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Humanist Happenings
Actualités humanistes
July 1, 2026
Dear fellow Humanists,
Welcome to the July edition of ‘Humanist Happenings’.
We are glad to announce a range of news, podcasts and opportunities for you to engage with!
The Humanist Canada team is always happy to offer you chances to commit, volunteer, build community and grow.
As it’s summer, we’d advise you to hydrate, apply sunscreen and enjoy yourself!
Don’t let your selflessness and generosity make you forget to take care of yourself
The Humanist Canada Team
Inspiring progress. Advancing Humanism.
Actualités, opinions et événements
1er juillet 2026
Chères et chers humanistes,
Bienvenue dans l’édition de juillet de vos « Actualités humanistes ».
Nous sommes ravis de vous présenter toute une série d’actualités, de podcasts et d’opportunités auxquelles vous pouvez participer !
L’équipe d’Humaniste Canada est toujours heureuse de vous offrir des occasions de vous engager, de faire du bénévolat, de tisser des liens au sein de la communauté et de vous épanouir.
Comme c’est l’été, nous vous conseillons de bien vous hydrater, de mettre de la crème solaire et de profiter pleinement de la saison !
Ne laissez pas votre altruisme et votre générosité vous faire oublier de prendre soin de vous
L’équipe d’Humaniste Canada
Inspirer le progrès. Faire avancer l’humanisme.
Happy Canada Day — And an Invitation to Reflect
By Janalee Morris, Executive Director, Humanist Canada
Happy Canada Day everyone.
I hope you get some sun, some good food, and some time with people you love today. It’s a wonderful day to step back from our busy routines and appreciate the sheer fortune of living in this vast, stunning landscape we call home.
But I also want to make the case that Canada Day can be more than fireworks and barbecues. For humanists, it's an unusually good vantage point.
Humanism asks us to value reason, human rights, compassion, and our shared responsibility to one another and to the planet. Those commitments don't take a day off just because the calendar says "holiday." Canada Day is a perfect, necessary moment for honest, constructive reflection on where our nation stands—and where it needs to go. Read More.
Joyeuse Fête du Canada — Et une invitation à la réflexion
Par Janalee Morris, Directrice générale de Humaniste Canada
Joyeuse Fête du Canada à toutes et à tous.
J’espère que vous profiterez aujourd’hui du soleil, d’un bon repas et d’un moment spécial en famille avec vos proches. C’est une journée merveilleuse pour prendre du recul par rapport à nos routines et apprécier la chance immense que nous avons de vivre dans ce vaste et magnifique territoire que nous appelons notre foyer.
Mais je tiens également à souligner que la Fête du Canada peut être bien plus que des feux d’artifice et des barbecues. Pour les humanistes, c’est une occasion unique de prendre du recul. En savoir plus.
Secular issues and Humanist Canada's events/Questions et événements laïcs d'Humaniste Canada
July Webinar: The Wickednes of Woo - How an unregulated 'remedy' almost cost me my life
📅 July 8th 🕖 7:00PM ET📍 Zoom
Join consumer advocate and science communicator Kat McLeod (the Kitty Corner Skeptic) for a deeply personal, eye-opening presentation that exposes the dark, unregulated underbelly of alternative medicine.
In this powerful webinar, Kat will share her own harrowing survival story. After turning to an alternative herbal remedy, she suffered a near-fatal medical crisis when it was discovered the product was secretly adulterated with potent, unlisted pharmaceutical steroids. Kat will walk us through her journey from patient to skeptical activist, detailing the terrifying reality of a medical emergency caused by the very products meant to promote health.
Humanist Canada is thrilled to announce that we are now an official partner of Canadian Blood Services!
One of the core pillars of humanism is putting our values into action. By participating in this life-saving initiative, we have a tangible opportunity to show our deep commitment to caring, compassion, and community well-being.
We have formed a national team, and we want you to be a part of it. Every time you donate, your contribution will automatically count toward our collective Humanist Canada Team goals.
Whether you are a first-time donor or a regular supporter, joining our team is quick and easy.
🩸 How to Join the Humanist Canada Team:
Log In or Sign Up: Download the GiveBlood App or log into your account online by visiting myaccount.blood.ca.
Navigate to Partners: Once logged in, select 'Partners' from the menu.
Manage Organizations: Click on 'Join/Manage Organizations'.
Search for Us: Select 'Join an Existing Team' and type in Humanist Canada.
Share & Connect: Select 'Yes' to share your contact information (this ensures your donation is counted toward our team total!).
Join the Team: Click 'JOIN THE TEAM'.
Book Your Spot: Click on “Book an Appointment”, enter your location, and select a clinic near you.
Let’s pool our efforts and make a life-saving impact together. Thank you for your continued generosity, compassion, and commitment to helping others.
Opportunity: Officiant Training Coordinator
Humanist Canada is seeking a highly organized, tech-savvy, and mission-driven Officiant Training Coordinator to oversee the administration, delivery, and evaluation of our premier Officiant Training Program. As a vital bridge between aspiring officiants, volunteer instructors, and leadership, you will ensure the seamless execution of two training cohorts per year.
This month's Book Club pick: The Colony by Annika Norlin
The Colony (originally published in Sweden as Stacken in 2023 and released in English in March 2025) is the award-winning debut novel by acclaimed Swedish singer-songwriter Annika Norlin. Translated by Alice E. Olsson, it became a major literary phenomenon, earning comparison to Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove and securing prestigious honors like the Vi Literature Award and the Swedish Radio’s Novel Prize.
📅 July 15th | 🕖 03:00 PM - 10:00 PM ET |📍85 Isreal Asper Way Winnipeg, MB
Join Janalee Morris, Executive Director, Humanist Canada, for a visit to the Human Rights Museum and/or dinner at The Forks!
Come to both or either event! We will meet at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (85 Israel Asper Way) at 3pm, tour the museum, and then walk over to The Forks to enjoy dinner together. We will meet at 6pm at The Forks Market Main Floor food hall.
*Note - you will be responsible for your own admission to the museum and the cost for dinner.
📅 July 18th | 🕖 12 PM AT |📍Sussex Bluffs Trailhead
Join the New Brunswick Chapter for an afternoon hike and to share a meal afterwards. Anyone is welcome, HC members, their guests, anyone who would enjoy spending the afternoon with like minded company. We'll be meeting at the Sussex Bluffs Trailhead (https://www.hikingnb.ca/Trails/FundyEast/Sussex/Bluffs.html). We will be taking our time making our way up to the top.
If anyone wants to reach out with questions, they can reach Robert or aspen at nbchapter@humanistcanada.ca.
Newfoundland Chapter - Pride Parade
📅 July 19th | 🕖 12 PM NT |📍10 New Gower St., St. John’s
🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ Our Humanist Canada NL Chapter is in the St. John’s Pride Parade Festival 2026!!! Yeah!!! For the first time ever HC, and the newly formed NL Chapter, will be advocating for and celebrating the diversity of our 2SLGBTQIA+ communities by participating in the Pride Parade and the Festival Pride in the Park following the parade.
The parade will start at 12pm (gathering of participants starting 10:30am) at 10 New Gower St., St. John’s (City Hall) and make its way to Bannerman Park. The festival in the park will be from 1-4pm.
Please reach out to nlchapter@humanistcanada.ca for details and in case you want to join the parade or festivities.
Humanist Hangout with the ED
📅 July 20th 🕖 9pm ET📍Online
Join Janalee Morris, Executive Director of Humanist Canada for an informal chat!
Join humanists from across Canada and the world in Ottawa for Humanist Connections, a full day of engaging conversations, shared experiences, creativity, and celebration.
With a variety of engaging activities to choose from in both English and French – from opportunities to meet, to intellectual exchanges, to artistic expression – there will be something for every humanist. Connect with fellow humanists, share stories, explore ideas and celebrate our global humanist community.
The full schedule will be sent to registered participants in July.
Registration deadline is 7 July 2026. Please note that tickets are limited and may sell out before this date.
For those requiring accommodation, information about a discounted hotel room block at Lord Elgin will be provided upon registration.
--------- Le 7 août 2026 à 08h30 (heure d'Ottawa), joignez-vous à des humanistes de partout au Canada et du monde entier à Ottawa pour Connexions humanistes, une journée remplie de conversations enrichissantes, d’expériences partagées, de créativité et de célébration.
Avec des choix d’activités captivantes à découvrir en anglais et en français – allant des occasions de rencontre aux échanges intellectuels, en passant par l’expression artistique – il y aura quelque chose pour tous les humanistes. Rencontrez d’autres humanistes, partagez vos histoires, explorez de nouvelles idées et célébrez notre communauté humaniste mondiale.
L'horaire complet sera partagé en juillet avec les participants.
La date limite d’inscription est le 7 juillet 2026. Veuillez noter que le nombre de places est limité et que l’événement pourrait afficher complet avant cette date.
Pour les personnes ayant besoin d’hébergement, les renseignements concernant un bloc de chambres à tarif réduit à l'hôtel Lord Elgin seront fournis lors de l’inscription.
Membership Update ✅️
Humanist Canada would like to share a quick but important update regarding our membership fees and tax receipts. To ensure we remain fully compliant with the latest Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) guidelines, we have adjusted the portion of the membership fee that qualifies for a charitable tax receipt.
Starting July 1, all Humanist Canada memberships will be receipted for 30% of their total value.
While this changes the tax-receiptable amount of your annual dues, please know that the impact of your membership remains 100% unchanged. Every dollar goes directly toward supporting our programs, webinars, ceremonies, and advocacy work.
If you have any questions about this adjustment, or if you want to check your current membership status, please feel free to reach out to us at any time.
Thank you for your understanding, your continued support, and for being such a vital part of our community!
Podcasts
The Voice of Canadian Humanism Podcast
Episode 32 with Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme & Joel Thiessen - The Voice of Canadian Humanism
Humanist Canada's Daniel Dacombe sits down with sociologists Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme and Joel Thiessen to discuss religion, atheism, refusal, and acceptance in today's society. They bridge the gap between Canada and the US by revealing how both countries face the same religious dilemmas and how both religious and secular scholars can work together to advance solutions to these dilemmas.
Episode 10 Abortion as Ordinary Healthcare: Changing the Culture - Choice Chat
In this episode of Choice Chat’s Culture & Abortion mini-series, host AJ Ware speaks with Dr. Shannon Stettner about the silence, stigma, and cultural expectations that continue to shape how abortion is spoken about in Canada.
Dr. Stettner challenges the idea that abortion must be treated as exceptional, hidden, tragic, or morally simple. Instead, she invites listeners to understand abortion as ordinary healthcare and to make room for the complexity of real experiences — relief, grief, certainty, conflict, or many feelings at once. This conversation asks what it would take to build a healthier abortion culture: one where people are not required to justify their choices, perform their pain, or stay silent to make others comfortable.
Dying With Dignity Canada (DWDC) has just announced the creation of a new website, WeCanChoose.ca. This new resource will empower people across Canada with clear, accurate, and accessible information about end-of-life choice, including medical assistance in dying (MAID). WeCanChoose.ca is informed by Canada’s legal and health care context and addresses misinformation by grounding the conversation in evidence and lived experience. The site aims to provide understanding, connection, and support when people need it most. Visit www.WeCanChoose.ca to learn more.
AGM Minutes Draft
We are glad to announce that the draft minutes of our 2026 AGM are now available
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