We’re not quite ready at the Register to propose a parliamentary proof for the existence of God in the fact that Canadians of faith are praying for Canada’s Senate to save us.

But just as the teleological proof for God was grounded in the realization that Something had to move Creation first, and the ontological proof posited that an ordered existence required a Something above which there could be no order greater, so something parliamentary must arguably exist to bring order to the chaos being inflicted by the House of Commons.

That it should be the Senate, is alas, the, shall we say, weak point of the argument. What is supposed to be our Upper House, our Chamber of Sober Second Thought, has earned its historical reputation as the last refuge of basement-dwelling political hacks who spend their days snoring as opposed to thinking twice.

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Turning to it in desperation now might only validate the rule of there being no atheists in foxholes, but here we are. And where we are, as the Register reports this week, is facing a ruling Liberal government allied with the Bloc Quebecois to defy faith-based reason. 

Indeed, the legislation known as Bill C-9 actively threatens the very expression of faith by stripping away long-standing protections against criminal prosecution for religious speech. In its way even more insidious is the Liberal-BQ axis of opposition to Bill C-218, which would prohibit so-called medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in cases where the sole cause is mental illness.

Cardinal Frank Leo is among those spearheading public pressure in support of C-218. He is urging Catholics in the Archdiocese of Toronto to get involved with a letter writing campaign that will press MPs to pass the Bill (see story p. 3). Cardinal Leo’s own recent letter urging rejection of efforts to extend MAiD to the mentally ill invoked “love, solidarity, and steadfast commitment to care” as Catholic principles, which should produce a right response in the heart and soul, if not the mind, of Canada’s publicly Catholic prime minister. To ensure it does, His Eminence has also promised to make the case directly to Prime Minister Mark Carney in coming days.

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The Cardinal’s efforts merit applause for a myriad of reasons, not least being continuity with the tradition within the Toronto Archdiocese of bringing the weight of Holy Mother Church to bear on public matters of utmost moral importance. Come Holy Spirit and bring that effort to fruition, especially at this moment when secular political stubbornness and outright finagling seem to have the upper hand.

Such is certainly evident with Bill C-9, which came into existence as at least a quasi-reasonable attempt to tamp down the hate-filled vitriol that filled Canadian streets during protests over Israel’s response to the Hamas-led massacre of October 7, 2023. Thanks to demands from the separatist Bloc Quebecois, however, the legislation was suddenly amended to become an attack on religious speech. The switch has drawn cries of criticism from faith-based communities across Canada as well as civil libertarians who see it as a direct attack on a fundamental Charter freedom. The Liberals’ considered response has been to rush the bill through committee and now to third reading in the Commons where it is guaranteed to pass with BQ support.

Enter the Senate. It has the theoretical independent power and prerogative but also a moral duty to at least further amend Bill C-9. It could strike out the change inflicted by the BQ and preserve the commonsense elements originally proposed by the government. It could even drag out study of the bill in committee hearings until a late spring or fall election the Liberals might call to take advantage of their polling strength. 

Death by order paper would be a fitting end for this abomination of BQ blackmail legislation, and even a potential recovery of reputation for the Senate itself.

But will the Upper House step up? Will it jump at the chance to at long last give Canadians proof that it exists for a parliamentary purpose, a cause of political order, higher than merely being a safe house for partisan bottom dwellers and obsequious party sleepy heads?  

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Let us pray to the God of all creation who can turn even hearts of stone and minds of slush to His will.