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Comments on a perceived conflict between freedom of religion and homosexual rights in Canada. Judgment of an Ontario court, which prevented the Durham Catholic District School Board from barring a gay student from bringing his boyfriend to the school prom; Opinion that by ruling in favor of the student, Marc Hall, Superior Court Justice Robert MacKinnon ruled against a religion's right to conduct its affairs in accordance with its beliefs; Possible ramifications of removing religion from public life in Canada.

Presents a poll of moral attitudes in Canada, and the perception that some of the predictions made by Aldous Huxley in the book 'Brave New World' are coming true. Breakthroughs in reproductive technology, which are similar to ideas in Huxley's book; View that the modern world has embraced moral relativism, godlessness, consumerism, and self-centered pleasure-seeking; Finding that Canadians are abandoning traditional beliefs.

Discusses the presence of biker gangs such as the Hell's Angels in Canada. Mention of the National Strategy to Combat Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs of the National Association of Chiefs of Police; Links between biker organizations to murder, drug-trafficking, prostitution, and other crimes; Mention of the book 'Hells Angels at War,' by Yves Lavigne; Efforts to combat biker gangs in Canada. INSETS: A mountie on a mission;Toronto's biker loving mayor.

Presents speculation regarding a political merger of the United States and Canada. Suggestion that Canadian response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S. may indicate an end to anti-Americanism in Canada; Perceived disappointment of Canadians in the reaction of Prime Minister Jean Chretien to the attacks; Impact of increased security since September 11 on trade between the U.S. and Canada; Question of whether Canadian sovereignty should be preserved. INSET: Why not become one nation under God, indivisible?.

Comments on the victory of the British Columbia (B.C) Liberals in the province's May, 2001 election. Opinion that the Liberals' plan to foster renewed prosperity in British Columbia is cautious, but will probably work; Opinion that New Democratic Party (NDP) governments have overseen a decade of decline in British Columbia, and have driven out investment; Speculation regarding economic improvement in British Columbia under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell.

Focuses on allegations, as of April 2001, that Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien made false statements in public regarding the sale of his portion of the Grand-Mere Golf Course and the Auberge Grand-Mere inn. Accusation that Chretien pressured the president of the Business Development Bank of Canada to grant a loan to the hotel; Publication of documents which Chretien claims prove he divested himself of all interest in the course; Opinion of Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day that Chretien is involved in a conflict of interest. INSET: Shawinigate timeline, by Colby Cosh.

Comments on abortion laws in Canada, as of April, 2001. How Prime Minister Jean Chretien accused Stockwell Day, leader of the Canadian Alliance, of planning a referendum on abortion; Mention of a 1988 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion; Speculation that anti-abortion activism is on the rise; Statement that Conservative leader Joe Clark and Bishop Fred Henry, head of the Roman Catholic diocese of Calgary, are on opposite sides of the abortion issue. INSET: A gradual turning in the tide of public opinion.

Focuses on the view of anti-abortion activists in Alberta and British Columbia toward provincial and federal discussions about the future of health care in Canada. Issue of determining which procedures should be funded under provincial medicare plans; Belief of pro-life supporters that the abortion procedure should not be covered by insurance; Public-relations campaign of Alberta Pro-Life to persuade the government that de-insuring is a widely supported choice of taxpayers. INSETS: Millions of medicare dollars on an elective surgery;A political, not medical, 'necessity'.

Discusses the efforts of researchers to help Claire Minkley, who has no muscle control due to a genetic disorder and is unable to speak. Challenges Minkley faces in communicating, using a special board with letters on it; Researchers who are dedicated to helping Claire and those who suffer from stroke, cerebral palsy, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to communicate; Use of brainwaves to communicate. INSETS: It's not science fiction;And then there's Latimer.

Focuses on Canadian Alliance member of parliament Diane Ablonczy's statement that Prime Minister Jean Chretien holds power over almost every aspect of what happens in government. Ablonczy's comparison of Chretien to arrested Yugoslavian leader Slobodan Milosevic; How pundits and politicians have used the term elected dictatorship to describe Canada's federal government; Perceived reluctance of federal Liberals to change Canada's decision-making process. INSETS: A looming revolution in B.C.;What ever happened to rep by pop?.

Focuses on former Ontario police officer Perry Dunlop, who exposed a child molestation and pedophilia ring. Formation of Project Truth, which launched investigations against Catholic priests, a teacher, youth counsellor and others; Perceived retaliation against Dunlop for his role in the investigations. INSET: Two to the power of love.

Reports on the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling that obscenity standards will remain the same for homosexual and heterosexual pornography, as of January, 2001. Mention of the legal battle between Little Sister's Book & Art Emporium, which is a gay-oriented store, and Canada Customs and Revenue Agency; How radical gay-rights activists contend that liberal standards, or no standards at all, should be applied to homosexual pornography. INSET: In search of a 'moral tiller'.

Reports on Canada's economic relations with Cuba. Opinion that Canada is happy that the United States has a trade embargo with Cuba because it does not threaten Canada with competition; Comments from Lloyd Axworthy, former foreign affairs minister, regarding Canada-Cuba relations; Details of the Amnesty International reports which tell of Cuban human rights abuses. INSET: Don't visit, it just encourages them.

Discusses the financial woes of the Vancouver Island diocese and its parishes. How the debt was incurred under the leadership of its former bishop, Remi De Roo; Efforts by Ellis Achtem to raise funds to get the Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria out of debt; Details of the failed investments that led to the financial trouble.

Focuses on the salmon-farming industry in British Columbia and the campaign against fish farms. Complaints that the Atlantic salmon may escape sea pens in which they are raised; Idea that the few Atlantic salmon which escape do not pose a risk to the environment; Idea that net-cage aquaculture may pose serious environmental threats.

Focuses on the plans of the government of British Columbia to end anti-male spousal-abuse policies. Perception that feminist ideology underpins law in the fields of marriage, child custody, and spousal abuse in North America; Idea that spousal abuse policies victimize men; Opposition of Isabel Grant to proposed changes in spousal abuse policies. INSET: A 'dangerous' weapon in the hands of police.

Discusses a Statistics Canada report which found no benefit to housing poor people in wealthier neighborhoods. Construction of subsidized housing projects for low-income families in the U.S. and Canada; Problem of poverty for those living in subsidized housing; Finding that poor young men raised in middle-income neighborhoods had only a slightly higher income than those raised in poor neighborhoods; Finding that the external environment is not as important as the internal environment in predicting success. INSET: A media mistake that just multiplied.

Focuses on the efforts of forensic scientists and archeologists to recover remains of the murder victims of Robert Pickton on his pig farm in British Columbia. Training of a number of the searchers in the identification of human bones; Belief that the case is one of mass-murder; Women who were missing from Vancouver, B.C., including prostitutes and drug addicts.

Discusses the idea that the government of British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell will pacify U.S. foundations which are trying to turn B.C. forests into parks. Establishment of protection-area orders to ban commercial forestry, mining, and hydroelectric activities in a section of the Central Coast Land and Resource Management Plan area; Efforts of environmental activists to prevent commercial development in the area. INSET: Saving the stray horses from more grass.

Focuses on the efforts of Marc Emery of the British Columbia Marijuana Party (MP) to run for the mayoralty of Vancouver. His views on providing free heroin and cocaine to addicts; Topic of harm-reduction in Vancouver; Belief of some citizens that the best response to drug use is anti-drug education, laws, enforcement, and rehabilitation. INSET: This time, Sweden got it right.

Focuses on the effects of a speech which was made by Prince Edward Island (PEI) MLA Wilbur MacDonald, which was thought to be offensive to minorities. View that his speech was not helpful in describing adverse effects of multiculturalism; Agreement of MacDonald to attend sensitivity training; Outlook for freedom of speech in Canada.

Focuses on the actions of extreme political protestors in Canada which have involved violence. Preparation for protestors at the G8 summit which will be held in Kananaskis Country, Alberta; Way that offices of politicians have been attacked with firebombs, including that of Premier Gordon Campbell of British Columbia (B.C.); Violence of demonstrators in Vancouver, B.C.

Reports that public schools in British Columbia have been ordered to promote homosexuality as good. Efforts of gay rights activists to gain the right to the full benefits of legal matrimony; Ruling of the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal that the North Vancouver School District discriminated against a male high school student because it did not have a district-wide program to stop the bullying of homosexuals; Opposition of some parents to the promotion of gay rights in public schools. INSET: Skirmishes across the continent.

Focuses on controversy over letters which were written by Chief Judge Carol Baird Ellan to Geoff Plant, the attorney general of British Columbia and member of the Liberal cabinet. Discussion of the political activity of judges in Canada; Lawsuit of the Law Society, which claimed that a decision of Plant to close courthouses is unconstitutional; Code of ethics for provincial court judges.

Focuses on problems of gang war and drugs in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC). Gang-related murders in BC; Description of a war between Indo-Canadian drug gangs; Lack of cooperation of the Indo-Canadian community with police; Members of the community who are Sikhs.

Focuses on the request of convicted rapist Gerald Vaughan that government officials execute him. His incarceration in an Ontario mental health facility; Way that federal law in Canada does not allow assisted suicide or capital punishment; Claim of Vaughan that the refusal of authorities to release him constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. INSET: Still a danger to the public.

Discusses aboriginal rights of Canadian Indians, and the issue of the land ownership of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Court rulings which have supported the position of the Haida Indians; Right of Indians to have a say in resource use throughout British Columbia; Topic of Indian self-government. INSET: First comes the standard apology.

Focuses on Canadian broadcasting programs that made offensive remarks about Roman Catholics. Comments of radio show announcer Brian 'Frosty' Forst of Vancouver, British Columbia; Anti-Catholic incident that took place on CTV's 'Open Mike with Mike Bullard'; Lack of mainstream media coverage of either incident; Concerns of Thomas Langan, president of the Catholic Civil Rights league in Toronto, Ontario, and Aziz Khaki of the Muslim Canadian Federation in Vancouver. INSETS: Levity among fools;Virgin territory.

Examines a dog-abuse case in Victoria, British Columbia. Background on Scarlet, a dog who was chained the first 11 months of her life; Fears that Scarlet's case will lead to more prosecutions against other animal owners; Significance of the charges against Scarlet's owners; Concerns of rancher Jack Wilkinson; Argument of Yaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute that animals should not be given rights.

Focuses on the rebuilding of salmon stocks in British Columbia to support commercial and sports fisheries in the province. Report that there has not been an increase in catches following extensive investment in hatcheries and increased release of fry; Decline in wild stocks; Opinion that natural salmon runs will never support the industry alone.

Focuses on the mass search of a pig farm in British Columbia for missing women who were victims of a serial killer. Number of prostitutes and drug addicts who were missing from the Vancouver area over a number of years; Suspicion surrounding Robert Pickton, who was known to associate with prostitutes; Evidence which was found on the pig farm that linked it to the missing women.

Discusses government unions in British Columbia which are leading an uprising against Premier Gordon Campbell's budget cuts. Controversy over Campbell's moves to reduce expenditures and balance the provincial budget; Demonstrations against Campbell which have been backed by Big Labor; Way that Campbell is perceived to have reversed some of his campaign promises, including those regarding health care.

Focuses on the plans of the government of British Columbia to enact pro-investment reforms. Initiative of the Liberal government which aims to restore economic growth by creating a low-tax, low-regulation, entrepreneurial climate; Role of Premier Gordon Campbell in the plans and his views on the role of the provincial government in the economy; Civil service jobs which have been cut.

Focuses on the mining industry in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Reasons why the industry is optimistic; Impact of policy problems on BC; Taxation improvements for the industry; Comments of Gary Livingstone, president and chief executive officer of the Mining Association of BC; Return to the provincial land-use planning process; Areas which need improving; Approach of BC Mines Minister Richard Neufield. INSETS: If it wasn't one thing, it was the other;A new crown for king coal?.

Discusses a finding of researcher Richard Sobsey that in the wake of widespread media praise of Robert Latimer, who killed his disabled daughter, an increasing number of parents killed their children. Mention of Maurice and Belva Baulne, who killed their disabled son; Topics of the rights of the disabled, so-called mercy killing and euthanasia, and the sanctity of life; Criticism of British Columbia medical policy rather than the act of murder; Finding that the disabled are often denied costly medical procedures. INSET: What drives parents to kill?.

Focuses on sufferers of anorexia. Mention of the Web site anorexicnation.com, which advocates the view that anorexia is a so-called life style choice instead of a disease; Idea that such groups promote pain, suffering, and death; Rise in eating disorders in Canada; Topic of the pro-Anna movement, which states that the disorder is a life style choice.

Discusses multiculturalism in Richmond, British Columbia, in light of an influx of immigrants in the area. How Chinese-speaking immigrants were separated from established English-speakers; Racial tension in the area; Decision of businessman Thomas Fung to build a shopping mall in which immigrants would feel welcome; Hopes of Fung to build another mall to help Chinese-speakers assimilate more quickly.

Discusses the possible costs of hosting the Winter Olympics in British Columbia in 2010. Idea that the games will generate money and publicity for Vancouver and the Whistler mountain resort; Outlook for the use of money from taxpayers; Cost of bidding for the Games; Cost of the 2002 Winter Olympics in the United States. INSETS: No whistling;B.C wants to party.

Discusses the issue of electoral and parliamentary reform in Canada. Commitment of British Columbia Attorney General Geoff Plant of the Liberal government to hold a citizen's assembly on voting reforms; Issue of proportional representation; Need for legislation to recall politicians and to allow citizens the right to launch initiatives on their own; Two prominent campaigns that focus on government accountability; Use of mail-in surveys to gather information on fiscal issues in Alberta.

Focuses on the Criminal Code of Canada and how sanctions might be put in place to stifle opponents of the homosexual-rights movement. Mention of the hate-crime murder of Aaron Webster in Vancouver, British Columbia; Discussion of section 319 of the Criminal Code and its possible amendment to include homosexuals in the list of protected persons; Issue of the distinction between actions and words; View that gay activists are laying the groundwork for censoring Christian teachings. INSET: Making it up as he goes along.

Reports on the opposition of feminist law reformers, including the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS), to incarceration for female offenders. Highlights of the 'Women's Resistance: From Victimization to Criminalization,' conference, which was sponsored by the CAEFS and the Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres with a federal grant; Opinion of Liberal Senator and social reformer Anne Cools that the bias of the CAEFS reflects that of other powerful, federally funded women's organizations. INSETS: What would Elizabeth think?;You call it robbery, we call it resisting the man.

Focuses on relations between the Nisga'a Indians of British Columbia (B.C.) and the B.C. government. Apparent change of policy by Gordon Campbell and the Liberal Party regarding a Nisga'a treaty; Abandonment of a lawsuit against the Nisga'a by B.C. attorney general, Geoff Plant; Forecast for the outcome of the negotiations.

Focuses on the book 'On the Sky: Zen and the Art of International Freeloading,' by Bob Hunter. How the book, which declares itself as non-fiction, is really a work of fiction; Conflict which the book caused in Hunter's political campaign; Example of the content of the book; Response of Hunter that the book is a parody. INSETS: Three trapped hens;In the 'new journalism,' truth is whatever you want.

Presents the thoughts of Flight Lieutenant Stewart Staudinger of the Canadian Royal Air Force on extremist beliefs and the moral aspects of sanctions, appeasement, and dialogue. His view that ammunition production should be invested in, and the idea that Islamic militants can only be stopped by well-trained and motivated infantry; Belief that the level of militancy would be less if people were not in poverty and not kept in an ignorant and brainwashed state; Topic of wars in which nobody seems to get hurt.

Reports on efforts to save the Vancouver Island marmot from extinction. Role of wolves in reducing the wild population; Question of whether natural extinction is acceptable; Goals of organization known as The Marmot Recovery Foundation; Whether or not the preservation of the animals is worth the cost.

Reports that Ontario retired priest Paul Lapierre was acquitted of sex charges after accusing other priests of pedophilia. Accusations against Lapierre; Question of whether Lapierre's allegations of an organized ring of child molesters should be believed; Role of former constable Perry Dunlop in registering a complaint on behalf of one of the victims and collecting victims' statements; How the arrest of Lapierre and others was the result of Ontario's anti-pedophile task force, Project Truth.

Comments on the quarterly report issued by British Columbia Finance Minister Gary Collins in September, 2001. Changes in the B.C. Liberals' economic message since their victory in May, 2001; How estimations of expected growth of the B.C. economy were too high; Perceived effects of a tax cut instituted by the Liberal government; Determination of B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell to balance the budget. INSET: Actually, there's even more the Liberals could do.

Focuses on British Columbia psychologist Peter Suedfeld, who holds the opinion that society encourages victimhood. His argument that it is a myth that human beings suffer irreparable harm from trauma; Suedfeld's findings that survivors of trauma are able to endure, recover from and be strengthened by the events. INSET: Just say no to victimhood.

Comments on Native politics in Canada as of September, 2001. Denunciation of Canada as racist by Assembly of First Nations national chief Matthew Coon Come; Perception that, throughout the country, Native leaders are at odds with each other and are asserting contradictory positions; Opposition to amendments to the Indian Act; Land claims of Natives. INSETS: Genocide, etc.;Where the flashpoints are.

Reports on the environmental perceptions of Canadians. How most people believe the environment is being polluted, when the opposite is true; How the environment has improved; Description of a Leger Marketing study; Comment that the poll measured perceptions, and not the reality of what is actually happening in the environment; Who is to blame for the misconceptions and myths about environmental conditions; Criticism of the educational system.