Charles McVety
Encyclopedia
Charles H. McVety is a Canadian
evangelical Christian
leader. He has been the president of Canada Christian College
in Toronto
since 1993, and he is also the current president of Canada Family Action Coalition. He is perhaps best known for campaigning to repeal the law legalizing same-sex marriage in Canada
. According to the CBC
, Charles McVety is "one of the most powerful leaders of the Christian Right in [Canada]".
" from California State Christian University, and was granted an honorary Doctor degree
from St. Petersburg State University, Russia.
He is the host of a national television program, Word.ca (also known as Word TV) on the Miracle Channel
. McVety is also the National Chairman of Christians United for Israel
, a sister organization to its American counterpart led by John Hagee
, Pat Robertson
, Jerry Falwell
and Benny Hinn
.
McVety is married to Jennifer McVety, currently registrar of Canada Christian College, and has two children.
(also called Bill C-38), the 2005 federal law legalizing same-sex marriage in Canada
. In a November 2006 New York Times interview, he was quoted as saying that "With the legalization of gay marriage, faith has been violated and we've been forced to respond."
On December 2, 2006, McVety indicated he welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Stephan Harper's signal to hold a vote on repealing the legislation on December 6. In a Globe and Mail article that described him as having "the ear of the Conservatives", he was quoted as saying that “We have made our case and we have contacted the Members of Parliament and we hope they will reopen the debate and study the impact [of same-sex marriage] on society...." On the question of having an immediate vote, he stated that "the consensus, at the end of the day, was to restore the traditional definition of marriage or have no motion at all.”
and the Conservative
government generally. During the 2006 election
, McVety registered several domains which bore the names of Liberal
candidates, such as "josephvolpe.com" (a reference to Joe Volpe
), and published pro-Conservative
material there. He also attempted to sway a number of Conservative nomination candidates in favour of evangelical candidates. After the Conservative victory, McVety and evangelical colleagues were asked by Prime Minister Stephen Harper
's office to help popularize his child-care plan.
Garth Turner
claimed that McVety had once boasted to him of his influence with Prime Minister Stephen Harper
, saying "I can pick up the phone and call Harper and I can get him in two minutes." McVety flatly denied saying this, after which Turner firmly reiterated his claim.
. The following day, McVety claimed credit for this new policy, suggesting that its adoption was the result of a series of meetings he had with Stockwell Day
, Rob Nicholson
, and representatives of the Prime Minister's Office. He argued that "films promoting homosexuality, graphic sex or violence should not receive tax dollars", and indicated that many Conservative MPs supported this goal.
However on October 8, 2008 the new Conservative platform outlined plans not to re-introduce bill C-10 if re-elected. McVety appeared on CBC Newsworld on the same day and expressed his disappointment in the change in the Conservative Party's position.
and anti-Charles Darwin
film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
. On June 12, 2008, he organized a protest outside the Royal Ontario Museum
against its Darwin exhibit. McVety accused the ROM of “sugar coating” Darwin’s theory and of “cleansing the message” by omitting what he claimed were aspects of Darwinism that “propagate genocide and hatred." The rally immediately followed a special screening of Expelled at a nearby cinema.
invited and hosted Geert Wilders
, an anti-Islam politician who has called for the banning of the Koran.
Charles McVety, president of the Canada Christian College, said,
The Toronto Muslim community rejected the above comment, stating they had no intention of any hostile takeover. The North American Muslim Foundation said that "Wilders and his allies" will only heighten religious and cultural tensions. Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations
also expressed concern at the remarks made by McVety, and asked politicians to condemn Wilders' anti-Muslim views.
system to avert anthropogenic climate change
in his cover story for the August/September 2009 issue of Evangelical Christian Magazine: "I believe this taxing and trading of "air" will fund the one world government of the Anti-Christ." Earlier, in the magazine's Feb/Mar 2009 issue, he praised conservative Evangelical pastor James Dobson
for leading the move to force Rev. Richard Cizik
from his position as Vice President for Governmental Affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals
, because of his advocacy of creation care
theology, and linked the resignation of Ted Haggard
from the Presidency of the organization to his support for the same position.
(CTS) pulled Word TV off the air, following a decision by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council
(CBSC) for statements made by McVety which were deemed to be in violation of the Council's standards and due to a lack of compliance with CTS's own code of ethics. The first violation pertained to the relationship between opinion and fact with the Council finding against Word TV "because of the false and misleading underpinnings" of a "barrage of seemingly trustworthy information" that was determined by the CBSC to be "neither full, fair nor proper." Word TV was found in violation of the Council's broadcast codes for two errors of fact expressed by McVety in his discussion of gay people, one pertaining to erroneous statements that the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario
and the Alberta Human Rights Commission had a 100% "conviction rate" and the other pertaining to the criminalization of commentary by Bill C-250, an act to amend the Criminal Code with reference to hate propaganda, after the acceptance of which McVety stated erroneously that “it is now a crime to speak against homosexuality.” As pertains to the Ontario Government's proposed revision of the Ontario school curriculum, the CBSC found McVety's "twisting of the purpose of the revisions is wrong-headed, unfair and improper." McVety had stated that the curriculum intended to "teach homosexuality". In his statements regarding the Gay Pride Parade, the panel found McVety's implications that homosexuals prey on children " mis-characterizations" which were "excessive, inappropriate, disparaging, and abusive" and in breach of the Human Rights Clauses of its Code of Ethics and its Equitable Portrayal Code as well as other sections of the Equitable Portrayal Code. The offending episodes aired on CTS between July 19, 2009 and February 21, 2010, and was given a rating of "G" in the English Canadian ratings system. The CBSC ordered CTS to announce the ruling at least twice on the air, and to take steps to ensure further breaches of the CBSC's codes do not occur.
CTS's banishment of Word TV was originally a temporary move, but in January 2011, it was made permanent when CTS cancelled the program, leading McVety to sue the broadcaster, claiming political persecution. However, CTS has said in a press release that McVety was asked many times to cease his distorting and polarizing behavior, and comply with broadcasting guidelines, yet he refused to do so.
The Miracle Channel was not named in the complaint, and is not subject to the CBSC ruling; as of April 2011, The Miracle Channel still airs Word TV.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
evangelical Christian
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
leader. He has been the president of Canada Christian College
Canada Christian College
Canada Christian College and School of Graduate Theological Studies is an evangelical Christian college located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its president since 1993 has been Charles McVety, son of founder Elmer S. McVety...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
since 1993, and he is also the current president of Canada Family Action Coalition. He is perhaps best known for campaigning to repeal the law legalizing same-sex marriage in Canada
Same-sex marriage in Canada
On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition...
. According to the CBC
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
, Charles McVety is "one of the most powerful leaders of the Christian Right in [Canada]".
Life and career
McVety is the son of Betty and Elmer S. McVety, who was also an evangelical leader and the founder of Canada Christian College. Charles McVety studied for two years at the University of Toronto but did not graduate with a degree from that institution. He earned a B.A. and M.A. from Canada Christian College, which is a private institution and one not recognized by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. He went on to earn a "D.Min.Doctor of Ministry
The Doctor of Ministry degree is, according to The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada , a doctoral level degree oriented toward ministerial leadership often in an area of applied theology, such as missions, evangelism, church leadership, pastoral psychology or the...
" from California State Christian University, and was granted an honorary Doctor degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
from St. Petersburg State University, Russia.
He is the host of a national television program, Word.ca (also known as Word TV) on the Miracle Channel
CJIL-TV
CJIL-DT is a Canadian English-language Christian-based television station licensed to and based in Lethbridge, Alberta. CJIL-DT uses the on-air name The Miracle Channel...
. McVety is also the National Chairman of Christians United for Israel
Christians United For Israel
Christians United for Israel is an American pro-Israel Christian organization that defines itself as "a national grassroots movement focused on the support of Israel." It is the "largest" pro-Israel organization in the United States....
, a sister organization to its American counterpart led by John Hagee
John Hagee
John Charles Hagee is an American founder and senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, a non-denominational charismatic megachurch with more than 19,000 active members...
, Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
, Jerry Falwell
Jerry Falwell
Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
and Benny Hinn
Benny Hinn
Toufik Benedictus "Benny" Hinn הין; born December 3, 1952) is a televangelist, best known for his regular "Miracle Crusades" – revival meeting/faith healing summits that are usually held in large stadiums in major cities, which are later broadcast worldwide on his television program, This Is Your...
.
McVety is married to Jennifer McVety, currently registrar of Canada Christian College, and has two children.
Campaign against same-sex marriage legislation
McVety is Senior Director of the Defend Marriage Coalition, a lobby group seeking to repeal the Civil Marriage ActCivil Marriage Act
The Civil Marriage Act was legislation legalizing same-sex marriage across Canada...
(also called Bill C-38), the 2005 federal law legalizing same-sex marriage in Canada
Same-sex marriage in Canada
On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition...
. In a November 2006 New York Times interview, he was quoted as saying that "With the legalization of gay marriage, faith has been violated and we've been forced to respond."
On December 2, 2006, McVety indicated he welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Stephan Harper's signal to hold a vote on repealing the legislation on December 6. In a Globe and Mail article that described him as having "the ear of the Conservatives", he was quoted as saying that “We have made our case and we have contacted the Members of Parliament and we hope they will reopen the debate and study the impact [of same-sex marriage] on society...." On the question of having an immediate vote, he stated that "the consensus, at the end of the day, was to restore the traditional definition of marriage or have no motion at all.”
Influence over Harper Conservatives
A common theme of news coverage of McVety is the degree of his influence and that of his evangelical colleagues over Canadian Prime Minister Stephen HarperStephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
and the Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
government generally. During the 2006 election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, McVety registered several domains which bore the names of Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
candidates, such as "josephvolpe.com" (a reference to Joe Volpe
Joe Volpe
Giuseppe Joseph "Joe" Volpe, PC, was a Canadian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 until the 2011 federal election, being surpassed by the conservative member Joe Oliver Joe Oliver, and held two senior positions in Prime Minister Paul Martin's Cabinet...
), and published pro-Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
material there. He also attempted to sway a number of Conservative nomination candidates in favour of evangelical candidates. After the Conservative victory, McVety and evangelical colleagues were asked by Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
's office to help popularize his child-care plan.
Claims about access to Harper
In November 2006, former ConservativeConservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
Garth Turner
Garth Turner
John Garth Turner, PC is a Canadian business journalist, best-selling author, entrepreneur, broadcaster, financial advisor and politician, twice elected as a Member of the House of Commons, former Minister of National Revenue and leadership candidate for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada...
claimed that McVety had once boasted to him of his influence with Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
, saying "I can pick up the phone and call Harper and I can get him in two minutes." McVety flatly denied saying this, after which Turner firmly reiterated his claim.
Bill C-10 involvement
On February 28, 2008, Canadian Heritage announced that it would be "expanding slightly" the criteria for denying tax credits to Canadian films to include gratuitous violence, significant sexual content that lacks an educational purpose, or denigration of an identifiable group; these changes were contained in Bill C-10Income Tax Amendments Act, 2006
The Tax Amendments Act, 2006 is a Bill in the Canadian Legislature numbered as Bill C-10 of the second session of the 39th Parliament of Canada and containing a controversial clause that David Cronenberg and Sarah Polley have argued represents censorship of Canadian films...
. The following day, McVety claimed credit for this new policy, suggesting that its adoption was the result of a series of meetings he had with Stockwell Day
Stockwell Day
Stockwell Burt Day, Jr., PC, MP is a former Canadian politician, and a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He is a former cabinet minister in Alberta, and a former leader of the Canadian Alliance. Day was MP for the riding of Okanagan—Coquihalla in British Columbia and the president of...
, Rob Nicholson
Rob Nicholson
Robert Douglas "Rob" Nicholson, PC, QC, MP , is the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. He is a current member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Niagara Falls for the Conservative Party and the current Minister of Justice after serving for one year as...
, and representatives of the Prime Minister's Office. He argued that "films promoting homosexuality, graphic sex or violence should not receive tax dollars", and indicated that many Conservative MPs supported this goal.
However on October 8, 2008 the new Conservative platform outlined plans not to re-introduce bill C-10 if re-elected. McVety appeared on CBC Newsworld on the same day and expressed his disappointment in the change in the Conservative Party's position.
Anti-Darwin protest
In the spring of 2008, McVety was involved in the promotion of the pro-Intelligent DesignIntelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
and anti-Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is a 2008 documentary film, directed by Nathan Frankowski and hosted by Ben Stein. The film contends that the mainstream science establishment suppresses academics who believe they see evidence of intelligent design in nature and who criticize evidence supporting...
. On June 12, 2008, he organized a protest outside the Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
against its Darwin exhibit. McVety accused the ROM of “sugar coating” Darwin’s theory and of “cleansing the message” by omitting what he claimed were aspects of Darwinism that “propagate genocide and hatred." The rally immediately followed a special screening of Expelled at a nearby cinema.
Comments on Islam
In 2011, McVety's Canada Christian CollegeCanada Christian College
Canada Christian College and School of Graduate Theological Studies is an evangelical Christian college located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its president since 1993 has been Charles McVety, son of founder Elmer S. McVety...
invited and hosted Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders is a Dutch right-wing politician and leader of the Party for Freedom , the third-largest political party in the Netherlands. He is the Parliamentary group leader of his party in the Dutch House of Representatives...
, an anti-Islam politician who has called for the banning of the Koran.
Charles McVety, president of the Canada Christian College, said,
Islam is not just a religion, it’s a political and cultural system as well and we know that Christians, Jews and Hindus don’t have the same mandate for a hostile takeover.
The Toronto Muslim community rejected the above comment, stating they had no intention of any hostile takeover. The North American Muslim Foundation said that "Wilders and his allies" will only heighten religious and cultural tensions. Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations
Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations
The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations is a national Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization in Canada. CAIR-CAN is an Ottawa-based, nonprofit organization with a grassroots membership...
also expressed concern at the remarks made by McVety, and asked politicians to condemn Wilders' anti-Muslim views.
Environmentalism
McVety has been strongly critical of the environmental movement, claiming that it leads to worship of the earth and the abandonment of God. Recently he declared his opposition to a carbon cap-and-tradeEmissions trading
Emissions trading is a market-based approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants....
system to avert anthropogenic climate change
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
in his cover story for the August/September 2009 issue of Evangelical Christian Magazine: "I believe this taxing and trading of "air" will fund the one world government of the Anti-Christ." Earlier, in the magazine's Feb/Mar 2009 issue, he praised conservative Evangelical pastor James Dobson
James Dobson
James Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder in 1977 of Focus on the Family , which he led until 2003. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the most influential spokesman for conservative social positions in American public life...
for leading the move to force Rev. Richard Cizik
Richard Cizik
Richard Cizik was the Vice President for Governmental Affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals and one of the most prominent Evangelical lobbyists in the United States. In his position with the NAE, Cizik's primary responsibilities were setting the organization's policy on issues and...
from his position as Vice President for Governmental Affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals
National Association of Evangelicals
The National Association of Evangelicals is a fellowship of member denominations, churches, organizations, and individuals. Its goal is to honor God by connecting and representing evangelicals in the United States. Today it works in four main areas: Church & Faith Partners, Government Relations,...
, because of his advocacy of creation care
Evangelical environmentalism
Evangelical environmentalism is an environmental movement in the United States in which some Evangelicals have emphasized biblical mandates concerning humanity's role as steward and subsequent responsibility for the caretaking of Creation...
theology, and linked the resignation of Ted Haggard
Ted Haggard
Ted Arthur Haggard is an American evangelical pastor. Known as Pastor Ted to the congregation he served, he was the founder and former pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado; a founder of the Association of Life-Giving Churches; and was leader of the National Association of...
from the Presidency of the organization to his support for the same position.
Word TV in breach of Canadian Broadcast Standards Council codes
In December 2010, Crossroads Television SystemCrossroads Television System
Crossroads Television System, or CTS, is a privately held Canadian television system.CTS airs predominantly Christian-based religious programming, most notably 100 Huntley Street, The Michael Coren Show and LIFE Today with James & Betty Robison, as well as other religious and faith based...
(CTS) pulled Word TV off the air, following a decision by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council
Canadian Broadcast Standards Council
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council is an independent, non-governmental organization created by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to administer standards established by its members, Canada's private broadcasters....
(CBSC) for statements made by McVety which were deemed to be in violation of the Council's standards and due to a lack of compliance with CTS's own code of ethics. The first violation pertained to the relationship between opinion and fact with the Council finding against Word TV "because of the false and misleading underpinnings" of a "barrage of seemingly trustworthy information" that was determined by the CBSC to be "neither full, fair nor proper." Word TV was found in violation of the Council's broadcast codes for two errors of fact expressed by McVety in his discussion of gay people, one pertaining to erroneous statements that the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario
Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario is an administrative tribunal that hears and determines applications brought under the Ontario , the Ontario statute that sets out human or civil rights in Ontario prohibiting discrimination on the basis of a number of grounds in certain social areas .A person...
and the Alberta Human Rights Commission had a 100% "conviction rate" and the other pertaining to the criminalization of commentary by Bill C-250, an act to amend the Criminal Code with reference to hate propaganda, after the acceptance of which McVety stated erroneously that “it is now a crime to speak against homosexuality.” As pertains to the Ontario Government's proposed revision of the Ontario school curriculum, the CBSC found McVety's "twisting of the purpose of the revisions is wrong-headed, unfair and improper." McVety had stated that the curriculum intended to "teach homosexuality". In his statements regarding the Gay Pride Parade, the panel found McVety's implications that homosexuals prey on children " mis-characterizations" which were "excessive, inappropriate, disparaging, and abusive" and in breach of the Human Rights Clauses of its Code of Ethics and its Equitable Portrayal Code as well as other sections of the Equitable Portrayal Code. The offending episodes aired on CTS between July 19, 2009 and February 21, 2010, and was given a rating of "G" in the English Canadian ratings system. The CBSC ordered CTS to announce the ruling at least twice on the air, and to take steps to ensure further breaches of the CBSC's codes do not occur.
CTS's banishment of Word TV was originally a temporary move, but in January 2011, it was made permanent when CTS cancelled the program, leading McVety to sue the broadcaster, claiming political persecution. However, CTS has said in a press release that McVety was asked many times to cease his distorting and polarizing behavior, and comply with broadcasting guidelines, yet he refused to do so.
The Miracle Channel was not named in the complaint, and is not subject to the CBSC ruling; as of April 2011, The Miracle Channel still airs Word TV.
External links
- Message from the President, Canada Christian College
- Profile of McVety, from Canada Christian College
- Canada Family Action Coalition
- Interview with McVety, The Hour
- http://www.word.ca