The Centre for Inquiry has a new branch in Victoria, BC. The members there have started two on-line petitions, calling for an end to special treatment for religion in the provincial school system and healthcare system.
Petition for a secular school system: https://www.change.org/p/honourable-rob-fleming-public-money-for-public-schools-in-bc
Petition for secular healthcare: https://www.change.org/p/honourable-adrian-dix-secular-health-care-in-bc
Everyone is invited to sign the petitions to show their support, whether or not they are residents of British Columbia.
more details:
Petition: One Secular School System for All
by Scott Douglas Jacobsen
The Government of British Colombia has worked to act according to the principle of “public money for public schools, private money for private schools” for the province. There is a petition in order to urge the British Colombia government to continue to enact this policy (Center for Inquiry Canada, 2017).
That is, the cessation of the provision of funding for independent schools in addition to an amendment to the Independent Schools Act (Government of British Columbia, 2017).
For separate and independent schools in a democratic society to exist, whether by class, socioeconomic status, or religion, these undermine the very principles upon which the province of British Columbia and the country of Canada stand with respect to democratic values.
This petition is a public call for the re-instantiation of the democratic values this country upholds. This recent policy undermines and harms the public school system. This petition is a call to change that.
to sign this petition, please visit https://www.change.org/p/honourable-rob-fleming-public-money-for-public-schools-in-bc
Petition: One Secular Healthcare System for All
by Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Internationally renowned healthcare, it is a privilege and right Canadian citizens take for granted in many instances. In the province of British Columbia, the government stands for a secular province.
The control of public health care facilities, and the funding for those facilities, are to be grounded in a secular foundation. Many public health care providers are religious at the root.
Based on beliefs systems coming from “holy scripture” and religious authorities, at times, the religious publicly funded health care providers will refuse provisions of reproductive, end of life, and some other medical services.
For example, in British Columbia, there are eight publicly funded hospitals administered by Roman Catholic Church bodies. About 1/3 of all hospitals in Ontario are administered by the Roman Catholic Church.
The morning after pill is not even available in Catholic hospitals as well as outright refusal for ectopic pregnancies in an emergency situation, which is typically an emergency. Registered nurses and medical doctors have to sign an agreement that they will follow the tenants of the faith or religion of the hospital, too.
This must stop.
A secular health care system for all will satisfy the need for safe and equitable access to healthcare services, where the secular can choose to access things such as the morning after pill and end-of-life services; and those that have religious tenets against them do not have to. This is the only fair basis for a secular healthcare system for all.
to sign this petition, please visit https://www.change.org/p/honourable-adrian-dix-secular-health-care-in-bc