Canadian News

News and events from across the country.

Election results: Canadians put Harper on a short leash

October 14, 2008

The Canadian people woke up Oct. 15 to a new government that looks remarkably like the old government. They could be forgiven for scratching their heads and wondering what all the fuss was for. As final polls were still being counted, it appeared that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives would once again form a minority government with 143 seats in the House of Commons — 12 short of a majority. They face a Liberal party with 76 seats, the Bloc Quebecois with 50, the New Democrats with 37 and two independents.

Battle lines drawn for next pro-life legal fight

October 14, 2008

TORONTO - Defending doctors’ conscience rights, Catholic groups’ freedom of speech and the anti-euthanasia movement represent the next legal battlegrounds for the pro-life movement, said activists at an international pro-life conference held in Toronto in early October. Dr. Jack Willke, president of the U.S.-based International Right to Life Federation, told more than 200 conference participants on Oct. 4 that the struggle of the pro-life movement is similar to the anti-slavery movement because of the hostility and opposition that both groups have faced.

Overseas development needs to be a priority

October 11, 2008

OTTAWA - The Catholic Church’s overseas development arm sent an open letter to all federal candidates asking them to make international development a priority. The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace also called for a moratorium on oil sands production.

Social investers give low grades to Liberals, Conservatives.

October 10, 2008

The Social Investment Organization grades the Liberals and the Conservatives with a D and an F on the issue of transparency for investors in Canada's stock markets. The SIO gives top marks to the Greens and Bloc Quebecois and places the NDP in the middle. The Greens rate an A+, the Bloc a B+ and the NDP a B-.

Paying the price for being pro-life

October 10, 2008

TORONTO - A retired Liberal MP who resigned from his party over its position on same-sex marriage says pro-life politicians in Ottawa pay a political price for their outspoken views. Pat O’Brien, a former parliamentary secretary for the minister of international trade, represented the London-Fanshawe riding in Parliament from 1993 until 2005. That’s when he quit the Liberal Party and sat as an independent MP because he opposed the Liberal’s support of legalizing same sex marriage.

Scarboro Missions at 90

October 10, 2008

TORONTO - The church doesn’t have a mission. Christ’s mission has a church. For 90 years the Scarboro Missions have been convinced the mission comes first. At 10 a.m., Nov. 9, at the mission society’s main chapel, 2685 Kingston Rd. in Scarborough, Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins will lead a Mass of thanksgiving for the 90 years Scarboros have been serving Christ’s mission. The missionaries will give thanks for the likes of Scarboro founder Msgr. John Fraser, first North American priest to take on missionary work in China, and Fr. Art MacKinnon, killed in the Dominican Republic in 1965 for standing up against arbitrary arrest and torture of young men in his parish.

Remembering St. Francis

October 10, 2008

TORONTO - Franciscans have been remembering the death of St. Francis for nearly 900 years, and it’s still a family affair, said Franciscans of all kinds who gathered at St. Bonaventure Church in Toronto for the Transitus Oct. 3. Celebrated by Franciscans around the world on the eve of the Feast of St. Francis, the Transitus liturgy re-enacts and remembers St. Francis’ passing from this world.

Ignatius Loyola's model needed in financial crisis

October 10, 2008

TORONTO - Who should Wall Street look to as a model for corporate leadership in this time of economic crisis? Warren Buffet? Bill Gates? Steve Job? Or what about St. Ignatius of Loyola? For Chris Lowney, a one-time managing director of American financial giant J.P. Morgan, the 16th-century saint and founder of the Jesuits offers an example of what it takes to lead a modern business enterprise.

Archbishop calls Morgentaler award 'a sad moment in Canadian history'

October 10, 2008

TORONTO - As Dr. Henry Morgentaler receives his Order of Canada medal from Governor General Michaëlle Jean in Quebec City, Toronto's Archbishop Thomas Collins is urging all Catholics to pray the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day for women who face crisis pregnancies and for those who advocate for abortion as a right. Collins calls the award to Morgentaler "a sad moment in Canadian history."

Pro-life leaders sour on Harper

October 8, 2008

OTTAWA - Though Conservative Leader Stephen Harper faced hidden agenda charges during the election campaign, pro-life voters have grown increasingly disappointed that he has none. So disappointed Catholic Insight magazine editor Fr. Alphonse de Valk called for Harper’s defeat in his Calgary Southwest riding.