timeimmortal

…but I will agree, to the end of my days, that he has a right to voice his opinions. And it’s good news indeed that the Supreme Court of Canada agrees with that sentiment, and will not hear an appeal to overturn a lower court’s ruling that Whatcott’s right to freedom of speech had been violated.

Whatcott’s tactics seem, to me, on the extreme side, but the fact that the Saskatchewan Association of Licensed Practical Nurses suspended and fined him for his off-hours, anti-abortion advocacy was detestable and a violation of Whatcott’s human rights.

Nurse Bill Whatcott staged his anti-abortion protest at the clinic in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 2002, and Planned Parenthood subsequently launched a complaint against him at his professional association. Whatcott had earlier served jail time for demonstrating against an abortion clinic in Toronto.

The Saskatchewan Association of Licensed Practical Nurses found Whatcott guilty of professional misconduct, suspended him as a nurse and ordered him to pay C$15,000 ($15,150) in legal costs.

Whatcott argued that he had been demonstrating in his free time and that his protest was simply a case of free speech. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association had also weighed in on the debate, saying that while it favored abortion rights it was concerned over attempts to squelch debate.

He tried to run for mayor here in Edmonton a while back. Got about a thousand votes, as I recall.

Saskatchewan MP Maurice Vellacott has proposed (re-introduced, really) legislation that would grant freedom of conscience protection to healthcare workers opposed to abortion — i.e. a person can’t be compelled to perform or assist with an abortion if s/he has a religious and/or moral objection to the practice.

One would have thought this protection of conscience already existed in Canada, but evidently one would be incorrect in thinking that. Of course, that doesn’t really come as a surprise given that this is also the country which operate the “rights for me, but not for thee” human rights commissions that are the subject of so much controversy these days.

“Up to 15 per cent of incarcerated drug users report injecting heroin and Cocaine while behind bars.” No mention is made of that other main transmission vector for the AIDS-vausing HIV virus that prisons are reputed to be hotbeds of, of course.

Of course, it has to be asked: does this revelation come as any kind of surprise to anyone?

Not entirely related, but concerning: 200,000 people live in Saskatchewan. Last year, the city of Regina handed out 2.5 million needles to drug users. Epidemic-much?