Tag: Canada

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Anderson Cooper Shuts Down “Selfie” Request From Journalist At Site Of Ottawa Shooting

CNN’s Anderson Cooper does not suffer fools lightly.

Reporting from Ottawa last night on the tragic shootings at Canada’s National War Memorial and Parliament, a “journalist” named Vandon Gene who was a contributor to the Sun News approached Cooper about taking a “selfie” with him near the location of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo’s fatal shooting.

Cooper made clear he thought it highly inappropriate and that he was there to report on the incident, not smile for the guy’s camera near the site of the soldier’s death.

Gene apparently thought this made Cooper a jerk, so he pulled out his phone and recorded another request for a pic wherein Cooper repeats how inappropriate the idea was.

Then, Gene posted the video and tweets complaining about Cooper denying him a “selfie.”

Cooper took a deep breath and issued this very public series of tweets to the idiot:

Gene eventually tweeted an apology, but it was waaaaaay too late. According to the Sun News, Gene no longer works for them.

You can watch the very brief interchange via Mediaite below:

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Nova Scotia: Gay man stabbed, left paralyzed in street attack

Terrible news out of Canada this weekend as a gay man was violently attacked in the street early Saturday morning.

Choir director Scott Jones’ throat was slashed and he was stabbed in the back, the knife severing his spine, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Police made an arrest in the attack late last night.

The CBC reports:

Police said Shane Edward Matheson, 19, of Trenton, N.S. is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace, in the violent attack on 27-year-old Scott Jones early Saturday morning. The accused was arrested without incident at a home on High Street in Trenton at 11 p.m. AT on Saturday.

Matheson is facing another charge of assault with a weapon for an incident earlier in the evening against an 18-year-old woman. New Glasgow police Const. Ken Macdonald said that charge is unrelated to the attack on Jones, which happened shortly before 2:30 a.m. local time on Saturday.

Jones’ friend and roommate Amy Punke said she and Jones were out with friends celebrating the opening of a friend’s art studio. Though she didn’t witness the attack, Punke has been speaking to Jones, who remains in critical but stable condition in a Halifax hospital.

(via Towleroad)

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Pride flag to be flown on Canadian Armed Forces Base

The Canadian Press reports the rainbow flag, a symbol for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, is to be flown at CFB Edmonton for a week to coincide with the city’s Pride festival.

CP says the move came following a request from Master Warrant Officer John McDougall, a 23-year veteran of the armed forces.

“This is a huge turnaround from what used to be,” he told CP. “When I first joined, I would never even consider telling anyone that I was gay. It just wasn’t macho.

“To be at the stage now where it is not only recognized and accepted and tolerated, but the base commander of the one of the largest bases of Canada is willing to have that flag put up, it is just an amazing feeling.”

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Quebec launches 5 year anti-homophobia campaign

From GlobalNews: A public display of affection between a couple shouldn’t usually elicit a reaction from people.

But what if those engaging in that passionate smooch are a same-sex couple?

The Quebec government has launched a unique advertising campaign designed to get the province thinking about just how open-minded it really is when it comes to homosexuality.

The TV, radio and web campaign shows routine, everyday scenes in which the viewer has no idea until the end that the ad is about sexual orientation.

The ads were developed by Cossette Communications in Quebec City over the past year. They’re part of a $7.1 million, five-year anti-homophobia campaign by the provincial government.

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Ontario passes anti-bullying bill

 Ontario’s legislature has passed a landmark anti-bullying bill opposed by Catholics and conservatives by a vote of 65-36, the CBC reports:

Ontario’s anti-bullying bill, also known as Bill 13 or the Accepting Schools Act, passed through the legislature just before noon today by a margin of 65-36. Only the Progressive Conservatives voted against the legislation.

Catholic educators and church leaders oppose the bill because it requires schools to allow students to call anti-homophobia clubs gay-straight alliances if they wish.

[Ontario Premier]McGuinty (pictured) said the issue of protecting kids from bullying transcends all faiths and partisan politics. He added Catholics would understand the true significance of the bill is to build a stronger, more cohesive society.

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Gay marriage validity questioned in Toronto

From the NationalPost.com: The government of Canada is reportedly arguing that thousands of same-sex couples who have travelled to this country to get married are not legally wed.

The Globe and Mail reported Thursday that the government is contending in a Toronto court case that non-Canadians gays and lesbians who have been married here since 2004 are only considered married under this country’s laws if gay marriage is also recognized in their home country or state.

The paper is basing its report on court documents filed in a Toronto test case. It was launched by a lesbian couple seeking a divorce. They were wed in Toronto in 2005, and cannot be identified under a court order.

A Department of Justice lawyer reportedly argued the marriage was not legal in Canada because the couple could not have been legally married in Florida or England, where the two live.

Same-sex marriage in Canada was effectively legalized in 2004, and the next year the Liberal government passed the bill to make it a law.

More than 15,000 same-sex marriages have taken place since then, the Globe reported, with more than 5,000 involving couples from outside Canada.

The Ontario Superior Court is reportedly set to rule on the couple’s divorce application next month.

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UPDATE: Lambda Legal, Freedom To Marry, the ACLU, and GLAD have issued a joint statement:

“No one’s marriage has been invalidated or is likely to be invalidated. The position taken by one government lawyer in a divorce is not itself precedential. No court has accepted this view and there is no reason to believe that either Canada’s courts or its Parliament would agree with this position, which no one has asserted before during the eight years that same-sex couples have had the freedom to marry in Canada.”

“The message for same-sex couples married in Canada remains the same as it is for same-sex couples validly married here in the United States: take every precaution you can to protect your relationship with legal documents such as powers of attorney and adoptions, as you may travel to jurisdictions that don’t respect your legal relationship. There is no reason to suggest that Canadian marriages of same-sex couples are in jeopardy, or to advocate that people try to marry again elsewhere, as that could cause these couples unnecessary complications, anxiety, and expense.”

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“It Gets Better” from the Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty

My first marriage ceremony with Michael was in Ontario,Canada, in the city of Toronto. And it was not only the emotional experience we thought it would be, but I’ll never forget the respect we were afforded.

We were married in Toronto shortly after marriage equality became a reality in Ontario in 2003. I was on tour with CHICAGO the Musical, and Michael had never been to Canada, so we planned that he would come visit during that time. With the new marriage law, I asked Michael to marry me thinking this might be the only time we would ever have a legal marriage ceremony and license. Even if it weren’t valid in the US, we would know we did “something” legal.

It was my job to get the marriage license forms from City Hall as Michael wasn’t in town yet. When I picked them up, no one blinked or acted in any way that seemed disrespectful. As a matter of fact, I was struck by – even at the early date in marriage equality’s existence in Canada – that no one even hinted at “you know, this is new for us.” The clerk at City Hall was warm and congratulated me on my upcoming ceremony.

We were married by Senior Justice Lauren Marshall in her chambers. The way things worked, you needed to find someone who could and would officiate the ceremony. Somehow I was led to Justice Marshall and I clearly remember how happy and supportive she was to be a part of our special day.

My second marriage in Palm Springs was just as wonderful. But I’ll always remember how people in another country treated Michael and I with such respect and support at a time when marriage equality was still so new.

And I’ll value how Canada was an early leader for the world in terms of marriage equality.