You are important! That’s why we have the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, according to the Hon. Mr Brian Peckford: because every individual is unique, with a special place in this country. It’s from that spirit of warmth and respect for every person that Mr. Peckford speaks with such incredible passion, conviction and integrity!

As a former premier of Newfoundland, Mr. Peckford is the last surviving author and signatory of the Charter. Last month, he announced he is suing the government for violating the Charter that he helped craft. Yesterday, he spoke with Barry about current events.

Mr. Peckford reminds us that the Charter begins with the statement, “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.” Everything else flows from that foundation. We need to restore our respect for the constitutional text as written, along with those basic principles that include the worth and dignity of every Canadian.

Watch, like, and share this interview as widely as you can. Everyone should hear this inspirational and timely conversation!

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Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.

You are important! That’s why we have the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, according to the Hon. Mr Brian Peckford: because every individual is unique, with a special place in this country. It’s from that spirit of warmth and respect for every person that Mr. Peckford speaks with such incredible passion, conviction and integrity!

As a former premier of Newfoundland, Mr. Peckford is the last surviving author and signatory of the Charter. Last month, he announced he is suing the government for violating the Charter that he helped craft. Yesterday, he spoke with Barry about current events.

Mr. Peckford reminds us that the Charter begins with the statement, “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.” Everything else flows from that foundation. We need to restore our respect for the constitutional text as written, along with those basic principles that include the worth and dignity of every Canadian.

Watch, like, and share this interview as widely as you can. Everyone should hear this inspirational and timely conversation!

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Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.

In this Freedom Feature conversation, law professor Bruce Pardy, Executive Director of Rights Probe, comments on the underlying ideas that were made apparent in the loss of freedoms during the pandemic. Bruce and Barry discuss a range of issues from self-censorship and conformity to the legacy of the Charter.

Will we emerge from the present crisis having learned anything about the dangers of a managerial state in which experts regulate our lives for the collective good? Or will we stand for individual freedom?

As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn declared:

Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.

Why does the rule of law matter? And how do we come together in the face of differences?

In the latest Freedom Feature, recorded earlier in February, Barry discusses the rule of law with Dr. Brian Lee Crowley, Managing Director of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in Ottawa. The two consider what happens if a government decides to pick and choose which laws apply depending on its own ideology. They also share concerns about academia, revisionist history, and the influence of certain “progressive” ideas that tend to undermine rather than strengthen our society.

Dr. Crowley shares some powerful imagery from his latest book Gardeners vs Designers: Understanding the Great Fault Line in Canadian Politics (Sutherland House, 2020), in which he argues that society is less like a machine that can be tinkered with and more like a garden that needs to be tended.

Dr. Crowley is also the author of Fearful Symmetry: the Fall and Rise of Canada’s Founding Values (2009).

Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.

In response to media reports, Freedom Feature guests Davina Peters and Nadine Ness offer their personal accounts of the situation in Ottawa. Their impressions differ drastically from the narrative given in the mainstream media or by certain politicians.

Nadine cautions against “underestimating the Canadian people and their thirst for freedom” and expresses her hope for change. To see more from Unified Grassroots, visit www.unifiedgrassroots.com or join their Facebook group.

Lawyer and Ottawa resident Don Hutchinson (donhutchinson.ca) returns to Freedom Feature to discuss his perspective, including the federal government’s responsibility to address the crisis. This includes articulating a clear pathway towards lifting mandates, as recommended by Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Tam. He makes a personal appeal for the Prime Minister to begin negotiations to end the blockade so that Ottawa and the country can get back to normal.

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Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.

Barry talks to a US radio host about the invocation of Canada's Emergencies Act by Trudeau

What does our attitude towards conscientious objectors reveal about our society? And what role do politicians have in promoting (or eroding) civil society?

For a lively reflection on freedom, faith and family in Canada, watch my discussion with politician and Leader of the Ontario Party, Derek Sloan.

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Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.

Why is Canada’s new Conversion Therapy Bill so problematic? Listen as Barry discusses concerns around Bill C-4 with Dr. Don Hutchinson and Dr. Iain Provan.

Bill C-4, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Conversion Therapy), went through the Parliament of Canada in record time. There was unanimous consent in the House and the Senate. Part of the rationale was that the bill had already been passed just before the 2021 election but died on the order paper when the election was called. However, guests Dr. Don Hutchinson and Dr. Iain Provan explain that Bill C-4 was very different. It expanded criminality significantly from the previous version. The government’s own characterization of the limited nature of the bill is questionable. Further, the lack of opposition over this fact, and the complete disregard of parliamentary procedure, are cause for concern of the rule of law in Canada.

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Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.

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Justice Ivan Rand, in a 1953 Supreme Court of Canada case involving religious freedom in Quebec, described “freedom of speech, religion and the inviolability of the person” as “original freedoms which are at once the necessary attributes and modes of self-expression of human beings and the primary conditions of their community life within a legal order.” We refer to these “original freedoms” as “first freedoms” (with the view that freedom of religion is a subset of freedom of conscience).

What happens when fundamental freedoms are not explicitly protected? And can we find any hope or humour in the current situation? Listen as Barry W. Bussey interviews legal philosopher and scholar Dr. Iain Benson.

Dr. Benson has written extensively on religion, secularism, and the “language of values” as opposed to virtues. He has appeared before all levels of court in Canada and assisted in drafting the South African Charter of Religious Rights and Freedoms. He is currently a professor of law at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney, Australia and Professor Extraordinary, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Dr. Bussey and Dr. Benson co-edited Religion, Liberty and the Jurisdictional Limits of Law (LexisNexis, 2018).

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Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.