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Guns aren't welcome in Toronto May 30, 2008 04:30 AM Re:Targeting the good guys Letters, May 29 It is interesting to note that letters criticizing Toronto City Council for closing down city-run shooting ranges were sent from Mississauga, Halifax, Wellesley, Ont., Pickering and Peterborough. I supported shutting down the shooting ranges because I believe it is hypocritical for city council to call for a total ban on handguns, while supporting and in fact subsidizing gun culture at city-run facilities – especially when recreation programs to keep kids away from the draw of a street culture that too often includes weapons...

Help Sink Old Navy's Blockade Dear Craig, You would think a company that gets the vast majority of its business from Christians would be respectful of its customers. Such is true of companies that don't have an anti-Christian bias. But not at Old Navy. Old Navy has put a blockade around Christmas. Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic are owned by the same company. And all three boycott Christmas. At these stores, Christmas isn't allowed because a handful of non-Christians are offended. Old Navy doesn't want to offend non-Christians. But they sure don't worry about offending Christians. They will take...

Families of Victims Pleased that Unborn Victims of Crime Act Will Come to a Vote in Canada's Parliament By John-Henry Westen OTTAWA, December 6, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Parliamentary subcommittee has ruled the Unborn Victims of Crime Act, introduced by Conservative MP Ken Epp, 'votable', meaning that it will be able to come before the full House of Commons for a vote. A similar bill proposed last year by Conservative MP Leon Benoit was deemed non-votable at the subcommittee stage. If passed, the law would allow criminal charges to be laid in the death or injury of an unborn child...

Flood of immigrants straining Canadian cities Updated Tue. Dec. 4 2007 8:44 AM ET The Canadian Press TORONTO -- Canada's three largest cities are struggling to cope with a flood of newcomers primarily from China, India, the Philippines and Pakistan as immigration approaches levels not seen since the end of the "Great Migration.'' Statistics Canada said Tuesday that 69 per cent of recent immigrants to Canada resided in the "magnet'' or "gateway'' cities of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver -- dubbed MTV -- in 2006. That's down from 73 per cent in 2001 and 74 per cent in 1996. Still, 97...

1 in 5 people in Canada now foreign-born: census Updated Tue. Dec. 4 2007 10:30 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff The number of foreign-born people in Canada is now one-in-five, an increase of 13.6 per cent from 2001 with the vast majority of them settling in Ontario, according to new census data from Statistics Canada. The new data released Tuesday morning focuses on immigration, language and migration trends across Canada. The director general of the StatsCan census program says "6.2 million people in Canada were born outside of Canada. And that foreign-born proportion of the population is at its highest...

A year later, Gap continues to censor Christmas At Gap, the score is "holiday" 172 and "Christmas" 3 At Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic, Christmas hardly exists. For these three companies, all owned by Gap, the only items listed as having anything to do with Christmas were a pair of boxer shorts and a child's sleepwear set. Last year, when Gap also censored Christmas, we contacted the company. The company refused to change their policy of censoring Christmas. This year the company has continued their practice of censoring Christmas from their stores and promotions. The only conclusion one can...

Retailers focus more on Thanksgiving Day By SAMANTHA BOMKAMP, AP Business Writer 31 minutes ago NEW YORK - The nation's retailers want shoppers to spend less time eating turkey and stuffing on Thanksgiving and more time shopping — whether it's online or on land. For the second year in a row, CompUSA Inc. and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. are opening their doors on Thanksgiving. The exception are stores in Massachusetts where local laws preclude holiday hours. CompUSA also added an extra incentive for consumers this year by providing pumpkin pie for those in line. Iconic toy store FAO Schwarz —...

Board pulls out of program; Organizers try to understand reasoning Posted By Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles The Nugget Posted 10 hours ago Rose Haufe doesn't buy the reason given by the area's largest school board to no longer support Operation Christmas Child. The Powassan resident told The Nugget Tuesday the project is "simply caring for people and is beyond any religious boundaries." "I'm trying to think of their motivation, but I can't think of why they wouldn't want to do this," Haufe said. "When a child gives they never forget. It's a lesson they need to learn. It teaches them there's others...

T.O. announces campaign to attract gay tourists toronto.ctv.ca Tourism Toronto said Friday that it plans to launch an advertising campaign aimed at making the city a top destination for gay travellers from the U.S. The campaign will focus on four major cities - New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. It will include ads in gay restaurants, bars and local publications, as well as event sponsorships and other promotional activities. "Toronto has things to offer all year round--we've got a number of festivals outside of Pride that we can market," said Bruce MacDonald of the Canadian Gay & Lesbian...

Where is Afghan mission heading? Canada should demilitarize the mission as much as possible, seek political reconciliation with the Taliban and stop blaming Pakistan for the insurgency Apr 12, 2007 04:30 AM Haroon Siddiqui What are Canadian soldiers dying for in Afghanistan? The official answer is that (a) they are there so that terrorists don't come here, though the reverse is more likely, and (b) our troops are helping the Afghans get back on their feet. The more realistic answer is that (a) Gen. Rick Hillier wanted to prove to the Americans that Canada belonged in the big league, and...

T.O. judge orders Christmas tree out of lobby Updated Thu. Dec. 14 2006 5:31 PM ET toronto.ctv.ca A Toronto judge has ordered a Christmas tree out of a downtown provincial courthouse lobby, saying it's not an appropriate symbol to non-Christians. The move by Justice Marion Cohen has upset staff, some of whom call the decision stupid and insulting. Cohen says she understands the small tree has stood in the lobby at 311 Jarvis St. for years during the Christmas season, but in a letter to employees says non-Christians are "confronted" with the artificial decoration, which makes them feel "they are...

Canadian Activist: Marriage Vote Signals Conservative Party's Abandoned Values By Chad Groening December 8, 2006 (AgapePress) - A Canadian pro-family activist admits he is bitterly disappointed that the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper failed to restore traditional marriage to the people of Canada on Thursday. The vote was 175-123 against Harper's resolution calling for marriage to once again be defined strictly as a union between one man and one woman. The liberal Globe and Mail newspaper began an article on the vote with a bold pronouncement: "Same-sex marriage is here to stay." Although pro-family leader Brian Rushfeldt, executive...

Marriage Debate: Catholic MP Reminds Members Tenure as MPs Short – Eternity Long Warns MPs they must give good account of selves when they later stand before God By Hilary White OTTAWA, December 7, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pierre Lemieux, Conservative MP for the Ontario riding of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, told a nearly empty House of Commons last night that the recognition of natural marriage is an imperative for Canadian society. He warned that the previous government’s determination to abolish the meaning of marriage was “a radical social experiment”, the consequences of which were unknown. Lemieux’s speech stood out from the others defending...

Editorial: Protection for illegals Nov. 30, 2006. 01:00 AM An estimated 80,000 illegal immigrants live and work in Toronto and they do so without being able to access many of the basic services most Canadians take for granted, such as health care. But because of an innovative policy adopted in February by the Toronto Police Services Board, illegal immigrants who have been abused by their spouses, have been the victims of a crime or have witnessed a crime no longer need to fear calling the police because they might be deported. This groundbreaking "don't ask, don't tell" policy prevents Toronto...

Some stores begin shopping season early By SHAILA DANI, AP Business Writer 5 minutes ago NEW YORK - A traditional day of feasting with family could turn into a day of early holiday shopping for some, as retailers offered more options — both online and in stores — than ever this Thanksgiving. For the first time, BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. and CompUSA Inc. opened their doors on Thanksgiving, while online retailer Amazon.com offered special holiday discounts. In the past, grocery retailers and 24-hour convenience stores like 7-Eleven Inc. were the only shopping options on Thanksgiving. Holiday gift shoppers turned to...

Ottawa's justice fiasco Nov. 15, 2006. 01:00 AM Prime Minister Stephen Harper needs to find a new justice minister. Vic Toews's serial assaults on judicial independence risk shaking confidence in his government. No less a figure than Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, who heads the Canadian Judicial Council of senior judges, handed Toews a rare public rebuke last week for compromising the independence of panels that recommend people for judgeships. And Canadian Bar Association president Parker MacCarthy voiced an equally firm protest on behalf of his 37,000 members. Their concerns are well-founded. Toews is no stranger to controversy. In the past...

Bush changes course, how about Harper? The era of American militarism is coming to an end, notes Haroon Siddiqui Nov. 12, 2006. 01:00 AM HAROON SIDDIQUI -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reality is setting in on the White House. George W. Bush seems ready to abandon, or at least radically modify, his failed approach to the world ? the one Stephen Harper backs. There are several signs that the era of American unilateralism and militarism is coming to an end. The process has already begun, with indirect American participation in multi-party talks on Iran and North Korea, and Bush ruling out military retaliation against...

Letter to churches targets candidate's sexual orientation Wed Nov 8, 1:57 PM OTTAWA (CBC) - A letter highlighting the sexual orientation of mayoral hopeful Alex Munter was distributed to churches around Ottawa this week, and church leaders say it was an attempt to stir up bigotry. The letter claimed to be from a group called "Homosexual Supremacy" and arrived by regular mail to a number of churches on Tuesday, less than one week before the Nov. 13 municipal election. Recent polls show Munter is leading the race to become mayor of Ottawa. The letter calls Munter a "proud Homosexual" and...

Wal-Mart opts for ‘Christmas’ marketing It won't be 'happy holidays' this year; it will be 'Merry Christmas' Updated: 9:31 p.m. ET Nov 9, 2006 BENTONVILLE, Ark. - It is beginning to look a lot more like Christmas at Wal-Mart. This holiday season, Wal-Mart isn’t trumpeting big bargains only. It’s also bringing “Christmas” back into its marketing, after several years of playing down the term. Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Christmas cheer seems to be a hot trend this season as several other retailers including Kohl’s Corp. and Macy’s, a division of Federated Department Stores Inc., are also stepping up their Christmas marketing....

Here are my predictions for the results of each Senate race: Arizona: Kyl (R) 54%, Pederson (D) 45%, Mack (L) 1% California: Feinstein (D) 63%, Mountjoy (R) 35%, others 2% Connecticut: Lieberman (I) 52%, Lamont (D) 38%, Schlesinger (R) 9%, others 1% Delaware: Carper (D) 62%, Ting (R) 35%, others 3% Florida: Nelson (D) 57%, Harris (R) 42%, others 1% Hawaii: Akaka (D) 72%, Thielen (R) 27%, Mallan (L) 1% Indiana: Lugar (R) 95%, Osborn (L) 5% Maine: Snowe (R) 66%, Bright (D) 31%, Slavick (I) 3% Maryland: Cardin (D) 50%, Steele (R) 48%, Zeese (G) 2% Massachusetts: Kennedy (D)...