BC Humanist Association

Non-believers should tick ‘no religion’ on census, B.C. humanist group says The B.C. Humanist Association is urging non-believing Canadians to tick “no religion” on this year’s census, arguing the country’s secular population has been undercounted due to phrasing on the form.

"We’re saying: if you don’t believe it, don’t tick it." www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...

Make the pledge at noreligion.ca

Inside the Canadian Christian Lobbying Group Pushing Anti-LGBTQ Policy ARPA lobbies in support conversion therapy and against gay marriage and transgender rights.

Christian Nationalists are actively pushing anti-trans laws in Canada.

Defend the Human Rights Code 37 MLAs voted to shred BC's human rights protections

BC MLAs voted down a bill to repeal the Human Rights Code and abolish the Human Rights Tribunal. Still, 37 MLAs supported it. www.bchumanist.ca/defend_the_h...

If you're not religious, say so! If you're not religious, say so on Census 2026.

Have you pledged to tick 'no religion' on Census 2026?

In the coming weeks, the census will land in your mailbox and we're asking people to be honest about their lack of religion. www.bchumanist.ca/noreligion

Calgary teen barred from reciting poet's work on unwanted sexual advances | CBC News Grade 12 student Josephine Trigg had chosen a poem by Ontario author Sarah Tsiang, about young women receiving unsolicited pictures of men's genitals, to read at a recital competition. But the Calgary...

The Calgary Catholic School District told a grade 12 student she couldn't read a poem that violated their faith values. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Support the Human Rights Code We need to expand rights, not strip them

Last week, 37 MLAs voted to repeal BC's Human Rights Code. Ask your MLA to commit to protecting our human rights framework: win.newmode.net/bchumanrights

Letter: The Human Rights Code is not a relic - Freshet News When 37 MLAs voted to advance the Human Rights Code Repeal Act, they told every British Columbian our protections are expendable

"When the 37 MLAs voted to advance this bill, they told every British Columbian that these protections are expendable." www.freshetnews.ca/letter-the-h...

Humanists call on Mark Carney to back words with action The Prime Minister called out Christian Nationalism

Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney called out Christian Nationalism and pitched Canadian 'civic nationalism' as the alternative. We wrote to him with a list of ways he can make that happen by ending religious privilege in Canadian law. www.bchumanist.ca/humanists_ca...

Churches are struggling. Putting homes on their properties could save them Research suggests faith groups under strain could lean into the value of their land to renew their purpose and finances

A new study says 55,000 people could be housed on land owned by places of worship in Waterloo Region. Imagine the impact on the housing crisis if we took this approach nationwide. www.therecord.com/news/waterlo...

Last week, @mark-carney.bsky.social spoke about US Christian Nationalism vs Canadian civic nationalism. We don't agree with everything he's done (where's the action on anti-choice groups abusing charitable status?), it's heartening to hear a leader speak so frankly.

Alberta government accused of ‘weaponizing immigration’ to win votes | Globalnews.ca Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said immigration is one of the issues she plans to discuss during a province-wide television address on Thursday, Feb. 19.

The Alberta Gov is playing with fire. Canada is not a "Judeo-Christian" nation but a secular, multicultural democracy. We've already seen this government ignore its duty of neutrality to promote Christian messaging and now they're weaponizing it to dehumanize migrants. globalnews.ca/news/1167468...

Historically, the question asked people to "indicate a specific denomination or religion even if this person is not currently a practising member of that group." This gives a false impression of the scale of Canada's nonreligious community. Tick no religion on Census 2026.

If you're not religious, say so! Go to noreligion.ca

Census 2026 will land in your mailbox in early May. We're asking Canada's non-religious population to make a pledge to be honest with Statistics Canada and tick 'no religion' this year.

Today's budget was another missed opportunity for the BC Government to get out of the business of subsidizing private religious schools.

If the BC government is eager to find savings for its budget on Tuesday, maybe they could start with the half billion dollar subsidy for the rich and religious to send their kids to private schools.

A grassroots effort collected over 120k signatures in Alberta calling for an end to public funding for religious & elite private schools. It won't trigger a referendum but it shows the public does not support this two-tiered education system. edmontonjournal.com/news/politic...

The Tumbler Ridge shooting is already fuelling anti-trans hate in Canada | Xtra Magazine Bad actors on the right are leaping to connect the shooter’s trans identity to the violence

"Right now the focus should be on supporting the community in mourning, not weaponizing this event as hate against a vulnerable group at large," writes @melwoods.me xtramagazine.com/power/tumble...

A candle in the foreground of a scenic view near Tumbler Ridge BC. Text reads: Our thoughts and hears are with Tumbler Ridge.

Words feel insufficient to describe our reaction to yesterday's news from Tumbler Ridge. As we all process our grief, remember to respond with compassion and patience. And please avoid sharing misinformation.

Funeral processions could be targeted by Quebec’s prayer ban, FQM says François Legault government’s proposed legislation to ban public prayer is too vague and could inflict unnecessary burdens on grieving families and municipal governments, says a group advocating for…

Banning religious demonstrations is misguided and undermines people's right to freedom of expression. Quebec's Bill 9 is bad law and should be withdrawn. www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/art...

B.C. supreme court hears challenge to faith-based hospitals A four-week case began on Jan. 19 in the B.C. Supreme Court, challenging the right of publicly-funded hospitals to practice faith-based care.

British Columbians “should be able to expect that public funds don’t go to promote any one religion over others.” Yet one Catholic hospital is being put ahead of patients' right to healthcare. martlet.ca/b-c-supreme-...

B.C. government struck compromise with assisted dying policy, court hears | CBC News The B.C. government's policy on medical assistance in dying involved striking a compromise between faith-based health-care providers who didn't want to allow the procedure in their buildings and complying...

In the latest testimony heard by the BC Supreme Court, the judge heard from a woman who's mother suffered earlier this month under the so-called compromise between the BC government with St Paul's hospital. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

It's time to end the religious-opt out for MAID.

Here's to the anniversary of the Morgentaler decision, which decriminalized abortion in Canada in 1988. Dr Morgentaler's fight was motivated by his humanist values.

If the assisted dying bill is killed off by the Lords, let that be the end for this unelected chamber | Polly Toynbee With filibustering slowing the pace to a crawl, there is no chance the legislation will get through – unless the government shows some backbone, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

A filibuster by religious fundamentalists in the House of Lords looks set to kill the very modest assisted dying bill before the UK Parliament. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Families want Canadian provinces to end MAID opt-out policy for faith-based hospitals | CBC News As families fight to avoid forced patient transfers from faith-based hospitals that refuse to perform medical assistance in dying (MAID), an advocacy group says there are more than 100 forced transfers...

"This is the worst day of your life [is] made so much worse by this policy that inflicts unnecessary pain, unnecessary distress on the patient, their family members, the whole health-care team that's trying to care for the patient."

Transfer from St. Paul's Hospital for assisted dying caused patient distress, trial told B.C. Supreme Court is hearing a Charter challenge by parents of woman with terminal cancer transferred from St. Paul's Hospital to receive medical assistance in dying

BC allows St Paul's to deny patients access to MAID. “The [transfer] process that we went through was very traumatic and upsetting,” one family told the court. vancouversun.com/news/transfe...

Minister’s statement on status of the decriminalization pilot program Josie Osborne, Minister of Health, has released the following statement on the status of the decriminalization pilot program:

We're disappointed to hear BC will not renew its decriminalization pilot project. Even worse, the province provides no evidence for claims that the pilot "has not delivered the results we hoped for."
news.gov.bc.ca/releases/202...

Family fights for change after daughter forced to leave hospital for MAID A challenge to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that began Monday in the B.C. Supreme Court is raising questions about whether publicly funded, faith-based hospitals should be allowed to ban…

"St. Paul’s is a Catholic-run, publicly funded hospital, which does not allow MAID. The BC government grants faith-based institutions an exemption under its MAID policy. Sam O’Neill’s family said that exemption robbed her of control in her final hours."

To be clear, the question is should the religious beliefs of the small number of board members dictate what procedures a doctor can provide their patients?

And why does our secular government permit this?

"British Columbians should be able to expect the same standard of treatment from every publicly-funded hospital in this province," said Ian Bushfield, Executive Director, BC Humanist Association. "The religious views of a few board members shouldn't dictate your healthcare options."