One sign of a humane and just society is how we react when confronted with an unexpected injustice. The torture and abuse inflicted on chickens by farm workers was intentional and wholly unacceptable. The reactions that poured in on social media show that we have compassion for animals and, generally speaking, an understanding that there are more proper ways to handle the production of chicken prior to it being served up on our dinner plates.
There is another species in Canada that endures a similar fate to the suffering chickens seen in the Mercy for Animals video. In fact, this species has no protection whatsoever and this leads to 100,000 of them being dismembered, disemboweled, and decapitated every single year in Canada. And there is nary a murmur or complaint from the public.
It is laudable to advocate for the humane treatment of chickens and to express righteous indignation when exposed to videos such as we saw this week. How much more, then, should we advocate for something far more precious than a chicken? If we are truly a humane and compassionate society then it’s time for Canadians to ask for lawful protection of pre-born children.
]]>The British Columbia legislature has appointed a Special Committee to review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) in B.C. This Committee is accepting submissions from anyone who would like to speak up, until January 29, 2016. We have filed an official submission asking the Committee to recommend ending the censorship of abortion-related information that the B.C. FIPPA currently allows.
This exemption for abortion statistics is unique in the health care field; it is the only medical procedure for which hospitals are not required to keep detailed records. Private clinics are not even required to report how many abortions they perform each year. These records should include data on complications during or following the procedure, physical or psychological follow-up care required, gestational age at time of abortion, or reasons given for the abortion. Clearly this random exemption is political in nature, with no bearing in fact and no constitutional ground to stand on.
We aren’t the only ones who can speak up – you can too! Please take a few moments to make your own submission to the committee telling them they should make a recommendation that Section 22.1 be removed from the FIPPA. Submissions can be made as attached documents or, if your message is brief, written in the comments section of the form. There is no need for a lengthy or detailed submission, but everyone who their lends voice, even in a small way, adds weight to the seriousness of this request.
You can read our full submission (6 pages) by clicking on the attachment below. To get you started on your own, here is our executive summary, followed by a few key talking points you could include if you are willing to join us in making a submission.
Executive Summary:
In 2001, the NDP government of British Columbia introduced Bill 21. This bill added new stipulations to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), including exempting most abortion-related statistics from public freedom of information requests. Abortion is a highly-charged cultural and political issue but, as a publicly-funded medical service, it should not be treated differently than other medical services in terms of statistics and reporting. The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner heavily criticized this bill because it reduced government accountability.
This censorship of statistics on one specific issue is overbroad and unnecessarily limits access to information regarding government spending on a medical service. A legal challenge has been launched against the constitutionality of a similar provision in Ontario. It is clear that this particular section should be repealed from the British Columbia FIPPA to avoid legal action.
Key talking points:
-
abortion is treated differently than any other publicly-funded medical procedure
-
the BC NDP mandated that hospitals were required to perform abortions while at the same time passing a law allowing them not to report their statistics relating to these procedures
-
telling women they don’t deserve to know about a procedure that can affect them is demeaning and a disservice to women
-
legal action has been launched against a similar law in Ontario’s FIPPA, and can be expected here if this change is not made
All submissions to the committee are due by January 29, 2016. Please make this a priority this week or next, so that the Committee will recognize that British Columbians are not going to accept government attempts to stifle the abortion debate and risk women’s health for political reasons.
Every dollar spent by government should be open to scrutiny by the taxpayer and voter. For this reason, we support the pressure on the Liberals regarding their deletion of sensitive emails, and we also support the criticism of their decision to stop tracking the numbers of people being turned away at homeless shelters, a decision that makes it near-impossible for policy makers to properly assess and address needs in our communities. These types of government actions, however, are not new. The censorship of what should be public information began already in 2001, when a Bill was quickly and quietly passed by the B.C. NDP, blocking access to information regarding abortions in the province.
David Eby, the MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey, has been particularly relentless in pointing to the unjust muzzling of Freedom of Information, and the accountability a government must be held to in its allocation and use of public funds. While understandable that the Opposition would take such an approach, we find Mr. Eby and the NDP’s response rich with hypocrisy, as this same party had no problem with the muzzling of statistics when they were in power.
In 2001, as one of their last acts in government, the NDP introduced Bill 21, an Act requiring hospitals to perform abortions while at the same time allowing them to keep the resulting statistics secret. The legislation was a striking, unprecedented breach of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. In fact, the Information and Privacy Commissioner at that time, David Loukedelis, wrote a letter to deputy premier Joy MacPhail the very next day, informing her in no uncertain terms that Bill 21 unnecessarily limited public freedom to information collected by the government. Nevertheless, the NDP pushed ahead with this blatant act of censorship.
There is no excuse for the Liberals to delete information that the public has a right to know. But make no mistake, it was the NDP’s censorship bill which was the first law to restrict specific public information and exclude it from the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The NDP took this step despite there having never been a case regarding abortion statistics where compromising personal data was or could have been released. This purely ideological decision ensured that the abortion debate in British Columbia and, by default, Canada, would be stifled. It is no longer possible to state with accuracy what type of abortions are being used, which procedures carry higher risks or have more complications, the reasons women choose abortion, the gestational age at abortion, or even the simplest statistic: how many occur each year?
We often hear that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. Well, it’s already legal throughout the entire pregnancy and we know that abortion advocates have long parted with caring about how rare it is. By refusing to let the residents of British Columbia know anything that pertains to the procedure, we now don’t even know if it is safe. More importantly, how can policy makers and advocates know what situations are leading women to choose abortion, and how can these very real cries of desperation be answered with programs that are actually pro-woman? The reality is that, without the information, no one knows, and therefore nothing concrete can be done for those who may be feeling like their “choice” is no choice at all.
It is ironic that the same party that sought to muzzle the debate on abortion by eliminating access to accurate statistics is the party now criticizing the Liberals for muzzling the debate on homelessness by eliminating access to statistics. Even more ironic is that the spokesperson for the NDP is an “award-winning human rights lawyer”, who previously served as executive director for the BC Civil Liberties Association. Freedom of Information should be David Eby’s area of expertise, yet he has never spoken out against Bill 21, and it continues to stand in law over this province.
Holding the government accountable is the opposition’s role, and an important one. As such, the NDP is right to criticize government control over statistics. Provincial governments have a responsibility to ensure that the citizens who elect them have access to all the information needed to understand the use of taxpayer funds – whether regarding homelessness or health policy. No matter what your thoughts are on pre-born human rights or abortion, this form of censorship is contrary to everything an open and democratic society should embody.
]]>The British Columbia Health Ministry has admitted that the remains of babies destroyed by abortion in B.C. facilities are ending up in a waste-to-power facility in the United States, providing electricity for residents of Oregon.
Please contact Premier Christy Clark and Minister of Health Terry Lake
Contact:
Hon. Christy Clark
Premier
250-387-1715
premier@gov.bc.ca
Hon. Terry Lake
Minister of Health
250 953-3547
hlth.minister@gov.bc.ca
While this has not always manifested in recent times it was great to read this week in review from National Campus Life Network. Conversations are taking place in which young Canadians are learning about the harms of abortion, the deep physical and psychological impact of abortion, and that there is help available.
Many thanks to NCLN for facilitating these discussions through their efforts on university campuses in British Columbia! The culture is changing and your efforts are a huge contribution to a society in need of a shift!
]]>