On June 30, 2024, as rainbows and drag queens marched down Yonge Street with the Toronto Pride Parade, a trio of evangelical churches in Greater Toronto hosted the leader of the opposition and local Conservative Party candidates for campaign-style rallies at their church services.

Thomas Jefferson's "wall of separation between Church and State" and the Canadian "duty of religious neutrality" have long delineated political and ecclesiastical matters. However, another wall has long existed between charities (including churches) and the state. Today, we're examining whether those religious rallies have breached that wall.

British Columbians go to the polls on October 19, 2024, to elect our next provincial government. As an organization that seeks to promote secular and progressive values, we're gearing up to ensure the candidates vying for your votes hear the voices and concerns of Humanists.

While we have several core issues to ask candidates about, we wanted feedback from our members about their priorities and what they want to see us ask. Our survey ran over two weeks and was sent to our entire membership list. Nearly 20% of our members responded. We asked two open-ended questions to get unfiltered feedback.

Churches and all other non-profit organizations in Terrace will soon have to pay some property taxes under changes approved by Council on June 10.

A recent legal battle over the tax status of an island in the Salish Sea sheds some light on the privileges some religious institutions enjoy in British Columbia (BC). Expressly, the conditions under which places of public worship qualify for property tax exemptions.

“B.C. Ministry of Health pledges to build a corridor of sin.”

That should have been the headline attached to B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix’s recent announcement that he will instruct Vancouver Coastal Health to make room next to the city’s St. Paul’s Hospital for a dedicated clinical and care space where patients from the hospital can receive “compassionate and dignified MAiD services.”

The BC Humanist Association (BCHA) is deeply disappointed and concerned by the federal government’s decision to further extend the exclusion of eligibility for medical assistance in dying (MAID) for persons suffering solely from mental illness until 2027. This decision violates the rights and dignity of Canadians who are experiencing intolerable suffering due to a mental disorder as their sole underlying medical condition.

Where we saw our research turn into results in 2023, our goals are even more ambitious for 2024.

Looking back on this past year, we're seeing the dividends paid out for the investments the members of the Humanist community have been making for the past few years.

At its meeting on November 29, 2023, the BC Humanist Association Board of Directors ratified the following statement.

"This may not be a popular take,"

began Councillor Ian Ward at an October 10, 2023, Colwood City Council Meeting. In his speech, Councillor Ward outlined why two churches in his community should not receive permissive tax exemptions this year.