Canada's Dangerous Shift on Religious Freedom | Who Will Stand For What Is Right?
In November 2017, the then NDP government in Alberta passed legislation attempting to require Catholic schools in the province to accept homosexuality and premarital sex, and to ensure all students had the opportunity to join gay-straight alliance clubs hosted within their schools. When outraged Catholic parents from Catholic schools protested that this was a violation of their Catholic school's right to teach Catholic values, they were told that it was unacceptable for them to do so. Non-Catholic Christian Schools were also informed that their right to teach Biblical Values was also at an end. Fast forward to our present day, in December 2024, the then Liberal Government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saw a recommendation brought forward to the House of Commons standing committee on finance to remove the phrase "advancement of religion" as a justification to enable an organization to be deemed a Charitable Entity. This raises the question if freedom of expression and belief is only to be allotted to those who prescribe to the current flavour.
In November 2017, the then NDP government in Alberta passed legislation attempting to force Catholic schools in the province to be accepting of homosexuality and premarital sex, and to ensure all students had the opportunity to join “gay-straight alliance clubs” hosted within their schools. When outraged Catholic parents and school leaders protested this as a violation of the Catholic school system’s right to teach Catholic values, they were informed that it was unacceptable for them to do so.
The Alberta government says it is “unacceptable” for Catholic schools to uphold Church teaching on sexuality in school curriculum. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/alberta-govt-unacceptable-to-uphold-christian-teaching-on-sexuality-in-cath
Non-Catholic Christian private schools were likewise informed that their freedom to teach what they believed were biblical moral values was also at an end, and that LBGTQ ideology would have to be overtly promoted in Christian private education. https://www.albertareformer.ca/suppressing_religious_freedom
It seemed that the parents were no longer deemed fit to teach their children their cultural or religious perspectives. Even though they were not persecuting or interfering with others not of their beliefs, the Christian side of the spectrum would be essentially muzzled from teaching their own children. Shades of totalitarianism.
Fast forward to our present day. In December 2024 the then Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saw a recommendation brought forward to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance to remove the phrase “advancement of religion” as a justification to enable an organization to be deemed a charitable entity. The “Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the 2025 Budget” was then tabled in the House of Commons.
Recommendation 429 of this document would remove charitable status to any organization not supporting abortion rights. Recommendation 430 removes “advancement of religion” as a rationale for a charitable organization.
Thus, we see a major blow being struck against any religious group that does not alter its beliefs and render its conscience void, in order to achieve benefits which are only available to the sitting government’s illiberal and amoral perspective.
It raises the question as to whether freedom of expression and belief is only to be allotted to those who ascribe to the current flavour. What we are seeing is the imposition of an intolerance that will inevitably result in the loss of all levels of freedom to hold a personal belief, as expressing any personal belief that someone on the amoral left disagrees with can be deemed offensive.
It is worth noting that the freedoms we have long enjoyed in our society are largely residual from the development of laws allowing free expression, even when some opinions are offensive to others. Most of these laws stemmed directly from the development and imposition of freedom of religion, which includes the right to pass such values on to our children.
After World War II, and the horrendous violations of human rights that took place at the hands of the Soviets and Fascists, the nations of the world gathered to form the United Nations, in part as a means of avoiding a repeat of such conflict and loss of human values and rights.
Canada was one of the nations that signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. Please note three clauses that Canada agreed to on that December day 77 years ago.
Article 18 Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19 Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 26.3 Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
We can all hope that sanity will rule in the hearts of elected leaders, that they will see the wisdom of the authors of the UN declaration, and honour the agreement made by our former leaders. Canadians deserve the right to maintain the freedoms that were so hard won and that serve to protect children and adults. We should value the right to freely but respectfully express opinion, and especially moral beliefs which had their origins in the biblical text. These have given us stability, peace and have made this nation a desirable place to live and raise a family.
All that is now at risk. Hopefully, leaders will have the wisdom, foresight, and yes courage to stand for what is morally right and ultimately beneficial for this land.