Arpad Nagy's blog

Pilgrimages are not only a testament to personal devotion, but also an embodiment of the spiritual values QLC upholds. In order to build a Christian society that respects faith, family, and life from conception to natural death, I want to bring to you today a little testimony of a journey together in prayer and penance. Our Lady of the Cape, known for her miraculous interventions, helps remind us of the sacredness of life in the simple Quebec society of the 19th century. This to me resonates to many of the challenges we face in society today.

The 100 pilgrims set off early on the Saturday morning. They just attended mass, ate a quick breakfast, took down their tents, and were off with the rising sun. They were following the statues of our Lady and of Saint Joseph, and carrying banners and a light backpack for the day.

Photo: Pilgrims leaving early in the morning. Source: A.N.

Mgr. Francis Leo, in his open letter to all members of our federal parliament, exhorted them to vote in favour of a bill that would put additional restrictions on sexually explicit materials (pornography) in order to protect minors. This open letter on Bill S-210 is not inconsequential. This can provide a framework on how churches can not only coexist with our current political system but influence it as well.

To read Mgr. Leo's letter, click here.

In this situation, a high prelate of the Catholic Church has voiced his opinion on public policy. He brought his opinion, informed by the teaching of the Catholic Church, and made it clear for all to see in society, and specifically addressing the decision makers of our land. He voiced his opinion on a bill that is going through the House of Commons—and in fact, not only did he share his thoughts, but he clearly endorsed the bill.

In his open letter, there are certain things that Mgr. Leo did do and things that he did not do:

This week, I have the privilege of attending the Christian Heritage Party Convention. This 4-day convention is attended by over 75 delegates and over 110 attendees, coming from all parts of the country. There are eight participants from the province of Quebec, including four candidates and former candidates.

One thing that you may not know is that the Christian Heritage Party is one of the older federal parties in Canada, established in 1986. Since the very beginning, the CHP has been 100% pro-life. On top of their perfect pro-life position, the CHP has a well-developed policy book, addressing all aspects of governance. During this convention, the delegates are voting on over 50 new or amended policies.

Of particular note, the delegates will be voting on:

• Numerous environmental policies that intend to lay a strong foundation to securing a bright future for future generations,
• Several educational policies that intend to provide a framework to the rights of parents and students without encroaching of provincial jurisdiction,
• Several healthcare policies to better protect the rights of patients and healthcare workers, also with respect to provincial jurisdiction,
• Policies on Artificial Intelligence, euthanasia, justice, omnibus bill, United Nations membership and many more.

The theme of this convention is based on Nehemiah 2:18-20. After the Babylonian exile and the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, Nehemiah, a cupbearer to the Persian king, also returns. Upon his return, he assesses the desolate state of the walls of Jerusalem and rallies the people to rebuild the walls. As such, the speakers of this convention have been encouraging the attendees to also get up and build, given the pitiful state of Canada today.

The spirit of the convention is joyful and hopeful. The plenary sessions have been very productive, and most resolutions thus far have been passed with overwhelming support.

I will be here until the closing of the convention on Thursday. If you want to tune in to the convention, you are in luck. For the first time, most sessions are being live-streamed. You can tune it by visiting: https://chpconvention.ca/live.The leader's address will be on Wednesday evening at 7pm.

More to come next week!

Stuck is a one-stop shop when it comes to pro-life apologetics based on the human rights argument. It does not bring anything new to the table, but draws from already developed pro-life arguments by people such as Scott Klussendorf, Randy Alcorn and Stephanie Gray. The Canadian Centre for Bio-ethical Reform, or CCBR for short, has tested all of the arguments in this volume on the street in one-on-one conversations, and has found great success in swaying people’s mind on abortion. 

In this volume, the main argument presented is the human rights argument against abortion. Everything falls back to the simple idea that all members of the human family should have the same inherent dignity and basic rights. The importance of the human rights argument is that in our ever-increasing secular world, faith-based arguments are much less accepted by people than human right based arguments. Whatever your faith background, it is good to be able to reason with people with little understanding or skepticism about a spiritual reality.

Stuck is broken down into chapters that address the main topics in abortion apologetics:

—In the circumstances chapter, you’ll learn how to respond to the argument that the child is not wanted or that the mother is not ready.
—In the personhood chapter, you’ll examine why a pre-born child is as much a person as a born child. 
—It’s my body chapter will examine bodily autonomy, totally debunking the catchy slogan. 
—The hard cases chapters will look at how to respond to cases of incest, rape, and where the life of the mother is in danger.
—The abortion procedure chapter gives thorough explanations on the different abortion is being practised today.
—The perspectives chapter talks about being considerate to people’s situation and bringing the right approach. One method doesn’t fit all. 

A proven methodology presented in this book is the common ground, analogy, question method, and all apologetics arguments can fall back on this easy three-step method. 

Stuck will also suggest extra resources, give examples of dialogues, and prompt you to do activities. 

About the Author: Justina Van Manen started doing pro-life outreach at the age of 14 and then joined CCBR as a volunteer, and then as an intern. As a graduate from Redeemer University with a Bachelor in English, she has continued her work with CCBR as well as continued to work on her second university degree. She works for CCBR as a speaker and as communications director. Stuck came out in 2019, and can be found for sale on the CCBR website or on amazon (for a Kindle version). Justina’s 2nd book on embryo adoption came out in 2022.

Voting: What the Church Actually Teaches—Explaining the Faith (youtube.com)

By Fr. Chris Alar, MIC.

In this presentation, Fr. Chris Alar explains how church teaching informs Catholics when voting.

I believe that the principles presented in this video are also of great value for people of other denominations or faith background. But especially for Catholics, it is important to know that the Catholic Church has something to say about informing our conscience and in voting.

Fr. Chris Alar gave this presentation leading up to the 2020 American federal election. As we are in Quebec, Canada, our system of government is different than that of our neighbors to the south, and certain things in the presentation must be adapted for our Canadian reality. For example, in the USA, electors will vote directly for their president, whereas in Canada, we vote for the member of parliament who will represent us in federal parliament. We will not be voting for Trudeau or Poilievre or Singh—their names will not be seen on the ballot unless you live in their riding. Also, this presentation presents the material as if there were two main options. Here in the Canadian political realm, there are several major and minor political parties to consider when voting. Apart from differences as such, I find this talk very pertinent to our Canadian reality. 

Fr. Alar opens his talk by explaining that although the Church does not endorse political parties or candidates, “It is a part of the Church's mission "to pass moral judgments even in matters related to politics, whenever the fundamental rights of man or the salvation of souls requires it. The means, the only means, she may use are those which are in accord with the Gospel and the welfare of all men according to the diversity of times and circumstances.” — CCC2246. Priests have an obligation to promote the common good in society and also have a duty to the faithful in equipping them with tools to properly form their conscience in all aspects of life.

Forming one’s conscience is one of the important points of this presentation. Not only is it of importance for our own salvation, but it should also lay a path as a guide in public decision making. Catholics are to change the thinking of political leaders with the tools of our faith. It is the job of priests to give us those tools. A properly formed conscience should also guide our choice of affiliation and implication in a political party, as well as voting choice.

One important fact that is emphasized throughout the video is that Catholics are not to be single-issue voters. We do need to consider every policy of a candidate, since many things make up the common good, not only abortion. For example, the economy, healthcare and immigration all play a role in creating a stable society and promote the common good. Fr. Alar quotes Pope Francis in Evangelium Gaudium, that “personal moral character is not unimportant, but it is the stated commitment to public policy in keeping with the common good which is the most significant factor.”

What it is important to note here is that not all issues are equal in importance. Many things are good for some bad for others. These are open to debate. We can call these “negotiables.” A certain tax may be good for some but bad for others. A certain immigration policy may be good for some, but bad for others. Other things are always bad. Things that are intrinsic evils are always bad. Thus, when intrinsic evils influence public policy, these things are considered non-negotiable. It is important to note that while a candidate may commit mortal sins in his or her private life, it is the three non-negotiables according to the Catholic Church that are related to public policy that make that candidate worthy or unworthy of public office.

According to the Catholic Church, these are the three non-negotiables a Catholic must consider when voting for a candidate. They are:

1. Protection of life at all stages, from conception to natural death (abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning)
2. Sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman
3. Preservation of religious liberty

All other policies would be considered negotiable. And since we are not to be single-issue voters, we do need to consider all as important, but some as more important. Since non-negotiables are never acceptable, how a candidate stands on these three non-negotiables is the test of whether they are worthy to stand in public office. A perfect candidate must align with the three non-negotiables. The important thing to note here is that we cannot mix apples and oranges. We must make a deliberate analysis based on non-negotiables first, and only after consider the negotiables. Fr. Alar recommends that we should take these steps to vote for each office:

1-determine how each candidate stands on the non-negotiables.

2-rank candidates on non-negotiables

3-give preference to candidates that don’t oppose these principles

4-where every candidate endorses positions contrary to non-negotiables, choose the one that is the least harmful

5- if these issues are equal, then evaluate on negotiables.

If there is a viable option, we have an obligation to vote. Fr. Alar explains well in his talk of what we should do to compare candidates that agree with one of the non-negotiables, but not all three. He also expands on the obligation of voting and the rare circumstances where not voting may be an option.

Throughout this presentation, Fr. Alar often clarifies that he is not sharing his personal opinions, but the teaching of the Catholic Church. He draws from numerous resources, including (but not limited to):

Moral duties of voting, What is intrinsic Evil by George Jay, Catechism of the Catholic Church, Voters guide for serious Catholics, Vote pro-life by Tom Hoopes, Catholic and Civil Witness, Election year issues NCR, “Catholics in Political Life” (General Secretary, USCCB), Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: the US bishops’ reflection on Catholic teaching and political life 2015, 2019.

I encourage every Catholic to intently listen through this presentation found here on YouTube. In this blog entry, I have only skimmed through the major points of the presentation, and as people of faith, it is crucial to understand how our faith intertwines with our political implication. If we are to be faithful Catholics, it is an obligation to be a faithful Catholic in all departments of life. Fr. Alar has provided us with a clear guide based in the teachings of the Catholic Church in terms of voting.

(Pour lire cet article en français, clickez ici)

A federal by-election is about to be called in the riding of Lasalle-Émard-Verdun on the island of Montreal, following the resignation of former Justice Minister David Lametti. We met with a pro-life candidate who has decided to run in this by-election. Alain Paquette will be representing the Christian Heritage Party (CHP), and the date of this election will take place no later than September 16, 2024. This week, we had the opportunity to ask Mr. Paquette several questions. Here are his answers:

(This interview has been translated from French).

QLC: “Why did you decide to go into politics?”

AP “I answered a call to defend pro-life values politically. I was already active with other commitments, like writing to MPs and signing petitions. Up until now, I’ve remained in my individual comfort zone, but when I was asked about getting involved, I said ‘present’. And then I did the rounds and saw how I was to get involved. Since abortion was my main battle horse, I said I had to go to the federal level to change legislation, not the municipal or provincial levels.

Last year, I had the privilege to meet Arnold Viersen and we started talking more in-depth about politics, and his work to defend life in parliament really seemed exceptional. Around that time, I realized that the MP in my riding of Bourassa was promoting abortion rights in his home country of Haiti, where abortion is actually illegal. So my own MP was working against the right to life and against the laws of another country. I did my own research and the CHP represented the values I stood for the most, and I said to myself that is where I must go. That’s where I became a member and eventually raised my hand to become a candidate. I was planning to run as a candidate in Bourassa, but the CHP was looking for a candidate for the Lasalle-Émard-Verdun by-election and I answered the call.

This fulfills my desire to spread the good news and, above all, to allow people who have no other choice [to be able to vote pro-life]. Also, I want to go further in this, not just to be a pro-life on the ballot, but also to gather people to join the movement [of the CHP]. We’re moving in the right direction to defend the most vulnerable against the three scourges [in Canadian society], which are abortion, medical aid in dying and irreversible transgender surgery—scourges that must be reversed. These are my three main battle horses.”

QLC: “For you, what does it mean to be pro-life?”

AP: “Being pro-life means defending life from the moment of conception. Being a woman should be pro-life, because it’s women who generate life. The church defends the dignity of women, even in Mary—after all, [for Catholics] she’s the Queen of Heaven. The church sees Mary as the highest creature—only God is superior, so we magnify the one who replaced Eve, since she gave us our Lord, who was also born as a child—He who satisfied us all, delivered us, healed us and ascended to heaven with his body and soul. So, if we follow Jesus [we must believe that] life was made to be lifted up to heaven and not to be thrown away. For me, being pro-life means following ‘life’ in Christ.”

QLC: “You mentioned Mary. I assume that means you are Catholic. Does the CHP represent a specific Christian denomination or many?”

AP “[In the CHP], all denominations are present. Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ as our savior and has Christian values—Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican. Catholics are also part of the equation, and so I’m one of them. Of course, I’m more Marian than most others in the party, but it’s a party where prayer to God is important for all its members. [But for Catholics], the rosary of the unborn child is something [around which] every Catholic should rally. Our Lady gave us the rosary of the unborn and then as Jesus said in an apparition in 2006, we should use it as a nuclear weapon against legalized abortion.

Also, when you join [the CHP] as a member, you have to make a profession of faith. You then have the opportunity to get involved in the party and also to become a candidate to defend these values. You can always be sure that a CHP candidate is completely pro-life. He can only be someone who gives his all to defend [life] and to be a faithful advocate of the cause.”

QLC: “Why are Christian values necessary for the good governance of the country?”

AP: "Because we put the good news to good use. The word of God [which says] ‘love your neighbour as yourself,’ and ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ So, if we apply the maxim, we really are a salt to put the moral basis of society back into a perspective of peaceful, sanctifying life for all. So if we go in the direction of God’s word, then we’re really in a perspective where we’re going to favour the virtues rather than the misguidedness of sin. [In society], we’ve lost a bit of the sense of sin and the sense of immortal life. We act as if we weren’t accountable for our actions. As He says, ‘to whom much has been entrusted, more will be demanded.’ So, if we’re going to apply things that are diabolical, to kill the life we’ve been entrusted with, we’re not the faithful stewards we should be.

So, the treasure entrusted to us—at that point, if our personal freedom gives free rein to murder, it’s completely reprehensible. Of course, God’s mercy is great, but we can’t just wash our hands of it either. To help [to abort] is completely diabolical. If we violate [our conscience] for our freedom, we can put to death the vulnerable child who is there, who has been entrusted to us, our own flesh in the end. We have to protect women from what they believe is a way of saving their careers, their reputations, their friends or preventing their social lives from being disrupted. We need to save them all, the mother and the child too. We need their children, their families, because we can also solve the immigration problem by saving all the children. Through adoption, through material aid, by putting state resources at the service of a parental support program, we prevent women from mourning—because it’s not simply a bundle of flesh that’s left behind, it’s a complete being with feelings and a perception of what’s going on. You have to see it as a whole being. So if you cut it off, it brings mourning—you can say you’ve become free, but on the contrary, you’ve really bringing forth a funeral of a heart… Above all, we need to intervene to legislate so that unborn children become full-fledged legal beings—not to penalize women, but on the contrary, to help them—and I’m sure they’ll feel indebted later when they see that the child has changed their lives for the better and is a grace and a support.

We weren’t born in a place we chose, or to parents we chose, or at a time we chose, but why are we here? Because we had a mission to accomplish, and we have to see things from that perspective. What the Christian Heritage Party is really going to do is prevent […] these murders from being paid for by the public purse. We also want to save doctors and nurses from being hired killers—we want to free them and regenerate their denomination to its best foundations. We wonder why there’s a shortage of family doctors when doctors are forced to perform abortions and euthanasia against their moral judgment. We also need to save our children from transgender ideology—we need to put the catechism back in school rather than these ‘casino shows.’ In the whole culture, too—we need to remove violence and legislate that child abuse be replaced by a supportive environment. We want to put forward a regenerated culture that is rooted in the beauty of creation and life."

QLC: “Professionally, what do you do for a living? What have you done in the past?”

AP “I’m retired now. In the past, I did many things—after my studies, I worked in general insurance. For over five years, I worked for several companies, including here in Lasalle […] I worked in other fields. I worked for Bell, I even patrolled for Star Choice in Verdun—selling satellite plans. I was a customer service representative for Bell Canada, and I also did a bit of trucking and delivery. As an experiment, I started a small company for music publishing and recordings. I lived out this passion, and after that I changed jobs. At one point, I also went into the food industry.”

QLC: “What are the CHP’s other priorities?”

AP: “Among the CHP’s pillars and policies are the economy, obviously, because we can’t live on credit all the time, the family, and also justice. Here in Lasalle, we recently had the Minister of Justice, Lametti. Justice is a determining factor in establishing the right to freedom, the right to expression, but also non-interference in all parental rights. There’s also the right to self-defence, and immigration [policies]. We will establish these predispositions in all spheres of public administration. We’re going to prevent non-resident land purchases, but also [other issues of] homeland security. In all spheres, we will apply the right policies based on the Gospel. We can’t go wrong with [biblical values].”

QLC: “How can people help you with your campaign?”

AP: “Obviously through prayer to begin with. [We’ll need help] to canvass the vote, to encourage new membership [to the CHP] as well. [We need people] who can spread the message that, yes, there is a pro-life option in this election, and that it’s important to go out and witness and vote out of conviction. If you vote for such [another candidate], yes, maybe some [of these candidates] will sell good things, but they won’t advance the fight against the three scourges, which are medical aid to die, abortion and transgender mutilation. We need to take a leap of faith, an act to finally break the ice and vote out of conviction. So [we need] to reach out to people of good will, encourage them to vote, encourage them to get involved as volunteers or to become members and perhaps candidates themselves.

Of course, I also need signatories in the riding support my candidacy—[since Election Canada requires] one hundred people to sign up for my candidacy. We also need those who can contribute financially to my campaign for the printing of our campaign materials. We cannot accept donations directly to my campaign yet—not until the writ is dropped and I become registered—but those who want to help can visit my candidate webpage here: chp.ca/Alain-Paquette.”

QLC: “You’ve talked a lot about abortion. What are your thoughts on Euthanasia in Canada?”

AP: “Completely closed. We have to admit we made a mistake. We opened the valve. These were supposed to be compassionate exceptions. But we don’t even have the manpower to sufficiently elaborate palliative care—everywhere [access to palliative care] is deficient—so [euthanasia] should never be the case. It’s a door that needs to be closed completely, hermetically, therefore, we need the full reversal of medical aid in dying. A bit like Christ, he carried his cross, he went all the way, he even refused the gall he was given as crucified. If we open the door to despair, the world is bound to say: “If it’s decriminalized, if it’s authorized by law, it becomes an acceptable practice”. It’s as if our conscience has been subjugated into accepting the door to despair. So, faith, hope and charity are theological values, and despair is a completely diabolical value. We still need to put in place care to ensure that horrors that have happened recently don’t happen again, where, for example, a patient was there for 10 hours without care, and after that ordeal, he was offered euthanasia. But on the other hand, we are also funding suicide hotlines. You can’t say you’re offered sympathy for your problems, but then you’re offered suicide [for those same problems], and that doesn’t make sense. There has to be balanced justice. You have to keep your nose to the grindstone. The trend is to go further and further into medical aid in dying when, on the contrary, we need to reverse that. We are in favour of medical aid in living. We’re diametrically opposed to what’s being decided everywhere.

QLC: “Thank you so much for answering the call to become a candidate, and for your commitment to defending life from conception to natural death. That’s all the time we have for today. If anyone would like to contact you, or learn more about CHP, how might they do so?”

AP: “For more information on the Christian Heritage Party, visit chp.ca. If you’d like to contact me, you can do so by e-mail—[email protected]. During the election campaign, come do some door-to-door with me [in Lasalle-Émard-Verdun].”

 
Trudeau's MAiD Service
by David Cooke.

In this short volume, David Cooke presents a concise history of euthanasia in Canada. He explains that the 2015 Supreme Court ruling in Carter vs. Canada marked a dangerous departure from centuries of legal and moral principles that protected human life. The subsequent Bill C-14 (in 2016) legalized what was once considered first-degree murder, making some humans “killable.”

Cooke follows with analyzing the further expansion of MAiD to include those with disabilities and mental illness, highlighting the risks to vulnerable individuals in our society as well as the government’s priority in economic savings over providing care for Canadians. He provides a sharp comparison with Nazi Germany’s T4 program.  He also addresses the dangers of subjective criteria for ending someone’s life.

Cooke is a graduate from Toronto’s Baptist Seminary and has worked as a pastor and as a missionary. He currently serves with Campaign Life Coalition, bringing important and insightful insight to pro-life issues across the country. His short 36 page volume can be purchased in English on Amazon for $5.99, and is also available in French on Amazon. Both French and English volumes are also available at our QLC offices.

In an effort to create more English content, we are starting a new project. Each week, we will be highlighting a pro-life resource that we think you should know about. This may be a book, a website, a video, a movie. Throughout the months to come, we will build up a repertoire of useful pro-life material, with a short commentary on each.

Most of our time at Quebec Life coalition has been geared to better serve our francophone supporters. This is natural, since most Quebecers are francophones. In addition to that, in the past few years, we have expanded our reach to many francophones outside of the province of Quebec, as no other pro-life organization creates regular content for francophone Canadians.

But it is also important to note that we have many anglophone supporters who live in Quebec. In addition, we have many anglophones from outside our borders who also support our mission and have a vested interest in advancing the pro-life cause in our province.

As you may imagine, this language situation is one of the main challenges we face. It is a lot of work to do things in two languages, but that is the reality we live in. Sending correspondence to our supporters in their preferred language is important to us. The other main challenge we face is the geography. Quebec is a vast province; Canada is a large country.

We want to create a series of pro-life resources that will be of interest and benefit to all pro-life Canadians. Our French resource series will sadly be more limited, since many pro-life resources are not available in French (yet). We will continue to encourage and support the translation of pro-life books and other materials to better cater to French Canadians.

Here is the first entry in our series, a short volume by David Cooke called “Trudeau’s MAiD Service—a Euthanasia Program for Canada.”

For Life, 
Arpad Nagy

Pour la version française, cliquez ici.

With a federal election looming in 2024 or 2025, all political parties are having contests to determine who their candidates will be. Considering this, I thought it useful for me to share a simple analysis of our federal parties from a pro-life perspective. 

At Quebec Life Coalition, we support pro-life values in all political parties and as such, I’m providing recommendations for each party. In our regular correspondence with you, we write more about certain parties simply because there are more possibilities to advance pro-life values in those parties. If you’re active in a party that we do seldom talk about, please let us know so that we can find better ways to encourage a culture of life in those harder to reach places.

Questions related to who to vote for and other political actions we may take will be addressed in a subsequent blog post. 

Here is my pro-life analysis of our federal parties, presented in the order of the current seat count in our House of Commons:

   Liberal Party of Canada (LPC)—Not too long ago, candidates for the LPC could profess pro-life values. It is only under the current leadership that pro-lifers were barred from becoming candidates for the party. In the past, many Liberal MPs were in fact pro-life and voted pro-life. The current position of the LPC is very hostile to the values of life. The LPC has openly discriminated against people who have pro-life values, notably through the Canada summer jobs attestation and through their promised to defund pro-life pregnancy care centres.

   My analysis: With the radicalization of the LPC in the last decade, and with their likely defeat in the next election, I expect things in the LPC to be shaken up. There will likely be a leadership contest to find a new leader and there will be many nomination races in various ridings to replace defeated MPs. In the coming years, the LPC will have to modify their approach to recapture their diminishing supporter base. This might bring forth possibilities to bring back an openness to pro-life values within the LPC.

   My recommendation: Our supporters who are members of this party have important work ahead of them. With a likely leadership race, it will be important to promote those leadership candidates who are open to values of life. Our supporters who are interested in becoming candidates with the LPC should do so even with the expectation to be rejected. Showing that the pro-life position is a normal position to hold as a Liberal is critical so that we can bring back free votes on our issues within the LPC.

   Conservative party of Canada (CPC) — The Conservative Party is the only party with sitting MPs in parliament who openly advocate for pro-life values. Several MPs from this party have brought forward legislation that encourages an openness to life and have initiated life-centred discussion in the House of Commons, in committees, and in private settings. There are, of course, many pro-choice MPs in this party as well. 

   My analysis: This is the party where we currently have the biggest impact in advancing pro-life values through politics. Currently, all openly pro-life MPs are from this party. In the past decade, this party’s documents have become much more in line with our values. Each convention has brought forth some strong policies or statements that support life and family. This was possible through the involvement of many pro-lifers within the internal political mechanisms of the party.

   My recommendation: I encourage our supporters who are not yet a member of any other political party to maintain an active membership in this party, as it currently has the greatest impact of determining pro-life policies in Canada. I recommend our supporters who are members of this party to attend their local EDA (electoral district association) meetings and to run to be on their local EDA board. If any of our supporters want to be candidates for this party, they will be allowed to run for nominations and should receive fair treatment from the party.

   Bloc Québecois (BQ) — The BQ assembles Quebecers from various political persuasions. There are members of the party that think like liberals, some that think like conservative, some that are even apolitical. What they have in common is that they want to advocate for Quebec interests at the federal level. Quebec Sovereignty is at the heart of their mission.

   My analysis: The BQ votes very consistently against what would be good for Quebecers when it comes to the issues of life. Whereas the membership of the party is varied, their sitting MPs seem to be the most radical of all political parties when it comes to our values. Nevertheless, I am hopeful that an involved membership will be able to redirect the party towards a more reasonable position on life. I expect that the BQ will tune back some of their positions once they start losing ground to parties that are more reasonable on the issues of life, but this is unlikely to happen in the near future.

   My recommendation: Any of our supporters that are members of the BQ should stand strong. Keep encouraging the party to be more pro-life, and promote life-friendly candidates for positions within the party administration. Any of our supporters who want to become a candidate for the BQ should expect heavy resistance from the party administration.

   New Democratic Party (NDP) — The NDP is the party that advocates for the working class. They are strongly in favour of unions and stick their neck out for the little guy by creating a strong social net in our society. Recently, the NDP has embraced certain ideologies that are drastically opposed to our values of life. Nevertheless, there are some places where we may agree. For example, all of the NDP MPs recently voted in favour of stopping the expansion of euthanasia.

   My analysis: There is potential for advancing the values of life within the NDP. The NDP has a natural tendency to increase the social net for those in need. Since many of our supporters are active in their communities where they put their pro-life values into action, there is real potential to network with well-intentioned people within the NDP to further help the vulnerable and marginalized. In regard to the direction of the NDP, I expect the modern elements of the party to put up a strong fight against the values of life. This might come to their detriment as a large part of the Canadian electorate is looking for a more balanced approach.

   My recommendation: I encourage our supporters who are a member of this party to keep voicing their position on life as a normal position to hold. Your involvement may be crucial to bring back a respect for life within the NDP. If any of our members want to be candidates for the NDP, they should expect heavy resistance.

   Green Party (GP)— The Green Party’s main purpose is to advocate for a certain type of environmental policy and social justice The GP has been able to elect a very select few MPs in federal parliament. Because of this, they are able to chime in and challenge the other political parties on their areas of interest.

   My analysis: Many of the core values of the GP may seem reasonable, but when it comes to converting them into policies, the GP is not aligned with our position on the issues of life. I expect the GP to grow in popularity as the name of their party is very much in line with the push for radical environmental policies in Canada.

   My recommendation: Any of our supporters who are members of this party should expect a hard time promoting the values of life. As this is a smaller party, there might be opportunities to have a bigger influence in certain areas through this party.

   People’s party (PPC) — The PPC was born out of disagreements within the Conservative Party. It has become a party that strongly advocates for our rights and freedoms, and the party leader openly welcomes pro-lifers to become candidates for the party. Although he is not 100% pro-life, this party leader, who was a former cabinet minister, has openly called for a debate on abortion. The PPC has been gaining popularity but they don’t hold any seats in our parliament.

   My analysis: The polls indicate that the PPC will not win any seats in the next election. If they did, they would prove to be a strong voice for the values of life in our federal parliament. Even without having elected MPs, the PPC is instrumental in challenging the Conservative Party to be more in line with the values of life.

   My recommendation: Our supporters who are members of the PPC should become more involved within the party. Participation in EDAs (electoral district associations) is key to keeping the party on track in terms of pro-life values. If any of our supporters have an interest in being a candidate for the PPC, they should expect to be fully welcomed in participating in the nomination process.  

   Christian Heritage Party (CHP)—the CHP is the only federal party that is fully pro-life and requires all their candidates to be pro-life. The CHP only gets a few percentages of the votes in the ridings where they field candidates. Last federal election, they only had 25 candidates out of the 338 federal ridings.

   My analysis: Even though the CHP has had very little success in terms of the number of candidates and in the number of votes, their influence will certainly increase if the number of their candidates increases. Whereas the core values of other parties may fluctuate, the biblical foundation of the CHP will ensure that the party will not shift with each social or political wind.

   My recommendation: Any of our supporters that want to be a direct witness to their values but otherwise do not have any serious political ambition should become a candidate for the CHP. This is a relatively low time and energy commitment. Being the pro-life and Christian name on the ballot in your riding would give a clear pro-life option on the ballot to the roughly 75,000 electors in your riding.

  United Party of Canada (UP)— An honorable mention goes to a new party that has every indication of fully promoting pro-life values. The leader of this party ran for leadership of another federal party in 2022 and was disqualified, and questions were raised regarding the grounds of the disqualification. The leader ran as the first (fully pro-life) candidate for UP in a recent by-election but received only 0.73% of the vote. 

   My analysis: Many of our supporters have often had a difficult time to find a party that is both successful and fully in line with their values. UP has the potential to grow into the party that fits this important need. 

   My recommendation: Any of our supporters who do not see themselves involved with other parties should reach out to UP. As this is a new political party, they will be looking for people to take on the vision of UP in your riding as candidates or as supporters.

Other political Parties: Many other political parties exist in Canada, but for the scope of this email, I will not go into them. Through quick research, their pro-life stance should be easily determined by looking at their website.

I hope this has provided you with some insight about how the values of life can mix with our different federal parties.

In future blog posts, I will expand on the value of the different political actions that we may choose to take. Have you ever asked yourself the following questions?

• Why should I vote if I don’t trust the system?
• Should pro-life candidates always be open about their pro-life position?
• Why should I be a member of a political party?
• What are the most impactful things I can do to advance pro-life through politics?
• How can I best help a pro-life candidate?
• Are there even any pro-life candidates in Canada and in Quebec?
• Should the values of life be the only criteria for our political actions?

In future blog posts, I will be addressing these questions and many more politics and pro-life related themes. Stay tuned in!

Arpad Nagy
Director of political operations

I am currently writing to you from Budapest, the capital of Hungary. This coming Sunday, I will have the privilege to go to Paris to represent the Canadian Pro-Life movement at the 2024 Paris March for Life. Like at our Canadian National March for life, thousands of pro-lifers will gather for a beautiful public rally in defence of the lives of pre-born children! I will also have the privilege of inviting francophones from other countries to our first ever Quebec march for life happening in Quebec City on Saturday, June 1st!

During my time at the March for Life in Paris, I will have the opportunity to strengthen our ties to pro-life groups from many francophone countries. In these modern times, our ideological opposition has been very good in building a worldwide network that promotes abortion, euthanasia, LGBT and other anti-family and anti-faith ideas. We must do our own networking, but for good, not for evil.

I am also spending some time in Hungary. Hungary has of late brought forward some of the best life, family and faith policies in the world! I will spend several days networking with pro-life politicians and individuals here in Hungary. We hear a lot of talk about Hungary, both in pro-life and in conventional news, and I would like to explore what life is really like on the ground. Of particular interest to me is Hungary’s family policies. Hungary has been able, through sound fiscal and social policy, to slow the plummeting of the marriage rate and birth rate that has been plaguing most western countries.

Not unlike what we are facing in Quebec, Hungary has faced important questions related to identity, immigration, Christianity, and the survival of our subsequent generations, and Hungary has provided a way forward. I intend to explore the things that Hungary does well, things that perhaps could be implemented in Canada and in Quebec, in order to encourage changes that will better respect all life as well as honour our Lord Jesus Christ.  

We need your support so that we can continue in this important work—both in finances as well as in prayer. Our ideological opposition is very well financed, but we have recourse to people of good will, people who are also interceding to the Lord for the continuation of our mission. If you have not had the chance to contribute financially to our work recently, I invite you to do so today. Help us start this new year strong! If you have not included QLC to your regular prayer intentions, please do so as well!

I want to give a special thanks to my relatives in Hungary, as well some of our other pro-life collaborators in Canada and abroad who are helping with my lodging when I am working away from home. This helps enormously at keeping our costs low and in maximizing what we can accomplish with your donations.

Arpad Nagy

P.S. I had the privilege or attending church yesterday in the historic Hermina Chapel in Budapest. Here is a photo: