Reporters and religious writers who cover the Vatican are already going to great lengths to make sure that Catholics, especially LGBTQ Catholics, realize that Pope Francis’ statement re “civil unions” changes nothing as far as the Catholic Church’s stand on homosexuality and its definition of “marriage” is concerned. (The latterRead More

In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada decriminalized the prohibition on assisted suicide, a decision which led to the legalization of assisted suicide (when an individual ends her own life with the help of another, usually a physician) and voluntary active euthanasia (when someone gives permission to another person –Read More

There has been almost too much to process from days of watching the Black Lives Matter marches spreading, not only across the United States, but to so many countries around the world, including Canada. But even as protesters call out police racism and brutality, like that displayed in the killingRead...

Hello friends of the Spectator! My neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, USA is called Capitol Hill, and the golden dome of its namesake sits imperiously three blocks from my lovely 1918 building, with three stories of balconies overlooking Pennsylvania Street, next to the home of Molly Brown, Denver’s notable from theRead More

Daily briefing Today’s briefing began with both Premier Stephen McNeil and Dr. Robert Strang offering condolences to the family of the Northwood resident who died of COVID-19 over the weekend. The death brought the province’s total to 60 — 53 of which have been at Northwood. Strang announced no newRead More

The lady was not happy. There was no mistaking that as she angrily asked the policeman why he was blocking the road she wanted to enter. Cars were lined up wanting to do the same but the policeman was adamant even as she told him in no uncertain terms howRead More

Editor’s Note: Since I decided to do daily COVID-19 updates, I’ve been greatly assisted by my columnists who have provided excellent weekly content to make up for my focus on the pandemic. This week, I’ve hit a bit of a dry spell, and can offer only an abbreviated weekly edition,Read...

“We need firstly some very basic things happening. We need access to portable toilets in our communities, so people can at least go to the bathroom, with wash stations so they can sanitize.” — Janet Bickerton, Ally Centre of Cape Breton, 30 March 2020, CBC interview   As noted above,Read More

  “Not even the apparently enlightened principle of the ‘greatest good for the greatest number’ can excuse indifference to individual suffering.” — Aneurin Bevan, In Place of Fear   “Poor naked wretches, wheresoe’er, That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides…defend youRead More

Editor’s Note: A story unfolding as rapidly as the COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t lend itself to weekly coverage so the Spectator is going to experiment with a daily COVID-19 update. This content will not be paywalled, so if you find it useful, feel free to share it. I intend to continueRead More