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By Russell Pangborn

A letter to my American CFI cousin

Dear American CFI member,

There are quite a few brutal dictatorships out there. Apparently, a Presidential hunch was an official reason to start a war with one of them, and no one is sure what the real reasons and goals are.

The premier of the Canadian province of Manitoba, Wab Kinew, made an appeal for ending this war while alluding to a reason a lot of us wonder about – distraction from the Jeffry Epstein inquiry. History has taught us that with war, a wannabe tyrant can find good excuses to suppress a democracy. Anybody in favour of a free press and fair elections can now be accused of being a traitor to the nation if they question that leader … So, here is my question:

What are you doing to stop your country from turning into a dictatorship? 

Up here in Canada, our democracy is still healthy … but what happens politically south of us can mess that up in a hurry. We all should have learned from the Weimar Republic’s descent into a fascist Nazi state that complacency in our comfortable lives is not a good strategy. If they eventually are going to break down your doors, maybe a stronger response earlier would have been prudent. If you didn’t vote in that last election that gave majorities to each branch of government, facilitating the end of democracy, then shame on you. But there is still some time to redeem yourself. If you did recognize the threat posed and voted accordingly, you were let down by the roughly 1/3 who did not exercise their right to fill out the ballot. If you are out marching in the No Kings Days protest or one of the heroes in Minneapolis pushing back against a masked fascist policing presence, my hat is off to you. If you voted against this government and are not happy with the current government but feel no urgency about convincing the non-voting 36 percent to participate in the next election – you are not really aware of the danger your country is in. CFI members are like any group. There are those who are hyper-aware and those who are oblivious. I would like to believe you skew heavily towards the first.

Canadians are still incredulous that a minority in your country is wielding so much power. We have our fringe groups as well. But we have not handed over the reins of power to them. During COVID, we had a freedom convoy that held our capital prisoner with protests, and we had an anti-vaxer government group at the Ontario Ambassador Bridge blocking trade and traffic. Today, it is ironic that the menace of a bridge blocking threat is coming from your government. The President has uttered threats because Canada is such a nasty country. We supposedly do not play fair. Although completely funding the multi billion-dollar Gordie Howe bridge and ceding half ownership to the U.S. side sounds exceedingly fair to me. This may be coming because of a Canadian-China auto deal. Trump first said it was understandable, then backtracked to hyperbolic anger on it. While the U.S.’s new policies are f….g us on preexisting deals, looking elsewhere is verboten. But it is okay for the U.S. and China to make deals. One of the strangest arguments ever heard about any business deal is how any auto pact with China will destroy our favourite sport: The National Hockey League crushed out of existence by the Chinese, according to your President.

In my neighbourhood, a lot of Canadians are upset. The fact that a once-strong democracy is crumbling so rapidly is part of it, but the threats from a government your people have elected have certainly galvanized us to distrust the U.S.A. as a whole and bring us together. We have had to rethink our assumptions regarding our best friend never invading us for our resources.

I think you get the gist of why so many of my neighbours and countrymen are swearing off travel to your country. Insulting our leaders, dusting off the Monroe Doctrine, encouraging and possibly funding the fringe in Alberta who want to separate, (Texans in the past have wanted to separate, but we never gave them the time of day). Then there is the 51^st state joke, then not a joke, then a joke again … etc. We have learned by watching those jokes play out in your country. They are usually testing the waters for actual intentions. The one currently in development for your side of the border is the third-term gag. 

 Maybe more attention could have been focused on the damage being done by unethical news media outlets. The free speech argument supporting disseminating outright lies has come back to bite your country. Ironic that once the malicious power got consolidated courtesy of misinformation, the first act was to curtail accurate, verifiable news. No freedom of speech where it is most needed. One of the tenets of our organization should be that nothing is sacred from inquiry. Unchecked freedom of speech went through a modification with our hate laws up here. Some of us are debating the purposeful dissemination of outright lies from news organizations. 

A lot of us are making a conscious effort not to buy American-made goods. Some of us will even happily pay more for that Canadian-produced product. Our newly elected Prime Minister, Mark Carney, made us proud with his speech at Davos, earning a rare standing ovation when he acknowledged the new world order and a strategy to deal with it. (An interesting aside is that until your side started ramping up on aggressive language and economic policies, we had a Trump-like conservative front-runner leading in the polls.) 

There is some sympathy up here from having argued with a few of the cult members who are relatives or former friends. As some scientists have discovered in these debates, you can’t carry the day when peppered with a bunch of half-true facts taken out of context. You have a better chance with the appropriate research, logic and the scientific method, but those who need to hear and understand have an attention span that has already left the debate room by then. Like some of you, I have blown up some relationships, lost relatives and seen some of my Canadian heroes in an unflattering light.

Your system that was once so proud of a multi-faceted approach of checks and balances on levers of power has bent a knee to ultimate Presidential power. What is your self-anointed King planning? Since his decisions have not been stellar, there is the Save America Act, which is voter suppression on steroids to keep the power base intact after the upcoming impactful November elections. There is a ramping up of attacks on journalism, which already was out of hand with the authoritarians labelling objective reporting as treason. I am sure you know about most of this, but again, my question is, how hard are you fighting back? Your loss of a democracy will cross our borders.

Our former Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, was recently on a talk show and cited a quote attributed to Winston Churchill. 

“Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing, once all other possibilities have been exhausted.”

Things will have to get very bad before you start blowing things up. But if you are going to do the right thing, here is a wish list from your Canadian Cousin:

Get rid of a system that gives small, sparsely populated conservative states equal status and inordinate power over a majority of you. Put in some checks and balances on dark money and gerrymandering influencing elections. And finally, do something about your Supreme Court that initially enabled all this power. 

We need to work on some things as well. The notwithstanding clause is Canada’s albatross, providing a legal loophole to upend good government. 

I am aware that a few American CFI members will read this. I speak with a lot of people who are angry up here, and at one time, we were just mad at the MAGA people. But as the rhetoric and threats ramped up, some of us are wondering why more of the decent people in your country aren’t pushing back. Some did in Minneapolis and lost their lives for it. When they did, and lies were disseminated about them being terrorists, the Minnesota Governor, Tim Walz, pushed back, calling ICE agents “Trump’s Modern-Day Gestapo’. I also must ask myself, if this rot crosses the border, what am I willing to do? Your turn will have passed, and it will be my turn to step up. Tough decisions… and that brings me back to one of my first points about the Weimar Republic. Staying complacent while the authoritarian infrastructure is built up is not a good strategy. Your country needs saving now before it solidifies all the mechanisms that enable repression of the popular will. Look how hard it is for the Iranians to dislodge a tyrannical theocracy. 

Good luck on your next election.

Expanding Our Assistance for Apostates Program Through International Collaboration

At the Centre for Inquiry Canada, we have always believed that human rights are universal—that the freedom to think, question, and disbelieve is as fundamental as any other liberty. This conviction drives our Assistance for Apostates (A4A) program, through which we support individuals fleeing persecution for their rejection of religious belief. Today, we are proud to announce an important expansion of this work: CFI Canada has become an official partner of the Atheist Refugee Assistance Program (ARAP), joining CFI Transnational, Atheist Alliance International, Ateizm Dernegi International, and the David P. Silverman Charitable Fund in supporting this vital initiative.

Turkey hosts the largest refugee population in the world, with millions having fled conflict and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, and across the broader Middle East and North Africa region. Among these displaced people are secular humanists and non-believers—individuals who face a double burden. They have escaped their homelands, often under threat of imprisonment or death for apostasy or blasphemy, only to find themselves vulnerable once again within refugee communities where religious conformity is frequently expected and enforced. The challenges they face are immense: navigating a complex immigration system, often without legal support, while hiding their true beliefs from fellow refugees who might threaten them.

ARAP was established in 2020 by Ateizm Derneği, Turkey’s humanist NGO with approximately 500 members, to address this critical gap in refugee services. It remains the only organization in Turkey specifically dedicated to supporting non-believing asylum seekers. The program provides comprehensive assistance, including legal aid, accommodation through their safehouse facility, job placement support with CV translation and interview guidance, and official letters of verification for UNHCR and immigration authorities. Since its founding, ARAP has delivered 85 legal aid cases, provided 85 letters of support, responded to 116 guidance inquiries, arranged 27 accommodations, and helped place 27 refugees in employment.

In 2025 alone, ARAP delivered 57 services and accepted 16 new cases into its program after a very thorough vetting process. Perhaps most importantly, the organization achieved zero deportations—every accepted case remains protected. This remarkable record speaks to the dedication of ARAP’s team and the effectiveness of their case management approach.

A centrepiece of ARAP’s work is the LightHouse, their safehouse facility providing emergency shelter for non-believers facing immediate danger. Launched in March 2025 as a women’s shelter with support from the David P. Silverman Charitable Fund, the LightHouse sheltered five cases totaling eight individuals, including children, in its first year. In March 2026, the LightHouse will undergo a major expansion, relocating to a 330 square metre condominium in central Istanbul with capacity for 10 or more beds, allowing stays of up to 180 days or more. Starting in April 2026, the facility will be open to all genders, dramatically expanding its ability to serve those in need.

Another significant development in 2026 is the expansion of ARAP’s scope of services. Until now, the program has served exclusively non-Turkish atheist refugees who fled their home countries to seek asylum in Turkey. Beginning this year, ARAP will also provide support to qualified refugees who have had to flee from Turkey due to religious persecution—recognizing that for some non-believers, even Turkey has become too dangerous. This expansion represents a meaningful evolution in ARAP’s mission to protect all those persecuted for their non-belief, regardless of their country of origin.

This partnership emerged organically from our shared work. ARAP currently has multiple cases approved by both UNHCR and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for relocation to Canada. Meanwhile, CFI Canada’s A4A program has been supporting our own relocation case—a Pakistani asylum seeker known by the pseudonym “Omer,” who faced persecution for blasphemy in his home country and has spent years waiting in limbo while his Canadian sponsorship is processed. It was through this parallel work—ARAP guiding refugees through the Turkish immigration system while A4A supports their journey to Canada—that our paths crossed and this partnership took shape.

The collaboration aligns perfectly with CFI Canada’s mission to foster a secular society based on reason, science, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values. Since our founding in 2007, we have worked to provide a voice for those of minority worldviews, including atheists, agnostics, and secular humanists. Our A4A program was established precisely because we recognize that non-believers face unique challenges when seeking asylum—challenges often overlooked by traditional refugee assistance programs. In Canada, we have advocated for changes to refugee regulations that would extend the same protections to non-believers that religious refugees receive. Internationally, we work with partner organizations to support those in immediate danger.

We are confident in this partnership because of ARAP’s strong governance structure. In 2022, ARAP’s governance transferred to Ateizm Dernegi International Foundation in British Columbia, Canada, protecting staff, refugees, and safehouse operations from potential interference. The organization maintains rigorous accountability through twice-weekly team meetings, real-time task tracking via project management software, end-to-end encrypted communications, and annual reports inspected by a Board of Auditors. All staff and volunteers sign confidentiality agreements to protect the vulnerable individuals they serve.

As Canada’s only national secular education charity, CFI Canada is proud to support this essential work. But protecting those persecuted for their non-belief requires a community effort. We call on other like-minded organizations—humanist groups, freethought societies, secular NGOs, and human rights organizations—to consider joining this partnership. ARAP’s minimum partnership commitment is $3,000 USD annually, but contributions of any size make a difference. Partners receive access to weekly meetings, financial and performance reports on demand, logo placement on ARAP materials, and recognition in interviews, news coverage, and social media.

For those who have lost everything for thinking freely, ARAP offers a second chance at life. Through our partnership, CFI Canada is helping to ensure that the beacon of hope continues to shine. If your organization shares our commitment to protecting freedom of thought and conscience, we invite you to join us. Together, we can build a world where no one faces persecution simply for the courage to question.

For more information about partnering with ARAP, visit www.atheistrefugeesturkey.com or contact international@ateizmdernegi.org.tr. To support CFI Canada’s Assistance for Apostates program, visit centreforinquiry.ca or contact Onur Romano (CFIC Human Rights Chair).

Dear friend,

Concerns about information overload, disinformation, and misinformation get a lot of attention. Meanwhile, the very people in society who work to the standards of good science to uncover reliable information and share knowledge, and who protect the public’s access to it – such as librarians, editors, research professionals, and integrity officers, as well as specialist journalists – are overlooked and undermined.

Join us to discuss what good information curation looks like and the principles that underpin it.

Figuring out what is reliable in a world of agendas, fakes, and contradictions is hard – and getting harder. We want the principles of good information curation to be more visible, respected, and protected, so that society can continue to rely on them. Join us at 16:00 UTC on Wednesday, 18 February:

You’ll hear directly from “public-good curators” and learn what you can do to build a public voice for good curation. If you have any questions about the webinar, please email me.

Best wishes,

Katherine Brown
Programme Lead