Ottawa spent $79,189.27 over four years to wrap its buses in Pride colours. In 2023 and 2024, they wrapped one bus a year. Then in 2025 and 2026 they wrapped two buses each year. Does this mean that next year they will wrap four buses? Maybe a whole fleet of buses?
This for a bus system that ended 2025 with a deficit of $52 million.
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From the Ottawa Citizen: LGBTQ+ charities and non-profits face increasing financial struggle. Fae Johnstone the executive director of Queer Momentum:
We need to support the organizations making equality real.
Ah, no we don't. I don't want to give any more of my tax dollars to LGBTQ ideology. Canadians already give LGBTQ millions.
LGBTQ+ charities and non-profits deliver critical services and programs to the most vulnerable queer people. In Ottawa and across Canada, they're facing the perfect storm: economic precarity, government belt-tightening and corporations rescinding financial support, all made worse by a social and political climate increasingly hostile to LGBTQ+ acceptance.
Cry me a river.
If they want more money to fund their ideology let them fundraise for it. They've already received enough from the taxpayer. Kind Space received $1,077,389 in the past five years from government. Ten Oaks received $334,019. And Queer Momentum has received $395,325 for a total of almost $2 million dollars.
Sexual-identity-based charities rest on the flawed premise that people require different forms of support because of who they are, rather than because of what they are experiencing. Homelessness, depression, addiction, trauma, and poverty are sadly universal human conditions in our society. They do not become categorically different when experienced by LGBTQ+ individuals. Creating parallel, identity-filtered charities ultimately fragments service delivery, duplicates infrastructure, and diverts what is already scarce funding from more deserving outcome-driven programs that serve far more people.In a time where Canadians have few and few dollars to give to charities, part thanks to our Liberal government running out of other peoples money, prioritizing identity over demonstrated need and measurable effectiveness is just plain inefficient and worse yet, exclusionary. It also risks turning charitable work into ideological signaling rather than practical problem-solving. Universal challenges are best addressed through inclusive needs-based institutions that treat people equally and allocate resources based on severity and impact. Compassion scales when it is universal and outcome-focused; it weakens when it is segmented by identity. Charity should reduce suffering, not organize it along political or social classifications.
As Catholics we are pro-life. As members of the human race, we are pro-life. I can't really think of anything more important than standing up for the rights of the pre-born.
Each of us can do what we can in this regard. Some of us write about abortion. Some of us advocate for changes to abortion laws. Some of us engage in all kinds of abortion activism to change the hearts of the people around us.
You might say: "But I have no special talents, there's nothing I can do to change abortion". But that is not true. Each and every Christian can do something very important, something very fundamental against the powers and principalities that are at the diabolical roots of the evil of abortion. Because that is what this is really about.
Each and every one of us can pray to end abortion in Canada. Even better than that, each and every one of us can spend some time praying in front of an abortion clinic to end abortion.
If enough of us do this, even if we are not a writer, or not an activist, or not an orator, we can spend an hour or two witnessing for pre-born children during 40 days for life. All it takes is a bit of our time, and a bit of courage. It's really really simple.
Imagine this. That every Catholic would go to an abortion clinic, or to a hospital where abortions are committed, during 40 days for life. And there, pray a Rosary. To witness for our children in the womb and ask our blessed Mother to protect them. We can change the culture. Miracles can happen. We can do this.
They can make laws to try and stop us from praying. They can and have done this. But they can't stop us from praying.
I asked for, and received, abortion data for four Ontario regions: Hamilton, Ottawa, Peel and Toronto, for three years: 2019, 2020 and 2021. The data is for both hospitals and non-hospital settings. It is broken down by year within each city, and by abortion code.
While every abortion is a tragic reality, I am always struck by the particular evil of fetal reduction abortions (code P054). How does anyone even decide to do this? You have two children growing inside your womb, and you make the decision to kill one of them. How do you decide which child to kill? When the remaining alive child grows up, do you tell her that you killed her sister? Fetal reduction abortions:
Then there are the > 14 weeks gestation abortions (code S785):
Medical abortions seem to be increasing every year (Code A920). I guess this should not be a surprise:
"In regards to your request, you, and all persons are free to pray at this site while respecting the bubble zone and any other legislation that may be in effect that respects your right and the rights of others.
I am not able to comment on the veracity of the article further for privacy reasons."So we are still allowed to pray? Too bad the police's words don't correspond to their actions.
“I prayed and put this time in to thank God for my health, my wife, and my family. I've continued every Tuesday since then for all these years, across the street from 65 Bank St. and even continued outside the Bubble Zone until this date.”Here is more of what what Frank told me.
“We are committed to having a highly ethical police service, to obtain public trust and maintain public confidence that we are an honourable, courageous and service-oriented police service.”We assume that most Ottawa Police officers know how to conduct themselves with politeness and courteous actions, all the while doing their job. However these two Ottawa Police officers did not do the force credit with their heavy handed approach with peaceful pro-life people.
From: Joyce Arthur (mailto:joyce@arcc-cdac.ca)
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2017 1:34 PM
To: Watson, Jim (Mayor/Maire)
Cc: Deans Diane; McKenney, Catherine; Wilkinson, Marianne; Fleury, Mathieu; Nussbaum, Tobi; Leiper, Jeff
Subject: Please remove anti-choice flag from City Hall TODAY
Importance: High
Dear Mayor Jim Watson,
Please immediately remove the anti-choice flag from Ottawa City Hall.
This flag is an affront to women's human rights, and I've heard visceral reactions from supporters in Ottawa who feet "sick to my stomach", "disgusted", "ashamed" and "embarrassed" that their City would disrespect women's rights in this way.
Please be more sensitive to basic human rights. As a local government, you are bound to the Charter. It is wrong and discriminatory for the City of Ottawa to fly any flag espousing a cause that would remove the constitutional rights of women and transgender people who can get pregnant. The groups behind the March for Life seek to criminalize abortion, but our Supreme Court and lower courts have found that restrictions on abortion compromise women's Charter rights to bodily security, as well as life, liberty, privacy, and conscience.
Please ask yourself whether you would fly a flag with a message from local residents who are white supremacists or neo-Nazis. We simply ask you to draw the line where it also respects women's rights, as well as the rights of group.
They are protected as a vulnerable group under human rights codes and the Charter, just like ethnic and other minorities.
Thank you very much for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Joyce Arthur
Executive Director
Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC)
P0B 2663, Station Main
Vancouver, BC, V6B 3W3
joyce@arcc-cdac.cawww.arcc-cdac.ca
Members of Council,
A number of Members of Council have contacted me with respect to the Proclamation and flag raising for today's March for Life.
First, I want to apologize to Members of Council with respect to today's flag raising. While the City's Flag Protocol Procedures mirror the City's Proclamation Policy in many ways, a review of this matter has determined that the request for the flag raising was made by an individual. This does not meet the criteria and, when this was discovered, the flag was taken down under my authority. The Mayor has requested a review of the Flag Protocol Procedures and the City's Proclamation Policy, which will be reported back.
With respect to proclamations, all proclamations issued by the City of Ottawa are in accordance with a Policy adopted in 2002. The provisions in this policy reflect the law in Ontario with respect to proclamations, which ensures that the City's practices are in line with Ontario's Human Rights Code. The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has ruled that, because proclamations issued by Mayors in Ontario are a service subject to the provisions of the Human Rights Code, the refusal of a Mayor to issue a proclamation may constitute a contravention of the Human Rights Code if the decision of the Mayor was based on any reason that is protected in the Code or by case law related to the Code. Therefore, based on the requirements of human rights law, most municipalities in Ontario have chosen to either eliminate the use of proclamations altogether or issue them using broad criteria. For this reason, the City of Ottawa's Policy specifically indicates a Proclamation "should not be interpreted as an endorsement by either the Mayor or the City of Ottawa."
Because the City of Ottawa chooses to issue proclamations, they are provided on request to groups where the request does not violate the Ontario Human Rights Code. Only proclamations that are contrary to the City of Ottawa's policies or bylaws, discriminatory, espousing hatred, violence or racism, illegal, not located within the boundaries of the City of Ottawa, politically or religiously motivated or intended for profit-making purposes may be refused. It should be noted that "politically or religiously motivated" means affiliated for or against specific political parties or candidates or religions.
I am attaching below an email on this topic issued by my office in 2011 to Members of Council to assist them in responding to resident inquiries for your information.
The process for issuing proclamations and approving flag raisings is overseen by the Office of Protocol to ensure that the City's policies are interpreted without a political lens and in keeping with the Ontario Human Rights Code. As the request from this anti-choice group met the test of both policies, the proclamation was issued, as it has been for many years. This is the first year the request has been made for a flag raising. It was granted on the same basis as the proclamation.
"the refusal of a Mayor to issue a proclamation may constitute a contravention of the Human Rights Code if the decision of the Mayor was based on any reason that is protected in the Code or by case law related to the Code. Therefore, based on the requirements of human rights law, most municipalities in Ontario have chosen to either eliminate the use of proclamations altogether or issue them using broad criteria."
This is the first year the request has been made for a flag raising. It was granted on the same basis as the proclamation.
"In the 21st century it's just not acceptable to have that kind of behaviour in a civilized society."
"Let it never be said that the state is shy about using an elephant gun to kill a flea.
I give you the latest musings of Ontario Attorney General Yasir Naqvi, who this week announced that next fall, his government is going to legislate “safe access zones” around abortion clinics to “help ensure the safety and privacy of women, visitors and health-care workers travelling to and from these facilities.”
Naqvi, who represents a downtown Ottawa riding where a Morgentaler Clinic is located, alluded to recent “serious instances of intimidation, harassment and even assault” towards patients there. Urging the province to act were Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and Catherine Macnab of Planned Parenthood Ottawa.
Perhaps there’s a real issue in Ottawa, though there has been little hard reporting of it. Some protesters there wear sandwich boards featuring photos of lurid and cut-up bodies, and yell at patients that they are killing their babies, clinic staff say."
“Facilities reported very little harassment. No Canadian facility reported a resignation of an abortion provider–physician or any staff member owing to harassment. Only a single facility reported any resignation of an allied health professional staff member, and in this case the facility specified that the one resignation was not owing to violence, fear, or threats. Similarly, two-thirds of reporting facilities (49 of 74, 66.2%) indicated no episodes of harassment or violence in 2012, with a further 28.4% (21 of 74) reporting solely picketing without interference. Among 7 facilities reporting “other” episodes of harassment, half specified only receipt of harassing e-mail.”
"...In his closing remarks the Pontiff said. “Take courage and know that the Immaculate Mother of God had appealed to her Divine Son so that the repentance of the world will bring redemption"
“...Let the sin laden soul take courage and know that a mother’s heart filled with mercy is pleading with her divine Son for the needed grace of repentance and forgiveness. Let growing youth of both sexes know that loving mother’s eyes are always on them.
No path of circumstances is hidden from her anxious care. Go forward, then with determination, o dear young men and young women, vindicate the glory of your Immaculate Mother. In the face of a vicious world prove that young hearts can still be chaste. And oh, how much depends on the genuine active Catholicity of the home!”
...The Message of the Marian Congress: Intercession with the Mother of God to obtain from her Divine Son, a lasting world peace was the keynote of all the addresses delivered by world known prelates during the Congress.
In his sermon, a high point of the congress, Archbishop John D’Alton, of Armagh, Irish Primate, said that in this age “of moral anarchy” the world had great need of Mary’s example. She was the ideal mother in the Ideal home.
Today, he said “the home has been invaded by the modern spirit of restlessness and indiscipline which helps to weaken parental authority. ”Then there were the self-styled progressive thinkers who were continually deriding the Catholic ideal of marriage as out of harmony with the trend of modern civilization and who clamored for companionate marriages, easier divorces and birth control...."
