Samuel David at 9 months old with the 3 other children and his family

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

Catherina David is a stay at home mom of four kids who contacted us to share the beautiful testimony of her youngest child, Samuel David. She reached out to us at first for prayer and support on her pregnancy journey. Today, she wants to share with us, in detail, how her story unveiled. She discovered she was pregnant at almost 9 weeks into her pregnancy while she was moving from Quebec to Ontario.

She was very excited and happy about her new pregnancy initially. Her doctor asked her to do an additional test when she was 5 months pregnant, through which she learned that her baby had trisomy 21 (Down syndrome).

After having delivered three perfectly healthy children, it was certainly a big shock to her. She admits that she was devastated and didn't know how to react. She cried the whole day when she found out the news, and then the whole week after it.

When she met with her doctor after learning the news, he said to her “I leave it up to you whether you want to keep the baby, if you want to continue the pregnancy or if you want to terminate it we will make it as easy as possible for you, but you will have to go to the hospital and have a regular childbirth delivery”.

She went to the Jewish General hospital for the abortion, before she decided to change her mind and keep the baby. Catherina, was guided by her faith and a dream she believes was from God that helped her resist the temptation to end the life of her child.

By Joanne of Arc for Quebec Life Coalition - Photo: Joanne of Arc

This fall, hundreds of communities across North America and several Canadian cities simultaneously organized a 40 Days for Life campaign from September 28 to November 6, 2022.

The 40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life effort that consists of:

• 40 days of prayer and fasting to end abortion
• 40 days of peaceful vigil
• 40 days of community awareness

I was present in Sherbrooke on the 31st day to report on this event. Brian Jenkins, who is the leader of the team, was on place to give me a warm welcome. This man spends 12 hours a day outside, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. during the 40 days, as an advocate for life. He takes a break at noon, during which Mr. Gerard replaces him, for the entire length of the 40-day vigil. The vigil participants vary from day to day, but Brian and Gerard are present daily.

By law, Brian and the other participants must not be within 50 meters of a facility where abortions take place, in this case the CLSC Belvédère (Local Community Services Center). So far, there have been no counter-demonstrators, whereas last year a pro-choice group of 100 people gathered against 3-4 people who were doing the vigil. Gerard shares with me that the Sherbrooke police supported the vigil participants last year, and since then they have been supported by the Sherbrooke authorities. Brian has a working relationship with the police of Sherbrooke and can count on them for their help to maintain their safety.

CLSC Belvédère in Sherbrooke - Photo: Joanne of Arc

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.

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.

Irene Ogrizek writes a sensitive and thorough blog on the topic of caring for an elderly parent within the context of a quebec society headed towards permitting the euthanising of our more weak members.

In "Euthanasia Puts the Elderly at Risk," Ms.Ogrizek relates her experiences and concerns for both herself and her elderly mother, a subject many of us can identify with.

For instance, in regards t the care of her mother, she relates how she witnessed over a one year period how medication was misadministered three times. Fortunately, she was able to observe such effects in her mom (she was drowsy and docile), seek out the nursing home's attendants for assistance, and rectify the situation.