OTTAWA, Ontario, March 16, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Lovers of traditional values in Canada now have a new platform on which to develop and disseminate their ideas. Canadian Observer is a new quarterly magazine that, since making its debut last summer, has already helped Canadians who hold traditional values dear to join forces for a common cause.
Richard Bastien, editor-in-chief of Canadian Observer, told LifeSiteNews that the magazine’s goal is to “help create a cultural conservative movement of opinion in Canada.”
“What distinguishes us from ‘fiscal conservatives’ and ‘libertarians’ is that we believe in an objective moral order rooted in human nature. We oppose statism, i.e. the Nanny State but, more importantly, we oppose moral relativism, which we view as the hidden face of modern liberalism,” he said.
In an editorial from the first issue, publisher Joseph Ben-Ami compared the magazine to what Cité Libre became for Quebec: namely the principal source of “intellectual capital” for left-wing ideas that were not in vogue in the 1950s, but which became the cornerstone of the federal Liberal Party and of the “quasi-socialist policies” of Trudeau and his successors.
“Our goal in creating Canadian Observer magazine is to provide a similar platform for the development and dissemination of conservative ideas in the areas of culture, politics and public affairs,” wrote Ben-Ami.
Bastien told LifeSiteNews that readers will find conservative content in Canadian Observer that they will not find anywhere else in Canada.
“Readers will find … a defense and illustration of cultural conservatism which is grounded in reason rather than in a particular religious faith. We accept that modern society is religiously plural, but we think that moral issues can be debated rationally, without invoking any religious authority.”
Ben-Ami told CanadianCatholicNews that the magazine is “pro-faith, pro-family and pro-life.”
At a soiree last month in Barry’s Bay, Ontario hosted by Canadian Observer for faculty, staff and supporters of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy, Bastien said, “in a world of unabashed moral relativism, we seek to defend the natural law tradition, i.e. the objective nature of morality. We uphold the Judeo-Christian tradition by showing that it is fully consonant with reason. We don’t appeal to the authority of Scriptures or Church, but to that of reason. That’s why we are a secular, albeit religion-friendly, magazine.”
A casual reader flipping though the pages of the magazine might find scathing critiques of radical feminism by Barbara Kay, a regular columnist with the National Post. Or they might find the latest thoughts from author, painter, and culture-of-death critic Michael O’Brien. And they will be sure to laugh at the satirical political comics of David Beresford, teacher, writer, and part-time doodler.
“As a conservative magazine, we seek to be thoughtful but not academic, topical but not trendy, forthright but not crude, humorous but not frivolous,” said Bastien at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom.
“In the eyes of the modern media and academia, anyone who supports the concept of an objective moral law is a conservative, i.e. someone who is either mentally retarded, or economically super-selfish or culturally fixated on the past,” he joked.
“This may explain why the whole idea of battling for conservative principles is not all that popular. Many people hold to conservative ideas in the privacy of their own minds, but they seldom want to defend them in the public square. They enjoy fights in the sporting world, but refrain from fighting over matters that involve them personally.”
The team at Canadian Observer knows that their project “appears as a project where only fools dare to tread.” Not only do they describe themselves as “unrepentantly conservative,” but they operate on a shoestring with no government subsidy. They even do their own printing.
“You might say that we are not unlike the French underground during World War II. I hope that will convince you to participate in our endeavor,” said Bastien.
A one year subscription which includes four issues costs $35. The latest issue can be downloaded to be viewed on a Kindle or e-reading device for just $5.99.
“At last an intelligent, informed, and well-written magazine centred on conservative ideas and ideals. Highly qualified journalists, refreshing subjects, compelling reading,” said Michael Coren, host of The Arena on Sun News Network, in a review.
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