Members of Parliament Express Concern for Loss of Canadian Freedoms


OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 31, 2017) -

Editors Note: Photos for this release are available on the Canadian Press picture wire via Marketwired.

Canadian Parliamentarians gathered at a Press Conference in Ottawa today to demonstrate their concern for loss of basic freedoms in Canada, the subject of a Parliamentary Forum, "Canadian Freedoms: Growing Threats?" held yesterday on Parliament Hill. MPs David Anderson, Mark Warawa, Harold Albrecht, and Bev Shipley attended, along with CHP Leader Rod Taylor and former MPs Reed Elley and Stephen Woodworth.

Under recent regulations, graduates of Trinity Western University are denied equal admission to legal practice. Other rules prohibit the free exercise of conscience by doctors, submit professionals to values screening, and restrict political expression on campuses.

"It's a vital concern for all Canadians that our elected representatives defend the hard-won freedoms that past generations bravely fought, sacrificed and died to preserve," said a spokesperson for the Parliamentarians.

These issues were discussed at the Parliamentary Forum by Dr. Janet Epp Buckingham, Director of the Laurentian Leadership Centre, Trinity Western University; Mr. Jay Cameron, Litigation Manager, Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom; and Dr. John Robson, Documentary Film-maker, Commentator, and Invited professor at the University of Ottawa.

Biographical details of the panellists at the Parliamentary Forum:

Dr. Janet Epp Buckingham teaches at Trinity Western University and since 2006 has directed the Laurentian Leadership Centre, an Ottawa-based program on leadership in public policy, business and communications. Dr. Buckingham researches religious freedom in Canada and internationally, as well as the relationship between faith, public policy and the legal system. She studied in England, France and South Africa. She was the Executive Director of Christian Legal Fellowship (1991-94) and general legal counsel (1999-2003) and director, law and public policy, (2003-2006) for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

Jay Cameron is the litigation manager at the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, a non-profit group dedicated to education and the defence of Canadians constitutional rights, particularly freedom of religion, conscience, speech, and association. Mr. Cameron graduated from law school in New Brunswick in 2007, articled at a national law firm in Alberta, and worked in British Columbia as a Crown prosecutor. In 2012 he returned to Alberta and civil litigation and has since appeared at every level of court in Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, and at the Court of Appeal in Ontario. He has testified on constitutional issues at both the House of Commons and the Senate, and will represent the Justice Centre at the Supreme Court of Canada in November 2017 on a landmark freedom of association case.

Dr. John Robson, commentator-at-large, journalist and documentary filmmaker, is also an Invited Professor at the University of Ottawa. He holds a B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D in American history from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Robson has worked in academia, think tanks and politics as well as print, radio and television journalism in Canada. He produced the documentary The Great War Remembered for Sun News Network in 2014. He also produced the documentary "Magna Carta: Our Shared Legacy of Liberty."

To view the photos associated with this press release, please visit the following links:

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/CPi_Democracy1031a.jpg

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/CPi_Democracy1031b.jpg

Contact Information:

Tristan, Office of the David Anderson,
MP for Cypress Hills-Grasslands
613-995-1616
david.anderson.a1@parl.gc.ca

MP David Anderson (from left to right), Dr. John Robson (Film-maker, Commentator, and Invited professor at the University of Ottawa), Dr. Janet Epp Buckingham (Trinity Western University), and Jay Cameron (Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms) participate in the Parliamentary Forum, "Canadian Freedoms: Growing Threats?," Monday, October 30, 2017, in Ottawa.  The Canadian Press Images PHOTO/MP David Anderson/The Democracy Defence Initiative/Freedom Defence Canada David Anderson, MP speaks at a media availability following the Parliamentary Forum on Canadian Freedoms, Tuesday, October 31, 2017, in Ottawa. He is joined by (from L to R) Rod Taylor (Leader, Christian Heritage Party); Mark Warawa, MP; Harold Albrecht, MP; Bev Shipley, MP; Reed Elley (Chair of Freedom Defence Canada); and Stephen Woodworth (Chair and Executive Director of the Democracy Defence Initiative).  The Canadian Press Images PHOTO/MP David Anderson/The Democracy Defence Initiative/Freedom Defence Canada