Federal government tables assisted dying law
The Federal Government today tabled legislation that would give some Canadians the right to choose an assisted death.
While the bill adopts some of the important provisions that the BC Humanist Association, Dying With Dignity Canada, the BC Civil Liberties Association and other advocates of choice in dying have called for, the government took a more narrow approach to the issue.
Read moreAnnouncing the first BCHA Humanist Officiant Training seminar
The BC Humanist Association will be holding its first Humanist Officiant Training session on Saturday May 7, 2016 for potential Humanist celebrants.
Part of the mission of the BCHA is to offer and provide meaningful ceremonies at significant times such as marriage and death. Elsewhere in Canada and around the world, different Humanist organizations have long provided secular alternatives to mark important life milestones.
Read moreHumanists to Abbotsford superintendent: End bible distribution or permit atheist comics
In a letter to the superintendent of the Abbotsford School District during spring break, the BC Humanist Association (BCHA) called for the distribution of Gideon Bibles and other religious materials in public schools be stopped. The BCHA calls the practice unconstitutional and in violation of the BC School Act.
Each year the teachers in the district distribute consent cards, provided by Gideon’s International, to grade 5 students. The District then distributes Gideon Bibles to each student who returns a signed card.
Read moreWrite your MP to guarantee choice
The BC Humanist Association has written to all British Columbia Members of Parliament calling for legislation that ensures patients have access to compassionate end of life options.
After studying legislative options for physician-assisted dying, a Parliamentary committee recommended an approach that puts patients first. The BCHA is calling on MPs to adopt these recommendations and ensure that healthcare institutions that receive public funding are required to provide choice in dying.
Read morePraise for federal committee report on physician assisted dying
In their report to Parliament, MPs and Senators on the Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying have presented a set of bold recommendations to allow suffering Canadians to choose a medically-assisted death.
The report is already receiving praise from organizations in support of choice in dying, including the BC Humanist Association and Dying With Dignity Canada.
Read moreBC taxpayers gave $1 billion to religious hospitals in 2015
Hospital and health care institutions run by religious organizations in BC received nearly $1 billion from the provincial government in 2015.
Read moreNew poll shows near-unanimity in Humanist support for physician-assisted dying
Nearly all Humanists support the Supreme Court of Canada's decision that Canadians should have the right to a physician's assistance to die according to a new poll.
One year ago the Supreme Court struck down Canada's absolute prohibition on physician-assisted dying. The new poll, conducted by Ipsos Reid for Dying With Dignity Canada, found that 98% of atheists, agnostics and Humanists support the decision as well as 93% of those with no religious identity.
Read moreUse private member's bill to take god out of anthem
Two groups representing atheists and Humanists are asking for God to be taken out of O Canada in a letter to Liberal MP Mauril Béllanger.
Last week Bélanger tabled Bill C-210, which would make the national anthem gender neutral. The BC Humanist Association and Centre for Inquiry Canada praised this symbolic move toward gender equality and asked the MP to amend his bill to also replace the line “God keep our land” with a secular alternative.
Read moreBCHA calls on Parliamentary committee to enshrine physician-assisted dying rights in healthcare system
The BC Humanist Association submitted a brief today to the Parliamentary committee studying physician-assisted dying. Its brief argues that a physician-assisted death should be available to all who freely choose it and that so-called "conscientious objection" clauses pose a threat to universal access.
Read moreFederal panel releases report on assisted dying
The expert panel established by the federal government last summer has delivered its final report on its consultations on physician-assisted dying, citing the BC Humanist Association's response.
After months of inaction, the previous Conservative government established the External Panel on Options for a Legislative Response to Carter v Canada in July 2015. The report does not make specific recommendations but discusses the different responses the panel received.
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