Showing posts with label Freedom of Expression. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freedom of Expression. Show all posts

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Christopher Folz Presentation - Annunciation of the Lord Parish - May 27, 2018

Presentation / Discussion with Christopher Folz, Barrister and Solicitor
After mass this Sunday morning
on Catholicism and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
What can we do?




Christopher Folz  


It was an interesting and enlightening presentation
As a practicing Catholic, Mr. Folz is concerned these days by what he sees in respect to recent laws He explained some ways that we as Catholics can and should advocate for our beliefs which are under attack by Governments as well as the media.

He spoke about the Constitution and our Rights under the Constitution.

Entrenched In the Constitution is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and under #7 of  the Charter of the Rights and Freedoms is the right to Life, Liberty and Religion and these Rights must be applied equally to each person.

From the preamble of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
 " Whereas, Canada is founded on principals that recognize ' the Supremecy of God AND the rule of law '"  The use of the word AND means that both are together. The separation of Church and State does not mean they they are mutually exclusive.

Mr. Folz said that the Catholic Church is a self governing organization and we MUST be able to advocate on behalf of our Faith . In regards to the Summer Jobs Program the Liberal Government is essentially picking on us and Folz says this is extremely problematic. Right now there are about 27 court challenges. The Federal Government has not deemed it necessary to create an Administrative Tribunal which would be necessary  to challenge the decision of the Minister responsible. So this is basically a unilateral decision on the part of the Government so the Right to have the Law applied equally to each person is missing in the Summer Jobs Program. Is the law applied equally when you are required to sign a form that goes against your Conscience? The answer is NO. It is contrary to Section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 1700 Organizations have been turned away because of this.

Whether our Government leaders like it or not the Christian Faith  is an essential part of our Constitution.  Our Separate Schools are as well. The Constitution would have to be changed to get rid of them .

But in spite of all this Folz says there are things that we can do and we must not loose hope: letter writing, speaking to your MP, peaceful witnessing etc. We do a lot of peaceful witnessing and of course we will continue.  It is frustrating though : Catholics are often portrayed by the media as closed minded hateful bigots and we are probably the most persecuted of Christians

But we keep going and we give Praise to God!

For the Catholic Association of Lawyers see the link below
https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/


 

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Senator St. Germain's Senate statement on Rona Ambrose' Freedom of expression

Senator St. Germain just made the following statement in the Senate on October 2, 2012:
Honourable Senators,
Freedom of expression is a right often taken for granted.
As Parliamentarians, we enjoy the use of this right – free from hindrance – every day throughout the discourse of our debates and though other channels of communication.
as representatives of the public, We are responsible to uphold this right, and protect its value.
Last week in the other place this coveted right was under siege after being exercised by the Honourable Rona Ambrose during a free vote.
The issue of Ms. Ambrose’s vote in favour of Motion 312 goes beyond the subject matter of the Motion its self.
The outcry from the folks condemning her democratic action only highlights the ugly truth in this country that freedom of expression does not exist in the face of intolerance.
The opinions expressed by these special interest groups toward the actions of Ms. Ambrose are rather disingenuous.
They fail to realize that tolerance is a two way street.
During my nearly 30 years as a Parliamentarian, never once did I regret my decision to exercise my right to stand up for what I believed in.
And I defended my decisions against dissenting opinions, as was my right to do so - - - as much as it was their right to disagree with me.
But never once was I condemned or cast as morally void for having excised my right to vote freely.
Honourable Senators, whether we agree or disagree with the issue at hand, Ms. Ambrose should be congratulated - not condemned - for having the courage of her convictions to stand up and freely vote her conscience.
As a Member of Parliament, her actions rightly represent the essence of our democratic society.