june5-11

	Popular Canadian-born singer-songwriter Paul Anka, who has sold more than 60 million records worldwide, became an Officer in the Order of Canada at a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa June 10 presided by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. Clarkson and Anka were schoolmates in Ottawa in their youth.
	Canadian-born singer-songwriter Paul Anka, talks to reporters outside Rideau Hall in Ottawa, his hometown, after being inducted into the Order of Canada June 10 as an Officer. Anka, who lives in Beverley Hills, Ca., has sold more than 60 million records worldwide.

Acclaimed Canadian film director Denys Arcand was inducted as a Companion in the Order of Canada at a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa June 10, presided over by Gov. General Adrienne Clarkson. Arcand's "Jesus of Montreal" garnered 12 Genie Awards but he is best known for "The Barbarian Invasions," which won the most awards in the history of Canadian cinema.

Sister Elizabeth Davis, RSM, of Toronto and St. John's NL, was inducted into the Order of Canada as a Member at a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa June 10 led by Gov. General Adrienne Clarkson. Davis is the former executive director of St. Clare's Mercy Hospital and former chief executive officer of the Health Care Corporation of St. John's. She was described as "an inspiring leader and conciliator whose contributions speak to her dedication and determination." In 2001, Davis received the Performance Citation Award of the Catholic Health Association of Canada.

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Canadian welfare policy over the past 15 years has been "an utter disaster," says the National Council of Welfare (NCW). In its annual report, released June 5, the council says "unless governments can agree on reasonable levels of funding for welfare and an end to the clawback of child benefits, we will continue to see an erosion of the quality of life for all people in Canada." The council is a citizens' advisory body to the Minister of Social Development Canada on matters of concern to low-income Canadians.


	The federal government has been violating not only the human rights of the Lubicon Cree in Alberta, it is also violating their Constitutional rights as Canadians, says Lubicon elder Reinie Jobin. He was reacting at a news conference in Ottawa June 8 to the 2005 report by Amnesty International, pointing out there were no further negotiations on the long outstanding land claim. The organization said the failure to reach a "just resolution" in the dispute "continued to contribute to the violations of the rights of the Lubicon." Jobin said, "My people live in Third world conditions" while the Prime Minister tells the world how great Canada is and how it respects human rights.
File Photo	Pat O'Brien, a Catholic MP and staunch opponent of same-sex marriage, has quit the Liberals and will sit as an Independent. O'Brien also hinted June 6 that he may help topple the minority Liberal government as it tries to push the same-sex marriage bill through the House of Commons before the summer break.
	Prime Minister Paul Martin, seen here talking to reporters June 2, met with over a dozen Liberals opposed to same-sex marriage following the decision June 6 by MP Pat O'Brien to quit the Liberals. Among other things, the CBC reported, the MPs were told that churches won't have to marry same-sex couples and that they would not be forced to rent their halls for same-sex weddings.
File Photo	"Canadians are deeply divided on the proposal to redefine marriage," says Msgr. Mario Paquette, general secretary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. "This is not the moment to rush into legislation which has such enormous social and legal consequences," he said in a letter June 2 to MPs, Senators and the special legislative committee studying the government's same-sex legislation.

File Photo	Monsignor Pat Powers, left, a top official of the Archdiocese of Ottawa, has been appointed by Archbishop Marcel Gervais, right, as rector of Notre Dame Cathedral. Powers will remain a vicar general. He succeeds Father Jacques Kabanga, the current rector, who has been appointed to a one-year study program at the Canadian College in Rome.
File Photo	Ann Maclean, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, has launched a national campaign to close the gender gap in Canadian municipal politics. "Municipal government is where many of our future provincial and national leaders get their start," she said the FCM's recent annual conference in St. John's, NL. "If women aren't active here, they likely won't be in provincial legislatures of Parliament," she said.

	(As above)
	One of Canada's pre-eminent writers, Jane Urquhart, of Stratford, Ont., was inducted as an Officer in the Order of Canada June 10, at a ceremony in Ottawa presided over by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson.