Centre for Inquiry Canada presentation at HumanLight

Last week, Humanist Canada organized Canada's first HumanLight celebration, bringing together humanist organizations from across the country.  I was given the honour of being given a few minutes during this celebration to describe how the Centre for Inquiry Canada contributed to reason, compassion and hope over the past year. Here are my remarks:

Our efforts to inculcate the values of reason, compassion, and secular values span more than any 12-month period. Here’s the good news: slowly, step by step, more and more Canadians, along with its laws and institutions, are coming around to embrace a humanist philosophy.

Some examples: 

• June 2018: The Supreme Court ruled that discrimination is not a protected religious right. Trinity Western University wanted to open a law school and demanded that sexual intimacy be restricted to married couples, where marriage is defined as between one man and one woman. The Supreme Court decision stated that provincial law societies were permitted to refuse to allow graduates of the program to practice law in their province.
• In December 2018, Canada’s Blasphemy law was repealed, thanks to cooperation between Centre for Inquiry Canada, Humanist Canada, and Canadian Secular Alliance. One must be patient – we met with government about this two years earlier, in December 2016.
• In December 2019, a settlement reached for first time in Canada that secular sobriety programs – ones that do not invoke God – are equally valid to 12-step programs that do. CFIC and BCHA supported Byron Wood, who was directly affected by this restriction.

2021 was a busy year for CFIC. Among the many special virtual presentations, available to all for free:

•  Secularism in Canada (by yours truly)
•  Fusion – the ultimate power source
•  The untold story of Mother Teresa
•  How to talk to a science denier

CFIC held two national virtual conferences, and hosted the third annual Protecting Blasphemers event.

There are recurring CFIC events that all are welcome to join, including Living without Religion, Secular Community Network, and a non-fiction book club.

Throughout 2021, the Centre for Inquiry Canada published its Cost of Religion in Canada series of reports, which thoroughly analyzes the financial cost of a single government policy – of allowing “advancement of religion” to be a charitable goal. The price tag is astonishing – over five and a half BILLION dollars, every year – and CFIC has been in the media across the country throughout the year as a result. Canadians have been generally shocked at this enormous cost. 

Look for more from CFIC in 2022, including the launch of Podcast for Inquiry – available now wherever you get your podcasts. A teaser has already been published, and the first episode drops in mid-January.

One last positive note: Only one year elapsed from the first appearance of covid to start of the vaccine rollout in Canada – and only one year after that, over 87% of Canadians 12 and up are fully vaccinated. This is astonishing, and a testament to the power of science to save lives. Here’s to a great 2022!