Canada, Maritimes, Ontario, The West, Toronto

The Shafia verdict should have implications far beyond the deserved condemnations of the very concept of “honour” killings. Beyond even the condemnation of the terrible subjugation of women that is at the heart of that retrograde and oxymoronic phrase and the corpus of thought that gave it birth. And beyond any satisfaction people may have about the verdict. It should lead us straight to the heart of the matter: the absolute rejection of accomodation to any status for any religious law in Canada’s legal jurisdictions and the urgent need to reaffirm this nation’s dedication to the sovereignty of the individual over any collective.

TORONTO,  – B’nai Brith Canada has welcomed the release of a new governmental report, Building Resilience Against Terrorism: Canada’s Counter-terrorism Strategy, which unveils a comprehensive strategy to identify and counter terrorism against Canada, Canadians and Canadian interests urges that safeguards must be put into place as this strategy is unrolled.

Before I really got to know Don McLaren, I thought he was vain, with a tinge of arrogance. That was my impression on first meeting him. I think a lot of others thought the same…until they found what really drove him and made him an achiever.

Toronto,  - Canada needs a seat at negotiations toward a new Trans-Pacific Partnership on trade to reap the full benefits of doing business with the emerging powerhouse economies of East Asia, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Can Canada Join the Trans-Pacific Partnership? Why wanting it is not enough,” trade expert Dr. Laura Dawson notes the new trade pact could eventually account for half of global output and 40 percent of world trade. “Membership would position Canada to build trade ties with Asia’s rising economic powers, whose double-digit growth rates far outshine those in the West,” notes Dr. Dawson. “Canada is coming late to the talks. The question now is whether Canada can join the action.”

Last week on Thursday, February 2, 2012, I sat nearly six hours straining to hear (bad acoustics) an appeal to the Ontario Appeal Court concerning the legal right of a small town in Eastern Ontario named Russell, to issue and enforce a bilingual sign bylaw requiring private individuals and corporations to display any of their business signage in French and English. 

According to Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, “Canada does not stand behind Israel; Canada stands shoulder to shoulder with Israel.”

And he’s right. Under Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s leadership, Canada has unquestionably assumed the mantle, previously held by the U.S., of “Israel’s best friend.”

BRAMPTON, ON,  Loblaws at Maple Leaf Gardens opened today bringing Food’s Greatest Stage™, an innovative and vibrant urban food shopping experience, to a landmark building with a façade restored to its original glory and a revitalized interior respecting the spirit of its hallowed halls.

TORONTO,  A standing-room only crowd of over 3000 people packed Canada Christian College to capacity to protest the Arab League’s plan to unilaterally divide Israel based on pre-1967 borders in order to create a Palestinian state with no security guarantees whatsoever for Israel. The “Stand With Israel” rally was attended by members of Jewish and Christian communities from across the Golden Horseshoe and southern Ontario, as well as religious leaders and politicians who came together to offer prayers and messages of encouragement to Israel as its future hangs in the balance pending this week’s events at the United Nations General Assembly.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford addresses the announcement of the passing of His Eminence Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic

“On behalf of Toronto City Council and Toronto’s residents I wish to express my deepest sympathy to the Archdiocese of Toronto, and the family, friends and parishioners of Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic.”