Articles

Bill C-314 would exclude a mental disorder from being considered a grievous and irremediable medical condition for the purposes of Medical Assistance in Dying. This would mean that no one would be eligible for MAID for mental illness alone MP Ed Fast introduced Bill C-314 in the House of Commons on February 10, 2023. Update: A vote on Bill C-314 was held Oct. 18, 2023. Bill C-314 was defeated 167-150, but an improvement compared to a similar vote in 2021 that was 184-148. Ple

[ le français suit ] This Declare and Resolve Statement has been signed by more than 50 leaders of Christian organizations, as noted in the PDF version below. It was first presented at the EFC Presidents Day, Oct. 27, 2022. As leaders of evangelical churches, ministries and institutions, we declare and resolve the following: We lament hastened death in Canada. We grieve the expansion in law that has made those whose death is not reasonably foreseeable eligible for hastened de

Bill C-311 would make the abuse and harm of a pregnant woman a factor for judges to consider in sentencing. It would signal that harming a pregnant woman is a serious crime and may mean a longer sentence for those who commit violence against a pregnant woman. MP Cathay Wagantall introduced Bill C-311 in the House of Commons on January 31, 2023. It would specify that, in sentencing decisions, courts should consider whether offenders abused women they knew to be pregnant or cau

The EFC made a submission to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) consultations in November 2022. The EFC asked the CPSO to make sure that discussions about MAID are only initiated by patients, not doctors. The EFC also asked the CPSO to protect doctor’s conscience rights and to push for MAID to be included as the cause of death on death certificates. The consultations were on the CPSO Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) and Human Rights in the Provision of

Hon. Chrystia Freeland Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Department of Finance Canada 90 Elgin Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G5 Dear Minister Freeland, We are writing to ask for clarification and to express our deep concern about possible changes to charitable status in Canada. In the December 2021 mandate letter, the prime minister outlined priorities for you, including to: “Introduce amendments to the Income Tax Act to make anti-abortion organizations that pr

The Hon. David Lametti Minister of Justice and Attorney General 284 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8 Dear Minister Lametti, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (the EFC) applauds the federal government’s defence of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) before the Ontario Superior Court in CASWLR v. Canada this fall. The EFC supports PCEPA as an essential tool in the fight against sexual exploitation. We fully agree with the objectives

Honouring the faithful and excellent service of Bruce J. Clemenger’s 30 plus years with the EFC, where for 20 years he has led as CEO and President, and recognizing David Guretzki’s leadership and his own unique gifting and expertise, the Board of the EFC is pleased to announce new senior leadership roles for the EFC. [UPDATE: See more in the EFC Update newsletter of Jan. 31, 2023] Effective January 31, 2023, Bruce J. Clemenger will be appointed to a new role as Senior Ambass

A private member’s bill would change references to “child pornography” in the Criminal Code to the more accurate term “child sexual abuse material.” MP Mel Arnold introduced Bill C-291 in the House of Commons on June 17, 2022. The term “child pornography” is inaccurate and harmful. Sexually explicit images and videos depicting children are child sexual exploitation, assault and abuse. Terms like “child pornography” risk normalizing, trivializing and legitimizing the sexual

Dear Mr. Mel Arnold, MP, Thank you for taking the initiative to introduce Bill C-291. The words we use matter. The term “child pornography” is not just inaccurate, it’s harmful. Using the term “pornography” in the context of children infers that the child is a willing participant when in fact they are the victim of a horrific crime. Sexually explicit images and videos depicting children cannot be considered “pornography” – they are child sexual exploitation, assault and ab

This important case in Ontario Superior Court upheld Canada's prostitution law Sept. 18, 2023. The EFC released a statement celebrating this decision and also signed onto a joint statement from a national working group of survivors of prostitution, service providers and advocates. The EFC intervened in the case in Oct. 2022 since it was a constitutional challenge to Canada’s laws on prostitution. The challenge was launched by the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform. Int

Mr. Arnold Viersen, MP House of Commons Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 Dear Mr. Viersen, Thank you for taking the initiative to introduce Bill C-270, Stopping Internet Sexual Exploitation Act. Children and youth face devastating, lifelong consequences when images of their abuse and exploitation are streamed and distributed. Commercial pornography sites must be held responsible to ensure exploitative and non-consensual images are not uploaded and that they are swiftly removed once discov

Bill C-270 would require those making or distributing pornographic material for a commercial purpose to verify the age and consent of each person depicted. It would also make it illegal to distribute pornographic material if the person depicted has withdrawn their consent. Bill C-270, known as the Stopping Internet Sexual Exploitation Act (SISE), is a private member’s bill introduced by MP Arnold Viersen on April 28, 2022. The SISE Act would implement the second recommendat

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2023 - See new EFC government submission on MAID for mental illness, below A special joint committee of MPs and senators is recommending making minors eligible for medically hastened death. Their February 2023 report also recommends allowing advance requests, thus opening medical assistance in dying (MAiD) to people no longer able to consent. The committee’s report recommends but doesn't require the government to make these changes to the law. A group of docto

Bill C-230, the Protection of Freedom of Conscience Act, was a private member's bill introduced by MP Kelly Block on Nov. 22, 2021. Bill C-230 would have made it a criminal offence to coerce someone to participate in medical assistance in dying. This bill was debated and defeated in the House of Commons in October 2022. Although it didn’t pass, it raised an important discussion of conscience issues and concerns. Resources Sample letter to use in contacting your MP about these

Mrs. Kelly Block, MP House of Commons Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 Dear Mrs. Block, Thank you for taking the initiative to introduce Bill C-230, the Protection of Freedom of Conscience Act. Bill C-230 clarifies that health care professionals must not be coerced into participating – either directly or indirectly - in medical assistance in dying. It offers much needed assurance that they will not be forced to choose between violating their conscience and losing their job. Doctors and

The EFC urges Canadians to pray for de-escalation and peace between Ukraine and Russia. In doing so we join other international evangelical groups such as the World Evangelical Alliance and the European Evangelical Alliance. The European Evangelical Alliance "calls upon Christians to pray for all who suffer and for those who have the power to save lives, bring humanitarian aid and protection. And let us pray for all those with the power to stop the war and to bring about long

Canada’s prostitution laws were reviewed by a parliamentary committee in early 2022, with a report published in late June. See the EFC's response released in July 2022, and also see below for materials related to the anticipated Oct. 2022 CASWLR court case. The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) recognizes that prostitution is inherently exploitive and dangerous. It has the goal of ending the demand for paid sex. Under PCEPA, buying sex and pimping ar

The Honourable Sean Fraser Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship House of Commons Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 Dear Minister Fraser, Congratulations on your recent appointment as Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. In your role as the new Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), we would like to introduce ourselves to you. We are the Evangelical Sponsorship Agreement Holders Working Group (see the full list of working group members, b

The Justice Minister introduced Bill C-5 on December 7, 2021. Among other things, the bill would change the Criminal Code to repeal mandatory minimum sentences for some offences and to allow for greater use of conditional sentencing. One of the bill’s provisions would allow conditional sentencing, also known as “house arrest,” for the trafficking of persons for material benefit. The EFC is concerned that allowing a lesser penalty for a human trafficking offence sends the mess

The Hon. David Lametti Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada 284 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0H8 Dear Minister Lametti, We are writing to ask you to amend one of the provisions in Bill C-5. Although this bill deals with various areas of the Criminal Code, our focus is on the provision that relates to human trafficking. Canada has been at the forefront of taking action to address human trafficking, both domestically and internationally. Human trafficking