Saskatchewan Doctor Agrees to Avoid Religious, Abortion-Related Discussions
The Story: A Saskatoon doctor has resolved his College of Physicians hearing by agreeing to not speak about abortion or religion on the job. Dr. Terence Davids had reportedly asked a patient considering abortion if she believed in “our Lord and Saviour” and urged her against scheduling the abortion by saying “I think you should reconsider” and “you will regret this and you can’t take it back.” As a result, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan opened a hearing into the case, which has now been resolved by the Dr. Davids’ signing of an undertaking which reads “I hereby undertake and agree that I will not discuss abortion with any patient in a clinic setting” and “I hereby undertake and agree that I will not engage in any discussions with any patient in a clinic setting in which I say anything about religious principles.”
The Significance: In the interest of personal autonomy, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan have denied true medical care, both physical and spiritual, to the province’s patients. Although modern secular misunderstandings within the Government-run healthcare system have restricted the practice of medicine to temporary, physical treatments, the reality is that human beings require far deeper, more holistic treatment. Human beings are not a collection of random atoms that simply need to be operating properly. Instead, we are physical beings that must be both healthy and properly oriented toward the love of God and the love of neighbour. Doctors may meaningfully treat physical symptoms but they should not do so at risk of enabling sin, such as by referring someone to have an abortion. By persuading Dr. Davids to sign this undertaking, they are ensuring that Saskatchewan patients will have their true health threatened in the name of their short term autonomy.
Read More: Brandon Harder, Regina Leader Post, “Sask. doctor promises not to talk abortion or religion with patients in clinic”
Canada Faces NATO Criticism Over Lagging Defence Spending
The Story: Canada has faced a barrage of criticism from NATO allies this week for the country’s repeated failure to meet the 2% GDP expected defense budget. The harshest criticisms came from Republican House and Senate leadership, with House Speaker Mike Johnson stating that Canada is “riding on the United State’s coattails.”
Defense spending has become a greater priority for NATO allies following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and continuous Communist Chinese threats against Taiwan. Some countries such as Poland and Estonia have doubled their previous expenditures in short order to re-arm, but Trudeau has said his government would not reach the NATO minimum until 2032. However, a Parliamentary Budget Officer report which shows the Canadian government is overestimating spending by nearly 20% throws even that distant deadline into question.
The Significance: While Christians serve the “Prince of Peace”, we also recognize that His kingdom is “not of this world.” Instead, we live in a fallen world where it is necessary for the strong to protect the weak and for good men to battle evil.
Canada’s commitment to spend more on defense is not for our sake—our neighbours to the South would never allow a hostile power to conquer us—but for the sake of the rest of the world. A weak NATO means that preventable wars will be started and preventable mass murders will happen. To see the consequences, one only has to look at how the weak United Nations allowed the horrors of the Rwandan genocide.
As one of the richest countries in the world, Canada has a duty to help where we realistically can. Unfortunately, our current government would rather check off DEI boxes than protect those in need.
Read More: Judy Trihn, CTV News, “Canada’s defence spending is ‘shameful,’ says U.S. Speaker, falling at bottom of the pack at NATO”
Canadian Doctor Gains International Notoriety for Love of Death
The Story: A Canadian doctor has been gaining international attention for the astronomical number of assisted suicides she has performed—as well as the joy she portrays in ending lives.
Featured recently in a documentary, Dr. Ellen Wiebe spends over half her practice on “assisted dying” and, while she won’t confirm the actual numbers, she has been involved in ending the lives of well over 400 Canadians.
An assisted suicide advocate for many years who criticized politicians for not legalizing the deadly procedure before the Supreme Court did so in 2015, Dr. Wiebe has spent much of her career ending the lives of vulnerable Canadians—her other passion has been promoting and performing abortion.
The Significance: There are so many things wrong with this story. Using the word “wrong” also seems wrong. Words like “evil”, “demonic”, and “sadistic” seem more apt.
In a country that has been rapidly moving away from any sense of the Judeo-Christian values that our ancestors held on the value of every life, Dr. Wiebe is the bulkhead of the culture of death.
Her own words betray her, however. Wiebe stated: “It is hard to even be in the same room as somebody who’s suffering severely. But then, of course, you know, I get to end that suffering…”
Jesus told us to bear one another’s burdens. Every person who has walked with someone in suffering, who has provided hospice care for a loved one, knows how heavy the burden can be. Our call is to lay down our lives for one another, not kill people because we find their suffering difficult.
Read More: Sharon Kirkey, National Post, “Doctor has helped more than 400 patients die. How many assisted deaths are too many?”
Canadian MPs hear from Anti-Hamas Gazans
The Story: Palestinian dissidents trying to remove themselves from the control of Hamas in Gaza reached out to Canadian politicians this week. Throughout the war, Hamas has tightly controlled the Palestinian residents of Gaza being used as pawns and human shields. Although hundreds of trucks with aid and supplies cross the border nearly daily, Hamas frequently keeps all shipments for themselves, even at times firing on their own people in order to keep them from the supplies.
Now a group of Gazan residents have reached out to politicians including a group of Canadian MPs to ask for their help in setting up Hamas-free zones where they can be protected from the terrorist group that has been controlling their region since 2006.
The Significance: Canadians who have pushed back on the legitimacy of Hamas as a partner in resolving the “conflict” should feel justified in their opinion. Despite Hamas openly telling the world that they would rather die than let Israel live in peace, antisemitic individuals across the Western world have frequently stood by them. While some pro-Hamas protesters are firm supporters and truly hate Israel, Jewish people, and the West, others are simply swept up in a cause that they are not fully educated on.
Any Canadian who believes that innocent people in Gaza deserve freedom should join the anti-Hamas Palestinians in their cause.
Anyone who doesn’t believe the people in Gaza deserve freedom from Hamas should have their motives questioned. Along those lines, it is interesting to note that the NDP, for all their pro-Palestinian rhetoric, did not send anyone to the meeting with the Anti-Hamas Gazans.
Read More: Rahim Mohammed, National Post, “Palastinians fed-up with Hamas pitch Candian MPs on Gaza bubbles plan.”
Quick Hit:
Catherine Stewart, the Canadian Ambassador for Climate Change, has racked up over $254,000 in travel expenses in only 2 years. The quarter-of-a-million-dollar expenditure by Stewart is the equivalent of over 60 years of vacations for the average Canadian. Included in these expenses was a flight—not a train ticket—from Toronto to Ottawa for a climate conference, a trip which cost the taxpayer over $10,096. Not only does this continue the trend of Liberal government waste and hypocrisy, but it highlights the absurd priorities of a government that removed the role of the Ambassador of Religious Freedom only to add one for their own religion: climate change.
Read More: Courtney Greenberg, The National Post, “Canada’s climate change ambassador spent more than $250K on travel in two years: report”
A Truth To Consider
