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Dear CFIC Supporters,

This August, the World Humanist Congress in Ottawa will bring together humanists, skeptics, freethinkers, and secular advocates from around the world—and Centre for Inquiry Canada will be there.

Now we’re looking for a small team of enthusiastic CFIC members who will be in Ottawa between Aug. 7–9 and would be willing to spend a few hours helping staff our display at the WHC. You do not need to be attending the WHC to help out (but helping won’t get you admission; our booth is located outside the Congress).

This is a chance to be an ambassador for CFIC: welcoming visitors, introducing people to our work, answering questions, and helping us connect with people who share our commitment to reason, science, secularism, and human rights.

You don’t need previous experience. We’ll make sure you’re prepared by providing:

• Free volunteer training before the Congress.
• The opportunity to become part of CFIC’s new Volunteer Academy, where we will provide ongoing training and involvement in CFIC events across Canada.
• A complimentary one-year CFIC membership as our thank-you for your contribution.

Even a few hours of your time can make a real difference. Every conversation helps raise awareness of CFIC, builds our community, and strengthens the humanist movement in Canada.

If you’re planning to attend the World Humanist Congress and would like to volunteer, we’d love to hear from you. Simply email info@centreforinquiry.ca and let us know you’re interested. We’ll follow up with training details and scheduling information.

Join us in showing the world what CFIC is all about. Together, we can make our presence at the Congress welcoming, engaging, and memorable.

We hope you’ll be part of the team!

Warm regards,

John Lombard
Executive Director
Centre For Inquiry Canada
ned@centreforinquiry.ca

Hello everyone,

I hope you are well and enjoying the merry month of July.

I am reaching out regarding the World Humanist Congress 2026, which will be held in Ottawa from August 7–9, 2026. The Congress organizers are asking secular friends in the Ottawa area to organize and lead a series of short walking tours for attendees from around the world.

This promises to be a remarkable event. We are expecting participants from more than 40 countries, and over 425 people have already purchased tickets.

—URGENT APPEAL—

We are currently looking for volunteers to serve as walking tour guides. The tour script is being prepared, so guides do not need to be historians or experts on Ottawa. What we are looking for are friendly, enthusiastic people who can serve as warm ambassadors for Ottawa and Canada.

The tours will last approximately one hour and fifteen minutes. We also plan to offer a shorter, more accessible route for participants who may find longer walks challenging.

The walking tours will take place on Friday, August 7. They will highlight some of Ottawa’s best-known landmarks and attractions, including Parliament Hill, the National War Memorial, the Rideau Canal locks, the National Gallery, and the Human Rights Monument. The tours will depart in groups beginning at 1:00 p.m., with the final tour leaving at 5:00 p.m. Any assistance you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

If you are interested in volunteering, please RSVP as soon as possible. Friends and family members who would like to assist are also very welcome.

We are also exploring the possibility of recruiting high school students who require volunteer service hours for graduation. If you have experience with this process or know how it works, please get in touch. This may be another excellent source of volunteers.

Thank you for your consideration and support. We look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Richard Thain
rglthain@gmail.com
613-851-8337

Rise and shine, critical thinkers! ☀️ Happy Summer Solstice! On the longest day of the year and the first of summer, we hope that your day is filled with warmth and light. Not only is today the Summer Solstice; it is also World Humanist Day, a great moment to pause and reflect on what the Centre for Inquiry Canada (CFIC) has recently accomplished for humanism.

CFIC advocates for critical thinking, secularism, and science. None of this is possible without your support.

• CFIC has joined with BC Humanist Association and Humanist Canada to encourage the government to uphold religious neutrality and protect the MAiD policy.
• Members of CFIC and Humanist Ottawa participated in the counter-protest during the annual National March for Life on Parliament Hill, advocating that reproductive rights are healthcare, which is a human right. 
• CFIC encourages Canadians to report “no religion” on the 2026 census to encourage fairer public policies on funding, education, and healthcare.
• CFIC provides a diverse offering of programs — Living Without Religion, Skeptics in the Pub, Secular Community Network / Secular Chat, Non-Fiction Book Club, Town Hall Meetings, CFIC Toronto Hangouts, and many webinars and discussions with experts and guest speakers — to keep our community active and free of religious obligations and entanglements.

This is thanks to the hard work and dedication of our members and volunteers. CFIC will continue promoting inquiry. It is our mission to spread the light of critical thinking and evidence-based public policy.

If you haven’t yet joined us as a CFIC member, donor, or volunteer, we warmly invite you to get involved. Help us expand our impact. Every hour and every dollar matters to us more than you know.

Thank you for helping us shine. 

Sincerely,

Edan Tasca
President, Centre for Inquiry Canada

Sandra Dunham

I first learned of CFIC when I saw an advertisement for the position of “Executive Director of Development” in the early summer of 2017. I had just left full-time employment to pursue a better work-life balance and set up a small business to work with non-profits and charities to help them achieve their goals. I made a commitment to do work that was meaningful to me. 

At that time, I had never heard the term humanist. But as I read the ad and researched The Centre for Inquiry Canada, I became increasingly aware that I was a humanist and that the goals of CFIC were very closely aligned with my own. I began work as a contractor for CFIC in the fall of 2017, and through that experience, I have learned an amazing number of things and met some truly exceptional people.  

Now, it is time for me to move on to the next phase of life – retirement. I will while away my hours on the many hobbies that my flexible working life has allowed me to pursue; playing bridge (if you enjoy games and like constant mental stimulation, I recommend you find lessons and see whether you also enjoy the game), practicing yoga, curling, riding my bike, and participating in a myriad of other outdoor winter and summer activities.

It saddens me to leave CFIC. When I am working with others at CFIC, I am sure to have interesting, candid conversations that are always engaging and allow me to grow.  I am sure that I will continue to follow CFIC, and I hope to continue to contribute articles to Critical Links, as I simply have too much to say to stay quiet. However, I shall be stepping down as a paid contractor.

What are my best memories and favourite projects of CFIC? (Note that these can change on a daily basis.)

• In the summer of 2021, I participated in a meeting of the communications committee from a campsite on PEI. There, the idea of a podcast arose (thanks to Lee Shields, who nudged us in this direction). Always over-cautious, I demanded that we have a pilot project and that we not launch the podcast until we had 6 episodes recorded. I was SURE that we would run out of topics and people to interview. Now, 5 years later, Podcast for Inquiry (PFI) is always interesting and informative. Way to go, Leslie and team!
• The Cost of Religion in Canada was a multi-year, multi-article investigation into the financial cost of religious privilege in Canada. As a “numbers nerd,” I was fascinated to quantify the cost. I admit, I also learned a tremendous amount about manipulating a massive data set in Excel. 
• The evolution of Critical Links has been great to be involved with as well. I especially enjoyed changing our platform from one long-running newsletter (which ran until October 2020) to a series of articles with links to our website, which began in November of the same year. Not only did this make Critical Links easier to read, but it also means that each separate article can be found using our search engine.
• Being a part of CFIC during the pandemic was a rewarding experience. We were able to provide lots of information about COVID-19 and to offer people webinars and entertainment that helped us fill our days. I especially enjoyed our “Magical Solstice Celebration 2020” featuring our own James Alan.

Mostly, however, I enjoyed meeting and hearing from the people who make up CFIC. You are an amazing group to have a “real” conversation with, to explore meaningful topics with and to share in our goal of making Canada a better place to live. Thank you.

Richard G. L. Thain, DDS

Centre for Inquiry Canada (CFIC) is seeking volunteers to assist during the upcoming World Humanist Congress.

We are looking for volunteers to serve as walking tour guides on Friday, August 7. This is an excellent opportunity to act as Canadian secular ambassadors and welcome our international colleagues attending the Congress.

Volunteers do not need to be historians or prepare their own presentations. We will provide background text, talking points, route maps, and suggested commentary for the tours.

The walking tours will be approximately one hour in length, with the possibility of offering a shorter version for participants with limited mobility.

Tours are expected to run between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (ET) on Friday, August 7.

Centre for Inquiry Canada is also seeking volunteers to assist at the CFIC display table during the Congress.

If you, or someone you know, would like to participate in this interesting volunteer opportunity, please contact us as soon as possible.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact CFIC. You may also contact Humanists Ottawa at contact@humanistottawa.ca.

We look forward to hearing from you, and thank you for your support.