Congratulations Dr. Henry Morgentaler

Happy Canada Day Dr. Henry Morgentaler and congratulations on the announcement of your well deserved induction into the Order of Canada! All across the nation there are cheers of support and woeful cries of protest to be heard. The Globe highlights the plight of the poor, sad souls who want to dictate to women and strip them of autonomy over their own bodies. There is no denying that there are strong feelings attached to the abortion debate and this skewed article plays to the sympathies of the wounded and whining. But today, those that support a woman's right to choose are celebrating.

From the Globe article we receive the opinions of such luminaries as Joanne Byfield who weeps that many would be "offended and appalled". Of course Byfield is the president of Life Canada, so her opinion is noted under the category of pearls clutched, subheading, yadda yadda yadda. Byfield's group is responsible for the anti-abortion ads that were pulled by the ASC which regulates Canada's advertising industry. The ads were deemed deceptive by the council and that decision was upheld upon appeal. But the Globe seems to think it is important for us to know how the deceitful are feeling. Let's face it, if you're too close to lying for the tastes of the advertising business, then you really don't have much in the way of credibility. Onward.

But Joanne McGarry, executive director of the Catholic Civil Rights League, said that if Dr. Morgentaler is named to the order, "it would be a most unfortunate choice."

"As Canadians we would like to see the Order of Canada given to people whose contributions to such initiatives as charity, education, culture, the environment, things of that kind that are uniformly viewed as positive and tend to unite people," she said. "With this choice, the one thing that everybody really agrees on about Morgentaler is that he is a very divisive figure."

Two words, Conrad Black. Dr. Henry Morgentaler is a man of his convictions, his courage and dedication saw him jailed and exonerated on appeal for championing the cause of women's right to choose whether or not to carry pregnancies to term. In 1992, terrorists bombed his clinic in Toronto, he's faced countless adversities, threats and slanders and has quietly carried on.

Conrad Black isn't much of a Canadian but he is a convict.

In 2001, Black renounced his citizenship of Canada, which he called "an oppressive little world".

How terribly the rapacious do suffer under the yoke of cruel oppression. Give them shiny presents.

After twelve days of deliberation, on 13 July 2007, a jury found Black guilty of three counts of mail and wire fraud and one count of obstruction of justice and acquitted him of nine other charges, including wire fraud and racketeering. The fraud convictions related to money taken by the executives in exchange for their agreements to not compete with a Hollinger unit. Prosecutors said these were sham agreements.

Of course our pals in the government can't be left out, Conservative Maurice Vellacott opened his gas vent and squawked.

There are so many deserving Canadians, there was no need to choose somebody like Dr. Morgentaler, he said.

It should come as no surprise that a creature of Vellacott's ilk might be opposed to this appointment and honour, Vellacott is, after all, a spiteful, twisted little weasel.

Vellacott supported other socially conservative initiatives. In late 1998, he brought forward a "conscience rights" bill to prevent nurses and doctors from being forced to perform abortions. He wrote an editorial against same-sex marriage the following year, arguing that marriage should be restricted to heterosexual couples because of its traditional role in the procreation and nurturing of children. He wrote that "homosexuals already have the right to marry, providing that -- like everybody else -- they marry someone of the opposite sex". He opposed granting spousal benefits for same-sex couples, describing supporters of the initiative as "activist liberal judges and a small but aggressive homosexual lobby".

In the same year, he mailed out a controversial pamphlet opposing the addition of sexual orientation as a protected category under Canada's hate crimes legislation. Vellacott claimed the policy change "substantially interferes with the right of religious and education leaders to communicate essential matters of faith".

Regarding the deservedness of awards, it seems that controversy as a standard would not be something that Vellacott should be promoting. Given his self-impressed assumption of entitlement through his fundie faith and association with groups like Focus on the Family, his repeated caustic statements attacking homosexuality and the rights of gay Canadians are nothing less than controversial. Perhaps he would consider returning his undeserved Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal.

This program is an opportunity to recognize citizens for an outstanding and exemplary achievement or service to the community or to Canada as a whole...

Seems quite obvious that there are large segments of the Canadian population that Maurice Vellacott is neither serving nor supporting. I've seen estimates that the homosexual population accounts for between three and five per cent of Canadians. Given Vellacott's inflammatory opinions and associations, he is entirely undeserving of such recognition and credibility as conferred through that medal.

Also noted in the Globe article is Liberal MP Dan McTeague.

Liberal MP Dan McTeague said Dr. Morgentaler is a very controversial person and if he is admitted to the order, it will polarize Canadians.

The Governor-General and the committee advising on appointments to the Order of Canada have always been careful in the past not to choose people who were controversial or who would not be unanimously celebrated by all Canadians, Mr. McTeague said. "It's more of a social statement rather than the usual apolitical decisions," he said. "There will be people who cheer what he has done. There will be others who fundamentally disagree with what he represents."

And again with the fear of controversy etc. Of course, it should be noted that while anti-Canadian thieves like Black retain their medals in defiance of Canadian values, and are certainly not "unanimously celebrated", McTeague hasn't the guts to come out and say what he likely feels. He is certainly not the most open minded of elected representatives. Here's what one of his fans in the Christian media has to say...

Liberal MP Dan McTeague is one of the courageous and principled members of the Liberal caucus who has stood firm in support of life and family, including the traditional definition of marriage, when his party was ramming same-sex marriage through the House of Commons in 2005 and characterizing those who opposed the move as anti-Charter and anti-human rights.

As a side note, McTeague is also an active proponent of restrictive, anti-consumer copyright law.

What makes me extremely disappointed about him however is the fact he dismisses the tens of thousands of people who have spoken out in opposition to a US-style copyright law (40 000+ individuals have joined the Fair Copyright For Canada Facebook group), as a handful of individuals lobbying grenades into the policy process”. - in otherwards,  trying to mess up the process of getting the copyright legislation he and the US Lobbyists want us to have here.

And while he is all in favour of free speech, especially for his anti-gay pals and assorted bigots, he isn't so keen on that same freedom when it comes to scary black men.

U.S. rapper 50 Cent should not be allowed to bring his "Massacre Tour" to Canada, says Toronto MP Dan McTeague.
On Tuesday, McTeague asked Immigration Minister Joe Volpe to deny the artist entry for an upcoming Canadian tour, which is scheduled to stop in Halifax on Dec. 14.
McTeague says 50 Cent promotes gun violence, a message he feels Torontonians in particular don't need to hear.

Let's not forget that while the Globe article doesn't note anything about McTeague's pre-existing bias, he is among the members of the Liberal caucus that voted for the odious C-484, also know as the "kicking abortion's ass" bill. And as a backwards view on abortion rights is close to McTeague's heart, so too is a retrograde view of gay rights and marriage.

Let it suffice to say that no significant media outlet in this country is unaware of my stance on the issue of traditional marriage as being a union of one between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others.

I hope this has clarified my position and also removed any concerns that the News Advertiser sets my moral
compass.

The institution of marriage deserves respect and dignity. Moreover, the Supreme Court of Canada stated in its ruling on the federal government’s reference to it that no clergy or religious institution would be compelled to perform a homosexual marriage. However, this ruling actually marginalizes those who hold deeply personal and religious views on the institution of marriage. It seems to have been totally lost on the court that to many Canadians, marriage represents a major tenet of their religion. Thus, I find the Court’s interpretation to be condescending, insulting, and full of implication that those who hold a religious conviction on marriage are somehow intolerant or disrespectful of others. Such an implication is unacceptable.

Thanks for clearing that up for us Dan. How dare those people that don't hold to your narrow convictions and superstitions expect their rights to be respected. After all, shouldn't the unprovable belief in a fantastical sky being trump the rights of actual persons to live happily as they choose. Your superstitions are your own and you're welcome to them. The simple fact that groups of people exist and do not share your beliefs does not in any way marginalize those beliefs. Certainly to no greater extent that the obverse view that all of the preaching and teaching of the hyper-religious marginalize gay Canadians. The fact is that it doesn't matter if Dan McTeague likes it, feels insulted or condescended to, he and his ilk are in point of fact intolerant and disrespectful of others.

The Globe article is little more than a panoply of heavily religious, anti-gay, anti-abortion reactions to the pending honour announced for Dr. Henry Morgentaler. I can only suppose that it must have been too taxing for the authors to search out any of the many prominent Canadians that are celebrating some well deserved recognition for a man whose principles and courage are worthy of recognition. Congratulations Doc, you've earned it.