Hate crimes bill passes House of Commons, heads to Senate
OTTAWA, ON-Christians already mobilized to defend traditional marriage show every sign of being prepared to also continue opposing Bill C-250 when it reaches the Senate. "Certainly the senators are going to hear a lot from the Christian community," says Janet Epp Buckingham, director of law and public policy with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada...More

Conference highlights ministry to gays
SCARBOROUGH, ON-Focus on the Family (FOTF) drew a crowd for its first Canadian conference on ministering to the gay and lesbian community-more than 900 people showed up at Churchill Heights Baptist Church for "Love Won Out," a conference discussing Christian approaches to homosexuality...More

Toronto Baptist Seminary picks new principal
TORONTO, ON-Michael Haykin is an unassuming man, a peaceable academic who turned down two stellar job opportunities to serve instead as principal of Toronto Baptist Seminary (TBS)-a small school with a big reputation for controversy and doctrinal certainty...More

Seminary prof brings gospel to ranchers
COCHRANE, AB-The professor of preaching at Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary-located 15 minutes west of Calgary-maintains an outside-the-classroom ministry that assists Christian ranchers in reaching their colleagues with the good news of Jesus Christ....More

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Alcohol sales put to ballot
STEINBACH, MB-Same question, different referendum.
Residents of Steinbach, Manitoba are once again being asked to decide whether or not to permit the sale of liquor in what has been an alcohol-free community for 53 years....

Pro-marriage coalition pushes for public consultation
MONTREAL, QC-"It’s up to Christians to influence society and not up to society to teach us how to live," says Eric Lanthier, pastor, teacher and spokesperson for a new coalition of evangelical groups in Quebec. The coalition is working to convince the government to open up the question of homosexual marriage to public debate...

Former prisoners, take gospel behind bars
FREDERICTON, NB-"Churches have to become a welcoming community to offenders. If we want to make our community safe, we can't depend on government, laws and police forces," says John Tonks, regional chaplain for Corrections Canada.
Tonks spoke to CW while attending the 2003 Canadian International Coalition of Prison Evangelists (COPE) Conference held in Fredericton September 18-20...

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