News

A committee of MPs has just released a report on their study of the Canada Summer Jobs program. The EFC made a written submission to the committee last October. In its brief, the EFC noted that the grant program helps many churches and faith-based groups hire youth to serve their community. This is a vital program that has a positive impact for many churches and faith-based organizations. Some, however, feel they are being flagged for review due to their religious beliefs.

Two Bloc Québécois MPs have introduced almost identical private member’s bills to remove the religious belief defence from two sections of the Criminal Code. Good-faith religious belief is one of several defences to the offences of the wilful promotion of hatred and wilful promotion of antisemitism, found in Criminal Code sections 319(2) and 319(2.1). Bill C-367 was introduced by Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet on November 28, 2023. The text of the bill and the status of i

The government introduced Bill C-63 on February 26, 2024. The bill has three main sections. The first enacts the Online Harms Act, setting up a new regulatory framework with responsibilities for online platforms and creating a new Digital Safety Commission and a Digital Safety Ombudsperson. This framework is focused on seven categories of online harm: intimate content communicated without consent and content that sexually victimizes a child or revictimizes a survivor, bullies

Dr. Gus Grant, Registrar College of Physicians & Surgeons of Nova Scotia 400-175 Western Parkway Bedford, NS B4B 0V1 Dear Dr. Grant, As Nova Scotia continues to develop policies and professional standards, we urge you to ensure robust conscience protection for physicians. The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) is the national association of evangelical Christians in Canada. Established in 1964, the EFC provides a national forum for Canada’s four million Evangelicals and a

Dear Minister, We’d like to thank you for your service to all Canadians. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada are important and demanding portfolios. We appreciate the time and commitment they require.  We are grateful that the government is seeking to hold online platforms accountable for hosting and distributing child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) and for the non-consensual distribution of intimate images (NCDII) as part of its planned online harms legislati

After two years of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Canadian church leaders continue to pray and call for action. A shared statement signed by 45 Canadian church leaders and ministry leaders, including many EFC affiliates, was released today. “Without in any way minimizing or ignoring the suffering and sorrow caused by war and violence in other areas of the world, we stand together in inviting Christians and all people of good will to prayerfully consider how we are a

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls issued a call for input on the approaches and actions that states should take to effectively protect women and girls from all forms of violence. The Special Rapporteur wanted the input as part of making a June 2024 report to the UN Human Rights Council on the global phenomenon of prostitution and violence against women and girls. The EFC submitted a six-page brief discussing the violence inherent in pro

We are so thankful to have good news to share about euthanasia laws in Canada! Let’s pause for a moment to be thankful and celebrate. It’s not the complete stop that we want and firmly believe should happen, but a delay of MAiD for mental illness means people in vulnerable moments will be better protected for a longer time. It’s at least a check to the momentum of rapid MAiD expansion. Here’s what’s happening Yesterday the committee studying medical assistance in dying (MA

The justice minister has suggested a delay of the March 17 implementation date might be possible. That would give more time to try to stop this misguided expansion. (Why? See TheEFC.ca/HaltMAID.) Please contact your MP in at least one way in the next 10 days to reach them before Parliament resumes Jan. 29. Step 1: Find your MP’s contact info using your postal code, www.ourcommons.ca/members/en. This site has the MP’s email, address and phone numbers for the MP’s local constit