Current Action Items

26 May 2021 Called to Care Campaign

Over the past year we have been reminded of our Christian calling to care for our elders. We have also seen how this calling can be combined with political action, as long-term care is getting increasing political attention. When COVID-19 struck, long-term care homes in British Columbia were hit hard, exposing deadly flaws in how we care for seniors and bringing long-term care increasingly under public scrutiny and control. The provincial NDP and the federal NDP have issued calls for all care homes to be permanently taken over by the provincial...

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18 May 2021 School of Thought

What’s the school of thought on education in Manitoba? I’m sure there have been times when you were deep in thought. Even lost in thought. Someone shared something with you as food for thought. Or told you to hold that thought. Well, I want to take you to the school of thought. The school of thought in Manitoba. It’s the thought that counts. Do your part in revamping the system They’re calling it the most major education overhaul in Canadian history. Bill 64, The Education Modernization Act, has been tabled in the Legislature....

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18 May 2021 Live and Learn

Well, you live and learn, don’t you? I’m sure you’ve all learned a thing or two. You learned the ropes. Sometimes you learned your lesson. You had to learn the hard way. You learned to live with someone. You learned to live with something. You learned by heart. You learned by rote. You learn something new every day. So, I invite you to join me and continue to live and learn. Do your part The government is consulting with Albertans and is asking for input on the new K-6 curriculum. Many of our...

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16 Mar 2021 Grassroots Campaign on worship services in Ontario

After lockdowns last Spring and again this past Winter, Ontario has returned to the colour-coded system with most regions returning to either 'red', 'orange', or 'yellow' zones. As a result, churches in those regions are now able to meet again with a 30% capacity cap for worship services. Some congregations in areas like Toronto, Peel, and Lambton remain in the 'grey' zone – under lockdown. As such, we were happy to hear the announcement on March 12 that allows for a 15% capacity for in-person worship servcies while a region...

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10 Feb 2021 Online porn industry under government scrutiny – ARPA submits policy brief to Ethics Committee

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Information, Privacy, and Ethics is studying the question of 'Protection of Privacy and reputation on Platforms such as Pornhub.' As we discussed in previous posts (here from Dec 17th and here from Jan 27th), the December 4, 2020 New York Times exposé on the porn industry has brought a welcome level of concerned attention to the website and business model of Pornhub and the Mindgeek corporation based in Montreal. Parliament needs to address the fact that these sites host videos of violent...

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01 Feb 2021 United Nations say disability should not be a reason for MAiD

On January 25th, experts from the United Nations released a press statement declaring, "Disability is not a reason to sanction medically assisted dying." “UN human rights experts today expressed alarm at a growing trend to enact legislation enabling access to medically assisted dying based largely on having a disability or disabling conditions, including in old age… Disability should never be a ground or justification to end someone’s life directly or indirectly… The experts also expressed concern at the lack of involvement of people with disabilities, as well their representative organizations, in...

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18 Jan 2021 Kill the Bill

It is our hope and prayer that you will join us in calling on the Senate to Kill the Bill. ARPA supporters will be very familiar with Bill C-7 (An Act to amend the Criminal Code – medical assistance in dying). The bill was introduced by the Minister of Justice on September 23, 2020, in response to the Superior Court of Quebec decision in Truchon v. Attorney General of Canada. ARPA Canada has engaged extensively with Bill C-7 at every step of the way. We outlined our concerns with Bill C-7 through...

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17 Dec 2020 Canadian-based site Pornhub under fire

(At the bottom of this article is a call to action: Please sign the petition sponsored by MP Arnold Viersen in the House of Commons asking the government to act to protect young people from exposure to pornography.) In a year where good news has been in short supply, it is wonderful to see rapid positive developments on an issue that we've been concerned about for a long time. An exposé post in The New York Times targeted Pornhub, a Canadian based for-profit pornography business. The article highlighted major problems relating...

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19 Aug 2020 Grassroots Campaign to Expand Worship Services in British Columbia

Between March 16th and November 19th, 2020, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry restricted in-person worship services to 50 people in British Columbia in an effort to staunch the spread of COVID-19. On November 19th, she completely prohibited in-person worship services, a situation that still endures to this day. Christians have a complicated response to these restrictions. God has commanded us to submit to our civil authorities, to gather to worship Him regularly, and to love our neighbour, yet it is difficult to fulfill all three callings in our current...

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31 Mar 2020 Letter to Government Officials – hope and humility

The following letter was sent by ARPA Canada to Canada's federal and provincial government officials, encouraging them to find their hope and direction in our sovereign God. We ask you to join us in praying for a blessing on this letter, and invite you to reach out to them to encourage them and, if the opportunity allows, to lovingly point to their responsibility to govern faithfully, in obedience to the One who gave them their authority. A meeting, including through electronic means, would be an ideal way to communicate this...

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