Joanne of Arc's blog

By Joanne of Arc for Quebec Life Coalition — Photo : Joanne Of Arc

MONTREAL – On January 14th, 2023, Quebec Life Coalition held an afternoon conference for pro-life students at the former Grand seminary of Montreal.

Director of Political Operations, Arpad Nagy, organized a conference in Montreal to encourage pro-life students to come together and network, while discussing the culture of life in Quebec. 

The conference hosted special guests from Campaign Life Coalition, Maeve Roche, Youth Coordinator and Kim Headley, CLC’s Assistant Youth Coordinator. The Canadian Center For Bioethical Reform was also invited with their Outreach Director, Blaise Alleyne. Katie Somers from Toronto Right To Life also made an appearance as well as Merichel Diaz from Montreal Against Abortion. Finally, Philip from Action Vitale briefly took the stage to present his pro-life initiative. 

The event was well received, students were grateful for an opportunity to meet in person and discuss with like-minded individuals that care about human rights and defending life from natural conception to natural death. 

Maeve Roche spoke on behalf of Campaign Life Coalition. She mentioned the importance of reaching a demographic that is most likely to seek an abortion in the instance of an unplanned pregnancy. That is why university and college pro-life clubs play an integral role in reaching those students before it's too late and providing support after an abortion. Kim, CLC'S Assistant Youth Coordinator gave a touching speech about her personal testimony of how she became pro-life. 

Maeve and Kim from Campaign Life Coalition before giving their presentations — Photo : Joanne Of Arc

By Joanne of Arc for Quebec Life Coalition— Photo : Joanne Of Arc

On Saturday, January 14th 2023, Quebec Life Coalition is hosting a Students For Life Event in Montreal, Quebec.

The purpose of this event is to encourage all pro-life students to come together for an afternoon of discussion, training and networking.

Amongst the different speakers that will be present at the event, we have invited Maeve Roche from Campaign Life Coalition who is their Youth Coordinator to speak about her involvement in the culture of life.

Maeve has agreed to speak with us prior to the event, so that you could get to know her better as well as learn more about what it means to be "pro-life". 

Joanna from QLC: Thanks so much for making the time to talk with us. Can you please present yourself, your age and your current job position ? 

Maeve from CLC: My name is Maeve Roche. I am 20 years old and serve as the Youth Coordinator at Campaign Life Coalition. Central to my role is engaging and mobilizing youth to become pro-life leaders in their own communities. As youth coordinator, I run our youth social media pages (@clcyouthprolife on all platforms), organize youth events and trips, namely the National March for Life in Ottawa’s Youth Banquet and Summit, run our summer internship program, do ‘Pro-Life 101’ presentations at schools and youth groups, bring a delegation of youth to the United Nation’s Commission on the Status of Women and much more!

Joanna from QLC: How long have you been working for CLC ?

Maeve from CLC: I have been with CLC for almost 3 years. I was a summer intern in 2020 and 2021 and worked part-time through the school year. I began officially working full-time for CLC in November of 2021.

Joanna from QLC: What is your background (work/school education)?

Maeve from CLC: I studied philosophy at the University of Toronto for a year and bit before I decided to pursue full-time, pro-life work.

Joanna from QLC: What does it mean to be pro-life to you?

Maeve from CLC: While the term “pro-life” is often convoluted to convey generality, being pro-life is the desire to afford equal human rights to all human beings, from the moment of conception until natural death. Pro-lifers can summarize their philosophy through this syllogism: it is wrong to kill an innocent human being; abortion kills an innocent human being; therefore, abortion is wrong. To be pro-life is to oppose the killing of the preborn. Working in the pro-life movement runs so much deeper, you work alongside people who have the same calling, who you genuinely love and admire.

Joanna from QLC: Why is it important to be active in this movement according to you?

Maeve from CLC: With the pro-life movement’s concerns being that of life and death, it is integral that those who oppose abortion take action. When we talk about abortion, we are talking about a grave human rights injustice. The unborn are the victims of dehumanization and violent slaughter, 3.4 million preborn children have been killed since the decriminalization of abortion following the R v. Morgentaler case. We cannot sit idly by as human beings are being killed. We must work to both change the hearts of the public and of lawmakers in order to protect innocent human beings. Being personally pro-life does not afford human rights to innocent human beings, we have to be practically pro-life, as well, and there are many facets and opportunities to do so.

Joanna from QLC: How long have you been involved or passionate about the pro-life movement?

Maeve from CLC: I have been involved in the prolife since high school, close to 7 years. I was raised Catholic and learned about abortion when I was quite young. My dad is a high school religion and philosophy teacher and I deeply admired his vast knowledge about both the world and theology as a whole. In turn, through our close bond, I adopted many of his passions and interests, namely an interest in philosophy and understanding moral issues. I’m not exactly certain what sparked it, but there was something about the moral issue of abortion that I really felt connected and drawn to. It was probably one of the first things that truly broke my heart. As a child, you often see the world through rose-coloured glasses, but there comes a point when you begin to realize that the world is much more hostile and sinister than you were led to believe. Legal baby-killing is certainly one of those things, that upon discovering takes place, can truly alter your perception of society. I attended the National March for Life in Ottawa, organized by CLC, for the first time when I was in grade 9 and began interning for CLC in the summer of 2020, through their summer internship program.

By Joanne of Arc for Quebec Life Coalition— Photo : Unsplash.com

QUEBEC - 2023 has been declared the year of "assisted suicide" by Quebec media. 

"Are we about to take the step from medical assisted dying to assisted suicide as if it were the normal order of things?" asks Le Journal de Québec in an article titled "Make way for the year of assisted suicide" by Emmanuelle Latraverse. 

Starting March 2023, patients with mental illness will be able to apply for "MAID" across Canada and changes to bill 38 that are scheduled to take place this year would possibly allow patients with Alzheimer to apply for "MAID" in advance in the province of Quebec. 

"In 2023, we will be living in the land of assisted suicide" reports Latraverse. 

Even though "The College of Physicians promises that it will be able to establish guidelines to avoid abuses" according to Le Journal de Québec, this "new normal" is not accepted by everyone in Quebec.

Physicians Against Euthanasia have been expressing their concerns to the College of Physicians in an open letter, but it has yet to receive a response according to the latest news announced in December 2022 on their blog. 

Another group of doctors demonstrated their resistance in Ontario:

"Physicians Together with Vulnerable Canadians is advocating in Ontario to improve patient protections and promote physicians' conscience rights," reports the Physicians' Collective Against Euthanasia newsletter. 

The Physicians against euthanasia says that requests for euthanasia are increasingly revealing reasons that previously would not qualify, such as poverty or lack of medical and social support.

By Joanne of Arc for Quebec Life Coalition— Photo : Unsplash.com

QUEBEC — Euthanasia is being expanded again for quebecers, this time for those suffering with Alzheimer’s disease. 

“Quebec's Minister of Health and Seniors, Sonia Bélanger, will table a new version of the bill that aims to expand medical assistance in dying (MAID)” in 2023, reported CTV News.

Bélanger is taking over the bill from Christian Dubé, Health Minister, who failed last year to pass Bill 38 that would allow people with Alzheimer's disease to make an early request for “MAID” should they want to apply for it before they are unable to. 

Patients with severe Alzheimer's are usually incapable of offering clear and informed consent and are therefore prohibited under law from accessing “MAID”.

Quebec's “MAID” law requires that patients give written consent to euthanasia within 90 days of the euthanasia procedure, this Bill would allow for them to apply earlier. 

The National Assembly of Quebec’s official pdf document from 2022 on the bill explains: 

“The purpose of this bill is mainly to amend the Act respecting end-of-life care as regards eligibility for medical aid in dying.

The bill makes eligible for such aid persons suffering from a serious and incurable neuromotor disability who meet the other criteria set out in that Act.

The bill also allows persons suffering from a serious and incurable illness leading to incapacity to give consent to care to make an advance request for medical aid in dying so that they can receive such aid once they have become incapable. The bill prescribes the applicable rules regarding the content and form of such advance requests and establishes the responsibilities of the various resources that participate in making or implementing such requests. Furthermore, it determines the criteria to be complied with in order for medical aid in dying to be administered to a person who has become incapable of giving consent to care, in particular the criteria regarding observation of the suffering the person is experiencing. The Commission sur les soins de fin de vie is also given the function of overseeing the application of the requirements specific to advance requests for medical aid in dying. (...)” 

Montreal Police officers near the COP15 conference gathered after a protest earlier that morning

By Joanne of Arc for Quebec Life Coalition— Photo : Joanne Of Arc

MONTREAL – The Quebec government prohibits police officers from wearing Catholic symbols on their uniforms.

CBC News (Radio-Canada) obtained information that confirms the Montreal police (SPVM) asked their officers to stop wearing St.Michael’s badge on their uniforms while on the job.

"After analysis, it was agreed that the crest of Saint Michael worn by SPVM (Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal) police officers on their uniform is a religious sign within the meaning of the law," the memo sent out to officers said, as reported by CBC News.

"Consequently, we ask you now to kindly remove from your uniforms any crest symbolizing or referring to the Archangel Saint Michael, in order to comply with the law." the memo included. 

It was while monitoring protests related to the COP15 international forum that Montreal police officers were seen wearing a St.Michael badge on their uniform that said “Saint Michael Protect Us”. 

Simons' ad "All is Beauty" for euthanasia that was launched in October 2022

By Joanne of Arc for Quebec Life Coalition— Photo : Youtube screenshot 

The fashion company Simons headquartered in Quebec City that launched a controversial ad in late October 2022 promoting euthanasia has now removed it, after major backlash from the media, according to The Message. 

“All is Beauty” is the name of the TV ad by a women’s fashion company La Maison Simons, that has been Canada’s style authority since 1840. The campaign that lasted about a month before it was cut short, was promoting assisted suicide through the story of Jennyfer Hatch who chose to end her life at 37-year-old through “M.A.I.D” after being diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos syndrome. 

“Major media outlets — including Fox News, the National Post, Daily Mail, and New York Post — suggested that the campaign “celebrates” or “promotes” suicide. The rhetoric quickly got more heated on social media, leading Simons to cut the campaign short, remove it from digital channels, and shift its marketing focus to the holidays”, according to an article by The Message published in December 2022. 

In an interview that was released prior to the launch of the campaign, the CEO of Simons, Peter Simons, expressed being scared about how this project would be received. (Unfortunately, the original video of it is no longer available, but a part of it can still be watched in Ezra Levant’s show from Rebel News). 

Simons’ commercial begins with a dark scene of an empty hospital room and the narration of Jennyfer which states that “dying in a hospital is not what is natural”, followed by a subtitle that says “Simons presents: The Most Beautiful Exit” as the scene of the hospital room is being pulled away from the audience into another “peaceful” scene of an ocean.  

By Joanne of Arc for Quebec Life Coalition— Photo : Unsplash

QUEBEC – La Presse is promoting euthanasia for Quebecers suffering from mental disorders in view of the expansion of Bill C-7.

As of March 2023, Bill C-7 will allow Quebecers suffering from mental disorders to resort to "medical assistance in dying" to offer them this "health care" service according to the Government of Canada's website. In anticipation of this, "Doctors across the country are preparing for the possibility that the eligibility criteria for MAiD will be expanded to include people with mental illness," reports Nathalie Collard for La Presse, on December 11, 2022.

In her French article titled "Is Quebec ready to extend medical assistance in dying (MAiD) to people with mental health problems?", Mrs. Collard informs that this question "will arise in three months, when the temporary exclusion provided for in the federal law expires." Meanwhile, "a committee is looking at the issue in Ottawa," says Nathalie Collard.

She continues, "How do we know if the desire to die is specific to the disease or to the patient's will? And how do we determine the irreversible nature of a condition? There are many grey areas in mental health, it is true. But doctors assure us that there are also grey areas in cases of physical suffering and that the MAid is not excluded for that reason, so why make it an exclusion criterion in cases of mental health disorders? Their question is legitimate".

Is their question truly legitimate? Dr. Paul Saba, a family physician in Montreal and author of the book Made To Live , maintains a contrary view. He wrote a brief in French on the subject and its name says it all: "People with mental illness or cognitive disorders should not be euthanized".

In this brief, Dr. Saba writes, "My medical code of ethics limits me to act in order to protect and improve the health of my patients individually and collectively, to do no harm to my patients, to prescribe only what is medically necessary, and to act with the best medical practices using scientific principles. MAiD for patients with mental health or cognitive decline is contrary to these ethical principles. These are set out in the code of ethics of the Collège des médecins du Québec."

On the other hand, according to La Presse, the majority of Quebec physicians and psychiatrists would support the expansion of Bill C-7:

"The Collège des médecins du Québec and the Association des médecins psychiatres du Québec are both in favour of broadening the criteria. Advocacy organizations for people with mental health problems are also in favour. They are advocating for recognition of their suffering and an end to their infantilization".

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.

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":