News

I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that most of the callers asking for pregnancy support the Quebec Life Coalition receives are from women. however, on occasion, we do get the occasional call from a man.

The Quebec government plans to authorize advance euthanasia requests for people with serious illnesses, such as Alzheimer's, as early as this fall, even though the Canadian government has not amended the Criminal Code to allow such a thing.

On June 7, 2023, Quebec passed a law authorizing advance requests for euthanasia, but the law has not yet come into force. Now Quebec is talking about “moving forward”, citing a broad “consensus” among the Quebec population in the face of Ottawa's inertia on the issue.

It is to be feared that if Ottawa (all too happy, no doubt, to refrain from prohibiting in an area where it has itself had to temporarily step back) lets Quebec do as it did in 2015, other provinces will follow suit and override the Criminal Code, to the great detriment of vulnerable people. (Read our article about this development, here)

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We held our annual corn roast last Saturday, despite a little rain. Like every year, we were delighted to meet our supporters and discuss a variety of topics with them.

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In case you missed it, our colleague Arpad Nagy, director of political operations for Quebec Life Coalition, was in Hamilton participating in the Christian Heritage Party convention. At QLC, we're looking for ways to help this 100% pro-life party to make inroads in Quebec. Read Arpad's report here.

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Below, you will find information on our upcoming events. Of special interest is the upcoming Life Chain on October 6th, because it is a simple opportunity for everyone to get involved. We are currently setting up our life chain locations, and if you are interested in helping out, please reach out to us!

By Brian Jenkins (Quebec Life Coalition) — Photo : StockPhotoPro/Adobe Stock

Many of you may not be aware that the Quebec Life Coalition operates a “pregnancy support service.”

The quotation marks are added to draw attention that we do more than helping young ladies who are experiencing hardship during their pregnancies. Yes, we do the latter but over the years this service has embraced to include mothers of newborns as well to support post-abortive women live with their irreversible decisions. Here are a few examples.

We met Danielle this past May 2024. She called us after having seen our internet notice asking whether we could purchase a bed for her. She had been sleeping on the floor in her apartment and as her pregnancy progressed, it was becoming ever more uncomfortable. So, on a Saturday afternoon, we met and walked over to a retailer not too far from her apartment. There, not only was a queen-size mattress purchase but also the box to go with it and the necessary bedding.

Blog post by Augustin Hamilton (Quebec Life Coalition) - Photo: aijiro/Adobe Stock

The Quebec government will allow advance requests for euthanasia for people with serious illnesses, such as Alzheimer's, starting this autumn, even though Ottawa has not changed the Criminal Code in this regard.

On 7 June 2023, Quebec passed a law authorising advance requests. Since then, it has asked Ottawa on several occasions to change the Criminal Code, but Ottawa still hasn't done so and doesn't appear to be doing so. Despite this, the Quebec government is still preparing to authorise doctors to apply advance requests. Léa Fortin, the media relations officer for the Seniors Minister, Sonia Bélanger, said: "We're going to be ready, we're going to move forward. What we want is for [the federal government] to change its Criminal Code, but if it doesn't, we'll work on our options in parallel," reports La Presse.

According to Léa Fortin, there is a broad consensus in Quebec on advance requests for euthanasia: "There is a consensus in Quebec. It's a transparent process, with patients, parliamentarians and professionals all agreeing to go ahead with MAiD". Not me, certainly. The Quebec government will be making announcements this autumn.

According to Patrick Taillon, constitutionalist and law professor at Université de Laval, Quebec can move forward on the issue of advance requests, reports La Presse :

"Who files the charges? It's the State of Quebec. And if the Quebec State says, by way of a directive, [...] when it respects our laws, we never file charges, then there won't be a problem," he explains.

The constitutionalist asserts that "Ottawa could not prosecute doctors" in Quebec who administer MAiD as part of an advance request.

Québec solidaire MPs Ruba Ghazal and Christine Labrie even wrote a letter arguing that Quebec could ignore Ottawa, as it did in 2015 with its first euthanasia law.

Like in 2015? At that time, the Carter decision decriminalising euthanasia had just been handed down and Ottawa had not yet passed legislation. The Supreme Court of Canada had given Ottawa one year to do so, suspending the application of its ruling. So Quebec was in breach of the Criminal Code when it passed its euthanasia law. And Ottawa did nothing, letting Quebec kill its citizens before it had even given the go - a deplorable precedent of inaction on the part of the federal government. Because I don't think Ottawa has no means of dealing with a province that doesn't comply with its Criminal Code. What the Quebec government is really counting on is undoubtedly, once again, Ottawa's inaction on an issue on which Ottawa itself is more than willing to move forward.

We can be sure that some other provinces will follow Quebec's example if Ottawa does not intervene.

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.

The mainstream media probably won't tell you about the side effects of the abortion pill, the method increasingly used to kill unborn children. But side effects are happening right here in Canada. Pete Baklinski, Director of Communications for Campaign Life Coalition, investigated the effects of Mifegymiso (the name of the abortion protocol), which includes mifepristone and misoprostol, in the Government of Canada's adverse reaction database. Mifepristone is taken first: its purpose is to starve the unborn child and cause his death. Misoprostol comes next: it is used to induce labour in the woman and make her expel the dead body of her unborn child.

Pete Baklinski discovered that there had been over 100 reports of adverse reactions linked to the abortion pill, including one death. The vast majority of cases, says Mr Baklinski, are classified as serious, requiring hospitalisation, blood transfusions or resulting in disability or sequelae.

And the Trudeau Liberals are saying that access to abortion is inadequate!...

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Below, you will find information on our upcoming events. Of special interest is the upcoming Life Chain on October 6th, because it is a simple opportunity for everyone to get involved. We are currently setting up our life chain locations, and if you are interested in helping out, please reach out to us!

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].”