Dear Friend,
Canada’s 45th Parliament is now in session.
As we wait to hear what the new government’s policy and legislative priorities will be, the EFC is continuing to build strategic relationships with existing and new MPs, Senators, and other government officials to ensure that biblical principles on current social issues are heard. We are hard at work, preparing to raise awareness and advocate on many issues.
Amongst other matters, I want to highlight two key areas of focus for the EFC in the next Parliament.
The first concerns the need to protect children and teens from seeing sexually explicit content on online pornography platforms by mandating age-assurance technologies to verify a viewer’s age.
Germany, France, and the U.K have already passed similar laws to impose age assurance mechanisms to make it more difficult for minors to access pornography on the internet. In the U.S., almost half of the States either already require age assurance to access porn sites or are in various stages of passing such laws. Australia is also planning to pass age assurance legislation. It’s time that Canada gets this done!
Why is this issue so important? Simply put, allowing unfettered access to online pornography has the potential to do irreparable harm to children and young teens, affecting their ability to form healthy relationships. Studies have found that 87% of the content that is easily available on pornography platforms features abuse or violence. Women are dehumanized and treated as objects for men's pleasure. Young, impressionable minds are being exposed to harmful and dangerous lies about sex. Is this what we want our kids to learn?
While parents can and should use internet filters and parental controls at home, wi-fi is readily available in many public spaces. As well, even kids with parental controls on their mobile devices may still see inappropriate content on their friends’ devices. Age assurance technologies can help to prevent accidental or easy exposure to explicit content and can offer protection in settings where minors may encounter harmful content outside the home.
The EFC supports the use of age assurance technologies to protect minors from the harmful impacts of viewing or being exposed to pornography online. And Canada’s Privacy Commissioner has claimed that it is possible to do this in ways that also protect privacy rights.
Scripture compels all of us to protect children from being caused great moral and psychological harm (Matt 18:6). This is an urgent problem that the government needs to address
now!
The second area of concern deals with the harmful expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) to those who are not dying. The EFC, along with human rights experts and disability advocacy groups, both here and internationally, have long been sounding the alarm about the expansion of Canada’s MAiD laws.
For years, the EFC has been urging the government (1) to repeal “Track 2” MAiD, which permits medical professionals to end the lives of individuals with disabilities or chronic illnesses who are not dying, and (2) to halt the expansion of MAiD eligibility, including the already-legislated 2027 expansion of eligibility to those with mental illness alone, as well as possible expansions to allow advance requests for MAiD, and eligibility for mature minors.
Track 2 MAiD discriminates against persons with disabilities and jeopardizes the lives of disabled people in Canada. We are deeply troubled by accounts of people with disabilities seeking euthanasia because they cannot access or afford the basic supports and services they need to live. Some Canadians are turning to MAiD because they struggle to access health care, housing and support, and feel they have no other options. As an outworking of Jesus’ call to love our neighbour, especially in their time of need, we must not accept MAiD as an alternative to meeting a person’s basic needs.
Making people with disabilities eligible for MAiD because of their disability communicates that their lives are not worth living and that those living with disabilities are a burden on society. But Scripture teaches that we are all created by God, in His image, and loved by Him. Life is a gift He gives for all our days. As such, each person’s life has value, meaning and purpose that is not dependent on their productivity, social circumstances or age, health or ability.
In its report, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities expressed its “extreme concern” over how Canada’s MAiD laws impact people with disabilities. The Committee called out the ableism implicit in our MAiD laws, and recommended Canada repeal Track 2 MAiD and halt any further expansions. Their strongly worded recommendations echo those in the EFC’s submission to the UN Committee and validate the EFC’s ongoing work on this issue. We welcome the recommendations and are calling on our lawmakers to follow them.
Friends like you have affirmed your trust in the EFC’s ability to get the job done. We are grateful for your investment in our crucial work on the issues that profoundly impact us and our neighbours. Will you continue to pray for the work that we do on Parliament Hill, as well as for the wisdom of our country’s law and policy makers? And if the Spirit so moves you, will you make a gift in support of our work
today?
With gratitude,
Dr. David Guretzki
President & CEO