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Wednesday March 18, 1998
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PrintHOMOSEXUAL CASE IN SUPREME COURT
TODAY'S HEADLINES
TORONTO, Mar 18 (LSN) The media is predicting radical consequences from a Supreme Court hearing beginning today on the right of homosexual couples to seek spousal support after termination of the relationship. Newspapers such as the Globe and Mail indicated that the "new reading of spouse (the court comes up with) could invalidate scores of Ontario laws (and) redefine family." "The Supreme Court appears poised to either set back the cause of gay rights or force governments across the country to rewrite their laws to extend equality to gays and lesbians," the paper suggested.
An "Interfaith Coalition" consisting of The Ontario Council of Sikhs, The Islamic Society of North America, Focus on the Family Canada and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) will appear before the court today to urge that the opposite-sex definition of "spouse" be maintained.
Bruce Clemenger, EFC's Director of National Affairs, noted that the term spouse "is rooted in a sociological and biological reality that heterosexual conjugal relationships are uniquely able to procreate and thereby face economic burdens in the bearing and raising of children." "If the definition of spouse is expanded to include same-sex couples, then there is no legal or rational basis to exclude domestic partnerships between siblings, relatives or friends which are based on emotional support and economic dependence," he said, "[and such] an expansion of the category of spouse would render it useless in addressing the legitimate needs of heterosexual spouses."
Back to TopJUDGE EXPOSES BC'S POLICY OF REMOVING CHILDREN FROM PARENTS
QUESNEL, B.C., Mar 18 (LSN) Judge Robin Smith, the BC family court judge who alerted the public last month to the fact that social workers in the small B.C. town of Quensel apprehended 71 children from their parents in just two months. Judge Smith, who repeated his warning on CTV's W5 news program yesterday, noted that in only five of the cases was the removal of the children justified.
Judge Smith detailed the horrendous result of the apprehensions of the children from their families as he indicated a possible waiting period of "a year and a half" before the case is heard in court, which may permit the children to be returned to the parents. He indicated that the great increase in child seizures came as a result of a BC government audit last November.
The NDP government's new Ministry for Children and Families decided to remove all eight existing area social workers for retraining and replace them with 14 new social workers. These new social workers, of the government's choosing, were responsible for the wanton child seizures that have sparked outrage across the country.
GENERATION X STRONGER ON FAMILY VALUES THAN BABY BOOMERS
TORONTO, Mar 18 (LSN) The Globe and Mail reported yesterday on a Statistics Canada study that points to a healthy change in the outlook on family values in the younger generation. The study found a statistically significant difference betwween the attitudes of Generation X (aged 15-29) and those of Baby Boomers (aged 30-49) and Elders (aged 50 and over).
Whereas nearly half of older Canadians believed financial disagreement was a legitimate reason to break up a marriage, only 28 per cent of Generation X'ers agreed. Unsatisfactory sexual relationship with one's partner was found to be sufficient grounds for divorce for about 45% of earlier generations, while among the young it was so for only 21%. While not perfect, the numbers point to a possible return to more traditional family values in Canada.
Alan Mirabelli of the Vanier Institute of the Family in Ottawa noted that Gen-Xers grew up during the past 30 years of liberalized divorce laws, and experienced the most severe effects from it of any generation in Canadian history. "It's probably the generation that has the most to say to us," he said. Mirabelli hypothesized the pro-family attitudes were "based on their pain."
DOCTORS UNITE TO STOP EUTHANASIA
LONDON, Mar 18 (LSN) - About 200 doctors and ethics experts from around the globe met in London on Friday for a two-day conference to fight euthanasia. The conference was sponsored by the International Right to Life Federation and The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC). "The aim of the conference is to provide delegates with a clear understanding of the arguments for compassionate care and against euthanasia for terminally ill, disabled and dying patients,'' said SPUC's Phyllis Bowman, who co-chaired the meeting. Dr John Wilkie, the American founder and president of the international federation, gave reporters the slogan, "Don't kill the patient, kill the pain.''
Although the Netherlands is most liberal in its laws around euthanasia with its permitting terminally ill patients the right to die if doctors follow a set procedure, the U.S. is challenging the Netherlands with up to 20 States considering legislation similar to that of Oregon, where the "Death with Dignity Act" allows doctors to assist terminally ill patients to die under supposedly restrictive conditions.
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