On this Remembrance Day, we honour and pray for the men and women who have served, and continue to serve, our country during times of war, conflict, and peace. We honour the sacrifice of all who have given their life and pray for the safety of all who serve today. We will remember.
Charges Dropped Against Lieutenant General
The Story: Charges have been dropped against Lt. General Steven Whelan, Canada’s former Chief of Military Personnel, ending the court martial he had faced since 2022. Both charges concerned alleged sexual misconduct but were removed due to a lack of evidence.
General Whelan’s lawyers argue that the case against their client was financially and politically motivated. During the review of sexual abuse within the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), an internal source leaked Whelan’s case, allegedly leading military prosecutors to rush toward an indictment without a sufficient investigation. General Whelan’s lawyers have since stated that their client will be suing the CAF for malicious prosecution, prosecutorial misconduct, and negligence in the investigation.
The Significance: In response to the end of his prosecution, Lt. General Whelan stated, “I just want to see the organization, the system, the architecture, change for the better. There is no vision [for the CAF] other than a social experiment agenda. We’ve substituted what should be operational effectiveness and ability with culture.”
Many would expect General Whelan to be angry or bitter about having been effectively convicted of a serious crime without a proper investigation. However, he is instead worried about the impact the trial has had on his family and about the damage done to the institution he served for nearly four decades.
Lt. General Whelan’s comments about the transformation of the CAF into a cultural experiment are appropriate: Christian prayers are restricted, woke beliefs are forced on soldiers, and the Federal Government continues to cut funding for military necessities. These social experiments, along with the military’s vaccine mandate, has resulted in dangerously low recruitment, leaving Canada vulnerable in an increasingly violent world.
Those who have served and protected our nation deserve better. Moreover, if our military continues to push away good and strong men—like Lt.-General Whelan appears to be—they will be replaced with weak men who are only interested in serving themselves, their passions, and their godless ideologies.
This Remembrance Day, let us remember the fallen and pray for those still defending our country: for courage and conviction, and just treatment for all.
Read More: Donna Kennedy-Glans, The National Post, “The enduring loyalty of a Canadian general derailed by scandal”
Newfoundland Abortionists Covertly Target Christian Communities
The Story: According to a CBC News story, a team of Newfoundland abortionists are quietly traveling to predominantly Christian areas of the province to perform abortions. The report documents the work of a doctor and her medical staff, who operate a mobile abortion clinic in Newfoundland’s “Bible Belt” region: “the clinic’s local staff, based in an area with a heavy concentration of Pentecostal, Salvation Army and Catholic churches, understand the need for discretion.”
The story, which includes the personal accounts of several women, showcases a team of abortionists who dispose of human children in a cultural setting that does not approve of abortion. As a result, they operate discreetly—entering a community, performing abortions, and leaving “without a trace.”
The Significance: “Children are a heritage from the Lord” (Ps. 127:3) and their intentional dismemberment through abortion should sicken every true Christian. In this case, a traveling group of “healthcare” professionals are going to great lengths to find children to abort in remote, conservative areas. This commitment to death is disturbing and reveals the capacity of the human heart for committing horrific evils under the pretense of love and compassion. Canada’s governments finance the abortion industry and ensure its protection, but Canada’s people tolerate and gleefully participate in the cultic ritual of sacrificing children on the altar of sexual pleasure. Without repentance, the judgment on our nation will be very severe indeed.
This story should also remind Christians that abortions are regularly happening in our own communities and even in our own churches. Because of this, local church pastors and members should remember that protecting life in Canada must start with protecting life in our own congregations. By faithfully teaching against the sin of abortion and contributing to the needs of mothers in crisis, Christians can foster a culture of life and save unborn children in their midst. Finally, let us never fail to remind men and women who are considering abortion that the price of sexual sin can only be atoned for with the blood of Jesus Christ—not the blood of their own children.
Read More: Patrick Butler, CBC News, “The hidden abortions of Newfoundland’s ‘Bible Belt’”
Jewish Union Workers Sue Union Leadership over Antisemitism
Twenty-five CUPE Ontario union members have filed a human rights complaint against their own union and its president, Fred Hahn.
The members, all of whom are Jewish, filed the lawsuit several weeks after tweets from Union leadership, including from Hahn himself, appeared to celebrate Hamas’s murderous invasion of Israel. The lawsuit also alleges several other antisemitic actions from Union leadership.
While Hahn claims that the Union has consistently stood for human rights without exception, CUPE Ontario has passed multiple anti-Israel policy resolutions, including support for the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement, an official refusal to update the Union’s definition of antisemitism, and an apparent silencing of Jewish Union members who have previously raised concerns.
The Significance: This week alone, bullets have been fired into two Jewish schools and Jewish students have faced severe hostilities at Concordia University. As acts of antisemitism become increasingly common across the country, public figures such as Fred Hahn must face consequences for publicly endorsing violence against Jewish people.
The equation is simple: If there is no strong and stifling response against threats of antisemitic violence, Jewish Canadians are going to die on Canadian soil. There is no free speech protection for death threats. And, if there is no widespread condemnation of violence, then violence will be the result.
One Montreal professor has been suspended while being investigated for antisemitic actions, but more must be done to punish threats and prevent violence if our society is going to avoid going down a very, very dark path.
Read More: Noah Jarvis, Truth North, “Jewish union members file human rights complaint against CUPE, alleging antisemitism”
Alberta Conservatives Approve Parental Rights Policy
The Story: At last week’s United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) Annual General Meeting, Party members overwhelmingly approved an internal party policy that would require parental consent for childhood pronoun changes in Alberta schools. The policy received nearly-unanimous support from attendees, and did not require a hand-counted vote.
Responding to the policy’s success, UCP leader and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith stated, “The way our policy process works is the members tell us what they would like us to do, but we obviously have to put it all through the lens of what is best for Albertans as a whole…I don’t think it matters if you’re a straight couple or a gay couple, or whether you’re a trans individual. You want to know what’s going on with your kids, that’s what I hear.” Members also approved a resolution that would require Alberta prisons to house inmates according to their biological sex at the time of conception.
The Significance: Once again, the success of this policy demonstrates the growing momentum of gender sanity within Canada’s conservative movement. Premier Smith’s uncertain response to the policy, however, should remind Alberta Christians about the importance of encouraging their representatives to protect children and defend righteousness. Elected officials regularly receive advice and political pressure from constituents, colleagues, staff members, and special interest groups. If Christian voices are not among them, Biblical principles will be missing from the equation as elected officials finalize critical policy decisions and vote on important issues. Christian politicians should not weary in doing good (Gal. 6:9) and neither should their constituents.
Read More: Lisa Johnson, Edmonton Journal, “Alberta UCP members approve party policy pushing for parental consent on pronouns”
Manitoba School Board Censures Local Resident for Opposing LGBTQ Agenda
The Story: The Chair of the Brandon School Division (BSD) Board of Trustees prohibited a local resident from continuing her presentation at a school board meeting after stating that her words were “on the verge of hate speech.” Lorraine Hackenschmidt—a former BSD trustee herself—had been speaking against a request to “teach 2SLGBTQIA+ history” in Brandon schools before Chairwoman Linda Ross abruptly ended the presentation. According to the Board’s vice-chair, “Lorraine’s presentation starts off by saying she opposes the 2SLGBTQIA agenda in our schools. That is clearly discriminatory speech, it has no place at our board table.”
The Significance: The Brandon School Division’s decision to censure a member of the public for daring to “[oppose] the 2SLGBTQIA agenda” reveals what many progressive politicians mean by “discriminatory speech.” Unlike any traditional definition, the phrase’s progressive definition applies to any and all opposition to a person’s personal sexual behavior.
This should not be surprising. If the Triune God is not worshiped as the ultimate determiner of reality, the expressive desires of the human heart quickly become the central “fact” of human existence. As a result, modern individualism considers opposition to these expressive desires to be discrimination against a person’s very essence. These individualists serve “the creature rather than the Creator” (Rom. 1:25) and do not approve of blasphemy against their new gods.
We should also observe, however, that this story emerges from Brandon, Manitoba—a small city in a conservative region. Whether through lack of organization or simple resignation, local conservatives have ceded power on this particular school board to men and women who will not even tolerate the presence of a Christian witness. Sadly, Brandon is not alone. Progressives control school boards and town councils in some of the smallest, most conservative communities in Canada. A restoration of Christian faithfulness in the Halls of Parliament will likely begin with a restoration of Christian faithfulness at the local level. Christians should pay close attention to their local school boards and take note of any opportunities to reform them, including by running for office themselves.
Read More: Colin Slark, The Brandon Sun, “Presentation against ‘LGBTQ agenda’ ruled out of order”
A Truth To Consider
