CANADA: Anti-Gay Crackpot Bill Whatcott Wins Defamation Suit Against CBC

A Saskatchewan judge has ordered Canada's national broadcaster to pay $30K to infamous anti-gay crackpot Bill Whatcott over a report on his distribution of anti-gay flyers which included the lyrics to a song titled "Kill The Homosexuals."

In 2011 the CBC aired a national report on Bill Whatcott as he took his appeal of a Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission decision to the Supreme Court of Canada. The news report included video shots of a flyer Whatcott distributed in Alberta that had the lyrics of a parody song titled “Kill the homosexuals.” In his ruling, Justice Richard Elson of Court of Queen’s Bench says the second page of the flyer had a paragraph explaining that Whatcott didn’t actually want to kill homosexuals — he wanted them to “repent of their sins and turn to Jesus Christ.” Whatcott argued the CBC defamed him when they showed the lyrics of the parody song, but did not show the statement on the next page, thereby making his views seem more extreme. The CBC had argued it provided no comment on the flyer and that taken in the context of the whole broadcast the video shots wouldn’t cause viewers to believe that Whatcott advocated killing homosexuals.

 Whatcott claims to be a former prostitute.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Last year Whatcott and Porno Pete LaBarbera were arrested at a Canadian university after they refused to stop distributing anti-gay materials. When they returned for their trial in October, they preceded their court appearance by picketing the courthouse with anti-gay signs. They were found not guilty last month. Also last year Whatcott infiltrated Vancouver's pride parade under a false name and handed out fake condom packets which featured anti-gay screeds and a photo of an emaciated AIDS patient. In May last year Whatcott filed a complaint against a computer repair store which he claims refused him service on the basis of his religious beliefs.

CANADA: Porno Pete Found Innocent

Via the CBC News:

Anti-gay activists Peter LaBarbera and Bill Whatcott have been found not guilty of mischief. In April, LaBarbera, a U.S. citizen with a group called Americans for Truth about Homosexuality and Whatcott, a longtime anti-gay crusader in Saskatchewan, got into trouble while distributing literature on the campus. A university official asked the two to leave. They refused, police were called, and they were taken away in handcuffs. Later they were charged with mischief under the Criminal Code. Today, Bill Whatcott reacted to the not guilty ruling by saying he'll return to the campus some time next year.

CANADA: Porno Pete Pickets Courthouse Before Trial On "Mischief" Charges

Porno Pete and Canadian crackpot Bill Whatcott yesterday picketed outside a Saskatchewan courthouse before they had their trial on "mischief" charges for their April stunt in which they demonstrated without a permit on the campus of the University of Regina in a protest against "homosexualism." From the Leader-Post:

At their trial today, court heard they were asked to leave the campus because their activities violated the U of R's policy on maintaining a respectful work environment. In the morning, court was packed with their supporters while the Crown's arguments were presented. The defence presented evidence in the afternoon. LaBarbara and his supporters also protested with signs outside the courthouse before proceedings began. The judge will hand down a decision on Dec. 22.

Defence lawyer Michael Weger argued the men’s initial arrest on the wrong charge was only one of the reasons the current charges should be tossed. He said the mischief charge they are facing contains a number of legal “outs,” one stating that a person can’t be charged if they are attending a place simply to obtain or communicate information.

“Communicating information is exactly what happened on April 14 ...,” Weger said. “Isn’t university about different ideas and different viewpoints? As soon as we get to a point when we start sending young adults to an institution that tells them exactly how they must think and what to think, then our students stop getting an education.”

But Fitz-Gerald argued the men were not charged because they chose to communicate information; They were charged because they refused to leave private property after being asked several times to do so and thereby interfered with the lawful use and enjoyment of that property.

“It’s the Crown’s position, your Honour, that the University of Regina owns and occupies that property, that land, (and) it’s uncontroverted evidence before you of that,” he said, adding that the university has the right to direct people to leave under the Trespass to Property Act. “I say the university was completely within its rights to (ask them to leave). Mr. Whatcott and Mr. LaBarbera were not within their rights to refuse.”

CANADA: Porno Pete Detained Again

Porno Pete was detained again yesterday when he returned to Canada for his Saskatchewan trial on "mischief" charges arising from his arrest there in April. (Photo above.) He writes:

Customs agents detained this writer (AFTAH president Peter LaBarbera) and did an intense search of my phone, laptop and belongings–as I arrived at Calgary International Airport late last night on the first leg of a trip to Regina, Saskatchewan for my trial on “mischief” charges October 30. The mischief charges were filed against me and Canadian pro-family activist Bill Whatcott after Whatcott, and then me, refused on free speech grounds to abandon a peaceful protest April 12 against abortion and sodomy at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, a public university. The Calgary Border Services agents confiscated a DVD copy of a new Russian documentary called “Sodom” as potential “hate propaganda” in violation of Canadian law banning material or people who could potentially “incite hate” based on “sexual orientation.”

LaBarbera and local crackpot Bill Whatcott will hold a hate rally tonight should he prevail at an admissibility hearing taking place at this writing.

A border agent named Shane Paul (I called him “Paul” because that was on his uniform and I presumed that was his first name) asked me questions about a small speaking engagement I was to have with Whatcott and others this (Tuesday) evening. I was unsure of the location of the meeting, as the venue has been changed three times already–because skittish Canadians pulled out from hosting the event fearing leftist protests. As an American, let me say that it is remarkable how far official political correctness – enforced and encouraged by sometimes fanatical left-wing activists and abetted by an anti-conservative media – has not only shut down conservative speech in Canada but succeeded in punishing people who run afoul of various liberal ideologies—not limited to pro-homosexualism.

As it turned out, Canadian Border Agent Shane Paul is gay.

When Shane asked me about Westboro Baptist Church (with its “God Hates Fags” message), I told him that AFTAH has always condemned Westboro, as has every other pro-family group I have worked with. I told them that AFTAH has long condemned violence and genuine hatred against homosexuals or anyone, for that matter. At one point in the search, Shane asked me if I had children and then I asked him if he had children. He asked me as if offended: “Why do you ask that?” and then said, “I’m gay.” I told him I met nothing by it and that I ask a lot of people that question. I told him my five children are a tremendous blessing and he said he may want to adopt children some day. Once Shane’s gayness was out in the open, it was almost easier to have a conversation about my work and the larger homosexual issue. I told him that disagreement with homosexuality does not equal “hate,” despite the best efforts of LGBT activists to conflate the two. He and Meehan laughed when I told them that I couldn’t be a “homophobe” because if I truly “feared” homosexuals, I could not do AFTAH’s work, which requires me to be around many homosexuals.

Regarding LaBarbera's above claim that he opposes violence against homosexuals, just yesterday he tweeted out a link to a video by Pastor Steven Anderson, who has publicly called for all homosexuals to be executed and who has publicly prayed for God to murder President Obama. When I called LaBarbera out on that, he claimed not to have seen the video that he'd just tweeted out and then deleted that tweet.

I'll update this post if LaBarbera wins admission to Canada today. Tonight's hate rally will be hosted by the Ukrainian Catholic Church after it was booted out if its first location, a funeral home.

UPDATE: The Ukrainian Church has now canceled. Whatcott claims to have secured a fourth venue for tonight's hate rally. There's also this.

CANADA: Funeral Home Cancels Porno Pete And Bill Whatcott's Hate Meeting

Peter Labarbera is due back in Saskatchewan on October 30th to stand trial with former gay prostitute Bill Whatcott on the "mischief" charges that won them an overnight stay in the can earlier this year. And since there was no reason to waste a trip, he and Whatcott decided to hold an anti-gay conference while Labarbera's in town. But tragically, the host venue, a funeral parlor, has cancelled on them.

Bill Whatcott planned to hold a conference at Lee Funeral Home in Regina on Oct. 28 to discuss Christian views of sexuality. But after learning more about the conference, Greg Kulak, general manager of the funeral home, decided it would not be happening. "They will not be using our facility," said Kulak. "This doesn't lend with our core values." Kulak explained Wednesday he was under the impression that the event was a part of bimonthly meetings held by the St. Pius X Catholic Church. "I thought it was basically Latin mass." Kulak received calls about the conference from concerned residents who received a flyer in the mail advertising the event. The conference. Bringing the Light of Christ to Our Culture. was to feature Peter LaBarbera, president of the U.S.-based Americans for Truth About Homosexuality.

Whatcott is furious: "I am looking for (an) alternative venue. And, ultimately, I'll just trust God. If I get a place, I'll get it. And if I don't get it, it'll be on Lee's sidewalk. We'll just hold the conference there or in his parking lot and he can arrest us and take us out." 

Uh, "take us out"?

Lee Funeral Home wasn't the only business to give Whatcott a smackdown this week. Several days ago he filed a complaint with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission because the Regina Leader-Post wouldn't run his ad for the hate conference.

I had my lawyer Tom Schuck review it to insure it violated no human rights or libel code. As far as Tom was concerned the Leader Post was able to run this ad without fear of retribution from any government agency. Anyways, upon receiving the rejection e-mail, I promptly got to work printing 5,000 flyers adverting the conference. I drove to Regina this evening with my box full of flyers and got to work going door to door advertising this intellectually stimulating and inspirational conference. I will likely be in Regina all week delivering the 5,000 flyers door to door. If there are any volunteers who would like to do door to door with me letting the public know this conference is open and that everyone has an opportunity to challenge their assumptions and learn, please give me a call or send me an e-mail! I got out 250 flyers tonight and have 4750 more to go!

That commission is quite familiar with Whatcott, having convicted him in 2005 of "inciting hatred against homosexuals." That ruling was upheld by the Canada Supreme Court last year.

RELATED: Two months ago Whatcott and a group of fellow crackpots marched in the Vancouver Pride parade by pretending to be a local Flying Spaghetti Monster group. Whatcott's group handed out fake condoms that actually contained anti-gay screeds.

CANADA: Porno Pete And Bill Whatcott Plead Not Guilty To Douchbaggery

From the Regina Leader-Post:

Two anti-gay advocates entered not guilty pleas on Monday regarding an incident on the University of Regina campus in April. The not guilty pleas for mischief for Bill Whatcott and Peter LaBarbera were entered by Weyburn lawyer Michael Weger. The matter is scheduled to be back in Regina Provincial Court on June 23 to set a trial date. Whatcott and LaBarbera were arrested on April 14 after refusing to leave the U of R campus when ordered to do so by security and the Regina Police Service. Whatcott and LaBarbera set up an anti-abortion display on campus and handed out anti-LGBT literature, deemed by university officials as potentially harmful to members of the university community.

They could have pleaded guilty and paid a fine that would surely be the equivalent of a traffic ticket. But since they staged their arrest in the first place, that wouldn't have worked with the whole grand Martyr For Jesus™ scheme. (Tipped by JMG reader Lynda)

Hypocrisy Alert: Anti-Gay Crackpot Files Complaint After Business Refused Him

Canadian anti-gay activist Bill Whatcott, who was arrested last month with Porno Pete, says that he has filed a formal complaint against a computer repair store that Whatcott claims refused to serve him on the basis of sincerely held religious beliefs. From his post on a Canadian wingnut forum:

I will be working on some paper work tonight that I have received from the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, regarding the complaint I filed against Aaron Rubin of South East Computer Solutions. Aaron denied me service last month when I brought my computer there because he disagrees with my religious and moral views on homosexuality. While I generally support private businesses having the right to discriminate as they see fit, Aaron told me as I was shown the door of his business that Christians have no right to discriminate when it comes to refusing service to homosexuals and indeed businesses and private individuals have been punished in Canada by human rights commissions for refusing to serve homosexuals. Please pray for my next missionary endeavour.

Whatcott also notes that he and Porno Pete's court date has been postponed. (Tipped by JMG reader Blair)

Porno Pete: My Time In A Canadian Jail

"I was taken to the Regina Police Headquarters with my hands cuffed behind my back. There, the police took everything on my person except my socks, jeans, underwear and a T-shirt. As they would treat a common criminal, they took my eye-glasses, my wedding ring, my watch, etc.– apparently part of standard procedure to prevent inmates from harming themselves. It seemed a bit of overkill to me, but I suppose they were under orders to treat me the same as other inmates.

"Inside the small, 5-and-a-half by 8-foot jail cell with nothing but a cement cot and a metal sink/toilet, I asked for a Bible to read, but they would not provide one. I’m still trying to figure out how a Bible could be used for suicide. Anyway, I had a lot of time to think and pray so that’s what I did. It was my first time in a prison and I wouldn’t recommend it!

"Bill was released after a couple of hours, but I was kept in jail because now the Border Security agency wanted to take over my case. I was told that since I had been arrested by Canadian police, I had allegedly violated the sole condition of my entry into Canada. (I responded that neither Bill nor I believed we were violating Canadian law, as Bill’s right to protest at public universities–including U.-Regina–had already been validated in the courts.)

"Because of Customs’ involvement, I had to spend the night in the holding cell. Thank God Bill had graciously given me his cot cushion or I would have been sleeping on cement. The next day, I was informed that there would be another hearing about whether I could stay in the country. Since I had planned to leave Thursday morning anyway–and faced the prospect of at least another day in prison, I told the Border Security agent in charge (Joe) that I would be willing to leave right away since being expelled might be the verdict of the government anyway." - Hate group crackpot Peter Labarbera, in a money beg for his defense on "mischief" charges.

Porno Pete Is Out Of Jail

Peter LaBarbera was apparently released from Canadian jail late this afternoon.

An American anti-gay and pro-life activist has decided to voluntarily cut his visit to Saskatchewan short following another run-in with the Canadian Border Services Agency. Peter LaBarbera was questioned by CBSA Tuesday morning in relation to his arrest at the University of Regina on Monday. The Regina Police Service held LaBarbera in custody overnight at CBSA’s request, said police spokeswoman Elizabeth Popowich in an email Tuesday morning. LaBarbera had been initially denied entry to Canada on April 10 under hate speech laws. He appealed and won, under the agreement he would leave the country by April 17.He then delivered the keynote address at Saskatchewan’s Pro-Life Association convention in Weyburn on Saturday.

LaBarbera was given a court date of May 26th, when he and fellow crackpot Bill Whatcott must appear on "mischief" charges arising from his trespassing arrest.

Porno Pete Is Still In Jail

When activists stage their own arrests they are typically released later the same day or the next morning after being given desk appearance tickets or assigned court dates. Not so for Peter Labarbera, who is still in jail according to Canadian anti-gay crackpot Bill Whatcott, who was arrested with LaBarbera yesterday. Early this morning Whatcott posted a message to the wingnut forum Free North America:

Please pray for Peter. I have been released on my own recognizance and have to appear in court to answer to these charges on May 26th. Peter on the other hand remains in custody and is facing a hearing tomorrow before Border Services. Notwithstanding, I am Peter's co-accused, our lawyer Tom Schuck has requested I act as Peter's counsel at the immigration hearing. I have no idea where the hearing is going to be held, but I do have the case law (all of it my own) that I can present to the Immigration Arbitrator and hopefully convince him/her that indeed Peter and I have reasonable grounds to believe we were not violating the law and hopefully I can get Peter released from custody tomorrow on his own recognizance, so he can leave Canada on his own. Please pray for this.  Seeing as Tom requested I act as Peter's counsel, I have to call off my prophetic witness and book promotion at the University of Saskatchewan. None the less, just as General Douglas MacArthur said, "I will return."

This explains why the normally prolific Twitter user has been silent since his arrest. They don't let you keep your cell phone in jail. It's not clear where LaBarbera is being held, but here's a photo of the jail in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Porno Pete Was Arrested After Violating Denial Of Permission To Set Up A Table

More on Peter LaBarbera's staged arrest in Canada:

Before their arrival, the university issued a news release saying the pair would be monitored to ensure they did not engage in any activity that would promote hatred. At one point, with news cameras rolling, an unidentified university official approached Whatcott, 46, and LaBarbera, 51, and asked them to leave. During that encounter, Whatcott said he had attempted to get permission to set up an information table and, since he was denied, proceeded to set up a table anyway. “I’m not leaving,” Whatcott told the official, “You guys are intolerant and should be ashamed of yourselves for shutting down our message without even considering it.”

Activists for every cause routinely stage their own arrests by willfully breaking the rules. But out in Teabagistan today, faux outrage is running at the usual fevered pitch.

Porno Pete Arrested At Canadian College After Refusing To Leave The Campus

Canadian radio station CJME has the story:

An American anti-gay activist and a Canadian abortion activist have been arrested at the University of Regina. Peter LaBarbera, the controversial head of an American lobby group that has been labelled a hate group by the South Poverty Law Center, and Bill Whatcott, an abortion activist who has a history of legal troubles in Saskatchewan, were taken into custody by the Regina Police Service. News Talk Radio's Kevin Martel observed police officers tell the two to leave the school's campus or risk being arrested; after some discussion the men refused to move and were arrested for trespassing. LaBarbera and Whatcott were in Weyburn over the weekend to speak at a pro-life conference. They were at the school attempting to hand out anti-abortion and anti-gay pamphlets, flanked by large placards depicting aborted fetuses.

I have no doubt that LaBarbera deliberately provoked his arrest in order to win martyrdom points with his fellow Christianists back home. And now come the "outraged" appearances on Fox News and websites across Teabagistan.

Canadian TV Reports On Porno Pete Flap

As I reported yesterday, hate group crackpot Peter LaBarbera was briefly denied entry into Canada on Thursday night, but was later allowed to stay in the country after he appealed to border authorities.  Canadian TV reports that LaBarbera exulted in the decision by waving his passport and calling local critics "homo-Marxists." CBC News Saskatchewan reports:

LaBarbera's planned visit sparked an outcry around Saskatchewan earlier this month. Some say his anti-gay views constitute hate speech. A protest had been planned in Weyburn for today, also organized by Intolerance-Free Weyburn. LaBarbera responded by calling his critics "Canadian Homo-Marxists" 'We believe homosexual behaviour is immoral, but that doesn't equate with hating people.'- Peter LaBarbera, president, Americans For Truth About Homosexuality.  LaBarbera said on Friday that his views should not be construed as hateful. "We disagree with homosexual activism," he told reporters in Regina. "We believe homosexual behaviour is immoral, but that doesn't equate with hating people." LaBarbera is also planning to be at the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon to distribute literature. The Catholic Archbishop of Regina has also weighed in on the controversy. Rev. Daniel Bohan wrote a letter to Catholics earlier in the week talking about the upcoming Weyburn conference. In the letter, Bohan noted the current teachings of the Catholic Church and how Catholics are not to support discrimination.

Click on the box below to start the video.

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: Appeals Court Rules Against "Religious Objection" On Gay Weddings

Saskatchewan's provincial Court of Appeals has ruled that it is unconstitutional to allow marriage commissioners to opt-out of performing same-sex weddings due to religious objections. In its decision, the Court noted that marriage commissioners are "the only option" for Canadians who wish to marry in a non-religious ceremony.

The Appeal Court said that accommodating commissioners' religious convictions does not justify discriminating against same-sex couples who want to tie the knot. Five judges on the bench at Saskatchewan's Court of Appeal have been considering the case since it heard arguments on the proposed law last May. That's when the provincial government sought advice on two versions of its proposed law -- one that would allow all of the province's approximately 370 commissioners to refuse to wed couples on religious grounds, and another that would only allow the exemption for those who held the job before gay marriage was legalized in 2004. In the ruling issued Monday, the court said the effect of both options runs counter to Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "Either of them, if enacted, would violate the equality rights of gay and lesbian individuals. This violation would not be reasonable and justifiable within the meaning of s. 1 of the Charter. As a result, if put in place, either option would be unconstitutional and of no force or effect."

Stand by for the World Net Daily headline: "Canada FORCES Christians To Marry Homosexuals! And It Can Happen HERE!"

UPDATE: That didn't take long. Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber just tweeted: "Liberty of conscience dead in Canada. Dying here."

Pride Donation Rocks Canada's Feds

Canada's parliament is up in arms because of a CN $400K donation to Pride Toronto made from a fund designed to boost tourism. Members of the Saskatchewan Conservative Party (again!) are driving a call to discipline the MP who posed with drag queens in a check presentation ceremony.

Toronto's Pride Week may have seen its last cheque from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government after this year's $400,000 contribution provoked a backlash from within the ranks of MPs and Conservative supporters. And Tourism Minister Diane Ablonczy appears to have been disciplined for the controversy, losing her power to announce handouts from the $190 million Marquee Tourism Events Program, which gave money to the event. Brad Trost, a Saskatchewan Conservative MP, spoke out this week against federal support for Pride Week, arguing that the caucus and Harper's office were caught off guard by Ablonczy's announcement of support for the event. "The pro-life and the pro-family community should know and understand that the tourism funding money that went to the gay pride parade in Toronto was not government policy, was not supported by – I think it's safe to say by a large majority – of the MPs," Trost said in an interview with LifeSiteNews.com, a website founded by the Campaign Life organization.

Canada's wingnuts are clearly taking their cues from their anti-gay counterparts to the south. On the upside, the Canadian federal government gave CN $400K to support gay Pride. Can you imagine that happening in the U.S.?

Saskatchewan Seeks Marriage Exemption

Saskatchewan's provincial government wants to allow its officials to refuse to perform same-sex marriages if they object on religious grounds.

The province's Saskatchewan Party government is seeking a legal opinion on whether its proposed legislation is in compliance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Monday. Provincial Justice Minister and Attorney General Don Morgan told the CBC the state government will propose two options to the court -- one that would allow existing marriage commissions to refuse to perform same-sex marriages and another in which a religious exemption would be granted to future commissioners.

The last party to rule the province, the New Democrats, refused to allow any exemptions. The Saskatchewan Party was only formed in 1997 and took over late in 2007.