Joanne of Arc's blog

By Joanne of Arc (Quebec Life Coalition) - Photo: Documentary "CHSLD - Je me souviens"/Joanne of Arc/Adobe Stock

Dr. Robert Béliveau is a retired family physician. He is one of the experts who participated in Sylvain Laforest's documentary "CHSLD - Je me souviens" [Long Term Care Homes– I Remember]. This documentary, which has been circulating on social media networks since September 30, was made to pay tribute to the 6 700 victims of Long Term Care Homes in Quebec, who were seriously affected from spring 2020 to spring 2021.

The purpose of this production is, above all, to remember that it is our duty, both collectively and individually, to uphold the dignity and sanctity of all human life. One of the topics that was discussed in the documentary was the mandatory vaccination of seniors in Long Term Care Homes, even against their will.

In the medical community, opinions were and remain divided on this subject. On the other hand, Dr. Béliveau clearly states his position in the documentary.

"The first thing we have to realize is that we are currently in a system that is completely corrupt [...] It doesn’t mean that all doctors are corrupt. You have to take responsibility and not let yourself be blindly dictated to by others who have conflicts of interest. The NIH, the CDC, Health Canada, they are infiltrated by Big Pharmas. There should be total independence and Pharmas should not be involved at all. There are still doctors who see things clearly. "

Dr. Béliveau also agreed to speak with Quebec Life Coalition at the private screening of the documentary that took place in Montreal. The following is our interview.

Michael and Barbara, participants of the Vigil 365 - Photo: Joanne of Arc

By Joanne of Arc for Quebec Life Coalition

We hear a lot about the importance of creating good habits for a healthy and balanced life, such as taking a walk, eating well or going to bed at the same time. For most of us, we put a lot of effort into having a better quality of life. But how many people really care about life? I am referring to life at one of its most vulnerable stages: at the moment of conception.

Every morning of the year, a Vigil is held near the Berri-UQAM metro station. It was initiated in February 2020 by its organizer Brian Jenkins. People meet to pray for life and honor the unborn. In this case, it is not just a weekly good habit, but an important discipline in their spiritual lives.

In addition to praying together, the participants of the Vigil are often approached for a discussion. Sometimes, the people that are passing by are open-minded and want to understand what the participants are saying, at other times the discussions are rather difficult or even turn into personal accusations.

I had the opportunity to attend Vigil 365 and observe the interactions that took place during one morning this week. The participants also took a moment to chat with me and explain their motivations.

Michael attends the Vigil because he believes abortion is a grave injustice. He shared this with me: "There are many injustices that take place around the world, but most of them don't happen where I live. So this is something I can and should be involved in where I live. "

As to why the group chose this hectic location to pray, he tells me, "This corner we're on is kind of a contradiction in itself. There is an abortion clinic at the end of this street, around the other corner is UQAM University which is one of the most liberal universities in Montreal, and on the other side is the gay village which promotes promiscuity."

Ironically, there is also the beautiful Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes chapel in front of the UQAM University building, adorned with a golden statue of the Virgin Mary, which is in the center of all this activity.

By Joanne of Arc (Quebec Life Coalition) - Photo: Rawpixel.com/Adobe Stock

Catherine Levesque published an article on October 11, 2022 in the National Post. She reports that the Quebec College of Physicians is being criticized by advocacy groups for proposing that euthanasia for critically ill newborns be made legal.

So far, Canada has refused to extend assisted dying to children under the age of 18, although consideration has been given to making it available to "mature minors". Then, in a recent presentation made by Dr. Louis Roy for the Quebec College of Physicians to the House of Commons Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), the federal government of Canada was urged to adopt a protocol to allow euthanasia of seriously ill infants.

Levesque states: Dr. Roy's organization believes that MAID may be appropriate for infants up to one year of age, who are born with "severe malformations" and "severe and life-threatening syndromes" for which their "prospective of survival is virtually null".

In the same article, Krista Carr, Executive Vice-President of Inclusion Canada, expressed being alarmed at Roy's recommendation that Canada legalize euthanasia for children with disabilities under the age of one.

Mrs. Carr added: "Canada cannot begin killing babies when doctors predict there is no hope for them. Predictions are far too often based on discriminatory assumptions about living with a disability. "

She also said: "An infant cannot consent to their own death. That isn't MAID, it's murder. And providing MAID to a person who cannot consent is a standard that is wildly dangerous for all persons with intellectual disabilities in Canada."

By Joanne of Arc (Quebec Life Coalition) - Photo: Google/Facebook

CTV News shares the sad story of a 66-year-old Lachine man who asked his doctor for "medical assistance in dying", or assisted suicide, due to the lack of care from his Local community services centres (CLSC) in the Dorval-Lachine borough.

Jacques Comeau is a retired art therapist who suffers from quadriplegia and uses a wheelchair. His disease is a paralysis that affects more or less all four limbs of the body (arms and legs). It involves the loss of muscular functions and sensations, to a variable degree, of the affected limbs. Despite his condition, Mr. Comeau is an independent and active man in the community. He drives, runs his own errands, volunteers and paints in his spare time, according to the CTV News report.

In addition, until now, Mr. Comeau had access to health care at home that had allowed him to live a full and happy life. Unfortunately, this summer, his local health center (CLSC) underwent changes that have had a serious impact on Comeau's daily life. He needs the assistance of caregivers who come 3 times a week to help him clear his bowel. However, for the past month, Mr. Comeau has been experiencing difficulties with the new caregivers, who are unfamiliar with his body and care for him incorrectly, causing him to have bowel accidents at unexpected times of the day. As a result, he can no longer function as he used to because he is constantly preoccupied with his accidents.

Mr. Comeau's case is obviously serious, but why did he rush to assisted suicide? It is because it is an option available to him. It seems that Mr. Comeau's problems, which have only been going on for a month, could be solved in ways other than by a hasty death. Moreover, if he opts for euthanasia, there may be no change in the health care system in Quebec.

In the same vein, might this man be suffering from depression because of the discomforts he has been experiencing for the past month and which would lead him to this drastic decision? Or could it be that he was influenced by the discussion he had with his doctor? If this is a case of a man who is otherwise active, but chooses assisted suicide, we are witnessing a society that is not solving the core problem: that of having a better health service.

By Joanne of Arc (Quebec Life Coalition) - Photo: Kelly Block's Facebook page

About a week ago, Kelly Block addressed all pro-lifers in a Campaign Life TV video, asking them to support her Bill C-230, the Conscience Protection Act.

Unfortunately, on October 5, 2022, MP Kelly Block's bill was defeated by a vote of 203 to 115 in the Ottawa Parliament, despite the support of the vast majority of Conservative MPs as reported by La Presse.

The bill was intended to protect the freedom of conscience of health care professionals faced with requests for "medical assistance in dying". It was intended to amend the Criminal Code to allow health professionals not to participate "directly or indirectly" in assisted suicides (euthanasia).

If Bill C-230 had been passed, it would have been illegal to intimidate or fire a health care professional who refuses to perform euthanasia or refer a patient to another health care professional.

This vote comes at a time when requests for euthanasia are becoming increasingly common in Canada, for reasons that include financial problems or mental health issues (which can be resolved).

The Life Chain, a pro-life demonstration organized in Montreal on Sunday, October 2nd near the Namur metro station.

By Joanne of Arc (Quebec Life Coalition) - Photo: Joanne of Arc

On Sunday afternoon, October 2nd, Quebec Life Coalition organized an annual event called the Life Chain.

Each year, on the first Sunday of October, pro-life activists gather to form anti-abortion prayer chains in Canada and the United States. Their goal is to share a message in support of the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. In Montreal, the Life Chain has been organized since 1991, while in the United States it began in 1987. In 1990, Campaign Life Coalition began this activity in Canada.

Sunday's demonstration in Montreal took place near the Namur metro station, at the corner of Décarie Boulevard and Jean-Talon Street. On that sunny day, the group numbered about 20 people, both men and women, holding signs with messages in French and English such as:

• "Abortion kills children"
• "Yes to adoption"
• "Jesus forgives and heals"
• "Pray for an end to abortion"

By Joanne of Arc (Quebec Life Coalition) - Photo: Joanne of Arc

In Montreal, on Wednesday, September 28, there was an exclusive screening of the film "CHSLD - Je me souviens" [LTC Homes – I remember] directed by Sylvain Laforest, about the 6,700 victims in Private senior's residence (RPA) who were seriously affected from spring 2020 to spring 2021.

People finally met in a resto-bar to discuss, eat and drink, regardless of their vaccination status. After two years of terror and trauma imposed by the government during the state of emergency created during the pandemic, the "Macarons de la Dignité" group facilitated a memorable gathering that allowed people to remember the elders who were brutally mistreated during the confinement periods imposed during the pandemic.

The magnitude of what happened to the elderly, who were in a capacity deficit in our society during this time of crisis, requires an independent commission of inquiry. The documentary brings to light through several testimonies the abominable way in which people at the end of their lives were treated in Long Term Care Homes (homes for the aged).

To go into detail, although it is difficult to share, the seniors in the LTC Homes were denied water for 10 days so that they would not fill their diapers. Then they were denied vitamins C and D. Finally, they were neglected when their mouths were full of vomit and their diapers were full. The nursing homes floors were empty of staff members and those who were present were overwhelmed with their responsibilities. Many of the decisions that were made under these circumstances lacked empathy and humanity towards the residents.

For example, one account in the documentary tells us of a senior who was locked in his room with several padlocks placed on his door, as if he was an animal in a cage. The elder in question resisted with all his physical abilities and destroyed the padlocks by forcing them. Imposing all this for the sake of public health and safety?

What about the mental health of the residents of these centers? They could not even walk to get some fresh air, see or touch their loved ones, and the only activity they were allowed was to watch television, which did nothing but talk about the virus and spread fear 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In the documentary, retired professor, ex-psychologist and author Lucie Mandeville talks about this fear. Fear is one of the strongest emotions in human beings that will create traumas in the individual. People at the end of their lives in LTC Homes have not only been neglected, but traumatized. These are serious consequences to which we have turned a blind eye.