Canadian News

News and events from across the country.

Anne Frank's Toronto connection

November 18, 2010

The Man Who Hid Anne Frank [images/stories/toronto/toronto10/victor-kugler-book.jpg]TORONTO - While the harrowing story of Anne Frank and her family’s struggle for survival against the Nazis during the Second World War is a well-known one, it’s safe to assume that few people know the story of Victor Kugler. But it’s because of Kugler that we know the story of Anne Frank, the German-born, Netherlands-raised young Jewish girl who died at the hands of the Nazis, author Rick Kardonne told an audience of about 50 people Nov. 9 at a talk about his book, Victor Kugler: The Man Who Hid Anne Frank.

Canadian charities fight transparency bill

November 17, 2010

charity under investigation [images/stories/canada/canada10/charity2.jpg]TORONTO - A bill that would see Canadian charities forced to disclose the salaries of their highest-earning employees has run up against opposition from the charitable sector. If passed, Bill C-470 will create some “serious issues” within the sector, say officials with various charities. Charities have been fighting to kill the bill since it passed second reading in the House of Commons on April 21 by a 280 to 3 margin. It is set to head to the Standing Committee on Finance by the end of November, where committee members can amend it before it goes to third reading.

Development and Peace fine tunes its funding protocols

November 17, 2010

Development and Peace [images/stories/logos/logos09/DevPeace.jpg]OTTAWA - The Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP) has announced changes to its funding protocols to ensure that no money goes to organizations that support abortion. The changes come in the wake of year-old allegations that funds from CCODP had in many cases been funnelled to partners who were not adhering to Catholic teaching on life issues.

Iraqis remain vigilant in wake of increased attacks, Toronto prayer vigil hears

November 12, 2010

habash collins [images/stories/toronto/toronto10/habash_collins.jpg]TORONTO - It was a brazen and brutal attack on Iraqi Christians practising their faith, but Syriac Catholic Bishop Yousif Habash, instead of seeking vengeance, preached a message of peace to more than 800 people attending a Remembrance Day service at St. Michael's Cathedral. The prayer vigil in remembrance of the 58 Christians murdered and 75 injured during an Oct. 31 attack on Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad during Sunday Mass was organized by the archdiocese of Toronto and its Office of Ecumenism and Interfaith Affairs. “They can take our lives away but they cannot take away our faith,” said Habash, the New Jersey-based bishop of Syriac Catholics in Canada and the United States.

St. Stanislaus Kostka: 100 years at the heart of Polish Toronto

November 11, 2010

St. Stanislaus Kostka [images/stories/toronto/toronto10/st_stan.jpg]TORONTO - This month marks the start of a year-long celebration in honour of the jubilee year for St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, the oldest Polish parish in Toronto. “This year is a big milestone for the Polish community,” said Mary Samulewski, chair of the jubilee committee at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, located in the core of the city near Spadina Avenue and Queen Street West. “The parish is the oldest Polish ethnic parish in the GTA and the fourth oldest in Canada.”

Abortion coercion bill up against stiff opposition

November 10, 2010

Rod Bruinooge [images/stories/canada/canada10/bruinooge.jpg]OTTAWA - A bill that would make it a crime to coerce a woman into having an abortion faces a rough ride in the House of Commons. During its first hour of debate Nov. 1, Rod Bruinooge’s private members’ Bill C-510 faced challenges from women MPs from the Bloc, Liberals and NDP who argued the bill would interfere with a woman’s “right to choose” abortion. But Bruinooge, who chairs the Parliamentary Pro-Life Caucus, argued his bill protects women from being threatened and coerced into ending pregnancies they choose to keep.

Mideast Christians take to streets in protest of Baghdad church massacre

November 8, 2010

Iraqi christians Toronto [images/stories/toronto/toronto10/iraqi_christians.jpg]TORONTO - About 2,000 Middle Eastern Christians hit the streets in Toronto Nov. 6 for a peaceful demonstration against attacks on Christians in Iraq. The march was spurred by the Oct. 31 attacks at Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad, where 58 people were killed by Muslim militants. This was followed by threats of more attacks on Christians by the Islamic State of Iraq, an Al-Qaeda front group. The group claimed Christians now face "the doors of destruction" in a statement published on militant web sites.

Canadians have mixed feelings on euthanasia, new poll shows

November 7, 2010

Euthanasia [images/stories/misc/euthanasia.jpg]OTTAWA - A new opinion poll shows that Canadians have a deep ambivalence when it comes to legalizing euthanasia. According to an Environics poll, while a clear majority of Canadians support euthanasia, an even larger number fear what might happen to vulnerable elderly people if it is legalized. The poll, commissioned by LifeCanada, shows 59 per cent of Canadians support legal euthanasia but 63 per cent worry legalizing it would pressure elderly Canadians to accept it to reduce health care costs.

Catholic Family Services enlists abuse survivors as mentors

November 5, 2010

CFSTO logo [images/stories/toronto/toronto10/women_help.jpg]TORONTO - With a Nov. 3 Mass at St. Paul’s Basilica, Catholic Family Services of Toronto launched a program to heal the wounds of abusive marriages with equal doses of friendship and hope. The raw material will be supplied by women who have themselves survived abusive husbands. Women Helping Women will start off modestly with seven survivors learning how to become mentors to women still trying to find their feet in the aftermath of their ordeals. The volunteer mentors won’t take the place of trained counsellors, psychologists or therapists. Their training through the month of December will teach them how to sip coffee and listen, how to be available to women who have been isolated and frightened for too long.

Christian-Jewish Dialogue to honour Rabbi Erwin Schild

November 4, 2010

Rabbi Erwin Schild and Mrs. Laura Schild [images/stories/toronto/toronto10/rabbischild.jpg]TORONTO - From his beginnings as a teen prisoner in the Dachau concentration camp to becoming pastor and leader of 1,800 Jewish families at Toronto’s Adath Israel Synagogue, Rabbi Erwin Schild has led one of the most remarkable lives in Toronto. On Nov. 24, keynote speaker Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa and the many friends of Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Toronto will honour Schild and his wife Laura with a charity dinner.