United Christian Business Leaders of Canada stand up against the Legal Leaders for Diversity
Last year we issued a call to action which many of you heeded. Thank you!
Below is a letter that was shared with us as to the action that some businessmen in the Niagara (Ontario) region did on this initiative.
Greetings Fellow Christian Business Leaders:
Late in the fall of 2014, the “Legal Leaders for Diversity” (LLD) which is made up of 77 massive corporations in Canada, sent a letter to the law society of Upper Canada requesting that Trinity Western University (TWU) be denied accreditation for a law school. They did not like that TWU has a code of conduct which requires students to abide by Christian principles about marriage and sexuality.
Last spring Rosaflora, Pine Ridge Gardens and we (of Lindy’s Flowers) came together and wrote a letter to RBC, one of five LLD companies that signed the letter opposing TWU. We requested that RBC recant their decision to stand against TWU. After further correspondence and an in-person meeting between our three companies and RBC, they stated that they appreciated our concerns, but did not believe they were legitimate and decided to “agree to disagree.”
While we realized that the likelihood of the LLD recanting their stand against TWU was slim, we were encouraged to see that the one letter sent on behalf of three companies, to only one of 77 companies of the LLD, elicited an immediate response from the executive level. Although at this meeting our desired goal was not fully realized it was encouraging to hear the executive assert that, as a result of the meeting, his company would scrutinize the placement of their support more carefully in the future.
I am proposing that we come together as Canadian Christian business leaders, and send a letter to each of the 77 companies of the LLD, expressing our concerns and asking how they can justify opposing Christianity when they claim to support diversity. Communicating with these companies, by way of letters and face to face meetings, can be a positive method for deterring these corporations from taking action like this again. Many of them may not even realize what they signed onto with the LLD.
All we are asking for is a reply email to [email protected] (United Christian Business Leaders of Canada) with your company logo or business name and your permission to attach your name to the letter (if it is easier, just a reply email with your name and permission to copy your logo from your website). We will be sure to send you a draft copy of the letter and give you one week’s notice should you decide you do not want your name included. We want to encourage you to forward this letter to other Christian businesses who may want to stand alongside us.
It is our prayer that we may be used as God’s instruments to bring about change in this land and to uphold the freedom to worship/study that we so richly treasure.
Sincerely,
Ben Lindeboom
Lindy’s Flowers
What now?
There is still much work to be done. As a Canadian, we have all an opportunity to examine our purchasing habits and consider where we will invest our money. Much of the focus has been on the Bank of Montreal for their leadership in the Legal Leaders for Diversity campaign, however there were 72 other companies which signed on to a document that discriminates against Christians. As Ben wrote above, “many of them may not even realize what they signed onto with the LLD”. The truth is – we know. Take time to contact the companies with whom you do business and express your concerns about the controversial and offensive discrimination towards Christians.
