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Information About

Humanist Association Of Canada




HAC is a member organisation of the International Humanist And Ethical Union . The official symbol of HAC is a version of the Happy Human .


IHEU'S MINIMUM STATEMENT ON HUMANISM

All member organisations of the IHEU are required by IHEU bylaw 5.1 to accept {Link without Title} the IHEU Minimum statement on Humanism:

"''Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality''.''


HISTORY

The Humanist Association of Canada was founded in 1968, with Dr. Henry Morgentaler as its first president. It was inspired by the Humanist Fellowship Of Montreal . At that time, it was made up of several regional Humanist Associations.

In 1970, the Humanist Association of Canada was connected to more regional Humanist groups, such as the Humanist Association of Ottawa.

In 1996, the Humanist Association of Canada was granted the right to preform legally recognized marriages by Ontario's provincial government.

According to their site, many of the organization's members signed the petition to remove god from the Constitution, read by Svend Robinson in Parliament.


NOTABLE MEMBERS


Dr. Robert Buckman

Born in London, he moved to Toronto in 1985. He is a medical Oncologist and President of the Humanist Association of Canada. He has made television programs such as ''Magic or Medicine?'' and ''Human Wildlife''.

Jeff Perkins

He is the first Vice President of the Humanist Association of Canada. He was born in Oxford, UK and moved to West Germany to teach English then moved to Canada. He states that he is a non-academic humanist - in other words, he does not need philosophical reasons to act morally without a belief in god.

Kathy Meidell

She is the second Vice President of the Humanist Association of Canada; President of the Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph & Area Humanists {Link without Title} and is the founder of Canada's first and only summer camp for Humanist kids. Kathy also created the petition in support of Dr. Morgentaler being given an honorary law degree by the University of Western Ontario in June 2005. The petition drew more than 10,000 signatures in less than 2 weeks.


REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

The Humanist association of Canada is connected to regional Canadian Humanist Associations. Theses include:

  • The Humanist Association of Manitoba

  • Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph Humanists

  • The Central Ontario Humanist Association

  • The Humanist Association of Hamilton

  • The Humanist Association of London and Area

  • The Humanist Association of Niagara

  • The Humanist Association of Oshawa

  • The Humanist Association of Ottawa

  • The Humanist Association of Peterborough

  • The Quinte Humanist Association

  • The Humanist Association of Toronto

  • Windsor Humanist Society

  • Humanists of Saskatchewan

  • Society for Secular Humanists in Calgary

  • Secular Humanist of Edmonton

  • Okanagan Humanist Association

  • Sechelt Humanist Association

  • British Columbia Humanist Association

  • Victoria Secular Humanist Association

  • Mouvement laïque québécois



CANADIAN HUMANIST PUBLICATIONS

Another related Canadian Humanist icon is ''Humanist in Canada'', a Canadian rationalist magazine. It states that it is a "voice for reason & community". It deals with issues concerning rationality {Link without Title} . ''Humanist in Canada'' is published by the non-profit organization Canadian Humanist Publications with a mandate to promote the idea that humans can solve human problems.

Canadian Humanist Publications has also published ''The Jesus Puzzle: Did Christianity Begin with a mythical Christ?'', a book skeptical of Jesus Christ's existence. Other books published by the group include:

  • ''Road to Reason: Landmarks in the Evolution of Humanist Thought'', by Sociologist Dr. Pat Duffy, who views Evolutionary Naturalism as essential to humanist thought.



CAMP QUEST CANADA

The Humanist association of Canada also ran Camp Quest Canada with a grant from the Institute For Humanist Studies .


EXTERNAL LINK