PRESS RELEASE – OTTAWA – This morning the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in a case in which the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) intervened. S.L., et al. v. Commission scolaire des Chênes, et al., a case originating in Quebec, sought to address the issue of whether parents have the right to choose… Read More
By Don Hutchinson and guest blogger Rick Hiemstra, Director of Research, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) does not generally engage in the number crunching of the government budget process. But we do believe that a budget is, fundamentally, a moral document, and as such that Biblical principles are relevant… Read More
By Don Hutchinson Last week in the House of Commons, the following statement was made by Mrs. Nina Grewal (MP, Fleetwood—Port Kells): Mr. Speaker, Christmas is approaching and again the forces of political correctness continue with the relentless attack on the traditional traditions: judges remove Christmas trees from the court houses; school concerts are… Read More
By Don Hutchinson As originally published in the National Post on December 14, 2011. Dalton McGuinty, the man who would like to be remembered as Ontario’s “Education Premier,” has declared that all schools in his province — public, private and religious — must embark on anti-bullying initiatives, including the mandatory establishment of gay/straight alliance clubs… Read More
By Don Hutchinson Well, there you have it. I’ve been outed by the CBC. Yes, it’s true. I was a panellist at the Department of Foreign Affairs consultation on establishing an Office of Religious Freedom. I don’t know the selection process for attendees or for the panellists either. The panellist bios might give a hint… Read More
By Don Hutchinson Prior to deciding that section 293 (the polygamy section) of Canada’s Criminal Code is constitutional, Chief Justice Robert Bauman of the British Columbia Supreme Court conducted one of the most extensive reviews of the topic of polygamy that has ever been undertaken – and not just by a court. The Chief Justice… Read More
By Don Hutchinson The first week in November was chock-full of faith in public life events. Tuesday afternoon I was privileged to be part of a small group of leaders, from different faith communities in Ottawa, who met privately with Imam Muhammad Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye from Kaduna, Nigeria. These two former militia leaders,… Read More
It’s two weeks ago now that we were in the Supreme Court of Canada presenting argument on the need for the assessment of potentially hateful behaviour to be about more than hurt feelings; and that criticisms of behaviour are not attacks against the person. You can find my comments from that day here. During the… Read More
Following is the text of Don Hutchinson’s presentation, made on behalf of The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada before the Supreme Court of Canada on Wednesday, October 12 in the case of Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission v. William Whatcott. ***** As my time today is short, I will paint my picture using broad brush strokes. As… Read More
As Don Hutchinson noted in his blog post last week, Catholic parents in the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) have been fighting to retain the integrity of the Catholic teaching in their schools. The school board’s equity policy, required as part of the Government of Ontario’s equity and inclusive education strategy, would (as drafted)… Read More