Podcasts about bc humanist association

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.

In case Alberta politics isn't a hot enough topic, we're spending this episode on the intersection of religion and the machinery of public governance! In 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada decided in the Saturday Decision that prayer at municipal governments violates the states duty to neutrality, but is that decision being followed? To take this on, we sit down with Ian Bushfiled, the executive director of the BC Humanist Association and one of their main researchers Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff to talk about their efforts to document the overlap of religion and particularly prayer in government and their campaigns to ensure that the machinery of government remains neutral when it comes to matters of faith. And what does Sea Cucumber crime have to do with all of this? Some links compliments of the BC Humanist Association... Alberta Report: https://www.bchumanist.ca/last_municipality_standing Ontario Report: https://www.bchumanist.ca/open_for_unconstitutional_business Manitoba Report: https://www.bchumanist.ca/in_open_defiance First BC Report: https://www.bchumanist.ca/municipal_prayer?utm_campaign=muni_prayer_1&utm_medium=email&utm_source=bchumanist  Second BC Report: https://www.bchumanist.ca/we_yelled_at_them_until_they_stopped Legislative prayer across Canada report: https://www.bchumanist.ca/prayer-across-canada Analysis of change in prayer in the BC Legislature: https://utpdistribution.com/9780776637891/legislatures-in-evolution-les-legislatures-en-transformation/ A shorter analysis looking at prayer in the BC Legislature: http://www.revparlcan.ca/en/thoughts-on-prayers-an-analysis-of-prayers-in-the-legislative-assembly-of-british-columbia-2003-2019/ Initial study of prayer in the BC Legislature: https://www.bchumanist.ca/house_of_prayers_report Paper exploring how inclusive prayers are impossible and the state cannot possible adjudicate these issues: https://secularismandnonreligion.org/articles/10.5334/snr.140/?fbclid=IwAR2XO7BvxOLBM7_C-Hjh_YUzJsIrbtDW1kw2mXO1vT4xsJWmh_xktt6gCSI# Work on sea cucumbers: https://oceansasia.org/worldofseacucumbers/ Don't forget, we now have merch that's available at www.abpoli.ca, including a spring lineup! As always, if you appreciate the kind of content that we're trying to produce here at The Breakdown, please consider signing up as a monthly supporter at our Patreon site at www.patreon.com/thebreakdownab and we can now accept e-transfers at info@thebreakdownab.ca! If you're listening to the audio version of our podcast, please consider leaving us a review and a rating, and don't forget to like and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads!

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

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

Ian Bushfield - Humanism in CanadaToday's show is all about Humanism! Here is the definition of Humanism, from Humanist Canada:Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life based on a profound respect for human dignity and the conviction that human beings are ultimately accountable to themselves and to society for their actions. It is a secular worldview that affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical and meaningful lives.I'm delighted to welcome Ian Bushfield as my guest today. Ian has been involved in the BC Humanist Association since 2009 - and aside from a brief stint in the UK - he has been the Executive Director of BCHA since 2012. Ian has a background in physics and non-profit management and grew up in Alberta. In 2017, he also joined the BC Civil Liberties Association's Board of Directors.FIND IAN:https://www.bchumanist.ca/RESOURCES MENTIONEDhttps://askuskelowna.ca/https://humanists.international/https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/ethics-vs-morality/Support this podcast on Patreon (starting as low as $2/month) and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie Thanks to my newest patrons: Joel and Marie. Every dollar helps.Subscribe to the audio-only version here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcastFollow Janice and the Conference on Religious Trauma on Social Media: Mastodon: JaniceSelbie@mas.toThreads: Wisecounsellor@threads.net Twitter: https://twitter.com/divorcereligionTwitter: https://twitter.com/Wise_counsellorTwitter: https://twitter.com/ComeToCORTFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligionTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janiceselbieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wisecounsellor/The Divorcing Religion Podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you need help with your mental health, please consult a qualified, secular, mental health clinician.Support the show

Ian Bushfield and Sophie Burke join People First Radio to explore an end of life guide they’ve co-authored for humanists and non religious people.

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.

The group was cited by the City of Terrace as the municipality decided not to display a nativity scene

Renewed calls for a mask mandate, why the BC Humanist Association is urging more cities and towns to be non-secular, and find out how are ski resorts are making out with no COVID restrictions.

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Ashlyn, and Lauren speak with Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff, the Research Coordinator for the BC Humanist Association, about his research into unconstitutional governmental prayer in Canada. Life, the Universe & Everything Else is a podcast that explores the intersection of science and society. Links: … Continue reading Episode 169: Legislative Prayer →

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.

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/

Opposition parties vote to approve the creation of a new committee to address Canada-China relations Guest: Erin O’Toole, Conservative Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs   Why it’s time for Canada to legalize single-event sports betting Guest: Brian Masse, NDP MP - Windsor-West   Alberta carves out an exemption for WHL teams in provincial Employment Standards Act Guest: Randy Gumbley, spokesperson – WAIPU North America (World Association of Icehockey Player Unions)   Is the 12-Step program religious in nature? An atheist nurse in Vancouver has won his human rights case Guest: Ian Bushfield, Executive Director  - BC Humanist Association

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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

2018 saw the end of Canada's blasphemy law, the rejection of TWU's law school and an easing of restrictions on charities' free speech. Building off this momentum, Humanists and secularists in British Columbia have the opportunity to make significant gains in 2019. Ian Bushfield, executive director of the BC Humanist Association, will outline some of the BCHA's priorities in our Secular BC campaign.

Ian Bushfield is one-third of Vancouver politics podcast Cambie Report, one-half of its older, BC-focused cousin PolitiCoast, and executive director of BC Humanist Association.He’s also co-creator of a new classification method — a simple but compelling matrix — for visualizing the political and urbanist ideologies of the people and parties that ran for, and now occupy, City Hall.Gord spoke to Bushfield at length about the urbanist-conservationist axis and what it means in the current political environment, his view on housing and the implications of the emerging push for ‘spatial justice’, and what we can expect from Cambie Report in 2019. Read more »

Ian Waddell is a Canadian politician, author and filmmaker who served in the House of Commons from 1979 to 1993 and in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1996 to 2001. Currently, Waddell is a documentary film producer and a consultant in environmental and aboriginal affairs. In December 2013 he was appointed the honorary title of Queen's Counsel for his merit and exceptional contribution to law. His film The Drop: Why Young People Don't Votewon the Best Producer Award in the Beverly Hills Film Festival. He lives in Vancouver. He spoke to us about his new memoir, Take the Torch. He begins with reference to a recent CPAC interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5MrSAWy37k To learn more about the BC Humanist Association visit https://www.bchumanist.ca

Two educators behind the "Sex Ed Is Our Right" campaign talk about the importance of sexual health, sexual orientation and gender identity education in BC schools. Ghada is from YouthCo HIV & Hep C Society and Darren is from the Community-Based Research Centre for Gay Men's Health. To learn more about the campaign visit https://www.sexedisourright.ca/ To learn more about the BC Humanist Association visit https://www.bchumanist.ca

V. Victoria Shroff is one of the first and longest serving animal law practitioners in Canada. She has been practising animal law civil litigation for nearly 20 years in Vancouver at Shroff and Associates and has been recognized for her work in animal law. She is adjunct professor of animal law at UBC's Allard Hall Law School and is frequently interviewed by media. Ms Shroff also founded an animal law and social literacy program called Paws of Empathy. Contact her at shroff@telus.net, @shroffanimallaw, LinkedIn or https://experts.news.ubc.ca/expert/victoria-shroff/ Her presentation will run through her practice in the field, animal law 101 and she will have talking points about animal welfare and animal rights. She will include specific examples relevant to Canadian law concerning animal liability, cruelty, pet custody etc. She will also highlight some important international animal law trends. Finally, she'll touch on some social philosophy concepts that intersect with animal law. To learn more about the BC Humanist Association visit https://www.bchumanist.ca

Valorie Crooks is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Simon Fraser University and a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar. She is a health geographer and specialize in health services research. She is particularly interested in the spatial and place-based dimensions of health care delivery and receipt. She primary engages in non-hypothesis-testing qualitative research. She has been studying medical tourism since 2009 and has led and continues to lead several studies funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research on this topic. She has a particular interest in understanding how patients experience obtaining privately-funded medical care abroad through this global health services industry. To learn more about the BC Humanist Association visit bchumanist.ca

BC families face a crisis in accessing quality, affordable child care. Fees are too high — the second highest family expense after housing. Wait lists are too long — less that 20% of children under the age of 12 in BC have access to a regulated child care space. And too often families are forced into unregulated care, with no safety standards. The $10aDay Child Care Plan is the solution to BC's child care crisis. Since its release, the $10aDay Child Care Plan has been enthusiastically endorsed and supported by a growing number of individuals and organizations. Sharon Gregson is an advocate for the $10aDay Child Care Campaign. To learn more about the BC Humanist Association visit https://www.bchumanist.ca

Since 2016 the BC Humanist Association and Vancouver Peace Poppies have co-hosted ‘Let Peace be Their Memorial', an annual wreath-laying ceremony. Held in Vancouver, BC on the afternoon of November 11, it commemorates civilian victims of war. About 200 people attended this year. This year our keynote speaker was Tima Kurdi of the Kurdi Foundation . A Syrian-born resident of Coquitlam, she has been speaking around the world of the plight of Syrian and other refugees. Her book “The Boy on the Beach” is a heartwarming and heartrending story about impossible choices forced on a happy ordinary family.

The Big Stall traces the origins of the government's climate change plan back to the energy sector itself — in particular Big Oil. It shows how, in the last fifteen years, Big Oil has infiltrated provincial and federal governments, academia, media and the non-profit sector to sway government and public opinion on the realities of climate change and what needs to be done about it. DONALD GUTSTEIN is a former professor in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University and co-director of NewsWatch Canada, a media-monitoring project at the school. He is the author of Harperism: How Stephen Harper and his think tank colleagues have transformed Canada as well as four other books on the links between large corporations, politics and the media. He lives in Vancouver. To learn more about the BC Humanist Association visit https://bchumanist.ca

Craig Keating completed his PhD in 20th century European history at McMaster University in 1996. He joined the Department of History at Langara College in January 1992, and has also taught at UBC and Simon Fraser University. To learn more about the BC Humanist Association visit https://bchumanist.ca

SHOULD WE FEAR DRUG IMPAIRED DRIVERS? Kyla Lee is a partner at Acumen Law Corporation in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her practice focuses on impaired driving and roadside drug and alcohol testing. She is deeply concerned by new measures to be put in place by the government to address drug impaired driving and has been an outspoken public advocate against putting regulation before science and research. Learn more about the BC Humanist Association at https://bchumanist.ca

"Our Moment of Power" highlights emerging transition projects throughout the Lower Mainland that are already revolutionizing how we live, move, work and grow. Moment of Power encourages participants from all age groups and audience types to collaborate on fresh ideas and smart strategies for their own municipalities' post-carbon future. Learn more about Force of Nature Alliance at http://www.forceofnaturealliance.ca Learn more about the BC Humanist Association at https://bchumanist.ca

Should we send politicians back to school? If you want to be a doctor, nurse, teacher, lawyer, firefighter, soldier, or entrepreneur, we have schools for that. So, why don't we have schools for politicians? Would you go to a doctor who had never been to medical school? Or fly on a plane with a pilot who has never gone to flight school? Of course not – so why is politics different? In this engaging talk, Prof Max Cameron explains how he helped create the world's first school for politicians, and then explores the age-old question of whether politicians can be trained to be wise practitioners. To learn more about the BC Humanist Association visit bchumanist.ca

Alyssa Low is a pharmacy student and discusses the influenza vaccine. Dr Alan Low is a registered pharmacist and Clinical Associate Professor with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC, Primary Care Pharmacist at BioPro Biologics Pharmacy and Manager, Reimbursement and Medical Affairs with Servier Canada. Dr Low talks about questions to ask your pharmacist, alternative medicines and overmedication. Unfortunately, the last few minutes of this lecture didn't recorded. Access the slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B738A3AWVSZzaFVBWE1HVEVqV1J4WkxUbFZXZFZRdWhMdFFz/view?usp=sharing Learn more about the BC Humanist Association at https://bchumanist.ca

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that law societies in British Columbia and Ontario could reject a proposed law school at Trinity Western University. The Supreme Court of Canada also ruled that courts cannot review the excommunication of a church member. Ian Bushfield, Executive Director of the BC Humanist Association will explore what these latest rulings mean for the state of secularism in Canada and where the next battlelines are likely to be.

When someone makes a claim about their health, can that testimony alone count as evidence to believe their statement? Whether we should take someone's statements as evidence for anything is an important debate in philosophy, especially since testimony is a fundamental part of how humans interact. Some believe testimony can give a hearer knowledge, while others believe it is too unreliable to depend on. The importance of this debate emerges once we realise that, outside of philosophy, our individual stance on what counts as evidence will influence our judgments in politics, science, social interactions, and more. This talk will discuss two issues that result from philosophical discussions on testimony and its application to real-world healthcare. The first is what role testimony might have in healthcare, generally speaking. The second is what can happen to vulnerable populations if we dismiss the evidential power of testimony. Jordan Joseph Wadden is a PhD student in the Department of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia. His areas of research interest are in bioethics and the philosophy of medicine, specifically regarding issues of access to healthcare. To learn more about the BC Humanist Association visit www.bchumanist.ca

What do biologists mean when they say "male" or "female"? Well... it's complicated. We'll be taking a romp through the complexities of sex determination through a wide range of species, including our own, to see that it's not as straightforward as "XX" and "XY". Katie Marshall is an Assistant Professor of Biology in the Department of Zoology at UBC. Learn more about the BC Humanist Association at support our work at www.bchumanist.ca

In this interview, recorded on Monday, June 18, 2018, Ian Bushfield executive director of the BC Humanist Association speaks with Wes McMillan who served as pro-bono counsel for the BCHA at the Supreme Court of Canada and with Michael Spratt, cohost of the Canadian legal podcast The Docket. They discuss the Supreme Court of Canada's recent ruling that upholds the decision by law societies in Ontario and BC to reject a proposed law school at Trinity Western University. TWU is an evangelical school here in BC that requires all students to sign a community covenant that forbids sex outside a heterosexual marriage. The law societies rejected the proposed school as a means of ensuring equal access to the bar for LGBTQ people. The decision is historic for its recognition of the importance of fighting homophobia and for the limits of what can be claimed under religious freedom. Ultimately the majority found that the harm to the LGBTQ community outweighed the impact on the religious freedom claimed by TWU and its supporters. Specifically the majority wrote, “Being required by someone else's religious beliefs to behave contrary to one's sexual identity is degrading and disrespectful.” To read more about our work on this case and our other efforts to defend secularism and human rights, visit bchumanist.ca Read more about the decision at https://www.bchumanist.ca/humanists_react_to_twu_decision

We dive into the MSP Task Force report with Lindsay Tedds and play part of an interview with The Docket’s Michael Spratt and BC Humanist Association pro-bono counsel Wes McMillan on the Supreme Court of Canada’s TWU decision. Plus a litany of quick takes from a surprisingly busy week. Check out our partner! BC Today is... The post Ep 91: Dogwood Benefits for TWU appeared first on PolitiCoast.

L.A. Dixon, a writer, academic and high school history and science teacher specializing in critical thinking, discusses whether Steven Pinker's new book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress, contributes to or detracts from the Secular Humanist cause. Learn more about the BC Humanist Association at www.bchumanist.ca

How does Canada's immigration system work? How does Canada accept refugees? What are some of the current concerns? Immigration lawyers Steven Muerrens and Peter Edelmann are part of the team behind the podcast Borderlines that discusses these questions and they joined us to discuss them. https://soundcloud.com/borderlinespodcast Find out more about the BC Humanist Association at www.bchumanist.ca

In the fall BC will vote whether to adopt a system of proportional representation or maintain its current first-past-the-post electoral system. This week we'll have representatives from a group arguing for the current system and a group arguing for change. Arguing for "Yes PR BC" is David Moscrop. David is a political theorist and postdoctoral fellow in the Scholarly Communications Lab at Simon Fraser University. He studies democratic deliberation, citizenship, and how we communicate with one another and make political decisions. He writes for Maclean's Magazine and a few other outlets, and provides regular political commentary for television, radio, and print. He's currently working on a book about why we make bad political decisions and how we can make better ones (Fall, 2019). Arguing for "No PR BC" is Bill Tieleman. Bill is a political panelist regularly on CBC Radio and TV in BC and with other media. Bill has been Communications Director in the B.C. Premier's Office and at the BC Federation of Labour. Bill owns West Star Communications, a consulting firm providing strategy and communication services for labour, business, non-profits and government. Find out more about the BC Humanist Association at www.bchumanist.ca

City on Edge: A Rebellious Century of Vancouver Protests, Riots, and Strikes features photographs from the collection of The Vancouver Sun and The Province which capture moments in history when Vancouverites showed up, stepped up, and made some noise—or exploded in anger— about a wide range of issues. Kate Bird is the author of City on Edge: A Rebellious Century of Vancouver Protests, Riots, and Strikes and Vancouver in the Seventies: Photos From a Decade That Changed the City, which was nominated for the 2016 British Columbia Historical Writing Award. Both books were published by Greystone Books. Kate is a professional librarian with a Masters of Library & Information Science from the University of Western Ontario, a B.A. in Art History from the University of British Columbia, and a diploma in photography from Emily Carr College of Art. She worked as a news research librarian at The Vancouver Sun and The Province for twenty-five years, where she did research for reporters and helped manage a large photograph collection and digital image archive. Find her book at http://www.katebird.ca/ Unfortunately we don't have the rights to share images from Kate's book or talk online. Find out more about the BC Humanist Association at www.bchumanist.ca

Trevor Melanson manages communications at Clean Energy Canada. Clean Energy Canada is a climate and clean energy think tank within the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. They work to accelerate our nation's transition to clean and renewable energy systems by telling the story of the gshift to clean and low-carbon energy sources. They conduct original research, host dialogues and aim to inspire and inform policy leadership. View the slides at https://www.slideshare.net/bchumanist/trevor-melanson-clean-energy-canada Learn more about the BC Humanist Association at www.bchumanist.ca

M. Asadullah is a PhD candidate (ABD) and former sessional instructor at Simon Fraser University's School of Criminology, BC, Canada. Previously, he was a sessional faculty of Peace & Conflict Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley and a guest lecturer at the University of Dhaka's Victimology and Restorative Justice, Bangladesh. Asad researches Restorative Justice, Nonviolent Communication, Conflict Resolution, Peacemaking Criminology, and Youth Justice. He enjoys supporting community-based justice organizations, and offering Intro to NVC in prison and faith-based settings. Learn more about the BC Humanist Association at www.bchumanist.ca

The world is becoming increasingly complex and complexity often leads to despair, retreat and believing a problem is beyond hope. But there are ways to tackle complex problems that are different from approaches that work for simple or complicated problems. We will discuss some of the characteristics that give rise to complex or “wicked” problems and how systems thinking can shift the way we approach them. "Dr Diane Finegood is currently seconded to SFU's Centre for Dialogue where she is developing an innovative new Semester in Dialogue on health and wellness. She returned to SFU in July 2017 after a 5-year leave of absence to serve as the President and CEO of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. Diane has also served in other leadership roles including: inaugural Scientific Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes (2000-2008), Executive Director of The CAPTURE Project (2009-2012) and Principal Investigator on the b-Cell Apoptosis Network (1999-2004). "Diane's scholarship has spanned the four pillars of health research ranging from basic biomedical science and clinical research on both type 1 and type 2 diabetes to health services research and population and public health research relevant to obesity and chronic disease prevention. Her current research interests include public-private partnerships and systems thinking to address complex problems." [via SFU] Learn more about the BC Humanist Association at www.bchumanist.ca

Audience questions & answers from Is Christianity or Secular Humanism a better foundation for human rights?: A conversation Between a Christian and a Secular Humanist This event was hosted on February 28, 2018 by Apologetics Canada in partnership with Westside Church in Vancouver, BC. Women's rights, LGBTQ rights - there is no shortage of causes vying for our attention. Underlying all such causes is the concept of human rights. Which worldview provides a better foundation for it - Christianity or Secular Humanism? Ian Bushfield is Executive Director of the BC Humanist Association Dr Andy Bannister is Director of the Solas Centre for Public Christianity Learn more about the BC Humanist Association at https://www.bchumanist.ca

Germ warfare: The evolutionary struggle between microbes and mammals Dr Claire Cupples is Dean of Science at Simon Fraser University and a Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry. Dr Cupples received her BSc at the University of Victoria, her MSc at the University of Calgary and her PhD at York University. She pursued post-doctoral studies at UCLA. She has held academic and administrative positions previously at Concordia University, in Montreal, and at the University of Victoria. Her research focuses on the causes, consequences and prevention of mutations in microbes and in humans. Dr. Cupples has taught university courses in microbial molecular biology for 20 years and currently serves as President of the Canadian Council of Deans of Science and sits on the boards of TRIUMF, BCNet, Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre and the Science Fair Foundation of BC. Learn more about the BC Humanist Association at https://www.bchumanist.ca

Is Christianity or Secular Humanism a better foundation for human rights?: A conversation Between a Christian and a Secular Humanist This event was hosted on February 28, 2018 by Apologetics Canada in partnership with Westside Church in Vancouver, BC. Women's rights, LGBTQ rights - there is no shortage of causes vying for our attention. Underlying all such causes is the concept of human rights. Which worldview provides a better foundation for it - Christianity or Secular Humanism? Ian Bushfield is Executive Director of the BC Humanist Association Dr Andy Bannister is Director of the Solas Centre for Public Christianity Learn more about the BC Humanist Association at https://www.bchumanist.ca