Dear Friend,
2019 promises to be another important year for Evangelicals in Canada. We will be responding to major challenges to religious freedom and sanctity of life. It is vital that we continue to be vigilant and active.
As always, the EFC stands ready to boldly proclaim and uphold biblical truths. We are equipped, willing and ready to tackle the many challenges on the critical issues that are of significance to Evangelicals.
Religious Freedom
One year ago, the federal government introduced new requirements for the 2018 Canada Summer Jobs grant which required organizations to attest that they affirm the government’s view on certain issues (e.g., abortion, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression). In response to strong objections made by the EFC, our affiliates, and many other faith-based organizations, the values test is no longer a requirement for eligibility for the 2019 Canada Summer Jobs grant. As for the pending legal challenges to the 2018 requirements, a clear, positive decision by the courts will ensure that values tests will not be imposed by governments on other programs.
On another front, the EFC is dealing with a controversial Bill that was passed in Alberta two years ago. Bill 24 threatens to removing public funding from schools that will not update their policies and codes of conduct to include language on Gay Straight Alliances (GSAs) by June 2019. Faith-based schools must respond to matters of sexual identity according the government’s ideology rather than in a way consistent with the beliefs of the schools and parents. Schools are also prohibited from informing the parents of their child’s participation in GSAs and of the nature of the teachings and activities.
A coalition of faith-based schools, individuals, educational organizations and parent organizations, led by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, has filed a court challenge against the Minister of Education. It is challenging the constitutionality of Bill 24 in that it violates the freedoms of conscience, religion, expression and association, as well as parental rights. This legal challenge has yet to be heard.
In the meantime, the coalition has been seeking a temporary injunction of Bill 24 to delay its implementation until the court rules on a challenge of the legislation. Alberta’s lower court dismissed the injunction, but this decision was appealed in December 2018. The EFC was an intervenor in this case, arguing in support of parental rights and religious freedom. Our next steps will depend on the decision that will be handed down early this year.
Finally, the EFC has been working with the Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada, an EFC-affiliated organization, and others to defend conscience protection for doctors. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario adopted a policy that requires doctors to provide effective referrals for procedures even if the procedures violate their deeply held beliefs. For healthcare practitioners who object to carrying out procedures like abortion or euthanasia, having to make an effective referral is akin to performing the procedure itself. The College’s policy was challenged in court, but the judges ruled in favour of the College. Last month, an appeal of this case was heard by Ontario’s Court of Appeal. As an intervenor, the EFC defended the right of healthcare providers to be able to participate fully in their chosen profession without being forced to violate their religious beliefs and identities.
Sanctity of Life
Meanwhile, the EFC continues to dialogue with the federal government as it grapples with whether to expand euthanasia to make it available to minors, patients with mental illness, and patients with dementia. In a recent written submission, we reiterated our objections to medical assistance in dying while highlighting research on the problems and risks of expanded access to doctor-assisted suicide and euthanasia to vulnerable Canadians.
Assisted suicide and euthanasia is also back in the courts. The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association wants the government to strike down current restrictions around medical assistance in dying – which limits accessibility only to competent, consenting adults whose deaths are reasonably foreseeable and who are in advanced states of irreversible decline. The EFC will work to ensure that the restrictions remain in place to minimize harm and risk to our society’s most vulnerable individuals.
Our collective engagement as Evangelicals is as important now as ever. We live in a rapidly changing culture where the norms and principles that guide our laws and public policy are being challenged on many fronts and we need to continue to respond with a credible and reasoned voice.
The EFC continues to be a strong and passionate voice in the courts and on Parliament Hill for sanctity of human life, care for the vulnerable, religious freedom and freedom of conscience. We are committed “fully to the work of the Lord” for we know that our “labour is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58). With the continued prayer and financial support from brothers and sisters across Canada, we can “stand firm in one Spirit” (Phil. 1:27).
Think about the year ahead and what you would like to accomplish for His kingdom. Your gift today can make a difference – together, we can make 2019 a noteworthy year, for His glory!
Sincerely,
Bruce Clemenger
President