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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

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

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 It would also make it illegal to distribute pornographic material if the person depicted has withdrawn their consent.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

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 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

On October 29, 2024, the government announced plans to introduce legislation related to charities that offer pregnancy options counselling. In a news conference outlining their plans, ministers used language that disparaged and mischaracterized pregnancy care centres as deceptive. The EFC is concerned about the mischaracterization and targeting of pregnancy care centres and the politicization of charities. In a ministerial mandate letter released on December 16, 2021, the p

UPDATE: The new bill to ban conversion therapy, Bill C-4, received royal assent Dec. 8 and passed into law January 7, 2022. It was rushed through both the House of Commons and Senate in just over a week, a process that usually takes months. The EFC is preparing an analysis of the bill’s impact. This bill is similar to the previous ban, proposed in former Bill C-6, which died at the election call. Bill C-4 extends beyond the previous ban by, among other changes, proposing a ba