Canadian Election Set for April 28
The Story: On Sunday, Prime Minister Mark Carney asked Governor General Mary Simon to dissolve Parliament and call Canada’s 45th General Election. One week into the campaign, current polling suggests a surging Liberal Party has caught up with a Conservative Party that once held a significant lead. Although the Conservative Party’s support has remained relatively stable, a collapsing NDP has significantly boosted the Liberal Party’s share of the projected vote.
Prime Minister Carney, who served as Governor of the Bank of Canada and as Governor of the Bank of England, has steered his Party toward a more moderate platform by promising to repeal Justin Trudeau’s consumer carbon tax, abandoning the Liberal plan to increase capitals gains taxes, and adopting a fervently nationalistic approach in response to the tariff threats from the United States. The Election will take place on Monday, April 28 with Advance Polls open over Easter weekend from April 18 to April 21.
The Significance: Despite the veneer of moderation, Mark Carney has, throughout his lifetime, pursued a much more obviously progressive posture with regard to his political advocacy. As summarized by the National Post, Carney used his book, Value(s), to argue that “western society is morally rotten, and that it has been corrupted by capitalism, which has brought about a ‘climate emergency’ that threatens life on earth. This, he claims, requires rigid controls on personal freedom, industry and corporate funding.” Discussing his speculative solutions to the supposed rot, Carney mused, “Should sex be up for sale? Should there be a market in the right to have children? Why not auction the right to opt out of military service?”
In addition to this, Carney’s daughter, Sasha—who is a transgender activist—visited the Tavistock Clinic, a children’s gender transition centre, to receive therapy while the family lived in the United Kingdom. The Tavistock Clinic was at the heart of the Cass Report, which severely criticized the clinic’s role in the medical transition of minors.
For political purposes, Mark Carney has positioned himself as a moderate leader well-suited to deal with a very particular crisis. His entire public life, however, has been defined by a willingness to embrace progressive ideology wholesale—an ideology which denies the dominion of Christ and supposes human control over climate, gender, and the distribution of wealth. Canadians should reject Carney’s man-centred, reality-rejecting view of the world and pray for a new Prime Minister.
Read More: Alex Zoltan, Juno News, “UNCOVERED: Mark Carney Once Pondered Auctions for Childbearing Rights”
BC Nurse Censured and Fired for Defence of Biological Sex
The Story: A Disciplinary Panel of the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives ruled that nurse Amy Hamm is guilty of professional misconduct due to her advocacy defending the reality of biological sex. Hamm had helped co-sponsor a billboard in the Vancouver area that read, “I ❤️ JK Rowling”—in reference to the British author’s defence of biological sex—in addition to other comments about sexual identity. On Thursday, Hamm was officially fired from her job as a nurse, a role she held for 13 years without a single patient complaint.
The Panel labeled Hamm’s comments as “discriminatory and derogatory” in four instances. The panel also found that the fact that her role as a nurse was identified in her biography created a sufficient connection to her profession, making her actions subject to professional regulation. This despite the fact that none of her comments took place in a professional context.
Hamm’s legal counsel argued that her speech was “reasonable, sincere, socially valuable, and scientifically supportable” and that no harm or discrimination had resulted. Additionally, they argued that “censoring Ms. Hamm’s speech violates her freedom of expression—protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” Ms. Hamm’s counsel is now considering the possibility of an appeal.
Significance: This kind of attack on a regulated professional’s freedom of expression is not new in Canada (remember the College of Psychologists of Ontario’s case against Jordan Peterson). However, the growing number of cases shows the continued assault by Canada’s professional colleges on freedom of speech.
The role of professional colleges is to establish and maintain professional excellence in a particular field, whether legal, medical, or otherwise. However, these professional colleges have all too often been weaponized to exert pressure on working men and women to submit to the authority of progressive ideology. Against this, a few professionals such as Amy Hamm and Jordan Peterson have been willing to freely express their opinions despite the risks.
As Christians, we must speak the truth without hesitation: “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another” (Eph. 4:25). To simply ignore the truth and speak falsely in order to protect our professional lives is to fail in this regard. We should follow the example of Amy Hamm and others who have had the courage to put away falsehood in this respect–even at the cost of their livelihoods.
Read More: The Justice Centre, “Free speech of regulated professionals harmed after nurse Amy Hamm found guilty of professional misconduct”
Alberta Government Responds to Former AHS CEO’s Scandal Claims
The Story: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Health Minister Adriana LaGrange dismissed Alberta Health Services (AHS) CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos in early January. In a $1.7 million wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed against AHS and the province, Mentzelopoulos alleges that she had been investigating AHS contracts and procurement processes and was scheduled to meet with the auditor general to discuss her findings two days after her dismissal.
The Province has responded to her statement of claim, saying in part, “The Plaintiff weaves a story that she had uncovered much impropriety in the procurement practices of AHS (an entity she was hired to lead) but fails to disclose the basic fact that the independent investigator she had hired and which had investigated for months, failed to uncover any wrongdoing during her tenure.”
All six investigations that Mentzelopoulos’ claims triggered, in fact, continue, including those of Alberta Auditor General Doug Wylie and the RCMP.
The Significance: Proverbs 18:17 says, “The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him” (Prov. 18:17).
We should be grateful that our legal system in Canada accords with this basic Biblical truth. Wherever this principle is being eroded, we should work hard to restore its fullness. We should also work toward a culture in which we do not automatically believe accusations—whether in court, the media, our communities, our churches, or our homes—without an opportunity for those accusations to be cross-examined.
Sadly, we know that the kings of the earth and her rulers want to throw off the shackles of the Lord and His Christ (Ps. 2:1-3). We also know that rulers even take bribes to pervert justice, including swearing falsely in court cases (Is. 5:23), and that false testimony in a lawsuit can incline a crowd to do wrong (Ex. 23:2).
We do not yet know who is right in this conflict. Worse, we may not know even after all merely human investigators have presented their findings, and even after every merely human court has handed down their judgments. But we do know that their judgments—even those they call final—pale in comparison to the Judge of All the Earth who will set it right at the Last Day.
Further Reading: Edmonton Journal, “‘A dramatic tale:’ Province defends allegations in AHS executive’s wrongful dismissal lawsuit”.