Bc Humanists Podcast

Bettianne Hedges of Humanist Canada hosts Leslie Rosenblood from Centre for Inquiry Canada alongside Teale Phelps Bondaroff and Ian Bushfield of the BC Humanist Association, who will discuss the many ways Canada still tangibly privileges religion and its institutions over similar non-theistic organizations. Just a few policy choices cost Canadians billions - yes, with a "b" - each and every year. You can learn more by reading: Cost of Religion in Canada from CFIC A Public Good from BCHA Follow the Money from BCHA An Extra Burden from BCHA Recorded March 19, 2024

Join Megan Sheldon of Be Ceremonial as we explore the foundations of ceremony, including how we can create our own rituals to acknowledge times of change in life, death, and everything in between. You will learn how to craft a ritual, design a ceremony, and mark the seemingly invisible moments that often go unnoticed in our society. There will be an opportunity for questions, as well as a chance to browse the Be Ceremonial platform that inspires you with hundreds of secular rituals across the life cycle. About Megan Sheldon, Co-Founder & CEO, Be Ceremonial Megan Sheldon (she/her) is the co-founder of Be Ceremonial, the world's first guided ritual app + online community. Be Ceremonial inspires you to create your own ceremonies across the life cycle, drawing on hundreds of universal rituals. Megan is a cultural mythologist, secular celebrant, and end of life doula who is striving to change the cultural narratives around death, dying and grief. Download End of Life: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Reli

Despite decades of calls to action, our emissions are not on a path to stave off a horrific future for our children and future generations. The BC Climate Emergency Campaign is a group of civil society organizations, anxious about the climate emergency, who are collaborating to increase the ambition of climate policy and action in BC. We are not a formal coalition, but have chosen to work together on a joint campaign. Signatories, which include the BC Humanist Association, share a belief that BC’s climate plan, CleanBC, needs a profound jolt, one that would transform CleanBC into a genuine emergency plan and force the provincial government to take real action on climate change. In this webinar, BC Climate Emergency Campaign Coordinator Emiko Newman will prioritize an action-oriented, hope-filled approach that's heavy on solutions to the crisis. Presenter: Emiko Newman, BC Climate Emergency Campaign coordinator Emiko is passionate about exploring the intersections of social justice and climate justi

Despite a 2015 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that prayers at municipal council meetings are unconstitutional, multiple communities across British Columbia still opened their 2022 inaugural council meetings with a prayer. This is a recording of a discussion about prayers with BCHA Research Coordinator Dr Teale Phelps Bondaroff where he explores our latest work updating the status of prayers at BC municipalities. We've made incredible progress in ensuring compliance since 2018 but there are still a number of stragglers that we will continue to challenge. Learn more about our work at https://www.bchumanist.ca

The Government of British Columbia's Master Agreement with religious healthcare facilities allows some hospitals to 'opt-out' of providing patients with procedures that they're legally entitled too. This means your right to MAID or an abortion is subject to the whims of Catholic Bishops and not the rule of law. Find out about the history of religious hospitals in the province and how this agreement came about. We'll also give you the tools to help end these religious opt-outs. Special Guest: Dying With Dignity Canada's CEO Helen Long. References Vandenberg and Boschma (2020) Fritz (2015) The origins of public funded medical care in BC and the BCMA’s contributions Schratz (2018) Important history behind out health care CBC From the archives: Kim Campbell clashes with BC premier over abortion Abortion History (2007) Denominational Health principal members Humanists call for end to Master Agreement Email your MLA (BCHA) Email your MLA (DWDC) Share your story (DWDC)

The Canadian constitution does not have a formal establishment clause separating church and state as the USA does, so can Canada be considered a secular country? In this presentation, BC Humanist Association Executive Director Ian Bushfield will argue that Canada’s unique legal and political history, coupled with a forward-looking Charter of Rights and Freedoms and judiciary, has resulted in more robust protections for the nonreligious and state neutrality than presently exist in America. Bushfield will walk through several of the major legal cases in Canadian religious law, from Big M Drug Mart to Saguenay and Trinity Western University. Along the way, he’ll highlight how secular activists and humanist organizations have increasingly made their voices heard through the justice system and identify several issues on the horizon. This talk by BCHA Executive Director Ian Bushfield was recorded at the Kelowna, Atheists, Skeptics & Humanists Association (KASHA) Forum on July 31, 2023. Please note that the fi

The BCHA team discusses its newly released report: Open for Unconstitutional Business. Read the full report Donate to our year end fundraiser

In honour of Black History Month 2022 (February), we hosted “Black in British Columbia: Resilience and Erasure” presented by Kathleen Johnson (founder of the Facebook group “Critical Black Thought Society” and Alberta Representative for Humanist Canada) This talk was recorded February 22, 2022 via Zoom Kathleen shared a look at how Black settlers came to British Columbia, what life was like, how they contributed, and how that history has been all but erased from the culture of British Columbia. About Kathleen: "I am a diversity and inclusion specialist and coach marginalized professionals, entrepreneurs, and artists. I write and speak on various platforms about diversity issues. I founded a group on Facebook called Critical Black Thought Society with almost 400 members, and am the Alberta Representative for Humanist Canada. This past October I represented the Humanist position at the World Religions Conference on Racism. I was born and raised in Calgary, and am a 1st generation Canadian with parents from Gren

The Government of British Columbia gives hundreds of millions of dollars to private schools in the province. Our new research shows that the overwhelming majority of these schools are for the religious or economic elites. In this talk, BCHA Executive Director Ian Bushfield and Policy Research Adriana Thom will detail where this money goes, what these schools are teaching and who gets shut out. Learn more:  https://www.bchumanist.ca/follow_the_money https://www.bchumanist.ca/private_school_funding_growth https://www.bchumanist.ca/wtf_weird_that_s_funded_1 https://www.bchumanist.ca/wtf_weird_that_s_funded_2 https://www.bchumanist.ca/wtf_weird_that_s_funded_3  Take action https://www.bchumanist.ca/end_the_private_school_giveaway

This is a recording of a live event held in collaboration with Nonreligion in a Complex Future in March 2021.

This is a recording of a live event held in March 2021, in which our research team breaks down the BCHA's latest report on tax exemptions.

This is the recording of an event originally held on Zoom in February 2021.

This panel was originally held live on Zoom on November 5, 2020.

This is the final section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) and living with the death of a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For more information about end of life, including healthcare, advance care planning, legacy projects and emotional support, please see our first guide End of Life: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website.

This is the first section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) and living with the death of a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For more information about end of life, including healthcare, advance care planning, legacy projects and emotional support, please see our first guide End of Life: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website.

This is the third section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) and living with the death of a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For more information about end of life, including healthcare, advance care planning, legacy projects and emotional support, please see our first guide End of Life: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website.

This is the second section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) and living with the death of a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For more information about end of life, including healthcare, advance care planning, legacy projects and emotional support, please see our first guide End of Life: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website.

This is the first section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) and living with the death of a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For more information about end of life, including healthcare, advance care planning, legacy projects and emotional support, please see our first guide End of Life: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website.

This is a recording of an event originally held live on Zoom.

This is final section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read our second guide, Memorials & Grief: A Guide for Humanists and Non-Religious People in BC. This is available for free on our website bchumanist.ca