All schools and Provincial schools must be conducted on strictly secular and non-sectarian principles. The highest morality must be inculcated, but no religious dogma or creed is to be taught in a school or Provincial school. This section of British Columbia's School Act was written in 1876 and is, as...

When I first started doing experimental biology, I noticed that we only looked at males. I was in a fly lab — a very good one — and we could have looked at males or females, or both, but we didn’t. We collected female flies to mate, of course (flies...

Canada is emerging from a decade in which our government systematically dismantled the research capacity of our nation. The Liberal government has touted their support for science and evidence-based policies. One of their first actions was to put together an expert panel to review how fundamental research is funded in...

As Humanists, we want to create compassionate world using the best available evidence. Unfortunately, the policies that govern our pharmaceutical medicines rely on neither our compassion nor the best evidence. The AllTrials Campaign, which I worked with Sense About Science on from 2013-2015, calls for every clinical trial to be...

Evolution is a fact. Evolution is so established as a scientific fact that I’m not actually going to spend time proving that here. Instead you can go read entire databases debunking anti-evolution myths. So it should be fair and uncontroversial to say that something like Biblical creationism, which offers an alternate...

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...

The BC Humanist Association and Centre for Inquiry Canada have spoken out against events on Vancouver Island featuring alternative medicine proponent Brian Clement. Clement has been widely criticized for reportedly claiming that after attending his clinic people have been cured of a wide range of conditions including multiple sclerosis. Last...

We believe that all Canadians benefit when governments solicit, collect and use the evidence and expertise needed to make smart policy decisions that safeguard the health, safety and prosperity of Canadians. We support actions that invest in public-interest science; ensure open, honest and timely communication of scientific information; and make public...

Several Christian schools have the lowest HPV vaccination rates among their Grade 9 students in the Fraser Health region, according to a report in the Vancouver Sun. The Sun obtained vaccination records for schools in the region which covers Burnaby to Hope. Just 61% of Grade 9 girls received the vaccine in...

British Columbia was one of the first jurisdictions in North America to introduce a carbon tax and has committed to aggressive targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. More action is needed to reach those targets and the Government recently released a consultation asking for input on what it’s priorities and...