Porno Pete: Canada Is Letting Me Stay

UPDATE: LaBarbera wasted no time in hitting the hate circuit with his tale of martyrdom. This interview with Bryan Fischer was apparently made just before Canada decided to let him stay.

Peter LaBarbera Claims Canada Denied Him Entry For Hate Propaganda Violations

Peter LaBarbara claims that he was detained entry into Canada at the Saskatchewan airport late last night for violations of provincial "hate propaganda" laws. LaBarbera says that he was released into the custody of notorious Canadian crackpot Bill Whatcott while his appeal is being processed. Matt Barber's site has rushed out a frenzied post:

In a serious violation of freedom of speech and conscience, American social conservative leader Peter LaBarbera has been denied entry into Canada. LaBarbera’s trip to Canada for a speaking engagement has been vociferously opposed by Canadian pro-homosexual activists, who mounted a campaign to force the annual conference of the Saskatchewan Pro-life Association to withdraw LaBarbera’s invitation. “I expected this would happen,” said LaBarbera, founder and president of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality (AFTAH). “A group called ‘Intolerance Free Weyburn’ has been lobbying the Ministry of Public Safety to block my entry into Canada ever since they found out I had been invited to speak.” After being detained briefly by the Canadian Border Services Agency in Regina International Airport, Saskatchewan, LaBarbera was released into the custody of Bill Whatcott, a prominent Canadian pro-traditional morals activist.

The headline on Barber's site claims that LaBarbera was "arrested" even though the text of the post says otherwise. LaBarbera was scheduled to deliver a speech on the "interconnections between the pro-abortion and the gay agendas." By coincidence, Barber is headed for Toronto today.

RELATED:  In 2005 Bill Whatcott was fined $17,500 CAD by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal for distributing anti-gay pamphlets, one of which was titled Sodomites In Our Public Schools. In 2010 that fine was overturned by the Saskatchewan Court Of Appeals. The Human Rights Tribunal appealed to the Canadian Supreme Court, who in February 2013 overturned the provincial court's ruling, declaring that Alberta's hate speech laws were a "constitutionally valid" limit on the freedom of speech.

UPDATE: LaBarbara has posted a blog entry about his horrible ordeal.

After questioning me about the purpose of my scheduled presentation at the SPLA event; rifling through my luggage, which contained numerous books and literature related to homosexuality (pro and con); examining the contents of my laptop and my cell phone; playing a DVD of my speech Wednesday at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio; and critically viewing AFTAH’s website–a preliminary decision was made to deny my entrance into Canada on the basis that my speech at the SPLA would violate Canada’s “Hate Propaganda” law (essentially the potential for “public incitement of hatred” against a group of people based on their “sexual orientation”). The Orwellian experience at Customs dragged on for more than three hours as a formal document was issued outlining my denial of entry under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (citing the Hate Propaganda code). Finally, after 1:00 A.M., I was released pending my appeal of the decision today (Friday). My passport was seized until I arrive back at Customs today at noon for my appeal before a “Minister’s Delegate Review.”

CANADA: Court Grants Custody To Former Partner Of Child's Biological Father

In what's being called a precedent setting ruling, a Canadian gay man has won custody of the child he helped raise with his ex-partner, the girl's biological father.

In part of a five-year constitutional battle involving the now eight-year-old girl, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Suzanne Bensler ruled the man identified as H. is a parent instead of his gay ex-partner, R. Remaining the other parent, stated Bensler in her Oct. 12 decision, is the girl’s biological mother, D. who along with R. has been fighting the case against H. “Should Mr. R wish to pursue parental status ... he will be required to challenge the constitutionality of his limitation,” reads the ruling that includes a publication ban on names that could identify the child. But Bensler states the physical guardianship status of R., “who has acted as primary caregiver following separation” won’t be changed by the ruling. The two men split in 2006 and have since been locked in a court fight that H. says has left him homeless and acting as his own lawyer.

(Tipped by JMG reader Rowan)

Ex-Gay Reparative Therapy Doctor Filmed Sexually Assaulting Male Patient

Canadian "ex-gay" reparative therapy Dr. Aubrey Levin has been charged with sexually assaulting a male patient. Since that charge became known a few days ago, almost 30 other patients have come forward with accusations.

Dr Aubrey Levin, who in South Africa was known as Dr Shock for his use of electricity to "cure" gay military conscripts, was arrested after a patient secretly filmed the psychiatrist allegedly making sexual advances. Levin, who worked at the University of Calgary's medical school, has been suspended from practising and is free on bail of C$50,000 (£32,000) on charges of repeatedly indecently assaulting a 36-year-old man. The police say they are investigating similar claims by nearly 30 other patients. The Alberta justice department is reviewing scores of criminal convictions in which Levin was a prosecution witness. Levin has worked in Canada for 15 years since leaving South Africa, where he was chief psychiatrist in the apartheid-era military and became notorious for using electric shocks to "cure" gay white conscripts. He also held conscientious objectors against their will at a military hospital because they were "disturbed" and subjected them to powerful drug regimens. South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard that Levin was guilty of "gross human rights abuses" including chemical castration of gay men. But after arriving in Canada in 1995 he managed to suppress public discussion of his past by threatening lawsuits against news organisations that attempted to explore it.

Levin has been torturing gay people with his quack "cures" since the 1960s.

The treatment consisted of strapping electrodes to the upper arm. Homosexual soldiers were shown pictures of a naked man and encouraged to fantasise, and then the power was ratcheted up. Trudie Grobler, an intern psychologist on ward 22, saw a lesbian subjected to severe shocks. "It was traumatic. I could not believe her body could handle it," she said later. One gay soldier claimed to have been chemically castrated by Levin. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was told by investigators that he was not alone. It also heard that at least one patient had been driven to suicide. Levin refused to testify before the commission.

Canada Revokes Tax Exempt Status Of Anti-Gay Church

This ought to fuel America's wingnuts for the foreseeable future.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has revoked the charitable status of Kings Glory Fellowship (KGF), a Christian church in Calgary. CRA cites a number of issues with KGF's application, but the decision is based, in part, on the ground that certain KGF Board members have spoken out strongly against abortion, and other moral issues. "The members of the Board of Directors espouse strong negative views about sensitive and controversial issues, which may also be viewed as political, such as abortion, homosexuality, divorce, etc.,” wrote CRA agent Dian Prodanov in an October 29th letter.

These “political” views make the church ineligible because, according to the agent, a registered charity “may only engage in non-partisan political activities as long as it devotes substantially all (usually 90% or more) of its resources to charitable activities." KGF's pastor, Artur Pawlowski, is also the founder and pastor of Street Church Ministries, which has made headlines because of its battle with the city of Calgary to uphold its right to preach to and serve the city's poor.

Tax authorities also cited numerous irregularities in the church's financial statements, but Pastor Arthur Pawlowski dismissed those issues as a "smoke screen" for the real reason for the exemption revocation.