MANNING BLAMES LIBERALS FOR JUDICIAL ACTIVISM

OTTAWA, June 16 (LSN) – Writing in The Globe and Mail today, Reform Party leader Preston Manning criticized judicial activism, the phenomenon of judges making laws rather than simply interpreting them. Inspired by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, such activism has been responsible for Canada’s lawlessness with regard to abortion, and the explosion of “gay rights” in recent years.  Manning placed the blame for the problem squarely on the shoulders of the Liberal government, which he claims “bring bills to Parliament that are deliberately fuzzy on intent,” thus transferring “power by default from Parliament to the courts.”  Manning illustrated his point by reminding Canadians that former Justice Minister Allan Rock “refused to define sexual orientation” in the debate on including the phrase in federal “hate-crimes” legislation.  According to Manning, Rock preferred “to leave the issue to be settled by the courts,” because he felt that “the ‘values’ of the courts are more ‘liberal’ and politically correct than those of the general population as represented in parliaments.”