<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16441" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><TR><TD></TD> </TR><TR><TD>
<DIV class=storyheadline><FONT size=5><STRONG>U.S. resembles religious state,
McKenna says</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=storysubhead><FONT size=4>Ex-ambassador lauds Canadian
'mindset'</FONT></DIV>
<TABLE width="100%" border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD> </TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD><FONT class=storybyline>Juliet O'Neill</FONT></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD><FONT class=storypub>CanWest News Service</FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<DIV class=storydate><BR>Saturday, June 02, 2007</DIV><BR>
<DIV class=storytext>
<P>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.</P>
<P>"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."</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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."</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>"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.</P>
<P>"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."</P>
<P>He noted that Canada's record on foreign policy diverges from that of the
United States, but that has not hurt the trading relationship.</P>
<P>"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."</P></DIV>
<DIV class=storycredit align=center>© The Calgary Herald 2007</DIV>
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><TR><TD>
<DIV class=storyheadline><STRONG><FONT size=5>Cleric wins human rights case
against church</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV class=storysubhead><FONT size=4>Victim of hate mail, stalking awarded
$600,000 in P.E.I.</FONT></DIV>
<TABLE width="100%" border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD> </TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD><FONT class=storybyline>Ken Meaney</FONT></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD><FONT class=storypub>CanWest News Service</FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<DIV class=storydate><BR>Saturday, June 02, 2007</DIV><BR>
<DIV class=storytext>
<TABLE style="FLOAT: right" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=250 align=right
border=0 valign="top">
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD><IMG height=210
alt="Rev. Gael Matheson of Charlottetown, P.E.I."
src="http://media.canada.com/idl/cahr/20070602/97451-32618.jpg?size=l"
width=210 border=0></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD class=storycredit>CREDIT: The Canadian Press</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD class=storycredit>Rev. Gael Matheson of Charlottetown,
P.E.I.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>The human rights panel decision on compensation was released Friday.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>"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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>"We are weighing our options right now with respect to a possible judicial
review . . . to the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island," Godfrey said.</P>
<P>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.</P></DIV>
<DIV class=storycredit align=center>© The Calgary Herald 2007</DIV><BR
clear=all></TD></TR><TR><TD align="center"
colspan="2"><BR></TD></TR></DIV></BODY></HTML>