Bettianne Hedges of Humanist Canada hosts Leslie Rosenblood from Centre for Inquiry Canada alongside Teale Phelps Bondaroff and Ian Bushfield of the BC Humanist Association, who will discuss the many ways Canada still tangibly privileges religion and its institutions over similar non-theistic organizations. Just a few policy choices cost Canadians …

AMO's Director of Policy, Lindsay Jones, sits down with Executive Director Brian Rosborough to discuss AMO's work on some of the toughest challenges faced by municipalities in 2023, including housing and homelessness. Looking ahead to 2024, AMO is calling on the province to take part in a social and economic prosperity review to modernize the provi…

Join Megan Sheldon of Be Ceremonial as we explore the foundations of ceremony, including how we can create our own rituals to acknowledge times of change in life, death, and everything in between. You will learn how to craft a ritual, design a ceremony, and mark the seemingly invisible moments that often go unnoticed in our society. There will be a…

Despite decades of calls to action, our emissions are not on a path to stave off a horrific future for our children and future generations.The BC Climate Emergency Campaign is a group of civil society organizations, anxious about the climate emergency, who are collaborating to increase the ambition of climate policy and action in BC. We are not a f…

Despite a 2015 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that prayers at municipal council meetings are unconstitutional, multiple communities across British Columbia still opened their 2022 inaugural council meetings with a prayer. This is a recording of a discussion about prayers with BCHA Research Coordinator Dr Teale Phelps Bondaroff where he explores our…

The Government of British Columbia's Master Agreement with religious healthcare facilities allows some hospitals to 'opt-out' of providing patients with procedures that they're legally entitled too. This means your right to MAID or an abortion is subject to the whims of Catholic Bishops and not the rule of law. Find out about the history of religio…

The Canadian constitution does not have a formal establishment clause separating church and state as the USA does, so can Canada be considered a secular country? In this presentation, BC Humanist Association Executive Director Ian Bushfield will argue that Canada’s unique legal and political history, coupled with a forward-looking Charter of Rights…

The BCHA team discusses its newly released report: Open for Unconstitutional Business. Read the full report Donate to our year end fundraiser

In honour of Black History Month 2022 (February), we hosted “Black in British Columbia: Resilience and Erasure” presented by Kathleen Johnson (founder of the Facebook group “Critical Black Thought Society” and Alberta Representative for Humanist Canada) This talk was recorded February 22, 2022 via Zoom Kathleen shared a look at how Black settlers c…

We're preparing for three elections in 2022: the provincial election in June, AMO's Board elections in August, and of course, Ontario's municipal elections in October. Petra Wolfbeiss, Director of AMO's Membership Centre joins host Brian Rosborough to discuss AMO's work advocating for municipal priorities as we head into a major election year.…

The Government of British Columbia gives hundreds of millions of dollars to private schools in the province. Our new research shows that the overwhelming majority of these schools are for the religious or economic elites. In this talk, BCHA Executive Director Ian Bushfield and Policy Research Adriana Thom will detail where this money goes, what the…

AMO's Executive Director Brian Rosborough is joined by Susan Gardner, who recently announced she'll be retiring from her role as CEO of Municipal World. Susan discusses her 30-year career, how she got her start at Municipal World, the changes she's seen in her time at the helm, and some of her personal highlights.…

We're back! After a brief hiatus, we're back with AMO's President, Graydon Smith, to chat about leadership during a pandemic, what the Ontario Budget means for municipal governments, and what to expect at the 2021 AMO Conference.

This is a recording of a live event held in collaboration with Nonreligion in a Complex Future in March 2021.

This is a recording of a live event held in March 2021, in which our research team breaks down the BCHA's latest report on tax exemptions.

This is the recording of an event originally held on Zoom in February 2021.

This panel was originally held live on Zoom on November 5, 2020.

This is the final section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) and living with the death of a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For more information about end of life, including healthcare, advance care planning, legacy projects and emotional support, plea…

This is the first section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) and living with the death of a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For more information about end of life, including healthcare, advance care planning, legacy projects and emotional support, plea…

This is the third section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) and living with the death of a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For more information about end of life, including healthcare, advance care planning, legacy projects and emotional support, plea…

This is the second section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) and living with the death of a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For more information about end of life, including healthcare, advance care planning, legacy projects and emotional support, ple…

This is the first section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) and living with the death of a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For more information about end of life, including healthcare, advance care planning, legacy projects and emotional support, plea…

This is a recording of an event originally held live on Zoom.

This is final section of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please r…

This is part eight of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read…

This is part seven of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read…

This is part six of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read o…

This is part five of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read …

This is part four of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read …

This is part three of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read…

This is part two of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read o…

This is part one of our guide for anyone non-religious (humanist, atheist, agnostic) preparing for their own, or witnessing a loved one at the end of their life. This guide is also for those who are simply interested in learning more about the humanist perspective of life & death. For information and support about experiencing a loss, please read o…

This event was originally held live on Zoom on August 13, 2020.

In episode four of our AMO Youth Fellows Series, Emilie Leneveu speaks with Wendy Landry, Mayor of Shuniah and President of NOMA. Their discussion focuses on climate action and economic development.

Episode three features AMO Youth Fellow Graham Taylor's interview with Patty Sinnamon, CAO and Clerk for the Township of Chatsworth. Patty, who is also an instructor of Municipal Administration with the AMCTO, gives her insight on how rural municipalities can recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

AMO Youth Fellow Graham Taylor is joined by Paul McQueen, Warden of Grey County and Mayor of the Municipality of Grey Highlands. Paul gives his thoughts on the road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, paying particular attention to what rural communities will need.

AMO Youth Fellow Raghed Al-Areibi interviews Councillor Ariella Kayabaga, from the City of London. Councillor Kayabaga gives her thoughts on how municipalities can adapt to the modern, digital world and engage more closely with residents – using the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the wake of George Floyd's murder, mass protests and calls to action across the globe have cast a light on critical issues of systemic racial discrimination and dehumanization. In a continuation of our lecture series taking a humanist look at systemic racism and criminal justice, our presenter Corey Clay focuses in this talk on how racial dehuma…

From the Research Desk is a regular check in with our executive director, Ian Bushfield on some of the current projects that our campaigns teams are working on. This talk, recorded on June 5, 2020, is on some of our work on private schools in British Columbia. We've previously documented the background of their funding model, shown that everyone ap…

From the Research Desk is a regular check in with our research team, Dr Teale Phelps Bondaroff and Ian Bushfield, on some of the current projects that our campaigns teams are working on. This talk was broadcast on May 15, 2020. In this talk, Ian & Teale talk about our work on charity law. Watch the video of this talk Join or Donate to the BC Humani…

AMO Executive Director Brian Rosborough chats with Janice Baker, who this month retired after 15 years as City Manager with the City of Mississauga. They discuss her career path, working alongside high-profile characters, the rewarding and challenging nature of the municipal workplace, and how municipalities have had to adapt in the face of COVID-1…

The third episode of a special three-part series of the AMO On Topic Podcast, in which host Nigel Bellchamber and esteemed academic David Siegel examine the vital role that municipal CAOs play in times of crisis – such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Introducing a new virtual program from the BC Humanist Association. From the Research Desk is a weekly check in with our research coordinator, Dr Teale Phelps Bondaroff, on some of the current projects that our campaigns teams are working on. Our first broadcast was on Friday, April 3, 2020. In this talk, Teale talks about our findings on the use o…

The second episode of a special three-part series of the AMO On Topic Podcast, in which host Nigel Bellchamber and esteemed academic David Siegel examine the vital role that municipal CAOs play in times of crisis – such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first episode of a special three-part series of the AMO On Topic Podcast, host Nigel Bellchamber welcomes esteemed academic David Siegel to discuss the vital role that municipal CAOs play in times of crisis – such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

AMO Executive Director Brian Rosborough is joined by Nigel Bellchamber and Fred Dean to discuss the document ‘Meetings Guidance For Heads of Council,’ which was created to assist councils working under Bill 187 – Municipal Emergency Act, 2020.

Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Executive Director Brian Rosborough speaks with Brian Lambie, President of Redbrick Communications. With the fast moving nature of the COVID-19 outbreak, AMO worked with Brian Lambie to create a Communication Guide for Councils to assist in their response to what will be a very busy and challenging tim…

At the end of November, MLAs voted unanimously to begin every day's sitting of the BC Legislature with "prayers and reflections" rather than "prayers." The change followed the publication in September of the BC Humanist Association's landmark House of Prayers Report. The Report examined the transcripts of 873 prayers said in the legislature between…

Furquan Gehlan is currently Co-Chair of the Vancouver chapter of Canadian Peace Initiative and is also on the board of the Global Alliance for Ministries and infrastructures for peace. From 2013 to 2019 he was the National Co-chair of Canadian Peace Initiative. He is currently chapter coordinator for World BEYOND War’s Metro Vancouver chapter and i…