Last year, over 2600 scientists signed a statement that underlined the reality that gender cannot be defined along a strict binary. The relationship between sex chromosomes, genitalia, and gender identity is complex, and not fully understood. There are no genetic tests that can unambiguously determine gender, or even sex. Furthermore, even if...

BC Green Party leader Andrew Weaver introduced Bill M218 this afternoon, which would ban conversion therapy in the province. Conversion therapy is the discredited notion that one's sexual orientation or gender identity can be changed.

By Bethany Hastie, University of British Columbia and Margot Young, University of British Columbia From conflicts over wedding cakes to university admissions to religious schools, the tension between equality rights and religious freedom is often in the news in Canada, the United States and beyond. Public recognition of diverse family...

Amid the numerous stories we worked on last week, the BC Human Rights Tribunal released a 90-page decision following a complaint against a Bowen Island Montessori School (BIMS). When I wrote about the complaint when it was filed over two years ago, I said: The Montessori’s efforts to single out one...

At its most recent board meeting, the BC Humanist Association unanimously agreed to join hundreds of organizations in endorsing the $10aDay Child Care Plan. The plan is an initiative of the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC. By making quality child care affordable and accessible, the plan sets a...

By Valerie Michaelson, Queen's University, Ontario Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a policy statement recommending that parents not spank, hit or slap their children. The announcement created a flurry of media attention around the world with headlines such as “Spanking is Still Really Common, and Still Really...

On Thursday, Members of the Legislative Assembly of BC voted unanimously at third reading restore the province's Human Rights Commission. One MLA, however, abstained to protest a government he claims is trying to protect the rights of the nonreligious at the expense of "the right of Christians to follow the...

Humanists and secularists are raising concerns about two projects announced as part of a slew of new affordable housing initiatives by the Government of BC. The BC Humanist Association is concerned that the projects, run by the Pentecostal Christian Life Assembly in Langley and Salvation Army in Vancouver, may exclude...

By Gerald Walton, Lakehead University “Pray the gay away” is shorthand for Christian programs that, disguised as love, purport that God heals homosexuality. Through the lens of sexual sin, homosexuality is construed as something in need of healing, a disease in need of a cure, an error in need of...

The BC Humanist Association is welcoming legislation introduced today to restore the province's Human Rights Commission. Ian Bushfield, Executive Director, BC Humanist Association: Core to Humanism is the promotion of human rights and the creation of a more just and compassionate society. Human Rights Commissions in every other province play a...