If you ever needed evidence that the Canadian media is anti-Conservative...

...you can find it right here.

All week, the Canadian news intelligentsia have been struggling to make a story out of Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's decision to run ads outlining his personal opposition to the redefinition of marriage. It appears though, that the expectation that the Tory caucus would self-destruct over the issue has gone largely unfulfilled. But this doesn't stop the media from creating stories of internal division within Tory ranks where it doesn't even exist.

Check out this classic story from CP Online:

"Harper's gay marriage strategy exposes rift among Conservatives"

From the article:

"Marie-Josee Lapointe, former press secretary to Tory Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, calls Harper's stance 'bad strategy that's left me completely flabbergasted.'"

But the article goes on to state:

"...Lapointe, whose public relations company is doing work for social groups opposed to the Conservative position..."

So let's get this straight. A woman *used* to work for Mulroney, and is now working for GROUPS OPPOSED TO HARPER'S POSITION. But, somehow, her thoughts have credibility, because sometime, way back when, twenty years ago, she happened to work in the Prime Minister's Office? She's likely not even a Tory anymore, but regardless, anyone who has a financially vested interest in opposing the very individual she is criticising certainly shouldn't be seen by the media as someone credible enough to offer an opinion on the issue.

We've known since its birth that most media sources will stop at nothing to illustrate "division" among the Tories. But is this nonsense the best that the media can come up with?

...Because you not letting me use your hall violates my "human rights"

CBC reports that the BC Human Rights Tribunal has begun to hear the case of a Vancouver lesbian couple who were prevented from holding their wedding reception at a hall owned by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's organisation.

I'll save my lengthy analysis (prediction?) of whether the tribunal will rule in favour of the couple wishing to hold the reception (I suspect, given the history of "human rights" jurisprudence in Canada that it will) for later this evening or tomorrow.

Quickly, though, the motivation of the couple involved seems somewhat suspect, at least given the facts that the CBC reports. Apparently, the women had placed a deposit down on the hall and had sent out invitations to attend the event; it was only subsequently that the K of C rescinded the use of the hall after discovering that the event was a reception for a lesbian marriage. Instead of making this a human-rights issue, wouldn't it make much more sense for the couple to sue the hall for breach of contract, if the proprietors were inappropriately reneging on the contract to provide the facilities?

But no, this is Canada in 2005. Instead of turning to the courts to adjudicate private disputes, we turn to the courts to label others "violators of human rights".

On Testicular Fortitude, Jason Kenney-style

Kudos to Conservative MP Jason Kenney, for taking a detour as a member of Canada's touring delegation in Asia.

The Honourable Member for Calgary Southeast, defying Chinese security, paid his respects to the deceased Chinese reformist Zhao Ziyang by attending the latter's residence and offering condolences.

Kenney is consistently one of Parliament's strongest advocates for democracy and political liberty; it's unfortunate (and ironic) that Paul Martin's repudiation of Kenney's actions was far more incisive than the kid-glove treatment he has given China's leaders with respect to that country's brutal supression of individual rights and democratic activism.

40 Centimetres of Snow Closes a Province

Yes, you've read the headline correctly: an overnight blizzard has shut down all of Nova Scotia.

According to the CBC, even a ski hill and Halifax's military bases are closed.

I won't even attempt to explain how a snowstorm can cause a ski hill to close, though I'm less distressed about the closure of military bases. Given the sorry state of our military, Canada's closed bases have the same defensive capability as open ones.

Scandal-plagued Liberal Minister GONE!

Finally, Immigration Minister Judy Sgro--now simply the Member of Parliament for York West--has resigned (been fired?) from her post following a series of revelations indicating that she was trading her Ministerial prerogative (with respect to granting asylum and expediting work permits) for volunteer assistance on her campaign during the June federal election.

Never mind that she granted a work permit to a stripper. Never mind that she offered to prevent the deportation of a man in exchange for providing campaign volunteers and pizza. The million-dollar question is:

In a riding like York West--where the Liberals are the only party to win since 1962, and where Sgro won 62% of the vote--why would a Liberal go to such great lengths to secure volunteers for a campaign? It's likely that, even if she didn't put up signs, she still would have won an outright majority.

The answer? Stupidity. Plain and utter stupidity.

REGULATIONWATCH: Return of the Language Gestapo

Disheartening news from Ontario today: a small municipality outside Ottawa has passed a bylaw requiring new commercial signs to contain both English and French of the same size, under penalty of fine. According to the Mayor:

"Now the lettering will have to be exactly the same size in French and English...(a) bylaw officer will measure the lettering on the signs to make sure they meet the requirements..."

I can just visualise the bylaw officers with their rulers now.

Apparently the new bylaw was precipitated by public concern over the prominence of English on signs in the predominently French community. Ironically, though, businesses were responding to these complaints prior to the state's compulsion through the bylaw. The local BIA president notes:

"I would hope the bylaw would not discourage people from opening businesses in Clarence-Rockland...Canadian Tire made a decision to put up bilingual signs before this regulation was passed.

"There is a very high percentage of people who speak French here. When Canadian Tire opened in November on Highway 17, many people said they didn't want to do business with stores that had English signs only. I believe that businesses will provide what their clientele is requesting.

Which I guess begs the question: why was the bylaw enacted in the first place when the market was doing such an admirable job of responding to customer concerns?

On Us

In an effort to humanise and personalise (and in a rare and ironic collective decision), PLVQ's three contributors have decided to post photos of ourselves hidden behind our favourite books, as well as some brief biographies below. Enjoy!

De Bellatore Libertatis

Bellator Libertatis: A first-year student at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he can assure his beloved readership that the exposed eye in his photo does not imply an endorsement of Freemasonry. Having moved to America partly to escape illiberal Canada, he may never return.

De Domina Sceleris

Domina Sceleris: A fourth-year political science student at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, she is most content when drowning in a sea of political theory.


 

De Patrono Rationis

Patronus Rationis: A first-year law student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, his hobbies include reading, cooking, and ranting about the pervasive statism of Eastern Canada.