A dozen MPs, acting without a quorum, changed the holiday's name to the vapid, meaningless 'Canada Day'
By GREG FELTON, Montreal Gazette, June 30, 2010: At 4 p.m. on a Friday - July 9, 1982 -the House of Commons met with only one item on the agenda: Bill C-201, a private member's bill to change the name of the July 1 holiday from "Dominion Day" to "Canada Day." About a dozen of the 282 members the House showed up for work, which presented a procedural problem: A quorum of at least 20 members is required to conduct business, so, officially, no bills could be passed. Nevertheless, Bill C-201 was given second and third reading. At 4:05 p.m., our hard-working representatives called it a day. [Read the rest of the story here.]
June 28, 2010, EFC Identifies Municipal Government Challenges Facing Faith Groups - OTTAWA –The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) has released a 20-page report entitled Zoned Out: Religious Freedom in the Municipality. It is an introductory guide that seeks to provide the reader with a basic understanding of the religious freedoms of faith groups and the process of engaging with local government when they encounter zoning challenges from municipal government.
In spite of Parliament's resounding defeat of Bill C-384 which proposed to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, the Quebec government has established a special committee to examine "dying with dignity". In response to their request for submissions, ARPA Canada hs prepared a 12 page submission about the concept of dignity in Canadian law and society, including a Christian perspective. It is based on our resource "Building on Sand: Human Dignity in Canadian Law and Society" which can be purchased here. The submission is attached.
By Patrick B. Craine TORONTO, Ontario, June 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Ontario’s highest court has confirmed that obstetricians are charged with caring for the unborn child as well as his or her mother. In a Thursday ruling the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the judgment of the Ontario Superior Court in a preliminary hearing to a malpractice suit filed against Guelph General Hospital by the Liebig family.
In an unanimous decision, the five-judge panel denied the appeal based on the “very long and well-established” legal precedent that an infant “may sue for damages sustained as a result of the negligence of health care providers during labour and delivery.”
ARPA Canada is thrilled to learn that Bill C-268 has been passed by the Senate prior to the summer break. Now traffickers of minors will receive a minimum 5 year sentence. For over a year we have been urging you to take action in support of this legislation. MP's and Senators have heard from Canadians and have responded. Here is an email message from MP Joy Smith, the sponsor of this bill, followed by a press release from Canada Fights Human Trafficking.
Dr. Wes Bredenhof will be the keynote speaker with the theme: ‘Sword-Work 101: Training with the Sword of the Spirit to Defend the Faith.’ Mark and Jaclyn Penninga will lead a evening session. Also Jon Dykstra, editor of Reformed Perspective, will do two evening sessions and one of them will be a movie. The rest of the time will be spent in fellowship, enjoying campfires, an afternoon at the beach, games, discussions, and laughter.
In the chapter of the Bible most often associated with civil government and politics, Paul urges us to “let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another” (Romans 13:8).
In Canada and throughout the world, people are demanding that their leaders provide more and more services even in the midst of tough financial times. But this kind of spending has consequences. Public debt is fast-becoming the number one problem facing many countries in the world today. Consider these figures:
OTTAWA, June 10 /CNW/ - Thousands of Aboriginal individuals are assembling in Ottawa to release this weekend the forgiveness that Prime Minister Stephen Harper requested in 2008. The Prime Minister concluded his apology for Indian Residential Schools by requesting "the forgiveness of the aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly."
"At that moment" says Chief Kenny Blacksmith, "the onus was placed on our people as individuals to respond. The only way to come into our full healing as the First Peoples of Canada is to forgive. Forgiveness is not political; it cannot be bought or sold; it cannot be legislated. It is an individual choice that can break the generational cycle of victimization and accusation." [Keep read this article, and learn more about this gathering, here. Read EFC's thoughts here.]
This spring, MP Rod Bruinooge introduced Bill C-510 which proposes to make it a crime to coerce a woman to have an abortion. The law was inspired by Roxanne Fernando, who was brutally murdered for refusing to have an abortion.
ARPA Canada whole-heartedly endorses this legislation both for what it would accomplish in protecting women who desire to safely carry their baby to term and because it is an important first step in encouraging Canada's Parliament to change the absurd status-quo of having absolutely no laws protecting the unborn at any stage or in any circumstances. You can help change this by engaging the discussion, both with our elected leaders and in our communities.
By James Zekveld - contributed to www.ARPACanada.ca: Nobody likes a hypocrite. Public office often invites hypocrisy. The people who go into office want to keep a good image and sometimes it is just easier to fake it than accept the consequences of what you have done whether public or private. One temptation for people of any age is to separate the private and the public. There is a supposed separation between faithfulness to country and faithfulness to private relationships. A country should expect a faithful person, not just a faithful leader.
A dozen MPs, acting without a quorum, changed the holiday's name to the vapid, meaningless 'Canada Day'
June 28, 2010, EFC Identifies Municipal Government Challenges Facing Faith Groups - OTTAWA – The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) has released a 20-page report entitled Zoned Out: Religious Freedom in the Municipality. It is an introductory guide that seeks to provide the reader with a basic understanding of the religious freedoms of faith groups and the process of engaging with local government when they encounter zoning challenges from municipal government.
In spite of Parliament's 
By Patrick B. Craine TORONTO, Ontario, June 21, 2010 (
Dr. Wes Bredenhof will be the keynote speaker with the theme: ‘Sword-Work 101: Training with the Sword of the Spirit to Defend the Faith.’ Mark and Jaclyn Penninga will lead a evening session. Also Jon Dykstra, editor of Reformed Perspective, will do two evening sessions and one of them will be a movie. The rest of the time will be spent in fellowship, enjoying campfires, an afternoon at the beach, games, discussions, and laughter.
In the chapter of the Bible most often associated with civil government and politics, Paul urges us to “let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another” (Romans 13:8).
This spring, MP Rod Bruinooge introduced 
By James Zekveld - contributed to www.ARPACanada.ca: Nobody likes a hypocrite. Public office often invites hypocrisy. The people who go into office want to keep a good image and sometimes it is just easier to fake it than accept the consequences of what you have done whether public or private. One temptation for people of any age is to separate the private and the public. There is a supposed separation between faithfulness to country and faithfulness to private relationships. A country should expect a faithful person, not just a faithful leader.