Ontario and several other provinces are following the federal government’s lead in assembling “expert” panels to research and make recommendations during a mad dash to transform Canada into a nation that permits doctors to kill selected patients or help these patients kill themselves.

An understandable reaction to an early August federal election call for an Oct. 19 vote is to declare a pox on all their houses and turn deaf ears to such an excruciatingly long campaign. Eleven weeks of insincere promises and attack ads. Who needs their summer sun darkened by those black clouds?

A bitter clash has erupted in the United States following the release of two videos that show officials from the American arm of Planned Parenthood allegedly negotiating the sale of tissue and organs from aborted fetuses. It’s a conflict that should sound alarm bells in Canada.

Much has been written about the impressive physical legacy the Pan Am Games has generated for Southern Ontario. More than $2 billion was spent on housing, transit and sport facilities that will benefit future generations long after the Pan Am flame is doused.

Let it never be said that the Vatican under Pope Francis is predictable. The latest case in point is a Vatican invitation extended to Canadian feminist and environmental activist Naomi Klein.

More than a call to clean up the planet, Laudato Si’ is a plea for humankind to clean up its act. The Pope’s straight-talking encyclical implores people of all nations and faiths to unite in a bold cultural and spiritual revolution to reverse the destruction of the environment.

Corruption is a child of greed and vanity. It tempts those blinded by arrogance and seduced by money. It is found across society, in business, sports, the Church, but particularly in politics.

Among the action calls from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report on residential schools is an insistence that Pope Francis apologize in person to Canada’s aboriginal peoples.