News

By Joanne of Arc for Quebec Life Coalition --Photo:Youtube screenshot of the press conference

OTTAWA - The Canadian government is delaying indefinitely the expansion of euthanasia for people with mental illness, but declares the expansion of the bill remains a "top priority".

Bill C-7, an Act to amend the Criminal Code regarding "medical assistance in dying", was introduced in the House of Commons on February 24, 2020 by the Minister of Justice. It was adopted at first reading on the same day. Since then, Bill C-7 has undergone numerous amendments expanding it to include more people. The next amendment would expand "medical assistance in dying" for people with mental illnesses.

Despite the announcement of the delay in expanding "medical assistance in dying" for the mentally ill, euthanasia for Canadians remains a "top priority for our government" according to Justice Minister David Lametti as said at his press conference.

"The government had heard from experts who are concerned that the health care system may not be ready to handle these complex cases," said Justice Minister David Lametti on December 15 in Ottawa, according to Le Devoir. However, the Minister of Justice reassures the public that this will not change the course of the proposed expansion of Bill C-7 for Canadians with mental illnesses, but rather ensure that it runs smoothly.

"My colleague, Minister Duclot, and Health Canada have been working closely with the provinces, territories, and their medical communities to prepare for the evolution of physician assisted dying. The progress is significant. We are well on our way to finalizing national standards for medically assisted dying for people with a mental disorder as their sole criterion. They will be ready before the March deadline," said David Lametti.

By Joanne of Arc for Quebec Life Coalition

QUEBEC - Euthanasia is now a "health care" service for which Quebec ranks first in the world.

The province of Quebec in Canada is ranked first among all countries in the world this year for euthanasia or MAiD "care", beating out the Netherlands and Belgium, according to CBC's article on December 9.

"The number of people who have used medical assistance in dying (MAiD) has exploded since the beginning of the pandemic: it has risen from 1774 in 2019-2020 to 3663 in 2021-2022", reports CBC.

According to the president of the Commission on End-of-Life Care, Dr. Michel Bureau, the data that puts Quebec first in the world is the following: "In Quebec, 5.1% of deaths are the result of medical assistance in dying. In the Netherlands, it's 4.8% of deaths, and in Belgium, it's 2.3%", says the CBC article.

Le Devoir reports that "The commission presented its annual report in the National Assembly on Friday and issued a press release in which its president, Dr. Michel Bureau, stated that "Quebec continues to do well" in terms of "respecting the criteria for the application of the Act" and "the last resort nature of this care".

According to the press release, "more and more physicians are integrating this care into their practice. The 2021-2022 data shows that there was a 26% increase in physicians participating in this care across the continuum offered to patients, compared to 2020-2021."

"Dr. Bureau says he is surprised by the rapid increase in the number of requests for MAiD in Quebec. According to him, this growth could be explained by the fact that medical assistance in dying is presented to patients as care, and not as euthanasia," according to CBC.

In March 2019, Quebec Life Coalition filed a request with the Quebec Superior Court to have a provincial “bubble-zone” law (a law keeping us at 50 m or more from abortion facilities) thrown out as unconstitutional and contrary to our right to free expression.

You see, QLC had been present outside of abortion facilities for many years. Being close to the places where unborn babies are killed allows us to offer help and abortion alternatives to abortion-minded women, in the hope that they might choose life for their child.

One facility, the so-called “Morgentaler Clinic,” was getting annoyed at our constant presence outside their doors. Not only was our peaceful, prayerful presence a constant reminder to abortion staff of the evil of their work, we also successfully saved some women and their children from the deadly abortion procedure. When that facility moved to downtown Montreal in the mid 2010s, we followed them there. They then brought us to municipal court to prevent us from exercising our legal right to be near their facility. Eventually, they won their case and succeeded in pushing us back far enough from their building to render our presence much less visible to the staff and to the women entering their doors.

However, they were not happy with their small “victory,” as they worried that we could simply find another abortion facility where we could do our lifesaving work. So in 2016 they successfully lobbied the Quebec government for what is known as a “bubble-zone” law, which prevents anti-abortion efforts from taking place at less than 50 m from any building in Quebec where abortions take place.

As I wrote above, we started challenging this law in 2019. The corona-related situation has delayed things considerably. And now, after over three years and many hours of work by our lawyer and our staff, we have finally been given a date at which our case will be heard in court, during a trial that is to have 6 days of hearings.  

The court dates are, wait for it … between November 11 and November 18, 2024! That’s right, close to two years from now, and over 5 years after we filed our original arguments for opposing the law!

The expression “justice delayed is justice denied” applies in spades in this case. But this is the exact reason why we need pro-life organizations in Quebec like Quebec Life Coalition. In the life of an individual, human justice moves way, way too slowly. But an organization outlasts any one individual. That’s why it’s important to support organizations that have proven staying power.

Quebec Life Coalition has been around since 1989, fighting the good fight for faith, family and life in Quebec. We’ll prosecute this case against the Quebec government for as long as it takes. We have obtained funding to pay the legal fees for the case, but we are grateful for anything you can contribute to help us continue our sidewalk counselling, our vigils, and our street outreach. We want to keep the streets saturated with our message of hope and Life, while abortion facility owners want us off the streets for good.

Will you help us continue “bothering” the abortionists and saving lives from abortion?

We have only one week left to collect the 10,530$ that remains to reach our goal for this Advent season. If you are one of the many who have already given recently, thank you! If you haven’t already, consider a donation today. 

For Life,

Georges Buscemi

A few participants at our gathering in Montreal.

Just writing you a quick email before driving back three hours to my home near Quebec City.

Quebec Life Coalition just held today a conference in Montreal that was a great reminder of how important face to face events are. In a world where certain "powers that be" want to keep us in our own little pods and viewing their filtered news and biased media, organisations like ours have to make an extra effort in order to rehumanize society -- and that starts with face to face events like the one we held today.

I kicked off the event with a talk about our Mission at Campagne Québec-Vie, which is to protect unborn babies from abortion, vulnerable people from euthanasia, and the family from dissolution. We do this in many ways, and on many fronts. What underlies our approach is our love of Truth, and our fight against relativism, which is the belief that moral and other truths change from culture to culture and even from person to person.

My colleague Brian Jenkins, who runs the local 40 Days for Life vigil for the end of abortion and pregnancy help hotline (1-855-871-4442) told us about his beginnings in pro-life working in New York City and his work today in Montreal, keeping 365-days-a-year vigil outside abortion centers.

I want to share with you a message my colleague Jack Fonseca from Campaign Life Coalition sent me the other day, about advancing a Culture of Life in Canada. In this particular email message, Jack wrote about one of the main political parties in our country, the Conservative Party of Canada. He believed that we should be doing our utmost to make that party “more pro-life” by participating in the party's biennial general meetings or conventions, and I agree. Here’s a part of his message:

"The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) is where Campaign Life Coalition, together with pro-lifers across Canada, has made progress in advancing pro-life policies over the years, by participating in biennial policy conventions.

This work has been slow, required patience and much tenacity. But it has paid off in terms of inching the party ever closer to becoming pro-life. For example…

• In 2021, the party’s most recent National Policy Convention which was held virtually because of lockdowns, the pro-life movement succeeded in passing a pro-adoption policy which committed to supporting, “a National Adoption Strategy including an awareness campaign to promote domestic adoption.”
• At the 2018 National Policy Convention held in Halifax, we helped pass a policy resolution to support legislation to guarantee neonatal care for babies who are born alive, such as those who survive botched abortions.
• In the 2016 National Policy Convention in Vancouver, we helped pass a policy resolution which condemned sex-selective abortions. Still today, this is the official policy of the CPC.
• Also at the 2016 Convention, our pro-life delegates helped to enshrine a pro-life statement into the party’s official constitution document, as a core principle of the CPC. It affirms: “A belief in the value and dignity of all human life”.”

Jack goes on to give important news: The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) will be holding its next National Policy convention in Quebec City, on September 7th through the 9th, 2023. That’s right in Quebec Life Coalition’s backyard! 

You must be aware, whether you’re a fan of the CPC or not, that the leftist, pro-abortion and pro-LGBT “red Tory” elements of the Conservative Party are absolutely licking their chops at the idea that a CPC policy convention will be held in such a “progressive” place as Quebec, where abortion is hardly an issue and LGBT “values” reign. Anyone interested in the future of the CPC and by extension, Canada (since the CPC regularly alternates with the Liberals for power) has an interest in making sure pro-life voices are heard at that convention!

Out of love for the unborn, for families and for God, we at Quebec Life Coalition will be doing everything we can to make sure that those supporters of ours who feel called to join the CPC do so, right now, if they haven’t already. They should also seek a position on their local riding or Electoral District Association (EDA) board. 

Also, in the coming months, we will be working to finding pro-life people to become delegates to this important September 2023 convention:

1. We will recruit to populate CPC riding associations (EDAs) with pro-lifers, or identify current EDA members who are pro-life. 

2. Provide these recruits with good policy suggestions, which they can promote at the EDA level. 

3. Get some of these recruits to become delegates to the 2023 CPC convention in Quebec City

4. Of these pro-life EDA recruits, some will be solicited and trained to run for National Council of the Conservative Party, a very important organ of the Conservative Party.

5. At the convention itself, we will have booths and a possibly even a suite to coordinate pro-life activities and voting. 

This important work, however, can’t be done without every single donor helping us with what they can. Yes, we are planning almost a year in advance, because this kind of work requires patient and long-term work. But none of it is possible without the donations that keep our printers printing, our computers humming and our workers paid. 

We have two weeks left to collect the 12,880 or so that remains to reach our 15,000 goal for this Advent season. If you are one of the many who have already given recently, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your generosity is part of what fuels us, every day. If you haven’t already, consider a donation today. Help us here in Quebec prepare pro-lifers to participate in a meaningful way in the political process, to bring about in Quebec, and in all of Canada, a Culture of Life.

Thank you, and God bless,

Georges Buscemi

P.S. If you are in the Montreal area on Saturday, December 10, we invite you to a Quebec Life Coalition conference entitled: For Love of Neighbor: The Mission of Quebec Life Coalition. I will be there, along with my colleagues Arpad (Director of Political Operations) and Brian (40 Days for Life Vigil). Come meet us!

By Joanne of Arc (Quebec Life Coalition) — Photo: Promotional poster on Facebook (we have removed the communication details)

*The following article is not a promotion, rather a news article.

Conferences for “LGBTQ Catholics” were held for 6 weeks at a Catholic parish in the West-Island of Montreal.

A Montreal area parish located in the Pierrefonds borough held a conference for “LGBTQ Catholics” for 6 consecutive Monday evenings from October 24th to November 28th. The conferences were announced through their newsletter and organized by Cathie Macaulay, a parishioner and responsible for PHC: Pastoral Home Care at the diocese of Montreal.

According to an exchange with madam Macaulay, the program is built upon the book “Building A Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity” by Fr. James Martin, a Jesuit priest.

In her YouTube video promoting the conferences, found on St-Luke's YouTube channel, Cathie Macaulay called the conferences an “adult faith formation program” and affirmed that “the focus of this program is how to build a bridge between the LGBTQ community and the Catholic church”.

She added: “The discussion group will explore how we can live relationships with LGBTQ Catholics with people in our family, workplace, community and people in our Parish with respect, compassion and sensitivity as we are asked to do in the Catechism of the Catholic Church”

She concluded by saying that: “Questions about sexual identity and gender identity abound in our culture” and “We can all learn more about one another and by listening more to our LGBTQ brothers and sisters”.

Cathie Macaulay can be seen promoting the conferences at St Luke’s parish on the parish YouTube channel under "unlisted":

"For it is not against adversaries of blood and flesh that we have to fight, but against the Principalities, against the Powers, against the Rulers of this world of darkness, against the spirits of evil who inhabit the celestial spaces." (Eph 6:12)

When we fight scourges such as abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, transgender child mutilation and pseudo-same-sex-marriage, we are fighting on at least two levels: intellectually, we oppose a so-called "liberal" vision of the world, which disjoints our thinking and leads us to act badly; on a spiritual level, we fight against diabolical entities (demons), which Saint Paul described in his letter to the Ephesians 6: 12, the very ones who tempt humans into committing sins and damning themselves.

In this season of Advent, when we meditate on the coming of the Divine Child, of the Messiah whose vocation is to save all men and all societies from sin, let us pray that all people of good will who fight to life and against abortion and the other evils of our time, understand that Jesus Christ is not only the essential ally of any combatant, but, as the Magi have demonstrated, that he is also the King of individuals and nations and all communities and human organizations, and that all — corporations, governments and individuals of all cultures and all regions of the Earth — are called to gather before a poor stable to pay homage to the Son of God.

Our Advent fundraising campaign starts today. Help us to continue to proclaim the truths about faith, family and life that too many of our contemporaries ignore or reject. Thank you for your generosity.

For Life,

Georges Buscemi

P.S. If you are in the Montreal area on Saturday, December 10, we invite you to a Quebec Life Coalition conference entitled: For Love of Neighbor: The Mission of Quebec Life Coalition. I will be there, along with my colleagues Arpad (Director of Political Operations) and Brian (40 Days for Life Vigil). Come meet us!

Blessed Advent and Christmas greetings to you and your loved ones.

Are you familiar with this picture?

Were you aware that it is referred to as Our Lady of Advent?

Though having seen the work of art over the years, I only learned of this appellation this past week.

While visiting with my friend Lydia, she gave me an 8” x 11” copy and gave me an explanation of its symbolism, a subtlety whcih the artist crafted into its beauty. Do you see the outline of a lamb? Let’s look more closely.

Unmistakably we are drawn to the luminous aura which Mary is cradling. Unerringly, we think of she reverencing the fruit of her distended abdomen, the unborn Messiah.

This aura may be thought otherwise. My friend suggested viewing it as the crown of the head of a lamb, hidden by the Mary’s blue shawl except for the rear section protruding therefrom.

And what about these protruding limbs? Closer inspection suggests the body of a lamb – its hind quarters, one of the rear two legs, and its tail. All this is a fitting allusion for the Lamb of God.

Mary in Advent

(The following text is taken from the archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa)

As Advent is a period of anticipation, for the birth of Christ, Mary, as His chosen Mother, is intimately bound up in this season, as she is carrying Him in her womb.

To enter more deeply in this season, the Church encourages us to reflect in various ways on the mystery of God’s work in and through the Blessed Virgin Mary.

1. We are particularly encouraged to focus on the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary (especially the first two Joyful Mysteries of Annunciation and the Visitation.)

2. Advent Marian Prayer – While many Marian prayers, the “Alma Redemptoris Mater” prayer has been traditionally prayed in Advent:
“Loving Mother of the Redeemer, gate of heaven, star of the sea, assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again. To the wonderment of nature, you bore your Creator, yet remained a virgin after as before. You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting, have pity on us poor sinners.”

3. The Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8) – On December 8, we celebrate the Immaculate Conception, which is about Mary being conceived in the womb free from Original Sin, as she was to be the consecrated vessel to carry Christ in her womb, and to be the new mother of all humanity, the “New Eve.” While this teaching has existed and been believed from the very early centuries of Christianity, it was formally affirmed in 1854 by Pope Pius IX. This was then affirmed by Mary herself when she appeared in 1858 to St. Bernadette in Lourdes and said, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” And speaking of Marian apparitions…

4. Our Lady of Guadalupe (Dec. 12) – Mary has continued to remain an intimate part of Christ’s saving work and an instrument of proclaiming his Gospel throughout history. One example is Mary’s miraculous apparition at Guadalupe, in Mexico, which led to thousands of conversions to Christ! And this major and beautiful celebration is especially significant for our Mexican brothers and sisters. And its beautiful that his celebration usually falls on or near “Gaudete (Rejoice!) Sunday,” as we light the “rose-colored” candle, and we celebrate Guadalupe with roses.

Merry Christmas,

Brian Jenkins
Outreach Coordinator
Quebec Life Coalition

p.s. 40 Days for Life prayer vigil, a summary. This past fall, we participated in the twice annual pro-life prayer vigil for the end of abortion. Running from September 28 to November 6, 2022, and held in 622 locations worldwide, the vigil had several remarkable results: 540 infant lives were saved, 6 abortion workers converted, and 12 abortion facilities closed. Be part of the next 40-day prayer vigil, beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2023 and to be held in Montreal.

p.p.s. We are entirely dependent on your financial support to fund our activities such as the daily downtown vigils. Please, consider becoming a monthly donor. Thank you.

The launch of Coeurage & Laura Albo at her conference at St.Ignatius of Loyola Parish -- Photos :Joanne Of Arc

By Joanne of Arc for Quebec Life Coalition

''Coeurage'' is a lay "reproductive loss grief care" and support program for those who have lost a young child to abortion, miscarriage or death, which was launched by Laura Albo on Nov. 24 at St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish.

“I went through reproductive losses, abortion & miscarriages. I was once feeling hopeless & not in the best state of my life. I think that I didn’t grieve as I should have grieved, and this messed with my way of life and relationships. I think that every woman who is out there and who may be feeling this kind of hopelessness or who is in that state, they should know that there is a chance to recover from that. So that is why I am here” said Laura when asked by QLC about her motivation for starting her ministry.

When speaking about the name of her ministry Laura explained “Coeurage is not misspelled. I believe you are never too old to bring your heart back together” [In French, the name Coeurage is a word play for heart & courage].

Laura Albo is the coordinator of ''BRAVE'', the Grief and Loss support programs offered at Options pregnancy center. Amongst these Coeurage is her own program, which she has been working on since, before the pandemic, when she was a volunteer at QLC along with the president of the organization, Georges Buscemi.

Prior to her current occupation, Laura was a teacher and has been teaching for 11 years in Mexico. She has taught at every level from daycare to university. Furthermore, as presented on her webpage, she has a Masters degree in Special Education, Psychopedagogical Intervention in Educational Contexts and Intervention in Learning Disabilities, as well as a Masters degree in Neuropsychology and Education.

Laura has been working for a long time with people who lost one or more children prior to launching Coeurage and this cause has been close to her heart because she personally had an abortion and two miscarriages. This post-abortion program has been years in the making (since 2018). Today, her goal is to make sure women or anyone who went through an abortion experience have a safe space to talk about and heal through their grief to find hope again after this great loss.

Young African influencers would be encouraged to reduce their own population at the International Conference for Family Planning  —Photo : Pexels.com 

By Joanne of Arc for Quebec Life Coalition

The International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) was a 4-day event which happened in Thailand this year.

The ICFP took place between November 14 and November 17 in Pattaya City, Thailand at the Pathaway Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH). It is said to be the “largest scientific conference on family planning” in the world. The conference was organized by John Hopkins University on behalf of its Bloomberg School of Public Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health Institute. 

 Although minors could not attend in person, it was available for anyone who would like to participate virtually as there was no age restriction for online attendance if a parent or guardian would sign a waiver. Their website advertised the event as more than a conference, but a “platform, movement & community”. According to their site, more than 125 countries participated and their community counts over 40 000 active members. 

Amongst the ICFP’s main sponsors we could find the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization(WHO), IPPF, Pathfinder, Women Deliver, United Nations and the government of Canada. 

Their opening ceremony started with a dance show depicting demons, quite literally. The host for the ICFP 2022 opening session was Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health. She explained that this “incredible performance” was “an episode from the play on the epic of Ramekin. It depicts the  royal battle between Rama and Laksman on the one side and the Tosca & the demon of king Lanka on the other.” She explained a short story about the battle and concluded “Tosca retreats into Lanka with his army of demons.” and proposed a round of applause for this play. 

 This performance was followed by a promotional video that promoted the coming of “another world” where “women and men can choose whether & when to have children”, “adolescents and youth have access to contraceptives”, “childbirth is safer for women & babies” and “everybody deserves access to family planning services & products”, in other words abortion and contraception. The belief that was reinforced throughout their promotional video of the opening ceremony and the entire conference was that “without family planning there is no universal healthcare” as their theme for this year was uniting family planning and universal health coverage as “human rights”.