By Luke Mandato, The Catholic Register
[Canadian Catholic News] – The Catholic Women’s League of Canada is urging the federal government to encourage the application of existing terrorism laws when arson attacks on places of worship are prosecuted.
The resolution was one of five new orders of business passed as members from around the country gathered for the league’s 106th annual National Convention in Halifax Aug. 9 to 12. At the Halifax Convention Centre, delegates from various councils united in a call for further justice around the protection of holy spaces throughout Canada.
As highlighted in a brief of the latest resolution, the alarming increase in the number of places of worship being deliberately burned in Canada –particularly since unmarked graves were said to be found at the former Kamloops Residential School in 2021 – has been underscored by an order and address of the House of Commons that resulted in a report of 592 police-reported arson attacks at places of worship in Canada between 2010 and 2022.
The CWL also pointed toward economist Edgardo Sepulveda’s Scorched Earth report, published by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, which revealed that arson at religious institutions in Canada has more than doubled compared to 2021’s baseline and has not significantly declined since then. Arson also continues to be the leading cause of fires affecting Canadian places of worship, with up to 50 incidents a year across the country, according to data from Ecclesiastical Insurance.
“This aligns with one of the objects of the Catholic Women’s League of Canada, to contribute to the understanding and growth of religious freedom, social justice, peace and harmony,” the brief reads.
The CWL went on to draw attention to the Criminal Code’s definition of terrorism to include intentional substantial property damage committed, in whole or in part, for a political, religious or ideological purpose. However, hate-crime laws do not cover ideological or political motives in the same way.
Still, only a fraction of cases from 2021 to 2023 — nine out of 238 incidents (about 3.7 per cent) — resulted in publicly identified charges, a figure well below the national arson charge rate of 11 per cent.
The national organization argues that not only would terrorism provisions strengthen deterrence and amplify Canada’s deterrence of such attacks to better protect religious freedom, it would also serve as a benefit toward Indigenous communities — with arson attacks on churches threatening ongoing reconciliation efforts due to a “lack of government response and society’s general apathy towards condemning such actions.”
An action plan that would include communication with the prime minister and the minister of public safety to urge the federal government to encourage application of existing terrorism laws through letter-writing, petitions and postcards, as well as educating members on the increase in the number of places of worship such as churches, synagogues and mosques being deliberately burned in Canada, with discussions held on potential causes, was put forth.
Opposition to medically-provided euthanasia
The CWL also notably resolved to oppose all forms of medically-provided death (known as MAiD), urging the federal government not to permit advance requests for euthanasia. As Canada considers allowing advance requests to be carried out when a person may no longer be competent, advocates maintain that legalizing advance requests would essentially remove the current safeguard of final-moment consent.
A brief of the resolution outlined national data showing 35.3 per cent of MAiD recipients citing themselves as “feeling like a burden” and 17.1 per cent citing isolation and/or loneliness as drivers of their decision. In public consultations, 51 per cent of participants stressed that protecting the vulnerable must remain the guiding value.
Upholding the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, the League is now officially calling for retaining the requirement of such final-moment consent.
The CWL also asks the government to provide support and funding for palliative care and caregivers, as well as encouraging its members to support palliative care, hospices and organizations such as the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and Campaign Life.
Other resolutions
Other resolutions from the convention include amending federal plastic regulations to require tethered bottle caps on single-use beverage containers, implementing the disability housing recommendations of the Canadian Human Rights Commission and for the federal government to implement a national guaranteed basic income framework.
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