Another roundup of news from around the interwebs.
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Some of you may remember my article a couple of years ago, about the successful campaign by abortion activists to have signs reading “Canada has no abortion laws” commissioned by We Need A Law pulled from public transit for fear that the Canadian people would…well, would realist that that is the case. Well, there is an encouraging update to the story. From the London Free Press:
Controversial ads returned to London buses last week after being yanked two years ago. The move followed legal proceedings against the London Transit Commission (LTC) after complaints were made that the right to freedom of expression of two pro-life groups was violated. The six signs were removed in October 2018 after Advertising Standards Canada, an industry self-regulating body, said the message must be taken down wherever it was posted because it was “inaccurate and misleading.”
Monday London Transit Commission said it had reached a legal settlement with the pro-life organizations Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) and ARPA Oxford, which includes reinstating the signs that read: “Canada has no abortion laws.” No other details of the settlement were released. ARPA Oxford paid for the bus ads that provided a link to weneedalaw.ca. That site advocates for Canada having an “international standards abortion law,” which would restrict abortion after the first trimester of pregnancy.
“As a public body, the LTC’s decisions are subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” London Transit said in a joint statement with ARPA and ARPA Oxford. “Since the LTC has deemed it beneficial to allow advertisement on its property for the purpose of creating revenue, it cannot limit the freedom of expression of advertisers.”
This is very good news.
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Speaking of good news, the pro-life movement won a legal victory in Alberta, as well. From CTV:
The Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta has ruled the City of Lethbridge acted unreasonably when it banned pro-life ads on buses, bus shelters and benches. “I’m thrilled at what the court had to say about freedom of expression,” said Carol Crosson, the constitutional lawyer who handled the court challenge for Lethbridge and District Pro-Life.
The controversial ads were removed in April 2018 because of adverse community reaction. The city argued the ads were misleading and demeaned and disparaged women who had had or are considering an abortion. In May 2018, Ad Standards — a non-profit body responsible for self-regulating advertising in Canada — also ruled that an ad showing a fetus with the words “Pre-born babies feel pain. Say no to abortion,” contravened the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards.
In total the city rejected five pro-life ads, including one which featured a healthy newborn baby with the caption, “Life Should be the Most Fundamental Human Right.” Another ad featured a picture of a pregnant woman with the caption, “Equality Should Begin in the Womb,” while yet another read, “Human Rights Should Not Depend on Who You Are.”
Joyce Arthur over at the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada is having a very, very bad month.
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Assisted suicide is not the answer to the many human afflictions that inevitably ail us. The Hamilton Spectatorrecently published a story illustrating this fact titled “Living with Dementia: A Hamiltonian’s journey from wanting to die to finding new life with Alzheimer’s.” It’s worth a read.
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Jen Gerson, a freelance Canadian commentator whose byline regularly appears in most major publications, recently got into a Twitter spat over the trans movement’s habit of reducing women to their bodily functions (i.e. “menstruators”). A male doctor accused her of enabling transphobia on Twitter, and she illustrated her point by referring to him as “semen-squirt” which, as it turns out, he didn’t care for. He promptly sent a letter to her various clients accusing her of causing harm, transphobia, and other various and sundry crimes. Gerson is pro-choice, pro-LGBT, and would probably slap you if you accused her of being socially conservative. None of that matters, though, because as a woman, she is no longer ranks very highly on the oppression pyramid. Read her account of the attempt to destroy her career—it’s another grim look at where our society is headed.
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It is rare that Canada’s state broadcaster produces any commentary worth reading (or worth your tax dollars, for that matter) but this story, titled “Caring for our child with special needs has shown us that love demands sacrifice, and it’s worth it” is a notable exception.
