Today is Canada Day — and I’m in Canada waving around a maple leaf with a bunch of other Canucks (and a few Americans). Celebrations here are similar to Independence Day in the U.S. — flags, speeches, cook outs, fireworks, parades. Americans enjoy putting Canada down (when they think of Canada at all) because they … Read more
I wasn’t surprised to hear that Ann Coulter’s speech at the University of Ottawa was cancelled last night. Two thousand students showed up to protest her appearance and authorities were afraid rioting would break out, so they canned her: “What Ann Coulter is practicing is not free speech, it’s hate speech,” [one student] said. “She’s … Read more
This is one of the loveliest photos I’ve ever seen: Miriam, the sister of the late Georgian Luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili, in her home town this weekend during his funeral. The picture perfectly captures a sister’s grief. Heart-breaking. In spite of the Olympics’ tragic start, I have found the games exciting thus far. As … Read more
Canadian Dahlia Lithwick has an enjoyable piece at Slate defending “Own the Podium,” her nation’s $118 billion dollar effort to dominate the medal race in Vancouver. Someday, someone is going to explain to me why it is that journalists so frequently speak about Canadians as though we are all about 2 feet tall and 7 … Read more
The last time I can remember big media taking an interest in the ecclesiastical affairs of Atlantic Canada was 20 years ago. There had been little interest before that, either, but the degree of attention that was suddenly granted compensated for many years of neglect. The issue was allegations of physical and sexual abuse against … Read more
Last Saturday night, President Barack Obama spoke to the nation’s leading homosexual-rights lobbying group, the Human Rights Campaign, in Washington, D.C. Among the several promises Obama made were “to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act” and “to pass an inclusive hate crimes bill.” As I reported a few days ago, the USCCB has … Read more
In a previous article, I suggested that the Church in Canada has capitulated to the fads and heresies of the day without a good fight. Let me fill in the details. In the province where we spend the summer, the Church long ago abandoned all of its grade schools, high schools, and hospitals. Read … Read more
Up here in Canada, from where I am writing, the prime minister called an election on September 7, and we had it on October 14. By the common consent of the five major parties, there was no discussion whatever of abortion, gay marriage, “human rights” tribunals, or any other of the civilizational issues that are, … Read more
The names Mark Steyn and Ezra Levant — two of my Canadian journalist friends — have recently become better known Stateside, thanks to prosecutions of their works before Canadian "human rights" tribunals. These are kangaroo courts that were established in Canada more than a generation ago, in the era of Pierre Trudeau, to adjudicate … Read more
The Monday before last, Canada’s National Post published a speech by abortion doctor Garson Romalis on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of R. vs. Morgentaler. Before I get to the disturbing details, let me offer a little background for the non-Canadian reader. Dr. Henry Morgentaler, of the infamous case, is a Polish-born Holocaust survivor … Read more
I am overwhelmed by large statistical surveys of anything, though it strikes me that the comparative survey of American dioceses, reviewed elsewhere throughout this issue, in fact confirms what we’d expect from good sense. Bishops do make a difference, and have great power to lead their flocks toward life or toward death. I write from … Read more