Harper promotes religious freedom - Belleville Intelligencer - Ontario, CA

By Bryn Weese, Parliamentary Bureau, QMI AGENCY

MISSISSAUGA, ONT. - Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is kicking off the final leg of the election campaign Easter weekend by promoting his party's promise to create an Office of Religious Freedom.

Later Saturday, Harper is to travel to B.C. where the party hopes to quell the rising NDP surge there.
Before a very ethnically diverse crowd at a Coptic Christian centre in this west-end Toronto suburb, Harper said a re-elected Conservative government would make defending religious freedoms a "priority" for Canadian foreign policy.
The new Office of Religious Freedom, which would be part of the foreign affairs department, would cost about $5 million a year.
Harper said in a statement Saturday that just because Canadians enjoy freedom at home, "we must not let our comfort be an excuse to shirk our commitment to the cause of freedom."
Invoking the memory of slain Pakistani Minister of Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti, Harper said, "(he) had asked us in Canada to shine a light on the persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan and around the world."
Bhatti, a Catholic, was gunned down in March of this year for his defence of Christians in Pakistan. Read more

Harper promotes religious freedom - Belleville Intelligencer - Ontario, CA

Good News!

So the day is finally here - at least for those with the right cable or satellite provider.  Finally there will be a new 24-hour news/opinion channel, Sun News.  Advertising "Hard News and Straight Talk", this is the channel referred to as "Fox News North" by the chattering classes of the left and many who assume those chattering classes have a clue.


So, what to expect?  This is a channel whose editorial views will likely skew towards the right of the two current Canadian news channels, CTV News Channel and CBC News Network, and that isn't a bad thing.  Too often Canadian news provides a voice for some viewpoints but not others, holds up one opinion while criticizing the other.  The idea of a news source which, in it's editorial bent, is at least open to the ideas espoused by those of a more conservative or libertarian bent, seems likely to have the same impact on the Canadian marketplace of ideas as opening a window has on a sleepy science class - bringing new life and a recognition of the possibilities inherent in a well argued debate.


One accusation by the political left is that the new channel will have a lowering effect on the level of political discourse in Canada.  But this is only true if one assumes that ideas from the political right are somehow inferior and unworthy of discussion.  If, on the other hand the idea of real debate is seen as of benefit, then the expansion of journalistic voices can only be seen as positive.


And ultimately the final decision will come down to whether or not Canadians will subscribe.  Whereas the CTV and CBC channels are mandatory for cable and satellite providers to carry as part of their basic packages, both analog and digital, Sun News will be optional.  If Canadians want Sun, they will have to choose it, and pay extra for it.


So, in response to those who've decried the launch of Sun News channel, let's give it a year.  Maybe by this time next year we will have a better idea of what it's about, and how it fits into the Canadian news scene.