Humanist Groups Condemn Religious Obstruction of Healthcare; Call for Protection of MAID Rights
VANCOUVER / OTTAWA — May 12, 2026 — The British Columbia Humanist Association (BCHA), Humanist Canada, and Centre for Inquiry Canada (CFIC) are calling on the federal government to uphold the state’s duty of religious neutrality in response to renewed efforts by the Catholic Church to influence medical assistance in dying (MAID) policy.
The organizations are responding to a public letter from the Archbishop of Toronto to the Prime Minister, which urged the government to block the planned extension of MAID eligibility to those with a mental illness as their sole underlying condition. This follows a pattern of lobbying from religious institutions seeking to impose theological restrictions on public healthcare.
Decisions regarding MAID eligibility, including for mental health difficulties, should be based on clinical expertise, legal precedents, and the lived experience of patients. When the voices of religious organizations are given equal or greater weight than those of medical professionals and human rights experts, the integrity of our secular democracy is undermined.
The humanist coalition reminds the government that the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Carter v Canada established that the right to a dignified death is a fundamental aspect of liberty and security of the person. Furthermore, the coalition highlights that religious interference is not just a matter of policy debate, but a practical barrier currently preventing patients from accessing care in publicly funded facilities.
“The state has a constitutional duty to remain neutral on matters of religion,” said Ian Bushfield, Executive Director of the BC Humanist Association. “We already see the harm caused when religious hospitals are permitted to unjustifiably deny a patient’s right to access MAID. This is why the BCHA is intervening in the O’Neill case: to defend the principle that public healthcare must be governed by the Charter, not by the vestigial religious dogmas of the institutions providing that care.”
Janalee Morris, Executive Director of Humanist Canada, emphasized the importance of compassion and evidence-based policy. “Access to MAID for those with mental illness is about treating all forms of irremediable suffering with equal dignity. We cannot allow religious lobby groups to re-marginalize patients by suggesting their suffering is less deserving of the full range of legal medical options. Compassion means listening to the patient, not the pulpit.”
The groups also noted that the ongoing delays in expanding MAID eligibility have already caused prolonged distress for many Canadians, exacerbated by the “institutional conscientious objection” practiced by denominational facilities.
“The Supreme Court was clear: The choice of how to end one’s life belongs to the individual,” said Edan Tasca, President of the Centre for Inquiry Canada. “By entertaining these religiously motivated appeals, the government risks undermining the secular foundation of our healthcare system. We call on the government to prioritize the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms over the pressure of religious institutions that continue to obstruct lawful medical care.”
BCHA, Humanist Canada, and CFIC remain committed to ensuring that healthcare decisions remain a matter between patients and their medical providers, free from the shadow of religious interference.
About the Organizations:
The BC Humanist Association, Humanist Canada, and Centre for Inquiry Canada work to ensure the separation of religion and state, defend the rights of the non-religious, and promote the application of reason and evidence in public policy.
Where Secular Minds Meet: CFIC Discord
Discord is a free online social platform to allow people with similar interests, such as gaming, to come together and chat through text messages, voice calls, and video calls. Users can join or create their own communities called “servers,” where conversations are organized into different channels based on their favourite topics.
Centre for Inquiry Canada (CFIC) has a Discord server, a place for anyone to discuss their secular thoughts and have casual discussions about what is going on in our community, in Canada, and around the world. If you have your Discord account, you are more than welcome to join and engage with us in the world of secularism! If you don’t have a Discord account, but are looking for a community, why not join up and give it a try?
We currently have over 50+ members. We would love for you to help us increase that number and beyond by sharing your goofiest memes or your deep, rational thoughts!
Head over to our Discord server link: https://discord.gg/6JtKynMkGj
Join a Great Team: Volunteer with CFIC
Have you ever thought about being a CFIC volunteer? We’ve certainly thought about having you as one. Whether you enjoy computer work, getting out and meeting people, writing and sharing your (evidence-based) thoughts, or leadership roles, we have a place for you.
Our volunteers get involved because they believe passionately that the best way to make their community, their province, their country, and the world better is by supporting CFIC and our mission to support people, organizations, and governments to make evidence-based decisions that improve lives in Canada and around the world.
With a small team of volunteers, CFIC punches above our weight in terms of impact. Adding your talent and time to this pool allows us to do even more.
If you are an independent, motivated individual who believes that critical thinking, science, and secularism are critical for a thriving society, please consider volunteering. To get started, just complete our online volunteer application or email volunteers@centreforinquiry.ca for more information.
Current volunteer roles:
Webmaster assistant: Use WordPress to share information. Check out our website here. Some training will be available for the right (committed) candidate.
Local organizers: Organize events, both informal (such as Skeptics in the Pub) and formal (such as our recent Seth Andrews talk). Meet local, like-minded people. Engage in interesting conversations.
Data Analysis: We are looking for CFIC members who are interested in helping to understand what is working well, and what is working less well with CFIC’s online presence, including social media, direct email campaigns, the website, and our advertising.
Writers: Submit regular contributions to Critical Links. We especially need people with science backgrounds who can write about environmental issues, health, and other breakthroughs.
Activists: Help CFIC change things. We are currently focused on the elimination of public funding for discriminatory religious school boards in Ontario (we would also like to be more active in Saskatchewan and Alberta with this issue) and changing the census question about religion. However, we will work with activists in any area that significantly advances science, secularism, and critical thinking.
Leadership: We look to our excellent volunteers to fill roles on our council and board. Please let us know if you are interested in getting to know us better in order to be involved in directing the future of CFIC.
Canada’s Measles Resurgence and the Public Health Risks of Online Medical Misinformation
By Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Measles is an airborne disease caused by a virus. It can lead to severe health complications and even death. According to the World Health Organization, the measles vaccination has averted about 59 million deaths worldwide between 2000 and 2024. The vaccine is safe and effective.
The “Statement from the Public Health Agency of Canada on Canada’s Measles Elimination Status” from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) reported on November 10, 2025, that Canada was experiencing a “large, multi-jurisdictional outbreak of measles” beginning in October, 2024.
Protection for oneself and one’s loved ones from measles is simple: The measles vaccine. It prevents outbreaks and helps prevent illness. This is a preventable disease. The cases have been found in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported that the PHAC confirmed: Canada no longer holds measles elimination status. The PAHO Measles and Rubella Elimination Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission confirmed the sustained transmission of the measles virus in Canada for more than a year.
Health Ministers in October 2025 were briefed on the measles status of the country. They reportedly committed to working together and discussing coordinated actions, including community engagement.
The Canadian Medical Association reported that 9 in 10 Canadians search online for health advice based on the 2026 Health and Media Tracking Survey. If AI-generated health information enters into this, then real health risks can emerge from misinformation spread by current AI systems.
False health information can move faster and wider than credible medical advice. This creates confusion and undermines trust in experts. People who followed health advice from AI were five times more likely to experience harm than those who did not. Access to care is part of the problem, i.e., people go to AI-sourced medical information when proper care is inaccessible or harder to acquire.
85% of respondents found physicians to be the most trustworthy source of information. Therefore, better access to care would mean Canadians would lean on reliable health information, which they already find more reliable anyway, i.e., physicians. American misinformation and the rise of misinformation are major concerns for Canadians.
Health Minister Marjorie Michel warned against U.S. health and science institution-linked information now. Although, some positive skeptical signs include 69% of Canadians reporting skepticism toward online information, with growing awareness and caution.
87% want social media companies to stop spreading false information, and 90% believe the government should address this. The CMA has submitted recommendations of strengthening trust, protecting privacy, and improving health care, per the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada October, 2025 submission.
New Brunswick Mystery Brain Illness Investigation Finds No Evidence of a New Disease
By Scott Douglas Jacobsen
How did the New Brunswick mystery brain illness investigation and the JAMA Neurology study conclude that no new disease was identified?
The reported mystery brain illness from New Brunswick has been investigated further since 2021’s initial epidemiological research.
In 2021, a group of 48 patients showed neurological symptoms, with the province’s initial investigation finding no common illness. The report was issued on February 24, 2022. A neurologist raised concerns in early 2023 about the possible exposure to herbicides and metals, while additional patients showed abnormal symptomatology.
A 2023-2026 investigation following the initial investigation tested the environmental-exposure hypothesis. They checked if patients received diagnoses since the original research.
The New Brunswick “mystery brain illness” investigation began in 2021 with a group of 48 patients showing neurological symptoms. The province’s first investigation found no evidence of a common illness, and that report was issued on February 24, 2022.
On January 23, 2026, New Brunswick released the report in conclusion of the investigation. By February 28, 2025, 222 complete and validated patient reports had been received. By November 1, 2025, the referring neurologist had notified the province of 399 patients.
Only the 222 validated reports were included in the analysis. No environmental substances explained all or even most patient conditions. Over 90% of patients were within expected ranges for herbicides. Some patients had elevated metal levels. Most were normal.
Provincial reportage, in other words, reports no widespread environmental exposure as contributive to illness. Autopsies revealed known conditions, rather than a “mystery illness” or a new unknown brain disease, including Alzheimer’s, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and Lewy body disease.
More distinctly in the academic domain from a highly reputable medical journal, JAMA Neurology, published a peer-reviewed study on May 7, 2025, with a re-examination of 25 patients from the broader 222-patient cohort. The study included 14 independent clinical evaluations and 11 neuropathological diagnoses.
The JAMA Neurology study found no evidence of a new disease and identified known conditions in the 25 cases, including common neurodegenerative diseases, functional neurological disorder, metastatic cancer, and traumatic brain injury.
11 autopsy cases were found to be extremely unlikely to have a new disease (probability of less than 0.001). The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) helped with two rounds of scientific review. New Brunswick requested a separate review of all data.
No common illness was identified in the first investigation; the second provincial investigation found no new or unknown brain diseases, and the JAMA Neurology study found no evidence of a new disease.
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a close up of a human brain on a white background, image by BUDDHI Kumar SHRESTHA, via Unsplash
