From the Church and People of Canada
An Open Letter to our Provincial Legislators:
As Canadian Christians we affirm the supremacy of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the necessity of repentance and the priceless value of faith in Him. The message we have received and share is God given, life affirming, and universal in scope.
We write to you now about a topic of grave concern for us, namely the proposed and potential widespread introduction into our society of so-called “vaccine passports” also referred to as “proof of immunization cards”[1] or “immunity certificates”.[2] Some regions in Canada and internationally are already starting to use or consider vaccine-based identification for certain services or to facilitate travel.[3] Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has stated that he will leave domestic options up to provincial governments while working with the provinces to ensure that there is an “accepted proof of vaccination for international travel.”[4] At the time of this writing three Canadian provinces, namely Manitoba, Quebec and British Columbia have announced plans for an internal requirement for a “vaccine passport.”[5]
We oppose the introduction of “vaccine passports” into Canadian society for a number of reasons. Before endorsing such a scheme we ask that you, as legislators, take the following considerations into account.
First, it is illogical. If the aim of “vaccine passports” is to protect others, it makes no logical sense to create discriminatory legislation aimed at those who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. If the injections are truly effective, then those who have gotten the shot need not fear the unvaccinated for the former have already received protection. Marginalizing the unvaccinated does not change that fact.
Second, the value of “vaccine passports” is premised on the false and divisive notion that those who have been vaccinated are safe to be around while the unvaccinated are not. It is increasingly becoming apparent with the spread of variants, that the “vaccines” do not provide immunity, nor prevent transmission of the virus.[6]
Further, if the vaccinated can become infected, then herd immunity, as defined by vaccination status, is unattainable.[7] [8] It is therefore disingenuous to promote the “vaccines” promising herd immunity.
Since corona-viruses keep mutating and our current approved list of vaccinations fail to offer full immunity to those who receive them, the value of “vaccine passports” to identify those who are “safe non-spreaders” is spurious. They promote a false sense of security.
As Alberta’s chief medical officer Deena Hinshaw has concluded, we shall have to learn to live with it.[9]
Third, “vaccine passports” are inherently coercive and therefore unethical. Discussion is already underway with respect to making vaccine status the gateway to accessing employment in the public service,[10] recreational activities[11] and educational institutions,[12] [13] as well as travel.[14] Thus through coercive means, they violate a person’s sense of personal autonomy, and authority to freely make decisions about what goes into their own body.[15]
People may have a variety of reasons for being unable or unwilling to be inoculated. Beyond safety and health considerations,[16] some Christians have serious issues with matters of conscience related to the ethics of vaccine manufacture,[17] testing[18] and, as yet to be determined, the long-term safety of the vaccinations themselves.[19]
Since the COVID-19 vaccinations approved in Canada are still in the testing phase, they qualify as medical experimentation under the Nuremberg Code.[20] [21] [22]
To be valid informed consent requires three things:
- It must be given voluntarily— without coercion or deceit;
- It must be given to an individual who has mental capacity.
- BEFORE giving consent, a person needs to have been fully informed about the issue. That includes being informed about what the risks and benefits of the treatment or vaccination are, as well as the risks and benefits of going without the treatment or vaccination, and what alternate options might be available.
The mass campaign to get Canadians vaccinated does not even meet these minimum standards of informed consent.[23]
Fourth, as it effects individuals, the broad introduction of “vaccine passports” would create a two-tier society inimical to a free and democratic Canada wherein each citizen has open access to every aspect of public life. Provinces will differ in their approaches, and in turn these inconsistencies will pose an unnecessary strain on our national unity.
Fifth, our fundamental freedoms as citizens of Canada and guaranteed under our Charter of Rights and Freedoms would be violated. These include but are not limited to, our mobility rights, and our equality rights based on religious belief or conscience.[24] [25]
The necessary infrastructure needed to monitor compliance to the dictates of “vaccine passport” protocols has the potential to extend government, medical[26] and corporate overreach aimed at controlling critical aspects of Canadian’s lives. Beyond the considerable privacy concerns already articulated by our Federal, Provincial and Territorial privacy commissioners,[27] once introduced vaccine passports would be virtually impossible to revoke and could be used to effectively transition Canada into a surveillance state.[28]
Finally, we note that some Provincial Governments across Canada, in response to COVID-19, have shuttered churches while leaving other venues open for shopping and dining out.[29] [30] It is not hard to envision the same government officials dictating, based on vaccine status, who can and who cannot enter into our churches, or even homes used for corporate worship, Bible Study and prayer.[31]
In April of 2021 over 1,200 Christian leaders from the United Kingdom signed a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson raising strong reservations about the potential introduction of “Vaccine Passports” in their nation.[32] Evidently his government ignored their appeal. He and his Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment, Nadhim Zahawi, announced at various points in July that come September the introduction of vaccine passports to enter nightclubs and “other crowded venues” would be implemented.[33] This after their ministers had been telling the people of the UK they had no plans for vaccine passports while funding eight pilot schemes.[34]
In conclusion we echo the words Christian leaders in the United Kingdom and here in Canada:
For the Church of Jesus Christ to shut out those deemed by the state to be social undesirables would be anathema to us and a denial of the truth of the Gospel. The message we [have received and share] is given by God for all people and consists in nothing other than the free gift of grace offered in Christ Jesus, with the universal call to repentance and faith in him. To deny people entry to hear this life-giving message and to receive this life-giving ministry would be a fundamental betrayal of Christ and the Gospel. Sincere Christian churches and organisations could not do this, and as Christian[s] we would
be compelled to resist any such [legislation].[35] [36]
We therefore encourage and urge you to resist, and if necessary, to legislate against the implementation of this illogical, divisive, discriminatory, and dangerous imposition of “vaccine passports”. For our part we pledge to continue to pray for your government even as we are compelled to pray for “…all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:2).
Respectfully,
[1] https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/vaccine-passports-where-and-how-could-they-be-used-in-canada-1.5507750
[2] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ontario-considered-digital-covid-19-vaccine-passport-plan-documents/
[3] https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/vaccine-passports-where-and-how-could-they-be-used-in-canada-1.5507750
[4] https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/provinces-vaccine-passport-federal-government-international-1.6100728
[5] Ibid., https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/b-c-announces-covid-19-vaccine-passport/vi-AANEnXi?ocid=msedgntp
[6] https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/pfizer-vaccine-higher-risk-covid-variants/
[7] https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/mathematically-impossible-vaccines-eliminate-covid/
[8] Ultimately herd immunity may be reached through a combination of infection and immunization, but inexplicably health officials have completely ignored natural acquired immunity even recommending that those who have already had COVID-19 should be vaccinated.
[9] https://edmontonsun.com/opinion/columnists/deena-hinshaw-we-need-to-learn-to-live-with-covid-without-extraordinary-measures/wcm/bcac2c97-f634-407f-9c70-c29a6592a1bf
[10] https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-mandatory-vaccines-federal-workers-regulated-industries-1.6130766
[11] https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/calgary-stampede-will-require-proof-of-vaccination-for-music-venue/ar-AALQSTZ
[12] https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/some-universities-say-no-to-proof-of-vaccination-requirement-1.5420319
[13] https://vaccinechoicecanada.com/in-the-news/position-paper-coerced-vaccination-of-students/
[14] https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/feds-say-vaccine-passports-for-foreign-travel-will-roll-out-in-early-fall/ar-AANdbP8?ocid=msedgntp
[15] https://vaccinechoicecanada.com/in-the-news/position-paper-covid-19-vaccine-mandates-and-exemptions/
[16] https://commonground.ca/covid-19-vaccine-concerns-2/
[17] https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/abortion-opponents-protest-covid-19-vaccines-use-fetal-cells
[18] https://www.naturalnews.com/2021-08-08-hhs-documents-admit-the-cdc-has-never-isolated-any-covid-19-virus-global-hoax.html
[19] The vaccines are still in the testing phases.
[20] https://media.tghn.org/medialibrary/2011/04/BMJ_No_7070_Volume_313_The_Nuremberg_Code.pdf
[21] https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199711133372006
[22] A Biblical case against using coercive means to vaccinate people may be found here: https://www.libertycoalitioncanada.com/religious-freedom-from-vaccination-coercion
[23] “Consent obtained under any suggestion of compulsion either by the actions or words of the doctor or others may be no consent at all and therefore may be successfully repudiated.” https://www.cmpa-acpm.ca/en/advice-publications/handbooks/consent-a-guide-for-canadian-physicians#assault
[24] https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/rfcp-cdlp.html
[25] https://vaccinechoicecanada.com/exemptions/traiblazing-canadian-constitutional-lawyer-rocco-galati-fights-for-the-world/
[26] https://vaccinechoicecanada.com/in-the-news/position-paper-medical-coercion/
[27] https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/opc-news/speeches/2021/s-d_20210519
[28] https://spencerfernando.com/2021/04/06/why-vaccine-passports-go-against-everything-canada-is-supposed-to-stand-for/
[29] https://catholicphilly.com/2021/01/news/world-news/canadian-provinces-close-churches-to-contain-pandemic/
[30] Lockdown restrictions have limited non-family members from visiting homes in the recent past. Since in person worship services have been labeled “non-essential” in some jurisdictions, and given public sentiment moving toward mandatory “vaccination”, it is conceivable that governments could try to regulate house churches based on vaccine status. See: https://nowtoronto.com/news/heres-the-rules-for-ontarios-new-stay-at-home-order
https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/majority-of-canadians-support-vaccination-mandates
[31] Prior to the fourth century house churches were the norm and continue to be popular among many today. https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-9/church-at-home-house-church-movement.html
[32] https://vaccinepassportletter.wordpress.com/
[33] Ibid
[33] https://reclaimthenet.org/uk-government-refuses-to-rule-out-vaccine-passports-for-church/
[34] https://twnews.nl/gb-news/give-pause-before-you-raise-a-glass-to-the-prospect-of-a-vaccine-passport-stephanie-hare
[35] https://vaccinepassportletter.wordpress.com/
[36] https://www.libertycoalitioncanada.com/religious-freedom-from-vaccination-coercion