September 6, 2024
September 6, 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.
The tempest in the teapot in New Brunswick over our pro-family postcard campaign has started to subside. This happened after the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms wrote a powerful letter on our behalf to Canada Post, warning them that they have an obligation to deliver our postcards, even if mainstream media and some members of the public disagree with our message. You can read that letter below and some of the stories it generated.
And, speaking of New Brunswick, we've released a voter guide just in time for the October 21 election. The guide lets you know who is the pro-life and pro-family candidate in your riding. If you live in NB, or know someone who lives there, please make use of this guide.
Former religious reporter for the National Post Charles Lewis has penned a must-read piece on why Canadians should be outraged over our organization, Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), being listed as a “hate group” by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network. Lewis interviewed both CLC president Jeff Gunnarson and myself for this piece.
While I’m on the topic of CLC being listed as a “hate group,” I was recently interviewed about this by Woken Promises, a site dedicated to traditional conservative and Christian values. I joined host Mavros Whissell, and together, we went on a deep dive into what’s really going on here and why every Canadian who values faith, family, freedom, and democracy should be alarmed. It’s a long interview, but I encourage you to watch the whole thing here.
Here's some good news. Alberta is in the process of drafting an updated version of its bill of rights, which includes the "right to life" from "conception." It remains to be seen, however, if such language will be included in the final draft.
ARPA has written a well-researched piece about what going on in BC politics with the demise of the newly renamed BC United party and the meteoric rise of the BC Conservative party. ARPA notes that among the party leaders there is no champion for the preborn.
The September edition of CLC National News is now available online. Don’t miss CLC President Jeff Gunnarson’s letter to pro-lifers about the unprecedented attack we’re now facing in being labelled as a “hate group.”
Finally, don’t miss my reflection at the end about Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh ending the governance agreement with the Trudeau Liberals and what this means for pro-lifers.
Top Canadian pro-life stories you need to know about
More stories on CLC’s New Brunswick Campaign
Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms: Letter sent to Canada Post reminding them to respect Canadians’ rights
Rebel News: Canada Post warned against censorship of parental rights flyers
Western Standard: Campaign Life Coalition defends flyer in support of New Brunswick parental rights
LifeSiteNews: Campaign Life Coalition distributes thousands of pro-family flyers ahead of New Brunswick election
Charles Lewis: Catholic Register: Smearing of Campaign Life demands action
“In effect, Campaign Life is being condemned for upholding Catholic teaching, undercutting the claim Canada respects freedom of religion.”
Campaign Life Coalition: CLC Voter's Guide to New Brunswick Election
“To help our pro-life, pro-family supporters cast their ballots with an informed conscience in the October 21st New Brunswick election, Campaign Life Coalition is pleased to unveil our brand-new voters' guide.”
LifeSiteNews: Alberta Bill of Rights draft includes ‘right to life’ from ‘conception’
“The United Conservative Party government of the province of Alberta is anticipated to soon introduce a new ‘Bill of Rights,’ a current draft of which includes the ‘right to life’ from ‘conception, gestation in the womb.’”
ARPA: Seismic Shift in BC Politics
“Unfortunately, one issue that both BC United and the BC Conservatives agree on is abortion. Both leaders had publicly stated that they have no intention of restricting abortion whatsoever.”
The Canadian Press: Alberta Health Minister LaGrange says hospital transfer plan isn't 'hard and fast'
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is facing lots of flak for wanting to offload underperforming hospitals from Alberta Health Services to third-party operators, many of whom are pro-life.
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada: Religious freedom of Christian hospitals
“Providence Health Care in B.C. is being taken to court by a family and some advocates for euthanasia who have launched a legal challenge against the government policy which allows faith-based facilities to decline to provide euthanasia. They contend the ability of a patient to receive euthanasia on-site should trump the Christian ethic of the facility.”
LifeSiteNews: BC Conservative leader tells Jordan Peterson he opposes puberty blockers for children
“Speaking to Jordan Peterson, B.C. Conservative leader and premier hopeful John Rustad said plainly, 'I do not believe it is the right thing to do to support any kind of procedure that would sterilize a child.’”
Mass Resistance: Canada activists pushing to stop outrageous (and expensive) government “lawfare” against pro-family activist
“Christian activist Bill Whatcott was acquitted of a so-called ‘hate crime.’ But the government is bringing him to trial again! (Double-jeopardy is legal in Canada.)”
Rebel News: SNEAK ATTACK: Trudeau just appointed a transgender extremist to the Senate — from Alberta!
“On the Labour Day long weekend, when no-one was paying any attention to politics, Justin Trudeau thought it was the perfect time to make a sneak attack on Alberta — and on children.”
LifeSiteNews: Alberta to introduce bill to make sex-ed classes in schools optional
“Students would no longer be automatically enrolled in sex-ed classes and parents would be able to have a hand in deciding whether they want a child enrolled in the classes.”
Live Action: Arkansas dedicates $250,000 to creation of Safe Haven Baby Boxes
“The lives of more babies are likely to be saved, thanks to a new grant program announced by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, which said it will give $250,000 to organizations to implement Safe Haven Baby Boxes.”
Live Action: One of the first babies saved by a Safe Haven law is grown up and speaking out
“Rose was born in January 2005, but she doesn’t know where she was born or to whom she was born. ‘I wasn’t born in a hospital,’ she told Students for Life of America (SFLA), ‘but I was dropped off at St. John’s Hospital when I was maybe a day old. I was covered in dried blood and wrapped in a towel when a woman dropped me off.’”
Live Action: He supported abortion to birth until he watched it: ‘We think we know, but we really don’t know’
“[Live Action] spoke to one man who admitted that he was pro-choice and supported abortion all the way to birth — only to have him completely change his mind after he watched a powerful video demonstrating what abortion actually entails.”
Live Action: Baby girl named ‘Miracle’ graduates NICU after birth at 23 weeks
“Miracle Murray was born on April 2, at 23 weeks gestation. She weighed a mere one pound at birth.”
Campaign Life Coalition
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Maureen, by now everyone has heard the news that Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has ended the governance agreement with the Trudeau Liberals.
This means that an election could be triggered by a non-confidence vote any time after September 16, when the House is scheduled to resume.
But, I wouldn’t count on anything happening too soon. Singh has stated that he will decide whether or not to support the Liberals vote by vote. The NDP are also down in the polls right now, sharing in the same fate as the sinking Liberals.
According to the latest polling, if an election were called today, the CPC would win 210 seats, gaining 91; the Liberals would retain only 81 seats, losing 79; and the NDP would retain only 16 seats, losing 9.
One moral of this story for the NDP is that when you attach yourself to a sinking ship in a bid to keep it afloat, you end up going down with that ship.
So, it would in no way benefit the NDP to trigger an election by joining with the CPC in a non-confidence vote. It’s likely that business will carry on as usual, with the NDP propping up the sinking Liberals, until the next scheduled Federal election in October 2025, whereupon both parties will be decimated.
When, and if, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are to form government, we pro-life advocates certainly have our work cut out for us.
Poilievre used to be pro-life, but he flip-flopped on the issue some four years ago. He now identifies as “pro-choice” (pro-abortion) and has stated that a future Conservative government under his leadership will quash any attempts to introduce pro-life legislation.
Poilievre has made it clear that he will not allow the “abortion debate” to be opened under his leadership.
And, this is where our work is cut out for us.
We have to do everything in our power to not let the politically strong and powerful silence the preborn. We must not allow them to set the agenda when it comes to this greatest of all injustices – the killing of the youngest members of the human family.
Poilievre is wrong if he thinks pro-life Canadians like you and me are going to sit back while some one hundred thousand preborn Canadian children are slaughtered annually in hospitals and killing centres across this nation.
For us pro-lifers, this topic is not up for “debate.”
There can be no “abortion debate” when lives are on the line. At stake are human lives – preborn lives.
That human life begins at conception is not up for debate – the vast majority of biologists make this clear.
That these tiny lives are fully human is not up for debate – when male and female of the same species reproduce, they make a member of that species.
That every member of the human race is endowed with human rights is not up for debate – everyone agrees that human rights — including the first and most fundamental, the right to life — are for everybody to the exclusion of no one.
We have to reject this framework of “reopening the abortion debate.” We have to stop letting politicians set the agenda on this most important of all issues.
The fully alive human person in the womb is not up for debate. No one’s life should ever be up for debate.
And, we’ve got to get this message out. The number one job of the pro-life movement is to be a voice for the preborn voiceless. We must demand justice for them. And, ultimately, with the help of God, we must bring about a culture and a nation where the preborn are legally protected from the first moment of their existence.
We still have a long way to go to make this happen. We must be persistent. We must raise the next generation with our pro-life values. We must never give up.
One day, Canada will be abortion free. And what we are doing today to advance the cause of life will make this happen.
In the meantime, be bold and daring for life!
Pete Baklinski
Director of Communications
Campaign Life Coalition
Follow Pete on X: @petebaklinski