August 23, 2024

Dear Maureen, I’m Pete Baklinski and this is your Canadian Pro-Life News Bits where I let you know what’s happening on our country’s pro-life and pro-family front.

Pro-life heroine Linda Gibbons was in Ontario’s Court of Justice on Tuesday in the wake of her four arrests for witnessing to life outside a Toronto-area abortion centre. While it was largely a procedural hearing that firmed up a date for her upcoming trial, some interesting things happened. You can read all about that in my report published on our website. Please continue to keep Linda, who has been in jail for some weeks now, in your prayers.

There are two pieces of concerning news on the euthanasia front. Quebec Life Coalition, our sister organization, reports that the Quebec government is moving full speed ahead to implement a law it passed last year authorizing advance euthanasia requests for people with serious illnesses, even though the Canadian government has not amended the Criminal Code to allow such a thing.

And, even more concerning, a pro-euthanasia activist group has launched a Charter challenge to force Canada to extend euthanasia to the mentally ill. This comes in the wake of the federal government delaying the implementation of euthanasia for mental illness already two times. Of course, the courts will grant this. The Supreme Court has already absurdly linked the right to life and security of the person with that person’s “right to die.” It’s such a misuse of a human right. Only in Canada is the right to life interpreted as a right to die. No wonder our country is sinking morally.

CLC launched a direct-mail postcard campaign in New Brunswick in support of Premier Blaine Higgs’ pro-parental rights Policy 713, which sets out how schools are to deal with gender-confused students. Our campaign comes a few weeks before the upcoming provincial election.

Well, mainstream media certainly did not like our postcards. In fact, the campaign has become quite the newsmaker. We’ve responded to numerous interview requests. Leftist reporters are trying to make us out to be the bad guys. In fact, we’re the ones supporting gender-confused kids and the rights of parents to know what is happening to their children in school. We are certainly happy, however, about the free publicity!

Please watch the must-see video of the week in which persecuted school trustee Barry Neufeld accepts an award from the Christian Heritage Party — the only registered fully pro-life Federal party in Canada — for his moral courage in opposing gender ideology in the classroom. Barry is an inspiration to us all.

Finally, don’t miss the powerful reflection at the end by our summer intern Angelica who was recently working under my direction.

Top Canadian pro-life stories you need to know about

Abortion

Campaign Life Coalition: Pro-life heroine Linda Gibbons to face criminal charges in September trial

A number of interesting things happened at the hearing, including Linda’s supporters being given a police escort while in the courthouse and a condescending Crown prosecutor who glared at them. 

Run With Life: Pro-abort gets tax dollars to promote reproductive justice

“The pro-aborts want to progress from reproductive rights (mentioned 31 times in the report) to reproductive justice (mentioned 73 times in the report). Must be important.”

LifeSiteNews: Ontario pro-life billboard vandalized again, police reportedly investigating as hate crime

“During the night of August 18, pro-abortion vandals burned and spray painted a pro-life billboard reading 'Choose Life' located beside a road in Lambton County, Ontario, according to a local pro-life organization.”

LifeSiteNews: Alberta pro-life group calls out Danielle Smith for remaining silent on abortion

“The province's premier wants to increase the population through immigration while failing to acknowledge that 12,000 unborn children die each year through abortion in Alberta.”

Euthanasia

Western Standard: Pro-MAID group launches Charter challenge over feds' mental illness exclusion

“Dying with Dignity Canada (DWDC) confirmed it will be supporting a court challenge to secure equality for people whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness in Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) legislation.” 

CLC comment: This is how the slippery slope works, expanding the categories of the killable. When euthanasia was first sold to Canadians over a decade ago, pro-euthanasia "experts" promised all kinds of “safe-guards” to make it palatable to the public. They knew that in time, lawsuits from activist groups would erode every single “safe-guard” so that euthanasia would be available on-demand to every Canadian, for any reason or no reason at all. This is why this Pandora’s box should never have been opened in the first place. What’s happening in Canada when it comes to euthanasia should be a dire warning to every country thinking about legalizing the killing of its citizens disguised as care. 

Quebec Life Coalition: Quebec government snubs Ottawa, plans to authorize advance euthanasia requests

“The Quebec government plans to authorize advance euthanasia requests for people with serious illnesses, such as Alzheimer's, as early as this fall, even though the Canadian government has not amended the Criminal Code to allow such a thing.”

Rebel News: Veterans Affairs Canada tried to hide euthanasia scandal paper trail

“Veterans Affairs Canada attempted to hide a paper trail of evidence relating to caseworkers suggesting ailing veterans choose to access the Medical Assistance in Dying program.”

Gender Ideology

CBC Radio-Canada: Pro-family group floods N.B. with postcard defending Higgs' pro-parental rights policy weeks before provincial election

“New Brunswickers have received a postcard from Campaign Life Coalition on which it advances that promoting transgenderism in schools harms children.”

Campaign Life Coalition: LGBT activist attacking religious freedom in the Yukon

“An LGBT activist who, shockingly, works as a teacher in the Yukon’s Catholic school system is attacking the religious freedom rights of Catholic schools.”

Everyday for Life Canada: Persecuted BC school trustee Barry Neufeld receives ‘moral courage’ award from Christian Heritage Party

“The tribute is given to the person who has sacrificed much to defend and protect Canada's youth.”

Inspiring stories to give you hope

Campaign Life Coalition: Big pro-life win in St. Catharines

“What a wonderful victory the pro-life movement just won in St. Catharines, ON! A tyrannical municipal by-law to censor pro-life speech throughout the City of St. Catharines has been repealed!”

Life News: Baby Given 1% Chance of Survival at 17 Weeks is Now 5 Years Old

“A baby who was given a 1% chance of survival after his mother experienced leaking of amniotic fluid at just 17 weeks is now thriving at nearly five years old.”

Life News: Pro-Life Free Speech Wins Major Victory in the UK

“British pro-life advocate Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, who was arrested on two separate occasions for silently praying near a U.K. abortion facility, has been awarded £13,000 (about $16,800) for unjust treatment and violation of her human rights.”

Awesome pro-life social media posts this week

Campaign Life Coalition 

Scott Hord

Pro-life Canadian Man

Must-see video of the week

“For the past SEVEN YEARS, Barry Neufeld has endured tremendous criticism and opposition for his steadfast opposition to teaching Gender Ideology in Public Schools.”

Take Action

Sign our new petition to free Linda Gibbons. Sign here. 

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Maureen, it's Angelica here in for Pete Baklinski. Wouldn’t it be lovely if all life was considered sacred from conception to natural death? Yet, a grandmother is thrust into prison for defending the most vulnerable of our society, and a pro-life group has been labelled along with terrorist groups as the purveyors of “hate” in our country. 

Amidst the chaos and pushback against the pro-life movement in Canada, one can begin to wonder if there is hope. 

75-year-old Linda Gibbons is currently behind bars for standing outside an abortion mill encouraging mothers not to murder their preborn children. Yet, at the same time, our country is home to accused terrorists who were able to roam our streets in freedom while they plotted to carry out serious attacks in the same city that Linda engaged in pro-life witness. Resources to fight real crime should not be wasted on harmless people like Linda. Such valuable resources should instead be used to prevent real criminals, i.e., terrorists, from entering our country in the first place. 

As you have likely heard, Campaign Life Coalition has now been blacklisted as a “hate group” by a government-funded organization. It’s absurd that CLC has been grouped alongside organizations that have morally reprehensible principles and goals, such as neo-Nazi and skinhead organizations. 

Should we lose hope and be discouraged? No, for this is not the first time pro-life advocates have been targeted and persecuted. Nor will it be the last. We must be courageous and have hope. The truth is on our side. We can have confidence that God is with us. 

I love the story of David and Goliath. It is a story of overwhelming odds against David. When David picked up his sling and placed his stone in it, nobody thought that he could defeat the giant with that stone (1 Samuel 17:50). Yet, to everyone's surprise, he did! 

David’s example is important for the pro-life movement at this time. David, the shepherd, used what he was good at doing to engage in the fight that was before him. He had no sword or armour. He had a simple sling and a few stones. And, most importantly, he had God on his side. 

So, too, the pro-life movement is in a similar situation, facing a seemingly undefeatable giant – an anti-life and anti-family behemoth that seeks to stomp out any dissent. 

However, if like David, we use our natural gifts, talents, and anything that God has given us to fight this giant, with God’s help we will prevail. The summer internship with CLC has given me much hope and has taught me much about the pro-life movement in Canada. 

If we have God on our side and do the best that we can do, I am confident that the victory is ours! 

Be bold and daring for life!

Pete Baklinski
Director of Communications
Campaign Life Coalition
Follow Pete on X: @petebaklinski