May 30th, 2015

This past February the Supreme Court of Canada made the bold decision to strike down all laws restricting physician-assisted suicide in Canada and gave Parliament one year to pass legislation before their ruling comes into effect. Justice Minister Peter MacKay has said that no legislation will be introduced prior to the upcoming federal election in October. This means there will only be a short window of time between when Parliament sits again and the deadline set by the Supreme Court and it is therefore unlikely that legislation will be passed prior to the deadline.

If this happens it will leave a legislative void in the nation and mean that there will be no regulations, and therefore no safeguards, protecting Canadians from the many potential abuses surrounding doctor assisted suicide. The good news is that there is one option still available. It is called the notwithstanding clause. Led by the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC), Canadians are now calling upon Parliament to invoke this clause. For more details read articles below.

POLICY REPORT for Parliamentarians by the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA)

Canada could soon be the only country with no legal restrictions on assisted suicide by LifeSiteNews.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) has sent out 80 000 postcards asking Justice Minister Peter MacKay to:

EPC is now promoting the "Give Us Time" campaign. We would like to encourage all of you to join in! Please see the action points immediately below. You can find more information by clicking here.

ACTION POINTS

1. SHARE: Please share this information with your friends and family on social media. Clicking here to get a link to this e-mail that you can post & share..

2. SEND: Click here for a printable postcard to send in to parliament. No postage necessary.

3. EMAIL: Write a letter to Justice Minister Peter MacKay and your MP asking for the protection of vulnerable Canadians. See sample letter below from EPC. To find your MP click here.

The Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6 (No stamp is necessary)
Fax: 613-954-0811

4. SIGN: Sign the online petition started by The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition by clicking here.

5. PRAY: Please pray that government would have the time to initiate legislation that upholds the value of all human life up until natural death.

SAMPLE LETTER:

To the Hon... or (Member of Parliament)

Parliament must continue to protect people with disabilties, elders, people who live with depression or suicidal thoughts, and other people from assisted suicide.

This must be done through the use of the Notwithstanding clause and by establishing a Royal Commission on assisted death to protect Canadians.

I am concerned with ... [insert your concerns here].

Yours sincerely, [insert name here]

We are pleased to relay that the current Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Peter MacKay, has taken action regarding the legal dispute between Trinity Western University and the Law Society of Upper Canada. Lifesitenews explained it this way, "The federal AG agrees with the Law Society of Upper Canada’s motives but argues that in its efforts to prevent future discrimination against homosexuals it is itself discriminating now against a whole class of people—evangelical Christians who would like to attend TWU’s law school and practice law in Ontario." Click here to read the full article.

Law societies in both Nova Scotia and British Columbia made the decision to ban TWU law school graduates from practicing law in their province on the basis that TWU discriminates against same sex marriages. To read more click here. Thankfully, a Nova Scotia judge quickly dismissed the Nova Scotia Law Society's ruling stating: "... as a private school it is free under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to make discriminatory rules for its members, and its students are entitled to protection from discrimination on the basis of their religious beliefs from government bodies. But the law societies are government-chartered professional regulators and as such are required by the Charter to avoid discrimination based on religious practice or belief." Click here to read the full article on Lifesitenews.

ACTION POINT:

We encourage you to email Justice Minister and Attorney General of Canada Peter MacKay thanking him for fighting to uphold the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and standing for the rights of religious freedom in Canada.

E-mail: peter.mackay@parl.gc.ca
Phone: 613-992-6022
Mail: (No stamp is necessary)
The Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6

Please also continue to pray that the fundamental freedoms of all Canadians would be upheld and that there would be freedom for TWU law graduates to practice law in all provinces.

As of this week a team being run by a core group from Back to Life Canada (a partner ministry of MY Canada) are hitting the ground in Cambodia to show the love of Jesus in tangible ways. During this trip they will be doing outreaches to the slums, hosting a banquet for prostitutes, conducting several pro-life seminars and prayer walking around the city. This year's team follows a powerful trip in 2014 where lives were literally saved. Please join us in prayer that lives would be saved through the work of this team as well, that many would be impacted by the messages and that a lasting mark for Christ will be left.

If you would like to participate with this mission to Cambodia by making a donation to the team's work you can do so by clicking here.

These donations are tax deductible.