Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

‘We’ve Entered an Era of Totalitarian Power’: Ontario Law Allows Gov to Seize Children from Parents who Oppose Gender Transition

TORONTO, CANADA - JULY 3: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (middle, waving flag) participates at the annual Pride Festival parade, July 3, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will make history as the first Canadian PM to march in the parade. (Photo by Ian Willms/Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - JULY 3: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (middle, waving flag) participates at the annual Pride Festival parade, July 3, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will make history as the first Canadian PM to march in the parade. (Photo by Ian Willms/Getty Images)
Share Tweet
By Meg Storm
Writer

June 6, 2017

A new Canadian law is threatening the right of parents to decide how to best raise their children. Late last week, Ontario passed the highly controversial “Supporting Children, Youth and Families Act of 2017” (commonly referred to as Bill 89). The bill—deemed “totalitarian” by critics—includes parameters that allow the government to remove children from parents that refuse to accept a child’s “gender identity” or “gender expression.”

Christian Bakers Fined for ‘Injury to Feelings’ After Refusing to Make ‘Support Gay Marriage’ Cake Get BIG Surprise

As the Christian Post reports, the new law replaces the existing “Child and Family Services Act” (or Bill 28) that governed child protection, foster care, and adoption services. The language of the bill stipulates that a family’s willingness to accept a child’s gender preferences is a factor to be considered when determining “the best interests of the child.”

“I would consider that a form of abuse, when a child identifies one way and a caregiver is saying no, you need to do this differently,” said Michael Coteau, the minister of Child and Family Services, who introduced the bill. “If it’s abuse, and if it’s within the definition, a child can be removed from that environment and placed into protection where the abuse stops.”

Additionally, Bill 89 deletes verbiage from the previous law that stated the religious faith in which the parents were raising the child be taken into consideration. According to the new law, child protection services should only take the child’s own “creed” or “religion” into account when assessing the best interests of the child.

“With the passage of Bill 89, we’ve entered an era of totalitarian power by the state, such as never witnessed before in Canada’s history,” said Jack Fonseca, senior political strategist for Campaign Life Coalition. “Make no mistake, Bill 89 is a grave threat to Christians and all people of faith who have children, or who hope to grow their family through adoption.”

Bill 89 passed the legislature with a 63 to 23 vote, with all liberal MPPs supporting the measure and a handful of conservatives voting against it. The conservative opposition at the most recent vote contrasted a March vote on the bill’s second reading, in which MPPs from both parties unanimously voted in favor.

According to LifeSiteNews:

Conservative MPPs present at Queen’s Park for the vote opposed the bill, which was in stark contrast to their position at second reading in March, when 83 of Ontario’s 107 MPPs passed Bill 89 unanimously… 

A source present at a Tory caucus meeting two weeks ago told LifeSiteNews the Conservative members were swayed by “three or four” MPPs who said they could not in conscience vote for what the source described as a bill that is “fundamentally and morally wrong”…

Parents As First Educators and the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) have also been at the forefront of relentless lobbying against the bill.

But despite these efforts, no Liberal broke ranks to vote on behalf of concerned parents, and a number of New Democratic Party MPPs voted for the bill as well.

The bill’s June 1 passage happened to come on the same day as a Christian Post report about new policies of Illinois social services that forbid foster parents from caring for children and bar social workers from employment if they do not support a child’s gender transition.

According to The Federalist, the Illinois director of the Department of Children and Family Services approved “enhanced department procedures” that established “mandatory minimum standards for LGBTQ children under its authority.” Drafted with assistance from the ACLU, the new standards “will not tolerate exposing LGBTQ children and youth to staff/providers who are not supportive of children and youths’ right to self-determination of sexual/gender identity.”

“If a government entity is set to be the ultimate arbiter of someone’s truth, being or existence, then at what point do parents get left out of the equation,” asked Meg Kilgannon, executive director of the Virginia-based Concerned Parents and Educators, in relation to the Illinois policy. With the passage of Bill 89, it is a question that Ontarians now find themselves with grappling with.

Supporters claim the law ultimately benefits children because it allows them to have a more direct say in any and all decisions that affect them.

“I believe that this new Act, in its principles, represents a paradigm shift for the province with its commitment to the participation of children and youth in every decision that affects them, the creation of a child-centered system of service, and commitment to anti-racism and children’s rights,” Irwin Elman, Ontario’s provincial advocate for children and youth, said in a statement.

But critics fear the new law opens the door for unprecedented overreach that may adversely affect Christians. Fonseca told LifeSiteNews the bill’s passage wreaked of “stunning hypocrisy and anti-Christian bigotry” and gives the government “a type of police power to bust down your door, and seize your biological children if you are known to oppose LGBT ideology and the fraudulent theory of ‘gender identity’, if for instance, some claim is made that your child may be same-sex attracted or confused about their ‘gender.’”

(h/t Christian Post)

—

Other Must-Read Stories: 

—Pregnant Teen Banned From Graduation by Her Christian School Gets Her Diploma — and a Standing Ovation

—‘God Is Good in the Midst of the Evil’: Justin Bieber Brings Down the House With Teary-Eyed Mini-Sermon About God During Manchester Benefit Concert

—NFL Star Michael Vick Says Being Imprisoned Offered a Powerful Lesson, Showed Him ‘God Was Real’

Latest

  • Faith

    Should Public School Teachers Lead Prayer in Jesus’ Name? Americans Make Their Stance Clear

  • Faith

    ‘God’s Definitely Real’: Cross Necklace Saves Man’s Life After He Was Shot in the Chest

  • Faith

    ‘Dangerous Ideology’: Christian Summer Camp Takes Gender Stand, Scores Major Victory

  • culture

    BBC Reporter Earns Viral Praise For Abruptly Pausing On-Air to Correct Term ‘Pregnant People’

  • News

    Pastor’s Wife Deported: Family Speaks Out, Pleads for Mercy as Homeland Security Issues Statement


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Posts

  • Should Public School Teachers Lead Prayer in Jesus’ Name? Americans Make Their Stance Clear
  • ‘God’s Definitely Real’: Cross Necklace Saves Man’s Life After He Was Shot in the Chest
  • ‘Dangerous Ideology’: Christian Summer Camp Takes Gender Stand, Scores Major Victory
  • BBC Reporter Earns Viral Praise For Abruptly Pausing On-Air to Correct Term ‘Pregnant People’
  • Pastor’s Wife Deported: Family Speaks Out, Pleads for Mercy as Homeland Security Issues Statement

Archives

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • culture
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.