In its response to the province's Budget 2022 consultation, the BCHA is calling on the Government of BC to end the funding of private schools and property tax exemptions for places of worship 

As a requirement to show proof of vaccination at many events comes into effect in British Columbia, members of the BC Humanist Association (BCHA) are calling for an end to an exemption for religious events.

A new analysis from the BC Humanist Association shows that nearly three of every four dollars of the over $400 million that the province gives to private schools goes to religious schools; nearly all which are Christian or Catholic. And of the 19.6% of the funding ($83.6 million) that goes to secular private schools, the majority ($44.5 million or 53%) goes to elite schools.

In its response to this year's pre-budget consultation, the BC Humanist Association is calling on the federal government to use Budget 2022 to end religious privileges in the tax code.

The BC Humanist Association were disappointed to see the Senate adjourn for the summer yesterday without passing Bill C-6. The bill, which only cleared the House of Commons last week, would ban conversion therapy in Canada.

Senators had approved the bill at second reading and referred it to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. That Committee had not had a chance to meet prior to the Senate rising.

Humanists urge the Senate to pass Bill C-6 before summer break

In a recorded vote this afternoon, Members of Parliament voted 263-63 to grant third reading to a bill that would ban conversion therapy in Canada.

Bill C-6 is the second time Parliament has considered banning the harmful and pseudoscientific practice. A previous bill died when the legislature was prorogued in August 2020.

In its latest report, the BC Humanist Association (BCHA) has estimated that the clergy residence deduction has cost the Canadian government over $1 billion over the past decade as individual religious officials are able to reduce their taxes by one-third.

The BC Humanist Association is welcoming a unanimous decision by Canada's highest court that affirms that religious organizations can be subject to judicial scrutiny.

The case stems from five individuals who sued their former church following their expulsion from the congregation. The members alleged church leadership failed to follow their own internal bylaws and they asked the courts to uphold their rights as members of the church.

Religious services remain banned in BC during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet at least one Vancouver church has continued meeting under the guise of a support group.

Love Quest International Church says on its website that it launched "The Good Life Support Group" in late February 2021 as a response to the pandemic. It appears to have been meeting in person weekly at Strathcona Church in East Vancouver. Dr Bonnie Henry, BC's Provincial Health Officer (PHO), first issued an order prohibiting in-person religious gatherings and worship services on November 19, 2020 - an order that was upheld by the Supreme Court of BC in March 2021.

At its April 19, 2021 meeting, the Board of Directors of the BC Humanist Association adopted a motion joining calls for greater data transparency from governments and decision makers to provide for greater accountability in their response to COVID-19.