Religious leaders in Canada see a pattern in recent events involving attacks on the Christian faith and they are not keeping quiet about it.
The recent revocation of the approval granted to Trinity Western, a Christian university, to open a law school triggered the response of a group of Canadian Christian leaders who are now calling on the government to look into what they see as violations against the faith in various parts of the country.
In a news conference, Charles McVety, president of the Institute for Canadian Values, said that Trinity was not an isolated incident and it sparked subsequent incidents like the refusal of three provincial bar associations to accredit potential law graduates from Trinity. A letter by the Bank of Montreal to the Law Society of Upper Canada also challenged Trinity's proposed law school.
McVety cited others incidents such as the general counsel of 72 companies to promote diversity and inclusion in their firms, and the requirement of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario that doctors with religious objections to birth control and abortion refer their patients elsewhere.
"This is a violation, and we are calling on the Canadian government to stop this type of violation across this country," McVety said.
Lawyer Andre Schutten echoed McVety's call, citing laws that "restrict or curtail the religious freedom of Canadians."
Aside from various municipalities preventing Christians from holding church services in public spaces, Schutten said that medical professionals are also being forced to violate their faith by performing procedures they consider to be immoral, including abortion.
"While other groups are being granted more and more rights, we've been losing ours. We are saying enough is enough. We cannot be silent anymore," he said.
