10942 Letters sent via the new EasyMail!

COVID-19 Tag

21 Jan 2021 Constitutionality of Worship Service Restrictions Challenged in British Columbia

Posted at 11:59h in Fundamental Freedoms 0 Comments
4 Likes

A petition filed by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms on behalf of a variety of individuals challenges the British Columbian Public Health Orders that prohibit all in-person worship services. The names of the petitioners are not published to avoid undue attention, but it includes several pastors of churches currently gathering despite the restrictions. The petitioners are asking the Court for a declaration that the Orders forbidding gathering for worship are an unjustifiable infringement of Charter guaranteed freedoms and therefore should be set aside. There are also eight separate $2,300...

Read More

19 Jan 2021 Vernon City Council Supports Designating Worship as Essential

Posted at 16:58h in Action Story, Fundamental Freedoms 0 Comments
3 Likes

Last week, the Vernon city council voted to write a letter to the provincial government, urging them to consider worship services to be essential services. The essential nature of worship is a characteristic that many Reformed Christians across Canada have come to understand while wrestling with public health orders prohibiting in-person worship services. This particular action by the Vernon city council was prompted by a Reformed Christian who decided that writing to the provincial authorities wasn’t enough. This person went further, bringing this issue to the attention of municipal Councillor Anderson. This...

Read More

15 Jan 2021 COVID-19 Fact Sheet

Posted at 13:40h in Justice and Freedom 0 Comments
8 Likes

Updated January 19, 2021 Information about COVID-19 abounds. Whether you are perusing the local newspaper, scrolling through social media, or talking to friends, COVID-19 dominates the discussion. However, all this information is rarely presented in a single place or presented in an easy-to-understand way. Sometimes, different friends or news stories may report very different facts. We have created this fact sheet and background research in response to the many questions and requests we get in regard to COVID-19. We hope it will be a helpful resource for individual supporters, parents, church councils,...

Read More

10 Dec 2020 The Freedom to do as we ought! (FT Pt. 4)

Posted at 16:08h in Blog, Fundamental Freedoms, Public Theology 0 Comments
5 Likes

Part #4 of 4 in an adaptation of the ARPA Canada Fall Tour 2020, Defending our Christian Legacy of Liberty. Part #1; Part #2; Part #3 by André Schutten In the third part of this series, we focussed on how our Charter of Rights and Freedoms works and how we can use it, while maintaining a Biblical posture of respect for civil authority. We’re wrapping up this series with a suggested five-step process for determining how to respond to infringements on your freedoms. Five-Step Analysis for Processing Charter Infringements So, how do we work through...

Read More

10 Dec 2020 So what if we have legal rights – aren’t we called to just submit to the government? (FT Pt. 3)

Posted at 15:56h in Blog, Fundamental Freedoms, Public Theology 0 Comments
1 Like

Part #3 of 4 in an adaptation of the ARPA Canada Fall Tour 2020, Defending our Christian Legacy of Liberty. Part #1; Part #2; Part #4 by André Schutten Our last post in this series considered what is meant by freedom, and the Bible’s long influence on the development of freedom. We’ll now look at how our Charter of Rights and Freedoms works, while maintaining a biblical posture of respect for civil authority. When Charter Rights Are Being Unjustifiably Violated The Charter of Rights and Freedoms was added to our constitution in 1982. It owes...

Read More

10 Dec 2020 Biblical Freedom ≠ Personal Autonomy (FT Pt. 2)

Posted at 15:37h in Blog, Fundamental Freedoms, Public Theology 0 Comments
1 Like

Part #2 of 4 in an adaptation of the ARPA Canada Fall Tour 2020, Defending our Christian Legacy of Liberty. Part #1; Part #3; Part #4 by André Schutten We began this blog series by presenting an overview of what scripture tells us about the topic of civil government, and our duty to submit to those in authority over us. We are now going to shift gears and focus on why our freedoms are fundamental, and how we can work to answer the prayer of our national anthem – a prayer for God...

Read More

10 Dec 2020 God’s Commission to the Civil Government and the Church (FT Pt. 1)

Posted at 15:28h in Blog, Fundamental Freedoms, Public Theology 1 Comment
3 Likes

Part #1 of 4 in an adaptation of the ARPA Canada Fall Tour 2020, Defending our Christian Legacy of Liberty. Part #2; Part #3; Part #4 by Mark Penninga Freedoms are often tested in the crucible of national turmoil: war and terrorism, plague and natural disaster. During the COVID crisis of 2020, we have seen unprecedented limits on our fundamental freedoms: freedom of religion and conscience, freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association. So, it was fitting that we could address these issues during Fall Tour 2020 – Defending Our Christian...

Read More

23 Nov 2020 A Response to BC’s Ban on Worship Services

Posted at 18:20h in Blog, Fundamental Freedoms 0 Comments
1 Like

By: Levi Minderhoud   Last week, the BC provincial government issued a swath of new COVID-related restrictions, including a complete ban on worship services. These restrictions will be in effect for the next two weeks at a minimum and may be (will likely be, in my opinion) extended by Dr. Bonnie Henry if the trajectory of cases continues to increase. These new restrictions are deeply disappointing for a number of reasons. I had the privilege of discussing these restrictions on the radio on CKNW last week, and I’ll revisit and expand on some...

Read More
elder care in Canada

20 Oct 2020 Fully public long-term care is not ideal elder care

Posted at 01:12h in Blog, Elder Care 0 Comments
0 Likes

by Anna Nienhuis A BC NDP government will move to an entirely public system of senior care if elected, leader John Horgan said. The British Columbia provincial election is coming up on October 24, and after the COVID-19 pandemic exposed many deficiencies in long-term care facilities, this is a key issue for all parties to address. As home care services improve and our senior population increases, people age at home for longer and so often require high levels of care when they enter long-term care. But is full government provision of...

Read More

22 Sep 2020 BC Election Provides New Opportunity to Advance Sound Policies

Posted at 17:29h in Blog, Politics 0 Comments
0 Likes

British Columbians are heading into an election. On September 21, Premier John Horgan requested from the Lieutenant-Government, Janet Austin, to dissolve the British Columbian election and trigger an election. The election date is set for Saturday, October 24. Elections are opportunities for change. COVID has brought many changes and disruptions to society, and this election is an opportunity for a political party or a movement to capture the vision of British Columbians and shape the province for decades to come. Elections are opportunities for change...

Read More