Canadian politics.

Shaunnessy Cohen 

Windsor--The late Member of Parliament for Windsor-St. Clair, Shaunnessy Cohen, who died suddenly in December 1998, was buried from St. Anne's Catholic Church in Tecumseh, a suburb of Windsor, ON, with considerable pomp and ceremony, Liberal bigwigs attending from across the country. Yet, she was married outside the Church, had not crossed the threshold of the Church for nearly thirty years, was outspokenly pro-abortion, and campaigned actively for spousal benefits for gay couples. In 1994 she was behind a drive for Ontario Liberals to support NDP Premier Bob Rae's failed attempt to legalize same-sex spouses, the same drive opposed by Ontarians throughout the province, including the Catholic bishops.

Anne McLellan

Mrs. Cohen used to share an apartment with Mary Clancy, the former Liberal MP from Halifax. Clancy, like Cohen, was a pro-abortion, feminist Catholic hostile to Church teachings. Today Clancy is Canada's representative in Boston.

When Clancy moved out after losing her seat, Anne McLellan, currently Canada's Minister of Justice, moved in.

Apparently, just before she died, Cohen penned a letter to her friend Anne criticizing her for not moving faster in recognizing same-sex "spouses." Mrs. McLellan took up the challenge immediately. She promptly announced--after the funeral--that indeed the Chretien government did intend to straighten out the natural order of things by proclaiming that the unnatural liaisons among "gays" and lesbians could truly be considered "marriage" and receive the benefits of this state of life.

Of course, it is well known that unhappy "gays" are suing in court to rewrite 58 federal statutes by judicial decree. The Minister of Justice decided to beat them to it by doing it by legislative decree. However, the Prime Minister, having been in politics for 30 years, realized the perils of this approach and promptly contradicted his Justice Minister or, at least, sort of squelched the idea. It has been the policy of the Chretien Mps to let the courts do their work for them. This way, the government can change things by administrative decree, without having to consult Parliament. For repercussions, they can blame the courts, and themselves escape political responsibility.

As a matter of act, the Minister of Immigration has announced already that lesbians and "gays" may now enter the country on the same basis as common law "spouses" Do it by administrative decree, and nobody protests. Bill C-63, the Citizenship of Canada Act, gives the government the right to define "spouse" and parent-child "relationships" in the areas of citizenship and immigration. The bill is already past second reading. Hold a few quick committee hearings and voila: the deed is done. No further consultation of Parliament is needed.

Dalton McGuinty

The leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, like Mrs. McLellan, is also a novice in politics. He, too, put his foot into his mouth. As reported in our December 1998 issue, pp. 23-24, by doing so Mr. McGuinty has revealed in his own way how rapidly society is sliding down the slippery slope. As you may recall, he will not sign the nomination papers of any Liberal party candidate for the coming Ontario elections who does not support same-sex "spouses". Talk about promoting sodomy!

It is beyond the imagination how any Catholic--how any Christian--knowing this, can vote for such a leader and such a party.

Ralph Klein

At the United Alternatives conference in February, "gays" and lesbians were once again a subject of controversy without these words even being used. And, once again, it was easy to separate the sham conservatives from the real ones.

Mr. Joe Clark, who has decreed that his party will reject social conservatism (and support "gay rights" and moral relativism in general), did not attend. That made it easy. But another Conservative, Mr. Ralph Klein, premier of Alberta, not only attended but gave the opening address, professing to give his "personal opinion." It was a perfect presentation of Progressive Conservative relativism:

"We cannot...interfere...in the most personal of all decisions,...those decisions that are a matter of conscience; those issues that present a moral dilemma, those things of so personal a nature that the decision becomes between an individual and his or her God."

So we all have our own private God, a God who differs from person to person. There are no objective standards or laws. Everyone, therefore, can be and do whatever he or she likes.

Of course, when it comes to paying for abortions, IUDs, condoms, contraceptives, sex education, etc., etc., you are not free to do as you like: you will contribute!