Ottawa. Ontario K1A 0C9. Tel. (613) 952-8621 Fax (613) 952-8630
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THE AGENDA BEHIND GLOBAL WARMING
OTTAWA, Jan 5 (LSN) Canadian Environment Minister Christine Stewart has exposed the true agenda behind the push for global warming. In an editorial in the Financial Post on December 26, Terrence Corcoran reveals that, in an interview with the Calgary Herald, Stewart showed she was more interested in the economic implications of global warming activism than in the environmental significance.
After noting that she was "very worried" about global warming, she said: "No matter if the science is all phony," she would go ahead with plans to combat global warming. She also said, "Climate change [provides] the greatest chance to bring about justice and equality in the world."
Corcoran notes that "Whether global warming actually exists is irrelevant. It is, in the hands of government and environmental activists, a convenient front for the introduction of programs and economic policies that Canadians and most citizens of the world - would not otherwise accept."
Due to the indivisible union made by environmental activists between environmental issues, economic redistribution and population control, pro-life forces have long been concerned about the political forces pushing the agenda.
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CANADIAN GAY RIGHTS INDOCTRINATION
CALGARY, Jan 5 (LSN) University of Calgary professor Ted Morton, in a Calgary Sun column, exposed yet another plan to indoctrinate youth with pro-homosexual ideology. After listing a myriad of recent successes by homosexual activists to infiltrate the public school system in Canada, Morton describes a recent venture in Calgary. Young people are addressed by homosexual activists, who attempt to "challenge [them] to acknowledge and work towards eliminating their own homophobia."
According to Morton, students in grade 11 are being taught that "the traditional view that the male-female union is natural or normal is "heterosexual privilege"," and "refusal to acknowledge this is homophobia."
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NEW ZEALAND YOUTH ABORTION STATS RELEASED
WELLINGTON, NZ, Jan 5 (LSN) - Statistics just released by New Zealand's Youth Affairs Ministry reveal that young women in the country aged 11-19 accounted for about 250 abortions per month in 1997 for a total of 2962 deaths. Official statistics show over 15,000 abortions performed in the country in 1997, according to a story by the New Zealand press and distributed by Pro-Life E-news.
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MICHIGAN FETAL ASSAULT LAW IN FORCE
LANSING, Michigan, Jan 5 (LSN) A law which says that anyone who assaults a pregnant woman intending to kill her preborn child could face up to life in prison went into effect last Friday. The American Civil Liberties Union complained that the new state law establishes an unborn child as a separate person, reported Catholic World News.
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