Federal Funding Under Fire
The Story: Inspired by the shocking financial abuses uncovered in the United States by the Department of Government Efficiency, a crowdsourced effort by Canadians is placing a spotlight on the programs funded by the Federal government. Among the items uncovered by Canadians are $180 million in funding to an “aid” organization run by Liberal insiders, nearly $1 billion to South American and Asian “climate initiatives” that must be “gender-responsive”, and has spent over $63 million to fund and push abortion in multiple foreign countries, including several African countries where abortion is illegal.
Shortly before the added scrutiny, Abortion Care Canada, formerly the National Abortion Federation Canada, announced that they may need to shut down after their request for a $1.3 million grant was turned down. The organization, which was directly responsible for the deaths of at least 450 pre-born children in 2024, had received 77% of their operating budget directly from the federal government.
The Significance: Poor stewardship by our leaders is, sadly, the expected way of things. But our government has gone well beyond poor stewardship with their funding of outright evil.
Not satisfied with the sacrifice of readily available children in our cities and surrounding areas, our government spent millions of dollars to kill children in foreign countries and to fly women in from remote areas of our country to kill their children.
The disgust and fury that we should feel for these horrifically evil acts is no less than the disgust and fury with which God spoke of Judah’s child sacrifices: “I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, says the Lord: the sword to slay, the dogs to tear, and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.” (Jeremiah 15:3-4).
The sins of our nation cry out to the Lord. Sackcloth and ashes would not go amiss.
Read More: James Snell, The Western Standard, “REVEALED: Trudeau dumping $573,500,000 into offshore ‘gender-responsive’ economic development and climate initiatives”
Drug Overdoses and Falls Drive Rise in Canadian Accidental Deaths
The Story: The rise in fatal unintentional injuries since the year 2000 is staggering, now accounting for six percent of all deaths and amounting to a 139 percent increase. According to Statistics Canada, in raw numbers, the 8,631 accidental deaths in 2000 surged to 20,597 in 2023.
Causes for accidental deaths include transport accidents, falls, poisonings, drownings, and fires—among others. But out of the normal list of causes, StatsCan reports that drug poisonings and accidental falls were the driving forces behind the increase.
Historically accidental falls—mostly among the elderly—caused a significantly larger number of deaths each year than did drug poisonings. However, drug deaths began to rise in 2000. In 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, drug poisoning deaths surged by 59%, jumping from 4,039 in 2019 to 6,412. In 2021 drug deaths rose to 7,405 and, while fluctuating in following years, they remained above 7,000 in 2022 and 2023. In contrast, fatalities from accidental falls have risen at a much slower pace, with an average annual increase of approximately 280.
The Significance: One should avoid the logical fallacy of finding a cause-and-effect relationship between two events simply because they are closely related in time, but it is hard to deny that the pandemic shutdowns and de facto quarantines between 2020 and 2022 had a detrimental and lasting effect on the population at large, with increases in almost every negative pathology of family and community life. Nor can it be denied that government-enforced shutdowns and reduced community interactions seemed one-sided in some jurisdictions; bars, for example, were allowed to open where churches were not. Moreover, freedom of speech took a huge hit through heavy-handed governmental denials of sincere attempts to discuss best practices and the loss of personal liberties. Though self-harm during tough times cannot be excused, no one should be surprised that isolated, depressed individuals would turn to alcohol and drugs for solace.
Throughout the pandemic, the contrast between the Canadian government’s professed intentions to benefit the citizenry and the negative outcomes of many of its decrees could not have been greater. Christian people must understand why. Proverbs 29:2 in Scripture speaks directly to this contrast: “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.”
The lesson is clear. Widespread social isolation, enacted by the government shutdown of schools and houses of worship, leads to untold damage in society. On the other hand, times of heavy-handed government shutdowns should be seen as opportunities for God’s people to show themselves bold to be neighbourly and friendly, reaching out to the isolated with an encouraging word and the human connection that can make a real difference in the community. By kindness and love, the righteous will increase in influence and power, while the wicked, though ostensibly in authority, will find their influence diminished in ways that are difficult for them to overcome.
Read More: Jennifer Cowan, The Epoch Times, ” “Rising Accidental Deaths in Canada Driven by Drug Overdoses and Falls: Gov’t Data”
PEI Premier Dennis King Stepping Down
The Story: Dennis King, the popular Progressive Conservative Premier of Prince Edward Island, resigned his premiership effective Friday, February 21. First elected with a minority government in 2019, King led his province through a particularly difficult period that was marred by COVID-19, potato blight, and damage from major storms. In 2023, Islanders rewarded his handling of these difficult situations with a majority government.
King was open about the strain placed on him by his premiership, admitting that “There were days where… I found it hard to get out of bed because I was tired and stressed and not feeling worthy of these things.” In his resignation announcement, he referenced these difficulties and the added strain of trade issues with the United States, citing them as part of the reason for his resignation.
King leaves office with over 50% approval.
The Significance: Dennis King’s frank admission of his struggles is a good reminder that politicians are real people who face real difficulties in their lives, and who, most importantly, are made in the image and likeness of God.
In the era of social media, we often forget Our Lord’s admonition in the Gospel of Matthew and judge others more harshly than we would judge ourselves. We must admit that we cannot judge a man’s soul or understand the struggles that they may be going through in making difficult decisions. For that reason, we ought to pray for our leaders at least as much as we criticize them.
However, we can—and should—judge the moral uprightness of our leaders’ actions. For King, that includes missing the opportunity to protect preborn children. Until 2016, abortions were almost impossible to access on the Island due to a long history of pro-life policies. Instead of leading his Party to reinstate the long-standing ban, King announced he was pro-choice and said, “I don’t feel I have any standing as a… man to tell a woman what she should do or can do with her body.”
While we cannot judge a man’s soul, God certainly can, and allowing the murder of innocent children to continue is a sin that cries to Heaven. We must pray for God’s mercy and King’s conversion.
Read More: The Canadian Press, National Post, “Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King resigning from ’most difficult job’”
B.C. NDP End Take-Home “Safe Supply” Drugs, Requiring Users to Consume Opioids at Pharmacies
The Story: British Columbia’s NDP government has modified its “safe supply” drug policy, ending the take-home provision of prescribed opioids like hydromorphone. The change, detailed in a recent report, follows evidence of widespread diversion of these drugs to the black market. The policy now requires that individuals consume prescribed drugs under supervision at pharmacies or designated clinics.
The changes appear to have been made reluctantly after a leaked document revealed that officials were well aware of the diversion crisis. “A significant portion of the opioids being freely prescribed by doctors and pharmacists are not being consumed by their intended recipients,” the report stated. “Prescribed alternatives are trafficked provincially, nationally and internationally.” Premier David Ebby said the new approach was, “an unfortunate thing but a necessary thing.”
It was just under a year ago that then-public safety minister, Mike Farnworth denied the allegations that “safe supply” drugs were being diverted to the black market.
The Significance: The B.C. NDP’s “safe supply” model—distributing free, potent opioids to addicts—enables individuals in their sin and only feeds the opioid crisis.
Opioid addiction rewires an individual’s brain, causing the pursuit of increasingly stronger opioids to achieve the same high. In this case, the weaker drug being provided, hydromorphone, fails to satisfy the cravings of someone already pursuing a greater high. Instead of reducing harm, the “safe supply” was being sold to new users, such as youth, so the intended recipients could finance the purchase of more potent, illicit drugs. Thus, the opioid crisis was only being fed as new users were introduced to the drug, growing the market.
For Christians, the rollback of this policy is a partial victory, as it should stem the tide of a drug crisis that claimed over 2,500 lives in B.C. in 2023 alone. However, there is no sign of health officials being held accountable for their failure, and their refusal to fully abandon “safe supply” policies means that many lives will continue to be destroyed. Rather than perpetuating the brokenness in our society, Christians should advocate for policies that seek treatment and recovery while protecting the vulnerable.
Read More: The Canadian Press, CTV News, “B.C. ends take-home safer supply of opioids to stop criminal diversion“