Trudeau Appoints LGBTQ Activist to Alberta Senate Seat
The Story: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appointed MacEwan University professor Kristopher Wells to the Canadian Senate. Dr. Wells is a long-time LGBTQ activist who has promoted gender transition surgery for minors for over a decade and once equated Christian opposition to homosexuality with the Holocaust.
In 2017, Dr. Wells drove the development of a government-funded website for Albertan students participating in gay-straight alliances (GSAs) from Kindergarten through Grade 12. On the site, Wells’s group linked to an outside “community support” page that contained graphic sexual materials, complete with explicit guidelines for self-stimulation and instructions on how to purchase pornography—all easily accessible from a website designed for children.
Prime Minister Trudeau selected Dr. Wells and Liberal donor Daryl Fridhandler despite Conservatives Pam Davidson and Erika Barootes receiving the most votes in Alberta’s Senate elections.
The Significance: Prime Minister Trudeau’s appointment of Senator Wells demonstrates the radical legacy he intends to leave during what are widely expected to be his final months as Prime Minister of Canada. Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau, succeeded in achieving the partial decriminalization of abortion, the decriminalization of homosexuality, and the liberalization of divorce laws during his tenure. Justin has followed closely in his father’s footsteps as an ardent defender of the sexual revolution and will leave behind scores of Senators who are committed to the tenets of LGBTQ ideology.
This is, in part, because of the void left by the previous Conservative Government.
Sadly, in the aftermath of the 2014 Senate Scandal, former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper left almost 25% of Senate seats vacant prior to leaving office in 2015. Prime Minister Harper’s lack of foresight will have allowed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to appoint a stunning 81% of the Senate by the time his term expires in September 2025.
Now, Senator Wells will be entrusted with voting on amendments to Canada’s criminal code, including on bills pertaining to the protection of children from sexually explicit online material.
Although it appears likely that the Canadian Senate will remain in the hands of radical activists for yet another generation, we should not grow cynical but should instead pray for our Senators—knowing that God the Father, to whom we have direct access in Christ, is pleased to answer the prayers of his covenant people.
Read More: Saving Childhood, “PETITION: Dangerous Senator Kris Wells Must Resign”
Ontario School Hid 10-year-old Girl’s Transition from Parents
The Story: The parents of a then-10-year-old girl are considering legal options after an Ontario school hid their daughter’s gender transition. In 2021, “Julie” began questioning her gender and sexuality after spending dozens of hours scrolling TikTok. By the start of the school year, she was identifying as transgender. A teacher from the York “Catholic” District School Board helped hide Julie’s use of “non-binary” pronouns and name. Nearly a year later, in the summer of 2022, her parents finally became aware and raised objections with the school, asking to be included in the conversations about their daughter. In response, the school contacted the Children’s Aid Society.
Julie spent the next year attempting to run away from home and receiving affirmation from multiple doctors. In December 2023, however, Julie detransitioned after reading her father’s copy of Abigail Shrier’s “Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.”
The Significance: Julie’s father bought Irreversible Damage in hopes that Julie would read it but told her not to as it would “only make her angry.” Julie, being a child with limited self-control, obviously—and thankfully—read it.
The fact that this basic reverse psychology tactic worked should make us angry—not because the tactic was used, but because a child who couldn’t pick up on the tactic was being groomed and prodded into believing she was transgender. Her teachers, doctors, social workers, and the TikTok accounts she followed all knew that children are not psychologically developed and cannot comprehend the magnitude of what they are doing. But through malice, cowardice, or indifference, they affirmed her delusions anyway. Whatever the reason, they will face the consequences of their actions.
We can thank God for this father’s knowledge of his daughter’s temperament and his wisdom in letting her realize her own error. To paraphrase Our Lord’s parable: “For this daughter of mine was dead and is alive again; she was lost and is found.”
Read More: Ari David Blaff, The National Post, Ontario school hid girl’s transition, called CAS on parents questioning trans identity
Alberta Introduces Opt-In Sex Education Policy
The Story: Following announcements last fall, the Alberta Government is set to move forward with legislation requiring parents to opt-in before their child is included in sex education lessons.
The current system requires schools to send a single notification to inform parents that there will be a lesson dealing with sex education or religion—which parents may or may not opt-out of.
However, provincial guidelines introduced in 2016 by Rachel Notley’s NDP government require school divisions to implement the tenets of gender ideology under the guise of protecting student well-being. As concerns rise regarding its harmful effects, the proposed changes would require more parental involvement.
Significance: In 2016, then-Education Minister David Eggen believed his guidelines would help “spur social change.” Lord willing, the upcoming UCP legislation will help spur a reversal.
Christians and common-sense Albertans should applaud these efforts to put safeguards in place to protect children. However, there is still work to be done.
School boards play an important role in influencing, developing, and implementing government policy on education and human sexuality. Because of this, a key area in which Canadian Christians can make a difference is in the election of local school board trustees. Faithful citizens should run for office, help others campaign, and support groups like Saving Childhood that are working tirelessly in this area.
Finally, one question the Alberta Teachers Association is asking should be considered: “where will children gain a proper understanding of these topics?” The clearest answer? From their parents. Yet that is easier said than done. Parental rights demand parental responsibility.
Christian parents and churches need to understand that children cannot be left to work through these issues on their own. Parents must be proactive in teaching their children about God’s good design for gender, sex, marriage, and healthy boundaries. While they should opt out of public sex education, they cannot opt out of their God-given responsibility as fathers and mothers.
Read More: Aaron Sousa, CBC News, “Opt-in sex education policies coming to Alberta classrooms this fall, province says”
Federal NDP Ends Coalition Agreement with Liberal Government
The Story: Just weeks before the start of the fall session of Parliament, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh held a press conference to announce that his party is “tearing up” the supply and confidence agreement with the governing Liberals. As a result, the Liberals are no longer guaranteed the NDP’s support to pass legislation or survive confidence votes.
Pressed by the media, Singh refused to answer if the NDP would send Canada to an election. Both the Conservative and Liberal parties have accused the NDP of simply trying to posture ahead of the next election as their poll numbers have slipped drastically, receiving no boost from Justin Trudeau and the Liberals’ disastrous poll numbers.
The Significance: While the election chatter that is always present in Canadian punditry will surely continue, the NDP likely ended their agreement for political reasons. Rather than being viewed as an alternative to the Liberals, their support of the Government has been dragging their Party down along with the tanking Liberals. If poll numbers are driving their decision making, Singh and his NDP party will surely continue to keep the Liberals in power while attempting to simultaneously distance themselves from Trudeau.
However, an earlier election is on the table. Unlikely as it may be, the pieces are now moved into place in a way that could see the question of who will form our next government put to Canadians sooner than expected. We should not waste time in gossip and speculation. We should get to work, get involved, and be ready. If your riding has not elected its candidates yet, get involved and even consider running. If your candidate is an individual you can support, then consider volunteering. Our top-down system of government rarely places influence in the hands of its citizens. We are in a season where we can have tremendous influence. We should all seek to find where our place might be.
Read More: Clayton DeMaine, True North, “Jagmeet Singh refuses to say he has no confidence in Trudeau’s Liberals”
Quick Hit
Alberta Opioid Deaths Back to Pre-COVID Levels: The opioid death rate in Alberta has dropped to the lowest levels since February 2020, with 18.4 deaths per 100,000 people. This is less than half that of neighbouring British Columbia (41 per 100,000 annualized), which has also seen a decrease compared to the last three years. Alberta is the first jurisdiction in Canada to introduce “recovery-oriented standards” for drug use, which seeks to break people out of their addictions rather than merely doing “harm reduction.” This policy, enacted under the direction of Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Dan Williams, has seen the number of deaths halved from their peak in April 2023. Minister Williams told True North that “our government believes that for anyone suffering from the disease of addiction, recovery is possible. We are turning words into action and giving people an opportunity to pursue recovery.” Unlike many other jurisdictions, Alberta is not content to simply leave their neighbours in the ditch of so-called “harm reduction”.
RCMP Foil October 7 Anniversary Attack:The RCMP have arrested a Pakistani man living in Canada after the Joint Terrorism Task Force uncovered messages that confirmed he was planning a mass-shooting event at a Jewish site in New York. His goal, uncovered from encrypted messages, was to kill as many Jewish people as possible on the anniversary of the October 7 massacre in Israel. When pro-Hamas hordes march in our streets and scream “globalize the intifada,” this is what they mean – whether all of them realize it or not. The people behind these marches and slogans believe in killing people that they consider the enemy and they are willing to follow through on their beliefs. It is past time that the general population and our political leaders took the very first step in responding to those declaring “intifada” on our streets: believing them.
A Truth To Consider
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9