Is suicide a right or a tragedy? We can’t seem to get it straight

July 21, 2016 by

LifeSiteNews published my op-ed on Bill-14 and what it communicates to Canadians:

What is odd is that while these discussions on the “right” to assisted suicide are happening, we’re also having a very different discussion about a tragic series of events in Attawapiskat. Last week 11 people (10 of them youths) attempted to commit suicide in Attawapiskat with over 100 having attempted suicide since September. The stories characterize it as a crisis—and I agree that it is a crisis—but can we really say that 11 people in a small community attempting to commit suicide is a crisis when, for the past year and a half, we’ve been saying that suicide is a Charter right and our own elected leaders have put out a report saying that it should not be denied to those who are minors or mentally ill?

Read the rest here.

Filed Under: Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide, Physician Rights

Supplementary submission to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario

February 13, 2015 by

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the body which regulates the practice of medicine in Ontario is holding a consultation on a draft human rights policy. The consultation is part of its scheduled revision to the policy which has the potential of narrowing or limiting physicians’ conscience rights.

The Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada and the Canadian Federation of Catholic Physicians’ Societies retained me to prepare legal submissions on this topic to assist the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario in revising its policy. These submissions argue for physicians’ freedom of conscience and freedom of religion.

Filed Under: Freedom of Conscience, Freedom of Religion, Physician Rights

Decriminalization of assisted suicide and the violation of our rights

January 13, 2015 by

Here’s my latest article, published over at LifeSiteNews:

In October, the Supreme Court of Canada heard the Carter case, where parties are challenging Criminal Code prohibitions on physician assisted suicide in the hopes of decriminalizing it. If they’re successful, it will impact more than just physicians. […]

Recently however, and as a result of a discussion with a fellow religious freedom lawyer, I realized that decriminalization will impact the religious freedom and conscience rights of many others. Of course, this includes all others in the health care field such as nurses, hospital staff and those working in the fields of psychology and counselling.

Read the rest here.

Filed Under: Freedom of Conscience, Freedom of Religion, Physician Rights

Christian Lawyers and Doctors Need Not Apply

January 13, 2015 by

Here’s an article I wrote last week that was published by The Cardus Daily,

It has become a scary time to be a Christian professional in Canada.

In 2014, lawyers and doctors were targeted by their own professional associations for direct attack because of their religious beliefs. […]

I did not attend TWU, but I share its biblical view of marriage. I have appeared before the Superior Court of Ontario, the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, the Tax Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of Canada for a variety of clients. Do my religious beliefs, particularly about marriage, somehow disqualify me from ably practicing law? That is the inevitable conclusion and consequence if we endorse barring TWU law graduates from practicing law.

Read the rest here.

Filed Under: Freedom of Conscience, Freedom of Religion, Physician Rights

Physcians’ rights: 2 articles published in December

January 7, 2015 by

In December 2014, I had two articles published on physicians’ conscience and religious rights. The first was an article published in FOCUS magazine, the publication of the Christian Medical and Dental Society. See pages 25 and 26 for the article, “Protecting our Patients and Physician’s Rights.”

The second article was a piece I co-authored with Larry Worthen, the executive director of the Christian Medical and Dental Society. It was published by LifeSiteNews and entitled “Ontario College of Physicians’ new policy violates basic tenets of law.”

Filed Under: Abortion, Freedom of Conscience, Freedom of Religion, Physician Rights