By Heddie Driegen, Refugee Coordinator (Emmanuel Free Reformed Refugee Sponsorship Program):

Update: Bill C-11 passed 2nd reading vote on April 29. Please direct feedback to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration.

Canada has been a welcome haven for those in distress around the world, a record we can be proud of and must sustain. Giving protection to refugees is a key part of Canada's humanitarian tradition, and the Conservative government wants to build on that (but) at the same time fix some very serious problems in Canada's asylum system. Previous Liberal and Conservative governments, sensitive to the plight of so many, have tried and failed to implement  refugee reforms. 

 Limiting Power - By James Zekveld (writing for www.ARPACanada.ca). Part One can be found by clicking here.

Whether your political allegiance is  to the right or to the left today the complaint against the existing order is the same; some entity has too much power.  To a greater or lesser extent, a person on the right will complain about the government’s power while the person on the left will complain about the corporation’s power.   Some will complain about both.  

Update: Read this report from PEACE Hamilton which argues that "Premier Dalton McGuinty’s withdrawal of the Sexual Health Curriculum is a fraudulent political tactic designed to provide a sense of security for parents."

www.ARPACanada.ca: In an about-face Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is backing down from plans to implement a new sex education curriculum targeting students in the province as early as Grade 1. "It's become pretty obvious to us that we should give this a serious rethink," McGuinty told reporters Thursday at a surprise press conference in London, Ontario. The Premier has promised more consultation providing a possible opportunity for local ARPA groups to make their voice heard on what should and should not be taught in Ontario's classrooms.

The House of Commons has voted down Bill C-384, a bill which proposed to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada. Thank you very much to many of you who took action in recent days, months, and even years through prayers, emails to your MP, ads in your newspapers, and special events in your community on this matter. A special thanks goes to Alex Schadenberg, from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, who worked tirelessly against this bill.

ARPA Note: Please pray for the Lord's blessing on this bill. Your efforts will also be needed to defend this legislation with letters to the editor as it is already getting opposition in the media.  [Click here for more mainstream media reports.  Click here for a positive review by the EFC.

Update: According to the Montreal Gazette, the Prime Mininister's Office has stated that the government will not support this bill.

Toronto Star, April 15 2010: OTTAWA — A Conservative backbencher has come forward with a new bill on abortion, despite Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s insistence in recent weeks that the abortion debate wouldn’t be reopened in the Commons. Rod Bruinooge, chair of the all-party pro-life caucus in Parliament, has introduced a bill that would penalize anyone who “coerces” a woman into ending her pregnancy against her will. [Keep reading this article here.]

Attachments:

Bill C-510

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