Dedication: In the early hours of Monday morning, Indi Gregory, a precious little girl made in the image of God, died in a British hospice with her parents at her side—murdered by a court-ordered removal of life support. This edition of The Dominion Report is dedicated to her memory. We pray for her family, for the repentance of those who killed her, and for the triumph of God’s justice.
Federal Government may Lack Authority to Force New Brunswick Abortion Funding
The Story: A report commissioned by the Federal Government recommends expansion of provincial government funding for abortions performed in private New Brunswick clinics. However, the report also states that the Federal Government may not have the authority to force New Brunswick to begin funding the procedures. As a result, Federal Health Minister Mark Holland released a statement condemning the Government of New Brunswick for the lack of funding but containing no threat of action. The Federal Liberal Government had previously removed $64,850 in health transfer payments from the Province over its refusal to fund abortions at a private clinic in Fredericton.
The Significance: Despite the Federal Government’s expected conclusion that abortion funding must be expanded in New Brunswick, their unwillingness to test jurisdictional boundaries by forcing the Province to fund private abortions is a remarkable success for Premier Blaine Higgs. Higgs, who was first elected in 2018, has steadfastly resisted Federal pressure to increase abortion access throughout his tenure. Although New Brunswick—like every other Canadian province—continues to fund abortion in hospitals, this adamant refusal to expand provincial funding has undoubtedly saved preborn lives. Happily, this story emerges amid international news that Peru has enshrined protections for preborn children in their constitution and as a new report from the United Kingdom suggests that prematurely born children can survive as early as 22 weeks.
Although many Canadian cultural and political stories are sad demonstrations of a sinful society, there are hints of God’s kindness dotted throughout our culture—including these news graces in the fight for life. Because Christ has been raised from the dead, death has been defeated and we should not be surprised to see death’s defeat demonstrated even in our own time. Although the schemes of Satan may prevail for a season, Christ’s victory has been won. May his Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.
Read More: Jacques Poitras, CBC News, “Allow surgical abortions in N.B. clinics, federal report says”
Israeli Prime Minister Criticizes Justin Trudeau Over Anti-Israel Comments
The Story: Earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on Israel to “exercise maximum restraint,” insinuating that the nation has violated the Geneva Convention and is responsible for “the killing of women and children, of babies.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu responded on X (Formerly Twitter), by stating: “It is not Israel that is deliberately targeting civilians, but Hamas that beheaded, burned and massacred civilians in the worst horrors perpetrated on Jews since the Holocaust.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz responded to Prime Minister Trudeau by stating that “the accusations against Israel are absurd.”
The Significance: The Prime Minister’s comments come as a Jewish daycare in Toronto required evacuation after a bomb threat, and as authorities were finally able to confirm that Canadian peace activist Vivian Silver had been murdered by Hamas in Israel. The delay in confirming her identity was due to her remains being so unrecognizable that a DNA test was required. Vivian had dedicated her life to building bridges between Jews and Arabs, working to transport Palestinians to Israel for medical care, making her murder all the more horrifying.
Prime Minister Trudeau should have known that his words would be used to embolden antisemitic sentiment in Canada as many news outlets trumpeted headlines such as, “Canada’s Justin Trudeau tells Israel to end ‘killing of babies’”
Prime Minister Trudeau reiterated his support for Israel during a call with an Israeli cabinet minister, but continued to attack Israel’s efforts on Friday. The Prime Minister appears to be willing to play both sides of this conflict—evidently forgetting that one side is a self-proclaimed terrorist organization.
Read More: The Canadian Press, “Netanyahu rebukes Trudeau on social media for criticizing Israel over civilian casualties”
Alberta School Board Trustee Removed Over Anti-LGBTQ Social Media Post
The Story: Red Deer Regional Catholic School Board trustee Monique LaGrange, known as an opponent of progressive ideology, has been removed from office by a vote of the Board. The Board justified the removal by citing a meme LaGrange had posted comparing LGBTQ indoctrination of children to Nazi indoctrination of children. LaGrange’s lawyer is appealing the removal in court.
Elsewhere, in Saskatchewan, dozens of teachers have signed an anonymous letter stating their refusal to follow a recently passed law that requires parental notification for childhood pronoun changes. Alex Schmidt, the only teacher named in the letter, has not yet faced disciplinary action.
Finally, in a now-deleted video rant, social media influencer and Ontario high school teacher Frank Cirinna describes how he talks about “Marxism,” “LGBTQ history,” and other left-wing issues in his class—going on to state that “teachers essentially have the right to teach whatever they think is beneficial to their students.”
The Significance: Although social conservatives have won significant educational victories in recent months, these are only the first step in a long fight against an empty and godless ideology quickly spreading through Canada’s educational institutions. Once again, Christians should seize the opportunity to engage in local politics in order to ensure that school boards in places like rural Alberta do not reflect the values of downtown Toronto.
We also must realize that our part in the broader cultural battle is only getting started. Nurses are facing disciplinary action for believing in biological sex, female athletes are being banned for opposing men in their sports, and Kindergarten students are being taught to blame white people for all the world’s ills.
We must also remember, however, that Christ has already won the ultimate victory over sin and evil, so we must “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12).
Read More: Red Deer Advocate, “Controversial Catholic school board trustee out”
Canada Prepares to Expand Euthanasia to Drug Users
The Story: Canada will expand assisted suicide to drug users beginning in March as a part of its overall strategy to allow assisted death for those struggling with mental illness. Although Health Canada has stated that, “a person cannot refuse all or most treatments and automatically render themselves incurable for the purposes of accessing MAID,” nothing in the current legislation would preclude an individual who has failed drug addiction treatment from requesting and receiving assisted death. Dr. David Martell, a leading physician with Nova Scotia Health told Vice News, “I don’t think it’s fair, and the government doesn’t think it’s fair, to exclude people from eligibility because their medical disorder or their suffering is related to a mental illness. As a subset of that, it’s not fair to exclude people from eligibility purely because their mental disorder might either partly or in full be a substance use disorder. It has to do with treating people equally.”
Elsewhere, a new lawsuit filed by so-called “harm reduction” nurses in British Columbia alleges that BC’s prohibition on the use of hard drugs in public spaces is a violation of drug users’ constitutional rights.
The Significance: Canada’s state-funded deathcare regime continues to aggressively expand the scope of its victims. Ironically, many of the same activists who advocated for the so-called safe-supply and harm reduction policies that have led to the creation of supervised consumption sites across the country—for the sole purpose of keeping drug addicts alive—are now celebrating the expansion of assisted suicide to those same drug addicts. This apparent contradiction reveals the true centre of progressive political doctrine: the self. Life only matters if it is chosen, relationships only have meaning if they are desired, and purpose only exists if it is self-fulfilling. Against this, we must always assert the Christian doctrine that every life has value—regardless of whether or not a person feels that value internally.
Read More: Manisha Krishnan, Vice, “Canada Will Legalize Medically Assisted Dying For Eligible People Addicted to Drugs”
Quick Hits
PornHub Faces Major Lawsuits: Mindgeek (the PornHub parent company now rebranded as Aylo), a corporation that specializes in sexual exploitation for the purpose of pornography, is facing another round of major legal issues. As Canada’s privacy watchdog investigates the company over privacy violations for refusing to remove exploitative videos, a U.S.-based international law firm is suing the company on behalf of over 30 victims of child pornography. Allegations of money laundering are also being pursued by the US Government. Christians should pray that the entire Mindgeek exploitation empire crashes entirely and that the perpetrators of their horrific crimes are brought to justice.
A Truth To Consider