For a hundred and fifteen years, Canada was governed by the British North America Act (BNA Act) as set out by the British Parliament. In 1982, all that changed when, under then Prime Minster Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Canada acquired its own constitution known as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This document clearly defines equal rights for all citizens and Canadians are justly proud of it.

However, in the preamble, it states in part: "Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law... "This section was hastily added after extensive lobbying by a few religious groups and some Members of Parliament. Through the ensuing years, the Humanist Association of Canada (HAC) protested against the 'God' inclusion but their concerns fell on deaf ears.

Last year, HAC member Fern Wayman, from a little place called Revelstoke in British Columbia (B.C.), got the idea of sending a petition to Parliament asking that the reference to 'God' be removed. Over the next few months, Fern worked diligently at researching the preamble and the BNA Act and formulating the wording on the petition. H. AC offered to send the petition to all its members and eventually there were 1,000 signatures. Another Humanist, Ray Blessin, contacted New Democratic Party MP for Burnaby-Douglas in B.C., Svend Robinson, who agreed to present the petition to Parliament. Svend Robinson is known for taking a stand on controversial issues and is Canada's first openly gay ME

Once the media got wind of the petition, the phones started ringing off the hook at the HAC's national office in Ottawa, and Humanist organizations across Canada were deluged with requests for interviews. For one incredible week, the whole country was talking about the petition spearheaded by the Humanist movement. As an example of the impact of the petition, local members reported that the voice mail system of one B.C. newspaper, the Victoria Times Colonist, was swamped after receiving over 2,600 "impassioned" calls, 2,300 of which were against removing Big Daddy from the constitution. This is the greatest number of calls they have ever received for any poll to date.

On June 8th, Svend read the petition in the House of Commons. The reaction was swift and brutal. We were all taken by surprise at the outrage that the petition cause. Svend got jeers and catcalls from his fellow MPs. Alexa McDonough, leader of the New Democratic Party shocked everyone by banishing Svend to the back benches as punishment - even though MPs are generally expected to read petitions requested by their constituents whether or not they agree with such a petition!

After issuing an e-mail press release that in one instance apparently was misdirected, Ray Blessin was accused of 'spamming.' and threatened by his listserver provider with having his account cancelled. H.AC received phone calls from people who said that they were going to try to get our charitable status revoked!

Meanwhile, as the petition was being read in Parliament, a group of Humanists from the Ottawa area staged a demonstration on the steps outside the Parliament building. The group was interviewed by reporters from religious newspapers and an evangelical TV station.

Normally, there are 5--10 petitions read out in Parliament daily and most go unnoticed. The HAC brought in one mentioning 'God' and all hell broke loose. The Government has 45 days to respond to the petition but they frequently take a lot longer. It will be no surprise to learn that the Government is in no hurry to respond and when they do the response will be negative.

Future Course of Action

So where does the HAC go from here? We could take the issue to the Supreme Court but this is very costly, about $50,000 to $100,000. We could also approach the United Nations. Another alternative is to keep bringing up the matter every three or four years.

Why was this 'God' reference so offensive to Humanists in Canada? The 'God' being referred to is the Judeo-Christian God, not the God of Hindus, Sikhs or Buddhists, atheists and others. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the most important document in Canada. All Canadians must feel the Charter includes them. As Humanists, we respect the right of everyone to believe as they wish. However, we do believe in keeping church and state separate. Thus individuals are free to practice their religion but governments must remain neutral.

Canada is a wonderful country. Its people live in relative harmony, despite very diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds. Unfortunately, however, even in Canada, some people are afraid to publicly state their beliefs. Atheists seem to be the last to come out of the closet.

Some people are afraid to receive Humanist literature at home, because their family wouldn't understand, or at work, because they fear that revealing their atheism would put their job on the line. In the recent furore over the preamble, some Humanists declined to give media interviews because they feared loss of business.

At the moment the HAC holds a minority view, but not so long ago those who sought to abolish slavery or those who fought for women to have the right to vote were also in the minority. It may be a long fight but this is a very important issue to Humanists in Canada.

Looking on the bright side, the HAC did receive a lot of publicity, and all news media outlets now know who we are, which is no mean feat in a country as vast as Canada. And inquiries about Humanism have shot up to several a week instead of a few a month.