Prime Minister Appoints Supreme Court Justice, Five New Senators
The Story: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appointed Mary Moreau to the Supreme Court of Canada to replace former Justice Russell Brown, who resigned from the nation’s highest court in June. Former Justice Brown had been a reliably conservative member of the Court, filing dissenting opinions against the court’s liberal majority in landmark cases such as Trinity Western University v. Law Society of Upper Canada. Currently serving as Chief Justice of the Alberta Court of King’s Bench, Moreau is expected to join the dominant liberal wing of the Court.
Prime Minister Trudeau also appointed five senators to the Senate of Canada this week, including a former Liberal MP and a former Liberal MLA.
The Significance: Despite receiving little attention from the mainstream media, the Supreme Court of Canada possesses expansive authority over the everyday lives of Canadians. In fact, Parliament has largely offloaded its decision-making authority on matters of major moral significance to the Supreme Court. The legalization of abortion, the legalization of assisted suicide, and many major incursions on religious liberty are all the result of Supreme Court decisions. Just this week, the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory minimum sentences for child luring are unconstitutional—a ruling that may prevent many child predators from receiving even a few years in prison.
Because of the Court’s power, filling vacant Supreme Court positions is any Canadian Prime Minister’s largest opportunity to leave a lasting cultural legacy. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has now appointed six Supreme Court justices, meaning that the Court will almost certainly reflect his own ideological proclivities long after he is no longer Prime Minister. Sadly, although former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed four justices during his tenure, only one—the recently-resigned Russell Brown— became a reliably conservative voice on the Court.
Similarly, Harper left 22 vacancies in the Senate—vacancies that Trudeau, who has now appointed a majority of Canada’s Senators, quickly filled.
Proverbs 29:18 reads, “where there is no vision, the people perish.” Even the most morally upright leader must possess the vision necessary to make their decisions last. Otherwise, their critically important actions will be of no lasting consequence, while others—sometimes those completely opposed to righteousness—will have the opportunity to set the standard for years to come. Love for our nation’s children and grandchildren requires acting and planning wisely for the future. To that end, Canadian Christians should pray for a Prime Minister who will work to establish righteousness within Canada’s government for generations to come.
Read More: Jim Bonskill, The Canadian Press, “Alberta judge Mary Moreau announced as new Supreme Court nominee”
Pro-Hamas Protesters Take Over Canadian Streets
The Story: Pro-Hamas rallies and anti-Semitic riots are taking place in Canadian cities and around the world following Hamas’s invasion of Israel and subsequent murder of over 1,200 Israelis.
Many of the demonstrations, with crowds as large as 100,000, have included signs calling for the complete destruction of Israel and of all Jewish people. In multiple cases, Jewish people have been physically attacked by Hamas supporters—including on American university campuses and in downtown Toronto.
In the Muslim-majority Republic of Dagestan in Russia, an anti-semetic mob of thousands overwhelmed airport security after hearing that a plane from Tel-Aviv was scheduled to land at a local airport. The mob gained access to the entire airport, climbing onto planes and seizing passenger IDs—all with the stated intent to “kill Jews.”
The Significance: As thousands cheer the destruction of peace and the promotion of murder, many of Canada’s political leaders are ill-prepared to understand this moment—let alone meet it.
Germany has taken the clearest stance on the international stage. Referencing the painful lesson of the Holocaust, German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck stated that his nation has a moral obligation to Israel. He stated that “praising the terrorism of Hamas is a crime and will be punished as such,” and that protestors without legal residency will face deportation. While the same could be done in Canada, no political party has so far proposed doing so.
What should Christians do in times like these?
Above all, we must pray: for the war to end; for the quick and complete destruction of the terrorist organization Hamas; for hostages to be returned; for innocent lives on all sides to be spared; for wisdom for political leaders; for ourselves to not be afraid; for the repentance of evildoers; for the courage to stand for what is right and to remember that the gospel is still good news for all the world.
If anything, we have learned in recent weeks that societies built on niceness cannot stand. True kindness and love can only be found in the foundation of all truth. For: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).
Read More: National Post Jewish woman says she was punched by pro-Palestinian protesters in Toronto
Liberals, NDP Refuse to Consider Motion to Condemn Church Burnings
The Story: Liberal and NDP Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee members quickly adjourned a committee study after Conservative MP Arnold Viersen introduced a motion condemning a string of 2021 church burnings. Over 80 churches were burned in response to claims of “unmarked graves” at the former site of the Kamloops Residential School. Immediately after Viersen introduced the motion to condemn the arsons, Liberal MP Jamie Battiste moved to adjourn the study, stating, “what has happened over the past few years with reconciliation and with churches and with the Pope coming to apologize, there’s a deep need for reflection and reconciliation, but I really want to get to the end of this study.”
Responding to the motion’s failure, Viersen stated, “Unfortunately, a Liberal MP called for an immediate end to the discussion, supported by the NDP. This prevented the motion from going forward and communicating the committee’s condolences to hurting communities. This is shameful. These losses of church buildings have been devastating to these communities as these churches are places of milestones—weddings, funerals, baptisms.”
The Significance: A nation founded on the importance of religious liberty must be able to condemn the intentional destruction of Christian churches. Moral equivocation will not suffice. Clarity matters and the failure of some progressive politicians to clearly condemn seismic immorality such as widespread, religiously-motivated arson demonstrates an aversion to convictional leadership.
Moreover, Canadians should recognize that political freedom and religious liberty are the result of Canada’s Christian heritage. Only a Christian nation, confident in the truth of the Gospel, can allow full religious liberty—in the triumphant knowledge that the Spirit of God is able to defeat the lies of false religions. The religion of progressivism has no reason for equal confidence, and religious liberty will necessarily disappear as progressivism becomes Canada’s state religion.
Read More: Cosmin Dzsurdzsa, True North, “Liberal and NDP MPs shut down debate into widespread church burnings”
Saskatchewan, Alberta Threaten to Stop Collecting Carbon Tax
The Story: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing provincial backlash after announcing a “three-year pause” on the carbon tax for oil-based home heating—which is rarely used outside of the Atlantic provinces—while continuing to charge the tax on home heating that uses natural gas or electricity.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe led the response by vowing to no longer collect the carbon tax on natural gas starting January 1, 2024. The vote to encode this promise into law received unanimous support, including from every member of the Saskatchewan NDP. This bipartisan response has been echoed in other Western provinces, with the UCP government in Alberta and NDP governments in Manitoba and BC both calling for the tax on all home heating to be withdrawn.
The Federal Conservatives have introduced a similar motion to remove the carbon tax on all home heating across the country. The federal NDP, currently in a supply and confidence coalition with the Liberal government, have surprisingly stated that they will support the Conservative motion.
The Significance: While some may be tired of hearing about the carbon tax, the consequences of Prime Minister Trudeau’s actions extend well beyond this one policy. A fundamental requirement for any just law is equal application of the law. By treating some Canadians differently than others, Trudeau is breaching the principle of equal application and undermining his own legal, moral, and constitutional authority.
A second principle to consider is that of subsidiarity. It is right and good for the federal government to set standards for things such as pollution reduction. However, Ottawa’s micromanagement of these standards often lead to unfair and even unjust results. A just government would instead allow local authorities to meet Federal standards in ways that do not cause unnecessary harm.
Read More: Jeremy Simes, Toronto Star, “Moe says Saskatchewan to stop collecting carbon tax if no federal break given”
Two Calgary Men Charged After Private Conversation
The Story: Two Calgary men have been ticketed for a conversation they had on public transit while enroute to the Million March 4 Children in Calgary. After exiting the train to join the event, both men were detained by police who handcuffed one of the men while confirming his identity. The two men received tickets for violating public transit bylaws but were not told what they had done to receive the tickets.
The Democracy Fund, a constitutional rights charity, announced that they are representing the men in court.
The Significance: While it is unclear what the men said that resulted in the tickets, there are at least two possibilities: they threatened violence, or they have been punished for simply voicing their opinions publicly.
In the former case, the tickets would be just and Christians should condemn any call for violence. If, however, the latter is true, this incident represents a serious challenge to free speech in Canada– a challenge that many, including Dr. Jordan Peterson, have warned about ever since the Federal Government’s introduction of Bill C-16 and the speech mandates it contains. Free speech is one of the easiest rights to lose, and many countries have nearly lost it entirely: such as the United Kingdom, where a man was recently arrested for speaking out against pro-terrorism protests.
Christians, who have been commissioned to preach the Word of God, should be concerned about this pattern. Inevitably, this commission will conflict with the world: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18). While Christ has won the ultimate victory, the inability to openly speak the Truth should be seen as an affront to the Great Commission and a challenge to be overcome. In the meantime, with or without political freedom, let us continue to boldly proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.
Read More: Clare Marie Merkowsky, LifeSite News, “Two Calgary men charged for private conversation en route to city’s Million Person March”
A Truth To Consider
