Groups representing Humanists, atheists and secularists across Canada are calling on the Government to repeal an outdated section of the criminal code penalizing so-called “blasphemous libel.”

The e-petition launched yesterday and was signed by over 1000 Canadians in the first day, more then double the minimum number required to be tabled in the House of Commons.

The petition argues the law is unconstitutional and “serves no purpose.” It points out that there have been no charges for blasphemy in Canada for over 35 years and no convictions in over 80 years. Meanwhile “authoritarian states” have used the existence of blasphemy laws in countries like Canada to justify their own clampdown on free expression.

Greg Oliver, President of the Canadian Secular Alliance initiated the petition in collaboration with Centre for Inquiry Canada and Humanist Canada. Oliver said, “The idea that certain subjects should be off limits from criticism or scrutiny has no place in a liberal democracy. Canada's blasphemy law needs to be repealed.”

Writer Raihan Abir, who claimed asylum in Canada after fleeing Bangladesh:

Just days ago we saw the famous Pakistani singer, Amjad Sabri, shot dead by the Taliban in Karachi for hurting religious belief by singing during Ramadan. But even before this act of extremism, he was first accused in a Pakistani court using their blasphemy law and a case was filled against him. He was then shot. As a human rights leader, why should Canada have the same law as Pakistan?

I watched my friends be murdered in Bangladesh for criticizing religion. I was afraid for my own life. By repealing this blasphemy law, Canada can send a signal to Bangladesh and every country that no one should be killed or sent to jail for what they write.

Ali Ehsassi, Liberal Member of Parliament for Willowdale, sponsored the petition. After the petition closes for signatures on October 20, 2016 it will be tabled in the House of Commons and require a response from the Government.

On Friday, Bill C-14 received Royal Assent and became law in Canada. The bill was the government's response to the Carter ruling that struck down Canada's prohibition on medical assistance in dying.

While the bill provides important safeguards to doctors, nurses, pharmacists and family members who assist a suffering Canadian to die with dignity, the bill's eligibility criteria will limit access to those whose "natural death is reasonably foreseeable."

Senators, arguing that this restriction was neither compassionate nor constitutional, had removed the phrase in an amendment. However, the Liberal Government used their majority in the House of Commons to reintroduce it and a majority of Senators then agreed to maintain the restriction.

The final law does include Senate amendments that restrict family members from helping if they were a beneficiary of the person requesting an assisted death and to force doctors to inform patients of all palliative care options before providing an assisted death.

Ian Bushfield, Executive Director, BC Humanist Association:

The sky did not fall in the two weeks that Canada had no law criminalizing medical assistance in dying. Instead, people in suffering were able to start frank conversations with their medical team about their end of life options.

While this new law should help to reassure the overly conservative parts of the medical community, it remains problematic and will undoubtedly be challenged in court very soon. The eligibility criteria are vague and arbitrary and the amendments Parliament did accept could make it harder for people to be with a dying family member. Further issues of access, particularly in publicly-funded religious hospitals, remain.

The government has promised further consultations on expanding access to medical assistance in dying and the secular and compassionate majority must hold them to that.

Read Dying With Dignity Canada's response.

Following a request by the British Columbia Humanist Association in March, Abbotsford School District Superintendent Kevin Godden has confirmed that “the district will no longer distribute the Gideon Bible or other religious materials to students.”

The District has maintained a policy of distributing materials from external groups, including Gideon Bibles, at the discretion of the superintendent.

Ian Bushfield, Executive Director, BC Humanist Association:

As far as we are aware, Abbotsford was the last public school district in BC that was distributing Gideon Bibles in classrooms. So this is a clear recognition that BC public schools should be secular and inclusive. It’s a sign to parents and students that they are welcome in Abbotsford whether they’re Christian, Muslim, Sikh, atheist or otherwise.

Despite this victory, the Government of BC continues to fund faith-based independent schools – a policy opposed by 70% of the public. The schools we fund as a province should be open and inclusive to students of all faiths and none.

Update (Aug 22, 2016): You can download the full results here.

Seven in ten British Columbians are non-religious and over a quarter don’t believe in a higher power according to a new poll by Insights West commissioned by the BC Humanist Association.

This is an increase from the 64% of people who said they did not practice a religion or faith in the BC Humanist's previous survey in 2013. The number of people who believe in a higher power has dropped by 14% to 56%.

When asked "Do you practice or participate in a particular religion or faith?" 27% said yes, 69% said no and 4% were not sure.
When asked "Regardless of whether you participate in a particular religion or faith, do you believe in a higher power?" 56% said yes, 26% said no and 18% were not sure.

Ian Bushfield, Executive Director, BC Humanist Association:

Religion is on the wane in British Columbia. In its place is an increasingly secular and non-religious constituency that politicians and policymakers will need to pay attention to.

See the top-line results or download the full spreadsheet.

The poll also looked at different attitudes to government support for religious organizations.

A new poll has found that 71% of British Columbians do not support publicly-funded healthcare institutions being able to refuse to provide services like physician-assisted dying or abortion on religious grounds. A majority – 52% – are strongly opposed.

A number of healthcare institutions operated by religious groups, including Providence Healthcare in Vancouver and St Joseph’s General Hospital in Comox, have said that they would not provide medical assistance in dying, which became legal in Canada on June 6.

The poll was commissioned by the BC Humanist Association and conducted by Insights West. The BC Humanists have said that religious opposition by healthcare institutions threatens access to medical assistance in dying. The group has calculated that nearly $1 billion in public funding went to healthcare institutions operated by religious organizations in BC in 2015.

As of today, suffering Canadians may request assistance to end their life with dignity.

Last year, in its unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down our country's prohibition on physician-assisted dying and spelled out clear and compassionate guidelines for when an individual may request an assisted death.

The Court delayed its ruling to give Parliament time to enact a new law meeting those guidelines. Parliament's answer is Bill C-14, which is only now being considered by the Senate. That Bill is considered by many experts to be unconstitutional.

This means that the Court's ruling stands as law and any individual that meets the criteria provided by the Court has choice in death.

Update (June 14, 2016): The Greek Government has responded. See a translation of their letter at the bottom of this post.

The BC Humanist Association has joined an international letter from secular, atheist and Humanist organizations calling on the Greek government to repeal its country's blasphemy law.

Read the letter.

From Wednesday until Friday, the BC Court of Appeal will hear arguments in the case of Trinity Western University vs the Law Society of British Columbia. The BC Humanist Association was granted leave to intervene in the appeal with the Canadian Secular Alliance.

The private evangelical university is attempting to establish a law school and requires all students sign a Community Covenant that excludes gay students.

In their factum to the court, the BCHA and CSA argue that studying law is not a religious act protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that requiring all students - including non-Christians - to obey an evangelical Christian ethos is religious compulsion.

Read the factum submitted by the BCHA and CSA.

As part of its commitment to freedom of expression and the importance of dissent, the BC Humanist Association has signed onto the new Voices-Voix Declaration.

The 2016 Declaration succeeds the previous declaration which decried the muzzling of government scientists, political audits of charities and general advocacy chill. With the election of a new government, the new Declaration calls for an overhaul of laws and regulations to foster a strong and independent civil society.

These changes are vital to ensuring that the BC Humanist Association and other freethought groups are able to continue to challenge religious privilege and push for greater equality for all.

By now most of us have seen the harrowing images pouring out of Northern Alberta over the past week. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from Fort McMurray an neighbouring communities as a massive wildfire engulfed the region.

To provide an opportunity to respond, the BC Humanist Association has launched a fundraiser to support the Canadian Red Cross' relief efforts.

All money donated will go directly to the Red Cross and will help provide emergency food, clothing, shelter, personal services and other necessities.