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Bill 13 committee multiplies problems in anti-bullying legislation

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June 5, 2012 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) - Today, Queen’s Park will hold the third and final vote on Bill 13, the  Accepting Schools Act . And thanks to last week’s efforts by the Committee tasked with reviewing and amending it, the already controversial bill is now even more divisive and constitutionally unstable. The Standing Committee on Social Policy , which was tasked with studying Bill 13 and Bill 14, held public hearings and heard from approximately 85 delegations, of which I was one. I appeared on behalf of the Coalition for Parental Rights in Education. During my presentation, and through my written submissions, I pointed to several sections of Bill 13 which were constitutionally problematic and would likely lead to constitutional challenges, resulting in years of taxpayer funded litigation. I recommended a series of amendments to Bill 13 which would have maintained Bill 13’s stated goal of bullying prevention, while eliminating many of its constitutional vulnerabilities.

No evidence that anti-bullying legislation works: new report

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English: A map of Canada exhibiting its ten provinces and three territories, and their capitals. (Lambert conformal conic projection from The Atlas of Canada) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) OTTAWA , May 24, 2012 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) - With legislation to combat bullying in schools currently being hotly debated in Ontario , and with many other provinces promising to consider such legislation, an investigation  into anti-bullying policies and legislation across North America by the  Institute of Marriage and Family Canada  (IMFC) has found that the effectiveness of these policies remains unproven. The report , titled “The limits of anti-bullying legislation : A cross-Canada assessment of what legislation can—and can’t—do,” chronicles the position of Canadian provinces with regards to anti-bullying measures and legislation, and examines whether bullying policies and legislation actually work across North America. “Politicians are falling all over themselves to introduce legislatio

Bullying in the name of anti-bullying

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Image via Wikipedia On Nov. 30, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty introduced Bill 13, The Accepting Schools Act. This arrived on the heels of a tragic and much-publicized suicide involving Ottawa teenager, Jamie Hubley. The teen suffered with depression and happened to also be openly gay. The media dutifully painted the picture that Hubley committed suicide primarily due to “homophobic bullying” despite the fact his father, an Ottawa city councilor, admitted the teen struggled with depression for years. EGALE , the powerful gay lobby group that coordinated and funded lawsuits across Canada to abolish the true definition of marriage, fuelled the media frenzy to create a sense of “crisis,” as if gay teens were suddenly killing themselves left and right. Oh, and of course, the insinuation is that it’s because of bullying at school based on sexual orientation, although there’s no proof of that either. In fact, there is evidence that harassment of “gay” teens may neither be as frequent,

Renewed marriage debate looms as Justice Minister pledges to close loophole

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OTTAWA, Ontario , January 13, 2012 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) – In the wake of outrage over a government lawyer’s argument that same-sex “ marriages ” conducted for non-residents in Canada are invalid, Canada’s Justice Minister has declared that they are indeed legal and is pledging to fill the “legislative gap” that he says currently prevents those couples from obtaining a divorce in Canada . “I want to make it clear that in our government’s view, these marriages are valid,” said Minister Rob Nicholson , at one time rated pro-family, on Friday. Minister Rob Nicholson Furor erupted among media and activists Thursday after the Globe and Mail reported that Justice Department lawyers had argued that non-residents who came to Canada for a same-sex “marriage” are only legally “married” if same-sex “marriage” is recognized in their own jurisdiction. The statement came in a divorce case involving a couple hailing from Florida and the U.K. who were “married” in Toronto in 2005. Pundits, homosexu

The Canadian Supreme Court and Homosexuality

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It’s not like they didn’t hear the truth on homosexuality: Waiting on Canada’s Supreme Court: Part 1

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Image via Wikipedia OTTAWA, Ontario , - In much of the judicial world today arguments are made which don’t get to the heart of the issue, but are made to fit within judicial precedents and court standards in order to achieve specific rulings.  That reality is often frustrating for the public who are led to wonder if the fullness of truth ever reaches the ears of judges called to provide justice. It’s been nearly two months since the Supreme Court of Canada heard what will likely be the nation’s seminal case on homosexual ‘hate speech’ and religious freedom. The case, Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission (SHRC) v.  William Whatcott  involves a well-known pro-family activist who pushes the boundaries of free speech with what many regard as crude flyers detailing the physical health risks of homosexual sex acts. The Tribunal found that Whatcott had violated section 14(1)(b) of the province’s human rights code, which prohibits speech that “exposes or tends to expose to hatred, ridicul

Ottawa school board joins homosexual ‘pride’ parade

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Image via Wikipedia Over 100 teachers, principals and trustees from the Ottawa public school board joined about 1,600 homosexual marchers in this year’s “pride” parade held in the nation’s capital on Sunday. The public school board also provided a yellow school bus decked out in rainbow flags that led the parade. Ottawa-Carleton District school board (OCDSB) trustee Donna Blackburn, who represents the Barrhaven-Knoxdale-Merivale area and is openly lesbian, told the media she encouraged the board to publicly support the parade. “After I was sworn in, I approached the director and the board of education about the idea of doing this, and they were very supportive, and for me it was just a natural progression of what the board’s been doing for many, many years, supporting gay, lesbian, transgendered and bisexual youth,” Blackburn told CTV News earlier this month. The school’s inclusion the parade appears to have touched a nerve with local parents. In the comments section under one  CT

Canada modifies policy in support of true marriage legislation

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Image via Wikipedia Canada ’s ruling Conservative party re-confirmed its support for true marriage at its national convention Saturday, but at the same time appears to have removed the onus from its newly-elected majority government from acting on the issue. The party’s constitution had said that a Conservative government “will support” legislation defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. At their national convention in Ottawa on Saturday, party delegates voted to reword the policy to state that the Conservative Party simply “supports” legislation defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. While the vote reconfirms the party’s support for true marriage, there are concerns that the change signals a softening in their stance, especially when combined with Prime Minister Stephen Harper ’s vow on the campaign trail in April that he had “no intention” of opening debate on same-sex “marriage” or abortion. “Our agenda is the same agenda with a majority g