March 10, 2019
Hon. David Anderson,
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6
Dear Mr. Anderson,
I am writing on behalf of our association to support Bill C-418, the Protection of Freedom of Conscience Act. Thank you for introducing this bill. We agree that it is in the public interest to protect the freedom of conscience of health professionals, consistent with Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We respectfully ask that you add “and their students” when you have an opportunity to make amendments to the bill.
The National Association of Catholic Nurses / Association Nationale des Infirmières Catholiques – Canada, (NACN-Canada or ANIC-Canada), formed in June, 2018. One key issue of concern to us is that Canadian law mandates procedures that are not therapeutic or palliative, but instead terminate the lives of our patients. Our association provides an opportunity for nurses to support each other during periods of moral distress related to changes in the law through mentoring, access to resources regarding ethical issues in health care, participation in public discourse, engagement in research on issues of interest to the association, and volunteer opportunities.
Please advise us of any way that we could be helpful to you.
Sincerely,
Freida Chavez, RN, BScN, DNP, FAAN
President,
NACN-Canada / ANIC-Canada