Alberta Bans Transgender Surgery for Minors, Protects Women’s Sports
The Story: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith Announced Wednesday that her Government will introduce legislation to ban transgender surgeries for all minor aged children, ban hormone therapy for children under 16, and prohibit biological men from participating in women-only sporting events. Premier Smith also announced that her Government will require all sex-related school content to receive approval from the Province’s Minister of Education. Additionally, Alberta teachers will be unable to include any sex-related content in classroom lessons until they have received parental approval. The announced measures are among the strongest anti-gender ideology, pro-parental rights policies in the entire Western world.
The Significance: One year ago, almost no Canadian politician had publicly spoken against the dangers of transgender ideology. One year later, two provinces (New Brunswick and Saskatchewan) have strengthened parental rights policies and a third (Alberta) has introduced a full ban on transgender surgeries for minor-aged children. The cultural turnaround on gender confusion has been nothing short of miraculous. As we celebrate this victory, two principles should be remembered.
First, our prayers are not in vain. Although Premier Smith had previously evaded some gender ideology questions and provided unsatisfactory answers to others, she is now one of the world’s strongest defenders of children against the evils of gender ideology. Her courage should be praised and we should not discount the role of Christian prayer in her recent boldness on this issue. Let us remember to always labour in prayer for our elected officials—confident that God has the power to change the heart of every man and woman, even those who dwell deep in the halls of power.
Second, no ideology—however forceful or popular—is able to change the unchanging reality that we live in God’s world and operate according to God’s design. Attempts to destroy the bodies of young children in the name of liberation have shocked countless Canadians and awakened their consciences to the timeless truth that boys are boys and girls are girls. As a result, many Canadians who willingly approved the beginnings of the LGBTQ revolution have now abandoned the movement in its latest stages. Christians now have an opportunity to demonstrate how Canada’s departure from Christian sexual ethics has weakened men, shattered women, and victimized children. More joyfully, we have the opportunity to proclaim the good news that, although sin—and often sexual sin—has deeply infected every single Canadian, there is redemption in the blood of Jesus.
Read More: Danielle Smith, X, “My message to all Albertans”
Federal Government Postpones Assisted Suicide Expansion Until 2027
The Story: Federal Health Minister Mark Holland has announced that his Liberal Government will introduce legislation to postpone the planned expansion of assisted suicide to mentally ill Canadians until 2027. Minister Holland and Justice Minister Arif Virani cited the provinces’ need for more time to prepare for the planned expansion. The Liberals’ plan to expand euthanasia to mentally ill individuals has come under increased scrutiny amid intense pressure from the public and the Conservative opposition.
The Significance: This is a monumental victory in the fight for life in Canada. As with the transgender movement, the push for assisted suicide began as a “compassionate” attempt to help those suffering from incurable, terminal illnesses. At the time, a few politicians warned that the new assisted suicide regime would not be satisfied with limiting its victims to those facing imminent death. Sadly, the sober predictions of these politicians have been realized, and euthanasia is now offered to persons who are suffering from disabilities—including disabilities such as “hearing loss.”
Assisted suicide is now Canada’s fifth-leading cause of death, cutting lives short and teaching Canadians that life is worthless in the absence of health. The extreme nature of Canada’s assisted suicide regime has convinced many politicians and citizens that expanding assisted suicide to those struggling with depression and other mental ailments is a line that cannot be crossed. Even recently, the Liberals had insisted on maintaining the proposed expansion. However, the public’s changing sentiment could no longer be ignored.
Christians living in democratic societies should understand that they bear responsibility for the actions of the governments they elect. This responsibility includes using political pressure as a weapon against the expansion of evil and clearly explaining the content of God’s law to their elected representatives. Speaking of God’s law, our nation willingly violated that law by allowing the legalization of assisted suicide. By his grace, he has stopped the further expansion of this evil. His kindness is unending.
Read More: The Canadian Press, “Expanded assisted dying eligibility on pause until after next federal election: health minister”
New Brunswick Abortion Clinic Shuts Down
The Story: Clinic 554, a Fredericton, New Brunswick, abortion clinic, has announced that it will permanently stop performing abortions after failing to receive funding from the Government of New Brunswick. Clinic 554 opened in 2015 but has not received public health funding due to New Brunswick’s decades-old policy against funding abortions in private clinics. In 2020, the clinic threatened closure and launched a public pressure campaign against the New Brunswick government. As a result, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the Federal Government would seek to reduce the amount of New Brunswick’s health transfer unless the province began funding abortions at the clinic. New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has continually refused to fund the clinic, however, and, in 2023, Health Minister Mark Holland indicated that the Federal government would not pursue legal action against the province—effectively ending Clinic 554’s bid for provincial funding.
The Significance: When the political stand-off between Premier Higgs and Prime Minister Trudeau began, the Federal Government remained popular and had continually won elections on an aggressively pro-abortion platform. The reduced healthcare funding threatened to anger Premier Higgs’ constituents. He remained steadfast, however, and refused to back down to preserve his own political fortunes—saving the lives of many preborn children in the process.
Premier Higgs’ courageous stand for life also dispels the myth that provincial politicians cannot meaningfully fight abortion at the provincial level. Although the legality of abortion can only be altered by Parliament, the funding and regulation of abortion are both controlled by the provincial legislatures. As a result, every provincial government in Canada has the opportunity to remove abortion funding, require parental consent for abortions, mandate waiting periods prior to an abortion appointment, and countless other opportunities to limit the number of abortions in their jurisdiction. Pursuing these opportunities should be a fundamental priority for every provincial government.
In addition to becoming the first Premier in Canada to publicly oppose unchecked gender ideology, Premier Higgs has consistently stood for life. He is a good Premier, a better man, and a stalwart defender of life without whom some New Brunswick children would now be dead. Our nation may not deserve good leadership but, by God’s grace, he has chosen to give it to New Brunswick. To Him alone be the glory.
Read More: The Western Standard, Lee Harding, “New Brunswick abortion clinic closes due to financial pressures and less demand”
Audit: Majority of ArriveCAN Contractors Did Nothing
The Story: According to a new audit, 76% of contractors on the Liberal Government’s COVID-era border enforcement app, ArriveCAN, did “not perform any work” on the project. The audit, completed by the Procurement Ombudsman, showed that contractors repeatedly and dramatically overstated the resources required to complete a task. This adds to a growing list of scandals surrounding the app, including cover-up allegations made by the former Director of the CBSA, preferential treatment in the bidding process, contractors who say they neither worked on the app nor received funds, and the discovery that the project’s primary contractor is only two people. The boondoggle ballooned the cost of the app from an original budget of $80,000 to a final cost of over $54 million dollars. The scandal is expected to grow, as the RCMP and Auditor General are conducting their own investigations.
The Significance: The scale of the ArriveCAN scandal is unprecedented in Canadian history. The Harper-era Duffy Affair accounted for over $90,000 in improper expense claims, while the infamous Chretien-era Sponsorship Scandal, which resulted in multiple convictions, was over a “mere” $3 million—18 times less than ArriveCAN’s $54 million. In any other time, this would define the Trudeau era, but now it simply joins the seemingly unending list of scandals.
This kind of public corruption does not suddenly happen. It is emboldened by previous misbehaviour and a corrupted moral framework—in this case, a mandate to create an app which would scapegoat a subset of Canadians for political gain. In the panic of COVID, government officials, contractors, and everyone else involved simply expected to get away with stealing millions from the public. But like the corrupt wheat sellers in the prophecy of Amos, they will face their judgement.
And the worse part? The $54 million app never even worked.
Read More: Tristin Hopper, The National Post, “Shocking internal report into ArriveCan finds shoddy bids, nonexistent contractors”
Toronto Pride Forced to Repay Government Grants
The Story: Pride Toronto will be forced to repay $505,000 after they never completed the projects for which they received the funding.
The organization’s previous board had evaded scrutiny and even claimed that an investigation had cleared them of wrongdoing. However, a recent study revealed that the majority of the initiatives were either never completed or, in some cases, not even attempted.
The Significance: There is no surprise that an organisation focused on pride displays narcissistic habits. Toronto Pride has continually shown that they believe they know better than everyone, including the average Canadian whose tax dollars fund these grants in the first place.
This is an organisation that banned police officers from marching with them, but still demand police security for their displays of debauchery. In fact, a majority of the funds they misappropriated were intended to go toward initiatives that would improve relations with police, but instead the organization pocketed the money and maintained the bans.
To be clear, Christians should not be outraged that the money was not used to efficiently spread the message of a Pride organization. However, they should be fully aware that these organizations are receiving millions of dollars in taxpayer funds. Groups that put so much of their efforts into campaigning for drag queen story hour, pronoun enforcement, and public displays of sexuality are inappropriate by any standard—let alone a Christian one.
Accountability for Toronto Pride’s misuse of funds is a good step. Ending public grants for such organisations would be better.
Read More: Sue-Ann Levy, True North, “Pride Toronto cashed grant cheques without delivering on its promises”
Quick Hits
Misconduct allegations over Ontario doctor’s Covid-19 social media posts dropped: The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) has officially dropped charges against an Ontario doctor over social media posts regarding Covid-19 public health measures. Dr. Jean Marc Benoit had been accused by the CPSO of conduct that was “disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional” for his posts criticizing lockdown harms, conflicts of interest, and vaccine injuries. Regardless of whether or not people agree with the doctor’s comments, the precedent that doctors should be allowed to freely offer their thoughts on public health measures is surely a good thing.
Read More: The Democracy Fund, “Ontario doctor has allegations of misconduct over his COVID-19 social media posts withdrawn by the CPSO”
CUPE funds antisemitic propaganda: CUPE 3903, representing the staff of York University, allegedly used union dues to fund an anti-Israel and antisemitic document entitled “A Toolkit on Teaching Palestine.” The document instructs union members to refuse “business as usual” and instead disrupt York’s administration. The document also claims that Israel is a colonialist state currently committing genocide and that York University is complicit. As evidence, the paper points to York allowing the Jewish student organization Hillel to operate on campus.
Read More: B.J. Dichter, The National Telegraph, “Union Dues Fund Extremist Propaganda At Canadian Universities”
A Truth To Consider
