[Vision2020] Two Related Articles from Saturday's Calgary Herald

[Art Deco]

U.S. resembles religious state, McKenna says
Ex-ambassador lauds Canadian 'mindset'
        
      Juliet O'Neill 
      CanWest News Service 


Saturday, June 02, 2007


Frank McKenna, Canada's former ambassador to Washington, referred to the United States on Friday as "a theocratic state" in which Christian evangelicalism plays a big role in the Republican administration.

"Right now the United States is in many ways a theocratic state, not dissimilar to some of the other religious states in the world where religion has a huge part to play in government."

He referred to a current congressional investigation in Washington into whether partisan political and religious loyalties were used in the hiring and firing of U.S. attorneys and immigration judges. He also alluded to a report that 150 graduates of a Christian evangelical school have worked at the White House in recent years.

By contrast, he said in a speech to a business audience hosted by the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, "Canada is truly a secular state. Religion and politics do not mix in this country."

McKenna was outlining differences between the two countries and urged Canadians to be more confident about their different "mindset" on social issues, their economic clout, and their grip on national sovereignty in relation to the United States.

McKenna, deputy chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Bank, served as Canadian ambassador to Washington 2005-06. A prominent Liberal and former New Brunswick premier, he resigned from his diplomatic post after Stephen Harper's Conservatives won the last election.

"It's just a dramatically different mindset in the United States," McKenna said, contrasting U.S. and Canadian views on public health care, gun control, capital punishment, same-sex rights, abortion and relations with Cuba. Despite the differences, McKenna said Canadians need not feel threatened.

"Canadians often say the Americans want us to change our socially progressive programs and we just don't want to go there," he said. "We don't have to go there. We don't have to give up any sovereignty with respect to our social programs. Right now it's hard to imagine a time in our history when we've been more divergent in terms of our culture and social programs."

He noted that Canada's record on foreign policy diverges from that of the United States, but that has not hurt the trading relationship.

"We chose not to go into Iraq and most Americans would say we were right. We chose not to go to Vietnam. Most Americans would say that we were right. We did choose to go into the First World War and the Second World War, in both cases two years before the Americans. We did go into Korea. We did go into Serbia. We have been able to pick our spots based on our own set of criteria and that has not affected our relationship."

© The Calgary Herald 2007
    


Cleric wins human rights case against church
Victim of hate mail, stalking awarded $600,000 in P.E.I.
        
      Ken Meaney 
      CanWest News Service 


Saturday, June 02, 2007


           
            CREDIT: The Canadian Press 
            Rev. Gael Matheson of Charlottetown, P.E.I. 
     
A Presbyterian minister who was subjected to hate mail, stalking and a whisper campaign against her by members of her congregation has been awarded more than $600,000 in compensation.

The Prince Edward Island Human Rights Commission also ordered the Presbyterian Church to reinstate Rev. Gael Matheson as a minister and apologize to her for not properly dealing with the harassment to which she was subjected.

The human rights panel decision on compensation was released Friday.

It followed an earlier decision that upheld her complaint alleging that the Presbytery of Prince Edward Island and the Murray Harbour North Pastoral Charge, where she was posted, had discriminated against her on the basis of sex. It said Matheson experienced an offensive working environment, and when she sought help for her problems, she was blamed.

"Not only was there a lack of support for Rev. Matheson, but many members of the Charge viewed her with animosity. The members were not attending church or volunteering their time to help with church business. Consequently, this ... left Rev. Matheson in a precarious position," the panel ruled.

The Presbyterian Church has already filed notice of appeal of that decision. Alex Godfrey, lawyer for the church, said they now have 30 days to examine Friday's decision.

"We are weighing our options right now with respect to a possible judicial review . . . to the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island," Godfrey said.

In its decision, the Presbytery was ordered to write Matheson a letter of apology and a letter of reference. Among the costs, the Presbytery was instructed to pay $425,000 for lost income, $50,000 in damages and $102,000 in court costs. It was ordered to reinstate her to a ministerial position.

© The Calgary Herald 2007


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