I continue to express support for ending federal vaccine mandates, especially the truckers’ mandate. Preventing thousands of truckers from bringing goods across the border will have serious consequences for all Canadians, regardless of their vaccination status. Since truckers work alone and already have to follow provincial rules regarding masking and distancing in public places, adding a new mandate for th ...

In the midst of continuing discussion about COVID-19, it is important that we turn some attention to Canada’s other major public health crisis – the opioid crisis. The opioid crisis has also claimed thousands of Canadian lives. Without effective strategies for managing it, the opioid crisis will lead to a greater level of death and misery over the long term.  To understand what to do about the opioid crisis ...

The situation around the Line 5 pipeline is both disappointing and revealing. Disappointing because many households in Ontario and Quebec are now at risk of losing secure access to the energy they need. Revealing because it shows the importance of pipeline construction and other policies that guarantee energy security for every region of the country. Line 5 transports petroleum and natural gas liquids from ...

When the COVID-19 outbreak first began, the Conservative caucus was quick to call for border restrictions in order to limit the spread of the virus. But the government was reluctant to impose such measures. They were similarly slow to put in place mechanisms for testing and tracing protocols. These delays hurt our response and likely led to higher rates of infection. In a much belated recognition of the nee ...

I’ve been getting a lot of calls about the government’s recently re-introduced euthanasia bill (officially called “medical assistance in dying” in the Criminal Code in Canada). Prior to the prorogation of Parliament in August, Parliament briefly debated Bill C-7. Following prorogation, on Oct. 5, the government re-introduced the same bill in identical form. This bill would significantly expand the availabil ...

I was horrified to see the news of the beheading of the statue of the Virgin Mary at Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Toronto this past weekend. Acts of vandalism like this seek to intimidate and cancel public religious practice, and are emboldened by a broader sense of impunity for those who attack statues or monuments of any kind. Politicians, the media, and all of us must speak out when acts of vandalism li ...

The Liberal government has brought forward another bill on euthanasia, making it even easier for people to be killed by their doctor or nurse practitioner if they request it. When this government brought in euthanasia in the first place, they said that some of the so-called “safeguards” that were in place would protect people from being pressured into choosing death prematurely. Unfortunately, the new bill ...

Last week, four of my caucus colleagues and I were pleased to nominate Maggie Gobran, or “Mama Maggie” as she is better known, for the Nobel Peace Prize. I also spoke about that nomination in Parliament. Mama Maggie’s story has inspired me and so many others, and further recognition will help her continue to expand her work. Mama Maggie has been referred to as “the Mother Teresa of Egypt”. Thirty years ago, ...

René Girard was a Christian anthropologist, whose insights about the ways communities operate shed light on the persecution of minorities. Why do majority communities in certain parts of the world choose to spend time and resources harassing minority communities that do not threaten them? There are a variety of different explanations, but I think Girard has one of the best. Some would argue that minority pe ...

I was, and still am, a big fan of the Aladdin story. In various tellings and different versions it delivers a sense of exotic intrigue, along with a very imminent sense of the unlimited potential that we all have. Aladdin is poor and disadvantaged – and yet he rapidly approaches the highest levels of power and possibility. In the films, as Aladdin has his opportunity to make it big, he struggles with self-d ...

As a Christian in politics, people often ask me how my religion and my politics fit together. Some people say that faith should not mix with politics. But I believe that all people in politics are influenced by their basic beliefs, whether or not they are religious. There’s some advantage to speaking about that reality openly. My foundational ‎assumptions about right and wrong are shaped by what might be ca ...

I was very saddened to learn of yet another attack on the Egyptian Christian community. Seven Egyptian Christian pilgrims were recently killed while travelling to the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor. Meanwhile, the case of Asia Bibi is in the news again. She has been acquitted by Pakistan’s Supreme Court, but faces continuing potential difficulties as a result of violent protests calling for her dea ...