Apr 12
20
That Ominous Omnibus Charter: Rod Taylor
Across the country, the usual suspects are celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the entrenchment of Canada’s Charter of Rights and freedoms. They are celebrating its passage and the signal shift in how justice is defined but they are ignoring the Charter’s Preamble (the most important part and the main redeeming feature of the Charter.) That preamble posits this foundational presupposition: “Whereas Canada is founded on principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law…” Logically, everything that follows should be anchored to that foundation. However, courts and legislators alike have ignored the obvious and pursued instead some ridiculously unconnected public policy objectives which would never have achieved credibility under our biblically-based Common Law precedents and basic common sense.
The 1995 Egan case which began forcing recognition and monetary obligation via spousal benefits for same-gender conjugal partners, combined with brutal “hate crimes” legislation began to move the Overton window of public policy and opinion. The constant media barrage from taxpayer-funded CBC and other left-leaning media outlets gave the “public opinion cover” for the publicly-unsupported same-sex marriage legislation passed into law in 2005.
Not all Canadians are surprised at how the Charter has been used as a blunt instrument of social disruption. People like Ed Vanwoudenberg, founding leader of the Christian Heritage Party, correctly identified the likely misuse of the Charter even before the most significant cases eventually surfaced. It’s a safe bet that shrewd and savvy Pierre Trudeau knew exactly which social institutions and moral values would be upended by his Charter.
One can only assume that the troublesome statement in the Preamble that appears to give recognition and honour to the supremacy of God (the God of the Bible) was a sop thrown to Christians and traditionalists to mollify their concerns. Like so many other political promises, the lukewarm commitment to traditional morality was just a convenient façade for shrewd and crafty politicians and unelected judges who bided their time, manipulated public opinion and then imposed their narrow views and selfish conclusions on an apathetic and distracted society.
The Charter has seriously damaged our nation and the selective manipulation of its components has undermined our democratic process. The political will and honesty required to address the corruption is much-needed and hard to be found. Let us work and pray that Canada will once again submit fully to the “supremacy of God.”