Keeping Religion out of Schools in Alberta
On July 22, 2014, Ms Blog posted an article by Simone Lieban Levine “”Canadian Teen Gets Abstinence-Only Education Class Cancelled”. The article describes efforts by an Edmonton high school student, Emily Dawson and her family to have a mandatory abstinence-only workshop removed from her school. Congratulations and well done to Emily and Kathy Dawson!
We particularly want to echo Simone Lieban Levine summary comments: “Perhaps the actions of Emily Dawson and these American students signal a new student-led movement against ignorant and inaccurate sex education. It’s high time for only the real facts of life to be taught in schools.”
Ms Blog and Simone Lieban Levine deserve applause and support for posting the article and for reporting on this story and for advocating facts rather than faith in our schools.
You can find the original article here : http://msmagazine.com/blog/2014/07/22/canadian-teen-gets-abstinence-only-education-class-cancelled/
The Dawson’s victory should encourage organizations like CFI Canada as well as its individual members and volunteers to stay involved to keep religion and faith-based bigotry out of publicly funded schools.
Consumer Education and Advocacy
The words health and wellness are sometimes used as code words for pseudo-medical remedies created to replace or falsely-augment medically proven treatments for minor and major diseases. Centre for Inquiry Canada has launched Health and Wellness Check Up, a campaign designed to investigate claims by the purveyors of alternative products and treatments to promote “health and wellness.”
CFI Canada’s campaign is designed to work for you and with you to investigate practitioners with questionable business and/or clinical models selling treatments with no measurable medical benefit.
This is CFI Canada’s most ambitious campaign to date and CFIC needs your help to investigate and expose any treatments and services that encourage people to bypass medical treatment that promotes measureable health and wellness.
CFI Canada is very concerned about the incursion of pseudo-science in medicine and medical education. Do you have similar concerns about pseudo-science in medicine? Contact us today at ned@cficanada.ca or let us know through social media using the hashtag #CFICheckUp.
Please get involved or make a donation to help us in the inquiries featured below!
Pictured: Yellow Pages Group Ad spotted at a Toronto subway station.
Questionable Health Services: Dangerous Dilutions Project
CFIC inquires into the dangerous growth of homeopathy and other pseudo-scientific health service providers. What are the responsibilities and accountabilities of these businesses when they have real health impacts in the lives and deaths of their clients. CFI Canada contends that homeopathy is a dangerous dilution of healthcare in Canada.
Current Inquiries
- Skull Suture Manipulation For Children with Autism or ADHD: An Inquiry
- Hippocrates Health Institution: An Inquiry into Questionable Health Services
Questionable Health Education: Pseudoscience in Health Services Education
Robert French and CFIC in Vancouver’s work to combat the incursion of pseudoscience into healthcare and education! There appears to be a growing trend for pseudo-scientific educational programs to gain recognition through accredited universities, arms-length government bodies and independent, self-appointed oversight organizations. What protections are in place for prospective students to be certain they are receiving a valid education and what protection is in place for the unsuspecting public when these students enter the marketplace to sell their services?
Current Inquiries
Questionable Health Products and Devices: Regulation of Medical Devices in Canada
Dr. Terry Polevoy brought disturbing information about a device called Celsius42 (Tumour Cell Solution) to our attention in December 2014! Our members have responded to help CFI Canada and Canadians understand how Health Canada’s system of protection works and what gaps and problems may exist.
Questionable Health-Risk Claims: Pseudo-science Scare Tactics
Health-risk claims get airing by main-stream media whether they are backed by evidence or not. CFIC documents and presents here examples of health-risk claims from recent media that do not have clear evidence; CFIC recommends that Canadians seek verifiable evidence from respected health sources before making health decisions of any kind:
- Cell Phone and Wifi Radiation
- Vaccinations
CFIC’s Greater Sudbury Branch
Centre for Inquiry Canada (CFIC)’s Greater Sudbury Branch welcomes a community space in Northern Ontario for discussions, educational events, lectures, and activities that promote reason, critical thinking, evidence-based inquiry, scientific skepticism, secularism, and humanist values.
Join our Meetup to get updates on future activities and events. Find us on Facebook! Our username is @cfisudbury. You can also chat with us on Discord!
If you have any suggestions, email us at slucas@cficanada.ca.
CFIC Goes to Reason Rally 2016
Reason Rally – June 2016 Washington DC
Back in 2012 did you hear about the first Reason Rally only AFTER it happened? Did you watch the youtube clips and wish you’d attended?
On Saturday, June 4th, 2016 tens of thousands will again stand together at the Lincoln Memorial to celebrate shared secular values. Professor Richard Dawkins, Dr. Eugenie Scott, James Randi, Cara Santa Maria and others will be on-stage alongside social justice advocates, politicians, musicians and celebrities.
As members of the CFI Canada community for science and secularism, we have an opportunity to share the experience of this world-renowned event. We can share rides, share rooms and build our community as part of a Canuck Contingent.
If you would like to participate or organize a trip to the 2016 Reason Rally in Washington…please send us an email via ned@centreforinquiry.ca. Don’t let another year slip by!
Getting Involved!
December 2014 – Special Call for Volunteers – SCIENCE!
An essential part of CFI Canada’s mandate is our focus on science. Whether its implementing local Kids For Inquiry Programs, responding to media issues such as anti-vaccination proponents, filming science-oriented educational segments or helping to organize science talks in the community….we need you.
And the fact is…you just never know who you might meet as a volunteer at CFI Canada…recently Gemini Award nominee George Kourounis, who is a science educator and host of the TV adventure/storm chasing series Angry Planet, stopped by CFIC to chat about science and skepticism, volunteer projects and getting involved. It was terrific to meet George and talk about ways CFI Canada can promote science across Canada. Please check out George’s website.
Here are a few roles you might wish to fulfill;
1) Science Videographer
2) Science Podcaster
3) Kids For Inquiry Lead
4) Science Event Coordinator
Drop us a note at ned@cficanada.ca to get involved.
CFI Canada speaks out for your values on human rights, education and science – thank you for getting involved and showing your support.
