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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

This was a BC Human Rights Tribunal case to argue for the ability of religious groups to rent their facilities in a way that is consistent with their beliefs. The EFC was granted intervenor status, but later the participants opted out of the tribunal process. This case, formally known as Klassen on behalf of White Rock Pride Society v Star of the Sea Parish, involved a Roman Catholic parish that refused to rent out their meeting facility for a fundraising event by a group who

The EFC was an intervener in a Supreme Court of Canada case about whether ecclesiastical decisions about membership and discipline are outside of the scope of judicial review. Hearings started Dec. 9, 2020 and a ruling was announced May 21, 2021. The EFC co-intervened with the Catholic Civil Rights League. The EFC welcomed the ruling in a statement. The May 2021 decision overruled an Ontario Court of Appeal decision released in January 2020 which would have permitted courts t