I’m going to give you food for thought on two matters today. First, I’m going to describe briefly the history behind some important laws. Second, I’m going to ask you to think about whether the twin lights of reason and empathy have gone out in our society. The early days of our legal system are … [Read more…]
In violation of their conscience, Ontario‘s healthcare professionals are being punished for refusing to cooperate in arranging the deaths of other people. They are denied the right of conscientious objection given even to conscripted soldiers in times of national crisis. A Private Members Bill proposing that participation in euthanasia be voluntary was defeated in the … [Read more…]
At a time when the freedom of conscience guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been eliminated for some Canadians for the first time in many years, the casual misuse of the term “conscientious objector” in the headline of the essay at the link below is dangerous. A conscientious objector is one who … [Read more…]
Remarkably, in just two years we’ve gone from punishing those who help people taking their lives to punishing those who refuse to help people take their lives. This ignores the huge difference between governments which prevent people from doing what we consider to be wrong and governments which force citizens to do what those citizens … [Read more…]
These are the Remarks delivered by Dr. Mark D’Souza at our International Conscientious Objectors Day Rally on May 15, 2017: Welcome, and Good evening, My name is Mark D’Souza. I am an emergency room doctor from Toronto, and former palliative care doctor; I will elaborate on that later. I have been advocating for over a … [Read more…]
OPENING Good evening, everyone! Thank you all for joining in this Democracy Defence Initiative this evening. And a special thanks to whoever arranged this wonderful weather! Also, our thanks to our musicians, Rob and Joe Koechl on guitar and vocals, joined by Ken Oakes, all the way from Nanaimo, B.C., on saxophone! We are here … [Read more…]
KITCHENER, ON.— The first annual Internationl Conscientious Objectors Day Rally, held in Kitchener yesterday, was a success, according to organizers with The Democracy Defence Initiative. Arranged to honour conscientious objectors, past and present, in Canada, in support of freedom of conscience, the event attracted over 50 people. Those present heard from conscientious objectors Dr. Mark … [Read more…]
May 15, 2017 We urge you to immediately introduce an amendment to recently enacted Bill 84 (Medical Assistance in Dying Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017) to include a provision for the freedom of conscience guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states in Article 18 “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, … [Read more…]
Here’s a copy of the letter of protest Democracy Defence Initiative delivered on November 30, 2016 to: The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario November 30, 2016 80 College Street, Toronto ON M5G 2E2 Dear Sirs/Mesdames In 1948 the wise leaders of the free world declared in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that … [Read more…]
I recently penned a letter warning about measures to diminish the role of parents in their children’s education, and crossing the line between indoctrination and education, as grave threats to democracy. A perceptive reader observed that past aboriginal residential schools also eliminated parents from their children’s education and indoctrinated against parents’ traditional values. Freedom to … [Read more…]