Issues, ethics, memory
By Dennis Gruending  Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte has waded into Canada’s federal election campaign by returning his Order of Canada medal in protest against Dr. Henry Morgentaler’s receiving a similar award in July. Morgentaler went to prison in the 1970s for providing women with abortions in free-standing clinics and without permission from hospital abortion committees. The... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending Policy wonks may think that elections are about issues but linguist and political commentator George Lakoff says they’re all about cultural metaphors and stereotypes. The Republicans are proven masters at shifting focus away from issues and toward potent metaphors framed in a conservative way and with “family values†at their centre. In... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending The religious right in Canada is growing in power and influence but that development appears to be news to many political scientists and pundits. As mentioned in this space last week, I presented a paper on the religious right to a conference at the University of Western Ontario early in May (see... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending Stephen Harper and the Conservatives won election in Canada with a minority government just over two years ago. The vote of evangelical Christians and Catholics who attend church weekly was a deciding factor in that election. The question now is whether that was a blip or an emerging reality in Canadian political... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending Reverend Charles McVety says that he has many friends among the Harper Conservatives who govern in Ottawa. This week he will testify before the Senate banking committee in support of legislation that he says occurred partly as a result of his lobbying. It would deny tax credits to films that the government... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending The federal New Democratic Party has created a Faith and Justice Commission as a forum for progressive people who come to politics from a faith based perspective [www.ndp-faith-justice-foi-npd.ca/]. Its chair is Joe Comartin, one of several Catholic MPs who were denied communion by the church because of their support for same sex marriage legislation.... Continue Reading →
Pulpit and Politics 