A new poll reports than 76% of Canadians (and the same number of British Columbians) do not think religious wedding ceremonies are "more legitimate" than civil wedding ceremonies.

The numbers come a poll released by the Angus Reid Institute today that looked at Canadians' attitudes toward marriage. The Angus Reid Institute is a non-profit independent research firm.

The BC Humanist Association is welcoming legislation introduced by the Government of British Columbia today to regulate the sale and consumption of recreational cannabis but is expressing concerns at how some regulations may rely on pseudoscientific tests which put the civil liberties of British Columbians at risk.

The BC Government introduced the Cannabis Distribution Act, the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act and changes to the Motor Vehicle Act, which together will regulate the sale, supply and possession of legalized cannabis and create rules around drug-affected driving. These bills follow the ongoing debate in Parliament over Bills C-45 and C-46, which legalize and regulate cannabis. Both federal bills are currently at committee hearings in the Senate.

The BC Humanist Association is expressing concerns about comments by the Minister of Justice made following a petition by another Humanist group.

In September 2017, Doug Thomas of Secular Connexion Séculière launched a parliamentary e-petition calling on the government to hold a parliamentary committee to investigate “systemic discrimination against non-believers in Canadian laws and regulations.” The petition received 531 signatures by January 12, 2018 and was presented to the House of Commons on March 1.

Religious groups, including those who refuse to provide medical assistance in dying, are eligible for public funding to provide new long-term care beds in the Comox Valley.

Vancouver Island Health Authority has been looking to expand the number of care beds in Comox Valley for the past two years. On March 9, Island Health released a request for proposal (RFP) for companies to bid on 120 new beds. The RFP is open to all non-profit, for-profit, faith-based and secular providers.

The BC Humanist Association joined over 100 organizations and individuals in signing a letter calling for the decriminalization of sex work in Canada.

The letter, coordinated by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform, calls on delegates to the Liberal Party of Canada's upcoming convention to support a resolution to repeal the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act.

Humanists are disappointed that today's provincial budget continues the multimillion dollar giveaway to independent faith schools across the province.

Budget 2018 estimates that independent schools across BC will receive over $425 million in public funding for 2018/19.

Independent schools across BC can qualify for up to 50% of the per-student funding as neighbouring public schools. The majority of independent schools that receive this funding are religious. 

These include schools that "teach creation in science class", prioritize students on the basis of whether they can speak in tongues and ones that discriminate against LGBTQ2+ families.

The BC Humanist Association welcomes news that Canada's national anthem is now officially gender neutral.

The Senate passed bill C-210 yesterday, officially changing the line "in all thy sons command" to "in all of us command." The bill now awaits Royal Assent before becoming law.

The BC Humanist Association has launched a petition in support of new application requirements for the Government of Canada's Canada Summer Jobs program.

The program provides wage subsidies to employers to hire high school and post-secondary students. The new policy requires applicants to attest that neither the job nor the employer's "core mandate" are contrary to human rights, including reproductive rights and the rights of transgender Canadians.

The BC Humanist Association urges the City of Vancouver to adopt a recommendation from the City's LGBTQ2+ Advisory Committee to prohibit "conversion therapy" within the city.

According to Xtra, the committee's recommendation passed unanimously in November and calls for the city to amend a licensing bylaw to prohibit any services that "purport to alter an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity."

Canada's blasphemy law is one step closer to being repealed after MPs in the House of Commons agreed to pass Bill C-51 at third reading on Monday.

The bill makes a number of amendments to the Criminal Code, including repealing the prohibition on blasphemous libel. The BC Humanist Association and other freethought and secular groups across Canada have been calling for its repeal, including 7400 Canadians who signed a Parliamentary e-petition last year.