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EFC Update Newsletter December 13

13 December 2022
 

Protecting Youth from Online Pornography  

A bill to protect youth from online pornography is in the final stages of moving through the Senate. Bill S-210 would make it an offence to make sexually explicit material available, for a commercial purpose, to minors online. This bill originated in the Senate, and if it passes in the Senate, it will come to the House of Commons to be debated and voted on. See EFC’s sample letter and ask your MP to support Bill S-210, at www.TheEFC.ca/S210.  

New Video Explains Status Challenge for Pro-Life Organizations   

One of the assignments mandated to Canada’s finance minister in late 2021 was to: “Introduce amendments to the Income Tax Act to make anti-abortion organizations that provide dishonest counselling to pregnant women about their rights and options ineligible for charitable status.”    

The EFC is very concerned that these measures are only directed at organizations with a particular view on abortion. It raises the idea that participation in the public square and a level playing field with respect to government programs could be subject to a values test.   

Read more and watch a new nine-minute EFC video interview on the issue with Deina Warren of the Canadian Centre for Christian Charities.   

Ensure Patients, Not Doctors, Initiate MAiD Discussions    

The EFC has asked the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) to make sure that discussions about MAID are only initiated by patients, not doctors. As the EFC submission to the CPSO says, “Doctors are in a position of authority, and ideally, trust. Raising MAID as an option suggests to a patient that the clinician sees their life as not worth living, or that ending their life is something worth considering.” The EFC also asked the CPSO to protect doctor’s conscience rights and to push for MAID to be included as the cause of death, on death certificates. Read EFC's submission to the CPSO here.   

Write MPs about MAiD Expansion   

A change in the law allowing medical assistance in dying (MAiD) for mental illness alone will come into effect this March. The EFC is calling on Canadian Christians to ask their Members of Parliament to stop the expansion. See the EFC's media release and action kit for more information.         

So You Want to Start a Podcast?   

Thinking of starting a podcast? Now is a great time to start one, according to Faith Today’s Thriving in Digital columnist Joanna la Fleur.  She offers some tips for what makes a podcast great. 

Sign up at FaithToday.ca/SubscribeFree for a print subscription to read more regular columns and articles like this. Anyone can now read a limited selection of articles from the latest issue online at www.FaithToday.ca.    

This Week’s Prayer Prompts      

This week’s prayer request is about freedom to worship. Pray offering thanks to God for the freedom of religion we currently enjoy, for boldness to follow God’s calling to be salt and light, for our nation to allow religious communities to exist and flourish, and for wisdom for the courts and elected officials.  

 This week’s affiliate highlighted for prayer is Open Doors Canada, which “works in over seventy countries, supporting Christians who suffer because of their faith in Jesus.” 

You can always find the week’s prayer prompts at TheEFC.ca/TakeAction. Also, we offer new pandemic-focused prayer ideas each month at TheEFC.ca/Covid-19.  

Coming Events at TheEFC.ca/Calendar                

 → A Colorful Christmas Tour (World Vision/The Color/Brooke Nicholls), various Ontario Dec. 13–18     
→ Communications Workers Watercooler Break (CCCA), online, Dec. 9, Jan. 13   
→ Suffering Well & Suffering With-Virtual Course, online, Jan. 9   
→ Communication Workers Watercooler Chat (CCCA), online, Jan. 13   
→ Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, worldwide, Jan. 18-25 
→ Rencontre au sommet 2022 (prayer summit), Granby, Que., Jan. 23-24 
→ Mission Central Conference, Vancouver, Jan. 27-29 

In Case You Missed It              

 → Job Openings: Vice president academic (Hamilton); pastor (Lethbridge, Montreal, Brampton, Toronto, Ottawa, Sault Ste Marie, Uxbridge); Toronto congregational justice and mercy coordinator; Montreal director of leadership programs; and more (FaithToday.ca/Classifieds)  
How a Workplace Can Be a Place to Flourish (Faith Today podcast)     
Should Tweens Have a Choice about Going to Church? (Faith Today article)   
→ Walk about Zion: What the Jerusalem Ramparts Walk Taught Me About the Eternal City (Faith Today blog)   
→ Bill to Clarify Law on Child Sexual Abuse Materials    
→ Bill to Verify Age and Consent on Pornography Sites