March 2021
Greetings!
This month, we celebrate notable Canadian women like:
Maude Elizabeth Seymour Abbott
(March 18, 1869 - September 2, 1940)
Born in St. Andrews East, Quebec.
Maude was a Canadian physician, among Canada's earliest female medical graduates, and an internationally known expert on congenital heart disease. She was one of the first women to obtain a BA from McGill University.
Abbott was admitted to McGill University's Faculty of Arts, with a scholarship, even though she had previously been rejected, and received her B.A in 1890. She subsequently applied to study medicine at McGill University. Admission was refused, as the medical school administration was adamant in their refusal to accept a woman. She was then accepted into medical school at Bishop's University and while there, was able to undertake clinical training at the Montreal General Hospital. In 1894, she received her M.D., C.M. with honours, and the only woman in her class. She received the Chancellor's Prize, and Senior Anatomy Prize for having the best final examination.
Abbott was nominated and elected as the Montreal Medico-Chirurgical Society's first female member.
In 1897, she opened an independent clinic dedicated to treating women and children. Much of Abbott's work concerned the nature of heart disease, especially in newborn babies. This would cause her to be recognized as a world authority on heart defects.
In 1910, Abbott was awarded an honorary medical degree from McGill and was made a lecturer in Pathology; this was eight years prior to the university admitting female students to the Faculty of Medicine.
In 1924, she was a founder of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada, a Canadian organization committed to the professional, social and personal advancement of women physicians.
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Humanist Canada is going digital
with Membership Cards!
By the end of March, you will have your new digital Humanist Canada membership card!
It's a great time to start reducing our environmental footprint. It's also one more way of staying digitally connected by providing more information on the cards, including event details. For Affiliates and Chapters, we'll be able to provide customized information.
It's as simple as downloading the digital membership card. It gets stored in your IOS or Android mobile wallet, and it takes up no more space than a single photograph.
You will be receiving instructions in your inbox in the next two weeks on how to download your membership card
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Shop online for your very own HC mask, mug or pin.
Announcing the grand opening of the Humanist Canada Web Store! We’re a small shop right now, but we have big plans! Check in regularly to find new HC logo items like our masks, mugs and pins. Soon, we will be offering books from our HC family of authors, apparel, and items available from other Humanist Canada members.
If you have any ideas about what we should offer, send them our way!
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Save the Date
Sunday, March 28 at 2 -3:30 pm
MEMBERS ONLY EVENT
Join with Humanist Canada's board and other members for 90 minutes of large and small group discussion in a virtual meeting format.
It will be an opportunity to meet board members and staff, to discuss Humanist Canada's Strategic Plan. We want to hear from you, what you like, what you'd like to see changed and anything in between. We've realized that we need to make time to hear from each other in-between Annual General Meetings.
So please save the date. We'll have additional information and a registration link for you in the next few weeks.
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Atheist Refugees Need Your Help!
Please sign this e-petition!
Support atheists threatened by religious extremists and fundamentalist governments in other countries. These atheists desperately need asylum in Canada because of the imminent threat of serious injury, imprisonment or death.
Canadian immigration has expedited asylum requests for religious persons under their Less Complex Claims process. Under this policy, certain refugee claims can be approved with a shortened hearing process. Atheists need to be included in this Less Complex Claims policy along with these religious claimants.
We have submitted an e-petition to the Canadian House of Commons calling upon the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to include atheists in the Less Complex Claims policy.
And please share widely with your friends and network!
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Sunday, March 21, 2021
3:00 pm ET
In 2018, the British Columbia Humanist Association was notified that a number of municipalities in BC opened their inaugural council sessions with prayer. This was in violation of the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Mouvement laïque québécois v. Saguenay that including prayer in municipal council meetings was unconstitutional and violated the state’s duty of religious neutrality.
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Critical Thinking Course
coming in April!
April 7 - May 26,
Weds. 4 pm to 6 pm ET
In this course, you will learn how to analyze and critically reflect on beliefs and arguments held by others and yourself. You will learn how to critically reflect on hot-button issues and topics, like health and nutrition, politics and law, science and technology, and various philosophical/religious beliefs concerning metaphysics, ethics, and other knowledge.
You will walk away from this course being able to better organize personal thoughts about such topics by learning a series of tools called the critical thinking skillset.
It really is possible to have intelligent discussions, disagree entirely, and still be able to get along. Learn what it means to embody diplomacy and fairness when having intelligent discussions and dialogue about important issues.
Cost: $150.00 for members & $250.00 for non-members
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Survey Request
Sexual and Reproductive Health - Artificial Womb Technology
Exploring Canadians’ knowledge and perspectives on artificial womb technology: A qualitative multi-methods study
Researchers at the University of Ottawa, Canada are conducting an online survey dedicated to Canadians’ knowledge and perceptions of assisted human reproduction.
You are eligible to participate if you are age 18 or older, a Canadian citizen, and sufficiently fluent in English or French to complete the survey.
* Participation is both voluntary and confidential *
The survey should take no more than 45 minutes to complete. Participants will be eligible for a CAD50 gift certificate at amazon.ca.
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To ensure the newsletter is relevant we invite your response to a few short questions. Having feedback from across the country is our goal. Click here!
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Why membership in Humanist Canada is important!
We simply can't do it without you. We are entirely funded through memberships and donations. Your involvement is incredibly significant and goes a long way to support lasting change for a better society and a tolerant world where rational thinking and kindness prevail.
Humanist Canada has just launched a new member system that will allow you to update your own information. Click on the button below, and you will be prompted to set up your login information.
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