BC Humanists Podcast

This episode delves into the groundbreaking report, "Finding DORI: A Department of Religious Inefficiency" from the BC Humanist Association. Published on April 1, 2025, this document proposes the establishment of a new governmental body: the Department of Religious Inefficiency (DORI). Far from striving for streamlined governance, DORI aims to intentionally embed inefficiency into the Canadian government by expanding the entanglement of religion and state. The report outlines a series of bold initiatives to achieve this, moving away from what it terms "misguided secularism".Key Proposals and Themes:Constitutional Transformation: DORI would be established as a super-parliamentary structure with powers equal to the Crown, formally recognizing the dual authority of church and state. This is intended to exacerbate constitutional debates and highlight tensions between secular governance and religious privilege. The report also suggests replacing the Charter of Rights and Freedoms with a Charter of God's Supremacy.Sanctimonious Symbolism: The report advocates for a divinely inspired national anthem and the establishment of state representation for all churches, rather than a single state church, to maximize bureaucratic inefficiency. It also calls for a return to compulsory, lengthy religious sermons at the beginning of each parliamentary session.Theocratic Trade: The report proposes reframing trade disputes, such as with the United States, as holy wars, aligning economic interests with divine providence and seeking international support from faith-based groups.Expanding Ecclesiastical Economics: DORI envisions making tithing mandatory for all residents and instituting a National Tithe, allocating 10% of the government's budget to places of worship. It also proposes complete tax relief for all members of the religious clergy and the creation of a 'Super Charity' status for religious organizations, eliminating all reporting requirements. Furthermore, the report suggests abolishing permissive property tax exemptions for places of worship and granting full statutory exemptions to all properties held by religious owners.Clerical Curriculum: The report calls for redirecting funds from public education to independent religious schools, aiming to financially starve public institutions. It suggests repealing sections of the BC School Act, increasing funding for religious schools, reducing public school budgets, abolishing the Ministry of Education, and eliminating funding for non-religious textbooks. DORI also proposes curtailing comprehensive sexual education and systematically substituting science with superstition in schools, suggesting replacing science with subjects like astrology and alchemy.Theocratic Treatments: DORI recommends radically restructuring healthcare funding to prioritize religious hospitals and replacing evidence-based medicine with prayer and spiritual healing. It also suggests replacing all abortion and sexual health clinics with crisis pregnancy centres.Sanctified Unions: The report proposes explicitly permitting every religion, sect, cult, and new religious movement to solemnize marriages and abolishing all civil marriages in British Columbia.Conclusion:"Finding DORI" presents a comprehensive, albeit potentially controversial, vision for a future where religious inefficiency is a central pillar of Canadian governance. The report argues for a move away from secular principles towards a theocratically influenced society across various aspects of public life.Source:"Finding DORI: A Department of Religious Inefficiency." BC Humanist Association, April 1, 2025.

An informal discussion panel hosted by the BC Humanist Association and Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada. We recommend that you watch the film “Preconceived” first – an award-winning film about anti-choice “crisis pregnancy centres” in the U.S. Joyce Arthur of ARCC and Teale Phelps Bondaroff of BCHA, share a few observations about the film and touch on issues around CPCs in Canada.

Our new report looks at prayers in Saskatchewan municipal council meetings. This podcast was generated in part with the help of Google's NotebookLM AI tools. Read the report

BCHA Research Coordinator Dr Teale Phelps Bondaroff provides an update on some of our upcoming research and how you can get involved. Volunteer Donate Join

In June 2023, Chilliwack Progress Editor Paul Henderson was fired for tweets criticizing those offering little more than "thoughts and prayers" in response to the near-drowning of a local child. In this presentation for the BC Humanist Association, Paul speaks about his firing and his time covering the religious right in the Fraser Valley. Read more about Paul's story

CONTENT NOTE: Parts of this discussion touch on child abuse and suicide. Perry Bulwer is the author of Misguided: My Jesus Freak Life in a Doomsday Cult. Misguided is a unique first-hand account of a life spent in the Children of God, a/k/a The Family, a millenarian doomsday sex cult under the sway of a charismatic leader, David Berg. In 1972, Perry Bulwer, a naive 16-year-old growing up in Port Alberni, BC dropped out of high school to run away with the Children of God, one of a number of millennial Christian cults that sprang up in the 1960s and 1970s. Soon, Perry was preaching the cult's doomsday message on the streets of some of the largest cities in the world. Bulwer takes the reader on an extraordinary trip through the world of biblical literalism, fundamentalist endtime fantasies, paranormal spirituality, evangelical extremism, ritual abuse, and liberally interpreted Biblical teachings that were used to justify licentious sexual doctrines, evangelical prostitution, and child sexual abuse. Along the way, we learn about the inner workings of the CoG, a/k/a The Family, and the machinations of David Berg, a self-declared endtime prophet who claimed to be personally mentioned in the Bible, and that God spoke through him. Berg predicted the imminent destruction of America, the appearance of the Antichrist in 1985, and the Second Coming of Jesus in 1993. Berg died in 1994, before various law enforcement agencies around the world caught up with him. Perry Bulwer escaped The Family in 1991, managing to escape the cult's tight control while living in Asia. Returning to Canada, he tried to pick up his life where he had left it off two decades earlier. Through education Bulwer lost his religion, turning from religious extremist to secular humanist lawyer, fighting for the rights of sex workers and drug users living on the streets of Vancouver. Haunted by his own past, Bulwer became an advocate for thousands of second-generation survivors of the cult's child abuse and psychological trauma scattered around the world. About Perry Bulwer Born in Port Alberni, BC, in 1955, Perry Bulwer joined the Children of God after dropping out of high school at age 16, and spent the next two decades living in CoG communes in Canada, the United States, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia, Macau, Hong Kong, and, undercover, in Beijing. In 1991, aged 36, he was able to escape the cult --- with no money or possessions, and little in the way of education or skills. He spent the next decade catching up on his studies, and in 2002, graduated from the University of British Columbia with a law degree. After a 2004 diagnosis of PTSD and fibromyalgia, Bulwer retired from the practice of law (though he remains registered with the Law Society of BC). Back home in Port Alberni, Perry Bulwer advocates for second-generation cult survivors, continuing to shed light on the Children of God, a/k/a The Family.

Bettianne Hedges of Humanist Canada hosts Leslie Rosenblood from Centre for Inquiry Canada alongside Teale Phelps Bondaroff and Ian Bushfield of the BC Humanist Association, who will discuss the many ways Canada still tangibly privileges religion and its institutions over similar non-theistic organizations. Just a few policy choices cost Canadians billions - yes, with a "b" - each and every year. You can learn more by reading: Cost of Religion in Canada from CFIC A Public Good from BCHA Follow the Money from BCHA An Extra Burden from BCHA Recorded March 19, 2024

Join Megan Sheldon of Be Ceremonial as we explore the foundations of ceremony, including how we can create our own rituals to acknowledge times of change in life, death, and everything in between. You will learn how to craft a ritual, design a ceremony, and mark the seemingly invisible moments that often go unnoticed in our society. There will be an opportunity for questions, as well as a chance to browse the Be Ceremonial platform that inspires you with hundreds of secular rituals across the life cycle. About Megan Sheldon, Co-Founder & CEO, Be Ceremonial Megan Sheldon (she/her) is the co-founder of Be Ceremonial, the world's first guided ritual app + online community. Be Ceremonial inspires you to create your own ceremonies across the life cycle, drawing on hundreds of universal rituals. Megan is a cultural mythologist, secular celebrant, and end of life doula who is striving to change the cultural narratives around death, dying and grief. Download End of Life: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC

Despite decades of calls to action, our emissions are not on a path to stave off a horrific future for our children and future generations. The BC Climate Emergency Campaign is a group of civil society organizations, anxious about the climate emergency, who are collaborating to increase the ambition of climate policy and action in BC. We are not a formal coalition, but have chosen to work together on a joint campaign. Signatories, which include the BC Humanist Association, share a belief that BC's climate plan, CleanBC, needs a profound jolt, one that would transform CleanBC into a genuine emergency plan and force the provincial government to take real action on climate change. In this webinar, BC Climate Emergency Campaign Coordinator Emiko Newman will prioritize an action-oriented, hope-filled approach that's heavy on solutions to the crisis. Presenter: Emiko Newman, BC Climate Emergency Campaign coordinator Emiko is passionate about exploring the intersections of social justice and climate justice. In 2022, she completed a master's degree in Social Justice Education and Environmental Studies at the University of Toronto, focusing on the power of eco-pedagogies for fostering a praxis of hope within environmental education. Her past work experience includes coordinating anti-racism workshops, working as a research assistant on environmental and sustainability education, and teaching piano. She joined the BC Climate Emergency campaign with the desire to work alongside others to push the government away from incremental action towards the emergency-level action demanded by the climate crisis. Emiko is also an avid field hockey player, pianist, taiko player, and (sometimes) completer of reading challenges.

Despite a 2015 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that prayers at municipal council meetings are unconstitutional, multiple communities across British Columbia still opened their 2022 inaugural council meetings with a prayer. This is a recording of a discussion about prayers with BCHA Research Coordinator Dr Teale Phelps Bondaroff where he explores our latest work updating the status of prayers at BC municipalities. We've made incredible progress in ensuring compliance since 2018 but there are still a number of stragglers that we will continue to challenge. Learn more about our work at https://www.bchumanist.ca

The Government of British Columbia's Master Agreement with religious healthcare facilities allows some hospitals to 'opt-out' of providing patients with procedures that they're legally entitled too. This means your right to MAID or an abortion is subject to the whims of Catholic Bishops and not the rule of law. Find out about the history of religious hospitals in the province and how this agreement came about. We'll also give you the tools to help end these religious opt-outs. Special Guest: Dying With Dignity Canada's CEO Helen Long. References Vandenberg and Boschma (2020) Fritz (2015) The origins of public funded medical care in BC and the BCMA's contributions Schratz (2018) Important history behind out health care CBC From the archives: Kim Campbell clashes with BC premier over abortion Abortion History (2007) Denominational Health principal members Humanists call for end to Master Agreement Email your MLA (BCHA) Email your MLA (DWDC) Share your story (DWDC)

The Canadian constitution does not have a formal establishment clause separating church and state as the USA does, so can Canada be considered a secular country? In this presentation, BC Humanist Association Executive Director Ian Bushfield will argue that Canada's unique legal and political history, coupled with a forward-looking Charter of Rights and Freedoms and judiciary, has resulted in more robust protections for the nonreligious and state neutrality than presently exist in America. Bushfield will walk through several of the major legal cases in Canadian religious law, from Big M Drug Mart to Saguenay and Trinity Western University. Along the way, he'll highlight how secular activists and humanist organizations have increasingly made their voices heard through the justice system and identify several issues on the horizon. This talk by BCHA Executive Director Ian Bushfield was recorded at the Kelowna, Atheists, Skeptics & Humanists Association (KASHA) Forum on July 31, 2023. Please note that the final minute of the talk was re-recorded.

The BCHA team discusses its newly released report: Open for Unconstitutional Business. Read the full report Donate to our year end fundraiser

In honour of Black History Month 2022 (February), we hosted “Black in British Columbia: Resilience and Erasure” presented by Kathleen Johnson (founder of the Facebook group “Critical Black Thought Society” and Alberta Representative for Humanist Canada) This talk was recorded February 22, 2022 via Zoom Kathleen shared a look at how Black settlers came to British Columbia, what life was like, how they contributed, and how that history has been all but erased from the culture of British Columbia. About Kathleen: "I am a diversity and inclusion specialist and coach marginalized professionals, entrepreneurs, and artists. I write and speak on various platforms about diversity issues. I founded a group on Facebook called Critical Black Thought Society with almost 400 members, and am the Alberta Representative for Humanist Canada. This past October I represented the Humanist position at the World Religions Conference on Racism. I was born and raised in Calgary, and am a 1st generation Canadian with parents from Grenada, West Indies, who immigrated to Canada in the early 1970's. I have 5 human children and 1 fur baby." To learn more about Kathleen: Visit her website Check out her Instagram

The Government of British Columbia gives hundreds of millions of dollars to private schools in the province. Our new research shows that the overwhelming majority of these schools are for the religious or economic elites. In this talk, BCHA Executive Director Ian Bushfield and Policy Research Adriana Thom will detail where this money goes, what these schools are teaching and who gets shut out. Learn more: https://www.bchumanist.ca/follow_the_money https://www.bchumanist.ca/private_school_funding_growth https://www.bchumanist.ca/wtf_weird_that_s_funded_1 https://www.bchumanist.ca/wtf_weird_that_s_funded_2 https://www.bchumanist.ca/wtf_weird_that_s_funded_3 Take action https://www.bchumanist.ca/end_the_private_school_giveaway

This is a recording of a live event held in collaboration with Nonreligion in a Complex Future in March 2021.

This is a recording of a live event held in March 2021, in which our research team breaks down the BCHA's latest report on tax exemptions.

This is the recording of an event originally held on Zoom in February 2021.

This panel was originally held live on Zoom on November 5, 2020.

This is the final section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) and living with the death of a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For more information about end of life, including healthcare, advance care planning, legacy projects and emotional support, please see our first guide End of Life: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website.

This is the first section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) and living with the death of a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For more information about end of life, including healthcare, advance care planning, legacy projects and emotional support, please see our first guide End of Life: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website.

This is the third section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) and living with the death of a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For more information about end of life, including healthcare, advance care planning, legacy projects and emotional support, please see our first guide End of Life: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website.

This is the second section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) and living with the death of a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For more information about end of life, including healthcare, advance care planning, legacy projects and emotional support, please see our first guide End of Life: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website.

This is the first section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) and living with the death of a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For more information about end of life, including healthcare, advance care planning, legacy projects and emotional support, please see our first guide End of Life: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website.

This is a recording of an event originally held live on Zoom.

This is final section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read our second guide, Memorials & Grief: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website bchumanist.ca

This is part eight of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read our second guide, Memorials & Grief: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website bchumanist.ca

This is part seven of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read our second guide, Memorials & Grief: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website bchumanist.ca

This is part six of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read our second guide, Memorials & Grief: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website bchumanist.ca

This is part five of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read our second guide, Memorials & Grief: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website bchumanist.ca

This is part four of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read our second guide, Memorials & Grief: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website bchumanist.ca

This is part three of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read our second guide, Memorials & Grief: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website bchumanist.ca

This is part two of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read our second guide, Memorials & Grief: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website bchumanist.ca

This is part one of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read our second guide, Memorials & Grief: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website bchumanist.ca

This event was originally held live on Zoom on August 13, 2020.

In the wake of George Floyd's murder, mass protests and calls to action across the globe have cast a light on critical issues of systemic racial discrimination and dehumanization. In a continuation of our lecture series taking a humanist look at systemic racism and criminal justice, our presenter Corey Clay focuses in this talk on how racial dehumanization intersects with wider issues around criminal justice and Black antisemitism. Back by popular demand, Clay has 14 years of experience studying and teaching classes about the criminal justice system in the USA. His work focuses on police violence, probation recidivism and the criminalization of cannabis. He identifies as a Humanist and is currently in the process of moving to Vancouver, BC. This event was originally held live on Zoom on July 30, 2020. For more information on our future events, please visit bchumanist.ca or follow us on social media.

From the Research Desk is a regular check in with our executive director, Ian Bushfield on some of the current projects that our campaigns teams are working on. This talk, recorded on June 5, 2020, is on some of our work on private schools in British Columbia. We've previously documented the background of their funding model, shown that everyone appointed to oversee independent schools has come from an Evangelical Christian school, broken down the funding for these schools showing it disproportionately goes to Christian and Catholic schools, exposed private schools that teach creationism in science class and found examples of private schools that exclude LGBTQ2S+ families. The talk ends by previewing our latest report, Pass or Fail? that questions whether private school students perform better than their public school peers at UBC. Read it now: https://www.bchumanist.ca/pass_or_fail_report Watch this talk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkhDMSfrmQQ Ian Bushfield is executive director of the BC Humanist Association. He has a background in physics and nonprofit management.

From the Research Desk is a regular check in with our research team, Dr Teale Phelps Bondaroff and Ian Bushfield, on some of the current projects that our campaigns teams are working on. This talk was broadcast on May 15, 2020. In this talk, Ian & Teale talk about our work on charity law. Watch the video of this talk Join or Donate to the BC Humanist Association Creative Commons intro music credit: Teamwork by Scott Holmes

Introducing a new virtual program from the BC Humanist Association. From the Research Desk is a weekly check in with our research coordinator, Dr Teale Phelps Bondaroff, on some of the current projects that our campaigns teams are working on. Our first broadcast was on Friday, April 3, 2020. In this talk, Teale talks about our findings on the use of prayers in provincial and municipal governance. Watch the video of this talk Read House of Prayers Sign up to help with our Secularism in Local Governance study Join or Donate to the BC Humanist Association Creative Commons intro music credit: Teamwork by Scott Holmes

At the end of November, MLAs voted unanimously to begin every day's sitting of the BC Legislature with "prayers and reflections" rather than "prayers." The change followed the publication in September of the BC Humanist Association's landmark House of Prayers Report. The Report examined the transcripts of 873 prayers said in the legislature between October 2003 and February 2019. It also included a thorough consideration of the various arguments against the practice and provided a series of recommendations for reform. Dr Teale Phelps Bondaroff was the lead author on the report and visited Vancouver from his home in Saanich to speak about the report, changes since the report and some of BCHA's ongoing work on these issues. Dr Phelps Bondaroff, is an experienced researcher with a PhD in politics and international studies from the University of Cambridge and BAs in political science and international relations from the University of Calgary. He is currently serving as the Research Coordinator for the BCHA, and also conducts research on behalf of his strategy and research consultancy the Idea Tree Consulting, and in his capacity as Director of Research for OceansAsia. Dr. Phelps Bondaroff is also the Chair of the AccessBC Campaign for free prescription contraception, coaches high school debate, and studies the strategic use of international law by non-state actors.

Furquan Gehlan is currently Co-Chair of the Vancouver chapter of Canadian Peace Initiative and is also on the board of the Global Alliance for Ministries and infrastructures for peace. From 2013 to 2019 he was the National Co-chair of Canadian Peace Initiative. He is currently chapter coordinator for World BEYOND War's Metro Vancouver chapter and is focused on developing a culture of peace in Canada and around the world. His passion is to make the world a better place by focusing on resolving problems at the root cause level and in a sustainable way. His goal is to have society progress so that war is no longer considered an acceptable activity for humans. World BEYOND War Metro Vancouver's events highlight a range of topics related to war and peace, and the steps needed to move us towards a world beyond war. Learn more at https://worldbeyondwar.org/vancouver/ The BC Humanist Association and Vancouver Peace Poppies are a cosponsors of Let Peace Be Their Memorial, an annual event to remember civilian victims of conflict. Learn more at https://peacepoppies.ca/ Learn more about the BC Humanist Association, become a member and support our work at https://www.bchumanist.ca/

Via wikipedia: David Barsamian (born 1945) is an Armenian-American radio broadcaster, writer, and the founder and director of Alternative Radio, a Boulder, Colorado-based syndicated weekly public affairs program heard on some 250 radio stations worldwide. David spoke at the Vancouver Humanists Sunday meeting on October 20, 2019. Photo by Shahen books - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47219104

AccessBC are a group of young people from around British Columbia who are concerned with removing barriers to accessing prescription contraception. Visit https://www.accessbc.org/ Bree is a multi-disciplinary activist originally hailing from Dartmouth, NS. Trans-spectrum, chronically ill, queer, disabled, and experiencing poverty, Bree's primary focus is on Safer Spaces, Harm Reduction, and Access to Healthcare. They are an abortion doula certified through Full Spectrum Doula Collective Canada, and a practicing herbalist. Bree has worked with music festivals across the country to provide safer spaces and harm reduction policies, spoken at numerous conferences, regularly teaches workshops, and formerly hosted a podcast addressing the ongoing concerns of grassroots organizing - particularly as it pertains to queer and trans-spectrum folks.

THE GWANGJU TRAGEDY AND HOW SOUTH KOREA BECAME A DEMOCRACY (Via Wikipedia) In May 1980, peaceful demonstrations took place in Gwangju against Chun Doo-hwan, leader of the South Korean military coup d'état of December 12, 1979. The demonstrations were suppressed by military forces, including elite units of the Special Operations Command. The situation escalated after a violent crackdown, resulting in the Gwangju Uprising, where civilians raided armouries and armed themselves. By the time the uprising was suppressed 9 days later, many hundreds of civilians and several police forces / soldiers were dead. After civilian rule was reinstated in 1987, a national cemetery was established, honouring the victims of the incident. Professor Donald Baker witnessed the crackdown firsthand in 1980 and went on to study Korean history at the University of Washington. Since 1987 he has been teaching Korean history and civilization at the University of British Columbia. He will speak about his experiences and the influence of those events on contemporary South Korean politics.

Apologies for the poor audio quality in this recording. Charlotte Ross is a nurse who recently completed her PhD Thesis in SFU's Department of Health Sciences. Her research looked at substance use practices among nurses across Western Canada. Her work highlights the prevalence of AA or 12-Step based practices, despite participants disagreements with the moral and religious basis. She has interrogated some of the forces that have led to the dominance of 12-Step treatments and what alternatives exist. To learn more about the BC Humanist Association visit https://www.bchumanist.ca

Boris Reitman runs the local Atheism Q&A meetup and has a background in philosophy. In this talk he will talk about his group and give one of his presentations on the origins of Judaism. To learn more about the BC Humanist Association visit https://www.bchumanist.ca

Lisa Shapiro is a professor of philosophy at Simon Fraser University. She heads New Narratives in the History of Philosophy, which aims to develop new narratives of our philosophical past that centrally include women thinkers, and thereby to reconfigure, enrich and reinvigorate the philosophical canon, focusing on the early modern period (roughly 1560-1810). In this talk she touches on the New Narratives project and a few women philosophers in the 17th Century who raised the prospect that men and women are equal and started schools for girls. To learn more about the BC Humanist Association visit https://www.bchumanist.ca

Are some animals more equal than others? SFU Professor Arne Mooers expands on his recent piece in The Conversation to look at the philosophy and ethics underlying efforts at conservation. https://theconversation.com/losing-some-species-may-matter-more-than-losing-others-108337

Bethany Lindsay is a CBC news reporter and former biologist. In 2018, she published investigations into bogus medical claims being made online, the lack of oversight of alternative medicines and BC chiropractors who promoted anti-vaccine messaging. She previously worked for the Vancouver Sun, North Shore News and CTV. She is the author of British Columbia Burning: The worst wildfire season in BC history.

Laura is a human rights lawyer and the Director of Education in Community Legal Assistance Society's Human Rights Clinic. She advocates on behalf of people who have experienced discrimination and assists complainants to navigate BC's human rights process. Laura also has a strong interest in making legal knowledge accessible. She delivers workshops and presentations to a wide variety of audiences to help people understand their human rights and comply with their legal obligations.

Nathanael Lauster is an Associate Professor of Sociology at UBC and author of the award-winning book, The Death and Life of the Single Family House: Lessons from Vancouver on Building a Livable City (Temple University Press). His book and work investigate the regulatory power attached to the house and its impact on the shape and inhabitability of North American cities. He examines the transformation of Vancouver as a key city and talk to residents about their experiences with housing. Since the 1960s, Vancouver has curbed sprawl and opened up more alternatives to the single family house than any other metropolis on the continent. During the same time it's become heralded as one of the world's "most livable cities,” providing lessons for how other transformations might proceed. Interviews with residents provide insight into the cultural importance of the house and detail the urban problems it seems to solve, but also underscore its catastrophic impact. Too many houses create barriers to making the city a better and more sustainable home for all. Fortunately the evidence suggests the real viability of change. The book builds on historical (archival & census) and interview data, collected and analyzed with help from my recent SSHRC grant.