In 2019, a Coptic Christian named Rafael Zaki was expelled from medical school at the University of Manitoba after making provocative anti-abortion statements online. Ever since then, Zaki has been in a protracted legal battle with the University.
Zaki’s case against the University was heard in court last week for a second time. The first time around, the court reversed Zaki’s expulsion for procedural fairness reasons. Then the University expelled him again and he went back to court. ARPA followed last week’s hearing.
Who is Rafael Zaki?
Rafael Zaki is the child of immigrant parents, parents who suffered religious persecution in their home country, Egypt. They immigrated to Canada so their children would have an opportunity for a better life.
Zaki and his family are Coptic Orthodox, a faith that recognizes the sanctity of life.
Zaki did well academically in high school and university. In August of 2018, Zaki was admitted to the Max Rady College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba.
But Zaki was expelled for unprofessional conduct after sharing a provocative 27-page pro-life essay that he wrote on Facebook. His essay contained controversial language and arguments, comparing abortion with other human rights violations such as genocide and slavery.
The University supposedly received multiple complaints from students and faculty, saying Zaki’s posts were disturbing and damaging to the learning environment. The University agreed, characterizing Zaki’s posts as misogynistic, violent, and offensive. Ultimately, the University concluded that Zaki’s conduct violated their professionalism standards.
Initially, Zaki was asked to apologize and undergo a remediation process, but Zaki’s apologies were deemed insufficient. Eventually, the school’s Progress Committee voted to expel him in August 2019 for failing to meet professionalism standards.
Zaki’s First Appeal and Court Hearing
Zaki appealed the Progress Committee decision to the Local Discipline Committee and then up to the University Discipline Committee in July 2020. He lost in both instances. Zaki then applied to court for judicial review of the University Discipline Committee’s decision.
In August 2021, the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench sided with Zaki and quashed the University Discipline Committee decision. The Court found that there was a reasonable apprehension of bias in the disciplinary process. A faculty member had played multiple roles in the investigation and discipline process. The Court also found that the discipline committee failed to consider Zaki’s Charter rights, specifically freedom of expression and religion.
The Court sent the case back to the University to reconsider with an unbiased panel on the discipline committee. The new panel conducted a fresh review of the evidence and expelled Zaki again, who had been re-enrolled in classes for some time already by that point.
The committee acknowledged that Zaki’s Charter rights were engaged but ruled that his expulsion was reasonable anyway. The panel reasoned that medical students are required to meet professionalism standards, and Zaki’s conduct—specifically his social media posts and inability to complete “remediation” to their satisfaction demonstrated Zaki’s lack of understanding of these responsibilities.
The Status of Zaki’s Case
Zaki appealed the Committee’s decision to the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench once again. The hearing took place last week, on March 26 and 27.
In court, Zaki’s lawyer, Lia Milousis, argued that the Committee was biased once again. She emphasized that the University repeatedly shifted their position on what Zaki needed to do to avoid expulsion. For example, Zaki had written multiple apologies because the University implied that doing so would mitigate the consequences. But the University rejected his apologies since they did not recant his core pro-life beliefs, which is what the University staff actually wanted.
Zaki’s lawyer also argued that the University selectively quoted from his essay to make him sound more controversial. Zaki’s factum (written submissions to court) also noted that the Chair of the new discipline panel had a close professional relationship with the Dean. But the Dean was involved in the initial expulsion decision and testified at the second discipline hearing, creating another conflict of interest.
Zaki also argued that the University violated his Charter rights to freedom of expression and religion in a disproportionate way by, in effect, expelling him for not recanting his beliefs.
Zaki hopes the Court will overturn his expulsion soon. If he succeeds, the Court is likely to remit the matter back to the Committee for reconsideration yet again, but it is also open to the Court to find that the University could not reasonably expel him on these facts.
Why Zaki’s Case Matters
Zaki’s case underscores the immense power universities hold over students’ academic and professional futures. It shows how professionalism standards can be abused for ideological and political purposes.
Zaki’s case also raises important questions about protecting freedom of expression and religion in public universities and in regulated professions.
March for Life starting from the legislative grounds.
Click the button below for more information about the March for Life.
For more information, go to albertamarchforlife.com
For more information, go to m4lvictoria.ca
If you are unable to join the March for Life in Victoria, please join us at Christ Covenant Church on May 8 for a Pro-life Flag Display and Prayer Breakfast.
We would love to see you there.
The registration page is in the works… Stay tuned!
There are a limited number of spots so be sure to apply early!
Join us for one of the presentations listed below. You’ll leave equipped for action, and encouraged to use your freedom to speak the truth on topics of public justice.
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from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” – Ps. 34: 13-14
What has been your worst nightmare? Maybe it was someone or something chasing you. Maybe it was being attacked. Maybe it was a loved one passing away.
Although they aren’t real, these nightmares can be terrifying in the short term. Perhaps they prevent you from going back to sleep or leave you anxious during your morning shower or your commute to work. But thankfully, these nightmares fade away quickly because they weren’t real. They didn’t actually happen.
That’s how nightmares – false imaginations of reality – work.
Unfortunately, we’ve entered an age where nightmares can come true.
Deepfake Pornography
We’ve now entered an era that some are already calling the AI (artificial intelligence) era. This technology, which can be used to create – conversations, music, images, videos, and who knows what will be next – has immense promise to increase productivity and improve lives. But some are using it to create nightmares.
Imagine that someone takes a picture of your face and uses AI technology to create pornographic content. Nude photos. Sexual activity. That pornography might not actually depict your body, but your face is still on it. It may not be you, but it sure looks like you.
And now imagine that the creator publishes these intimate images on a pornography site like PornHub, posts them on a social media site like X (Twitter), or shares those images with your friends (or your enemies). The people that you pass on the street, in the classroom, or even in church look at you a little differently. You wonder why, until some embarrassed friend (or even worse, a gloating enemy) shares the photo or video with you.
You immediately feel engulfed in shame. You want to hide into a hole and never show your face in public again. Adam and Eve were ashamed of their nakedness after the fall into sin, but they were only naked in the sight of others. You’ve been exposed to who knows how many people. Tens? Hundreds? Thousands? Millions?
This might be a woman’s worst nightmare. (If you’re a man, think of your mother, your wife or your daughter being at the center of this story). This recently happened to Taylor Swift, where deepfake nude images of her were shared on X (Twitter) and viewed by millions of people before they were taken down. And yet the technology to create and disseminate such images exists now and is becoming cheaper and easier to use.
Governments Step Up
That’s why governments are stepping to combat this deepfake pornography. Last year we covered how British Columbia and Manitoba passed legislation to combat the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, but technology and the nature of pornography continues to change rapidly. In its recent Online Harms Bill, an otherwise terrible piece of legislation when it comes to free speech that contains some positive steps to combat pornography, the federal government intentionally included deepfake materials in its anti-pornography provisions. This is a positive step at the federal level to combat such vile material.
The new Manitoba has also introduced legislation to amend its previous Intimate Image Protection Act to prohibit the sharing of deepfake pornography. In introducing this legislation, the Manitoba Minister of Justice and Attorney General stated, “This bill will expand the definition of intimate image to capture images created or altered by electronic means, and update the title of the act. By expanding the definition, victims who have had computer-generated or altered intimate images distributed without their consent will have access to the civil remedies provided for under the act. These amendments will also act as a deterrent for would-be distributors of electronically altered or created intimate images. While other jurisdictions such as British Columbia, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan have brought forward similar legislation, these amendments to The Intimate Image Protection Act will make Manitoba a leader in protecting and supporting victims.”
This is a laudable step that every province should adopt if they don’t already have legislation on the books to prohibit deepfake pornography. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and PEI already have legislation that not only forbids the sharing of non-consensual intimate images but also includes deepfake images as well. Provincial legislation in Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador has yet to grapple with the possibility of deepfake pornography. Ontario entirely lacks any provincial legislation dealing with the dissemination of non-consensual intimate images.
As the technology that is used to create deepfake materials becomes more widely available (more “democratized”), governments, law enforcement, and women in general will increasingly be playing whack-a-mole, trying to shut down amateur creators in their basements and professional players in the pornography industry who produce deepfake porn. In such an environment, governments will need every tool at their disposal to protect both women and men from the evils of deepfake pornography.
But Government Isn’t Enough
But at the end of the day, deepfake pornography it isn’t the fault of the technology, technology companies, or of governments. Many people are quick to jump up and insist that AI image- and video-generators are evil in and of themselves and should be banned by governments or its development halted by tech companies. But the fault doesn’t lie in the technology nor on its creators nor on its users. It is a problem that stems from evil human hearts.
As technology continues to push the frontiers of what is possible and release human beings from dependence and oversight of others, it will continue to reveal the depravity of the human heart. Six hundred years ago, the human heart was just as corrupt as it was today, but pornography was relatively rare, if only because any sexually explicit content had to be drawn, written, or sculpted by hand. Subsequent communication technologies – the printing press, the telegraph, the still shot camera, the video camera, editing software, and then the internet – made it possible to create pornography more easily and disseminate pornography more widely. They also made the consumption of pornography more private. Once upon a time, people had to purchase a pornographic magazine from a store and suffer the judgement of the store clerk and anyone who saw them enter the building. Now anyone can access pornography anonymously online.
These technologies and these developments did not make human beings any more evil (or any more virtuous). They simply made it easier for people to satisfy the desires of their sinful heart and avoid the authority structures (e.g. parents, teachers, governments) that God has instituted, at least in part, to restrain evil.
Beyond government (and educational and parental) restriction, our society needs cultural transformation to combat pornography. Specific to this point, we need to promote a biblical perspective on human sexuality, the blessedness that it is within the bounds of marriage, and the salaciousness it is outside of this covenant relationship. But beyond that, we need to share the gospel so that not only is the sinfulness of human hearts restrained, but that these sinful hearts may be redeemed and transformed.
For some further ponderings around the impact of AI in the world around us, check out the AI-themed March-April 2024 edition of Reformed Perspective.
In the last few years, the month of June and then the entire month of July have been designated “pride month” or even “pride season.” This celebration of same-sex sexual activity and transgender identities is one of the obvious signs that our country has increasingly abandoned a Christian view of gender and sexuality.
But this summer, we saw signs of hope.
Premier Blaine Higgs of New Brunswick took the first step. Earlier this year, his government changed Policy 713, which laid out the province’s policy on sexual orientation and gender identity matters in public schools. It made three substantial changes:
- Students under the age of 16 had to get their parents’ permission to change their name on official school documentation. Students who were unwilling to talk to their parents about a change in their gender identity would be referred to a professional (e.g. a social worker) to help them speak to their parents about their transition.
- Wording that allowed students to participate in extracurricular activities “consistent with their gender identity” was dropped, presumably to give schools greater leeway to limit participation in extracurricular activities based on biological sex.
- It mandated that every school must have a private universal changing area and washroom.
The first change in particular – requiring students under the age of 16 to get parental consent for their name change in the school – is a big win for the principle that parents have the responsibility to raise and educate their children. Before this change, it was common for students to socially transition at school (e.g. change their name, use new pronouns, or dress as the opposite sex) but keep this transition hidden from their parents at home. Premier Higgs had specifically mentioned the skyrocketing rates of rapid onset gender dysphoria as a justification for the policy. Rapid onset gender dysphoria refers to when someone, typically a teenage girl, very suddenly identifies as transgender.
A couple of months later, Saskatchewan followed suit, also requiring that parental consent for students under the age of 16 to change their pronouns, name, or gender identity in school. Premier Scott Moe took to social media to explain himself: “I’ve been asked what experts we consulted in creating the Parental Inclusion and Consent policy. I believe the leading experts in children’s upbringing are their parents.”
Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, in the midst of a provincial election, also is campaigning to review and update the province’s policies around parental involvement in their children’s education.
The Ontario Minister of Education Stephen Lecce also recently announced that the government of Ontario was also planning to change their school policies so that parents could be more involved in the education of their children.
While many media reports and LGBTQ2S+ groups have decried these changes, recent survey data suggests that these changes are in line with popular opinion. Forty-three percent of Canadians believe that parents should be informed and give their consent for a school to recognize their child’s new name, pronouns, or gender identity. A further 35% agree that parents should at least be notified of these changes. A mere 14% of Canadians think that children should be able to identify however they want without their parents knowing or consenting.
Why is this all important?
These developments are a long-awaited step away from governments’ unquestioning embrace of transgenderism and towards regaining parental control over education. Christians should celebrate these changes and either thank elected officials for making this change or petition their own provincial representatives to follow New Brunswick’s, Saskatchewan’s, and Ontario’s example.
Those who support a policy to keep a child’s gender identity secret from parents are saying, in effect: “We don’t trust parents to know what is best for their kids. The home isn’t the safest place for children to be. Lots of moms and dads are ignorant and abusive towards their children and so public school staff, rather than parents, should be entrusted with guiding children through such intimate matters.”
There are a host of problems with that mentality, but let’s just point out two. First, nearly all parents know and love their children more than any teacher will. Second, God has given the primary responsibility and authority over children to parents because God designed children to be born to one man and one woman who are committed to each other in a loving relationship. Teachers, government bureaucrats, or even pastors don’t inherently have this authority or responsibility because children are not fundamentally entrusted to them. Our law even recognizes that teachers act on authority delegated by parents. Delegated authority, of course, can be revoked.
Tempering expectations
However, we should also fully understand how long a road is before us. For example, New Brunswick’s Policy 713 still states that:
- A school needs a student’s consent to speak to a parent about a name change for official purposes,
- Parental consent is not needed to use the child’s preferred name for unofficial purposes, or to use the child’s preferred pronouns,
- All schools are required to have a designated staff member as an LGBT+ advocate,
- A student’s participation in a Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) does not require parental consent,
- Access to facilities, including washrooms, continues to be determined according to gender self-identification rather than biological sex, and
- Sex is “assigned at birth,”
New Brunswick and Saskatchewan have initiated these policy changes not so much because their cabinet ministers actually believe that a transgender identity is wrong. We can be thankful that they have taken a step towards recognizing the responsibilities that parents have in the lives of their children. But we should also encourage our political leaders and fellow citizens to consider the equally fundamental question of where our sexual and gender identity comes from. Are these identities received from God? Or are they up to individual choice?
Childhood is a time for exploration, play, and growth.
We need to let kids be – let them grow and develop naturally. Medical transitions for minors should be completely off the table.
Join us at the 2023 Fall Tour where we’ll introduce you to a new campaign aimed at bringing attention to this important topic.
Events will start at 7:30 pm.
Registration is not required this year, but you can sign up if you’d like event notifications! (Registrations will be available soon).
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Earlier this month, the Manitoba provincial government passed the Intimate Images Protection Amendment Act which reverses the burden of proof in the distribution of intimate images. This means that, instead of a victim having to prove that an intimate image was shared without their consent, the perpetrator now has to prove that they had consent to share the image. Essentially, the Manitoba law now assumes that sharing intimate images was done without the victim’s consent, unless proven otherwise. This change makes it easier in Manitoba to hold purveyors of pornography responsible and liable for the harm they inflict on their victims.
Sharing intimate images without consent is already illegal at the federal level. Section 162 of the Criminal Code makes the sharing of such images a criminal offence. For example, if a boyfriend saved intimate images of his girlfriend and decides to share those pictures with his friends without her consent, that would run afoul of the federal law. That boyfriend could be prosecuted under the Criminal Code.
Manitoba, like several other Canadian provinces, already had provincial legislation on this issue. This bill simply makes the law tougher. Earlier this year, British Columbia introduced its own new law cracking down on non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
This Intimate Images Protection Amendment Act is a good piece of legislation that would help to combat sexual extortion and online bullying. However, this legislation could go further. It rightly sees harm in the sharing of non-consensual intimate images, but it fails to address the consumption of sexually explicit photos. While the distributor of the photos can be sanctioned, there is no penalty for anyone who remains in possession of non-consensual sexually explicit material nor is there any incentive to report such illegal behaviour. These two deficiencies could be addressed in the Act. Furthermore, the Intimate Images Protection Amendment Act continues to view most sexually explicit material as permissible as long as it is consensual. As long as someone consents to the sharing of intimate images of their body, all is lawful.
Consent in sexual matters is important and necessary, but more is needed. Scripture speaks about sexual intimacy being reserved for within the boundaries of marriage. Even within that context, Adam and Eve were ashamed of their nakedness after the Fall (Genesis 3). Ham was cursed by God for inappropriately witnessing the nakedness of his father Noah (Genesis 9). Jesus commands us to clothe the naked (Matthew 25) and Paul often admonishes against indulging in porneia (usually translated as “sexual immorality” but from which we get the English word pornography; e.g. 1 Corinthians 7:2, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Galatians 5:19).
By focusing solely on consent around sexually explicit content, legislation like this misses an opportunity to address an equally important discussion on the proper context for sexual intimacy. It also ignores the growing evidence that the proliferation of sexually explicit material – whether produced consensually or non-consensually – is a public health issue associated with loneliness, anxiety, poor mental health, increased sexual aggression, and dissatisfaction with romantic relationships. Efforts are ongoing at the federal level to crack down on pornography. The provincial government needs to join the fight.
In the meantime, however, increasing enforcement against the non-consensual sharing of intimate images is a step in the right direction. Please take a moment to send a note of thanks to your MLA and Minister Goertzen for spearheading this legislation.
If you want to learn more about the issue of pornography and sexually explicit material and the societal harms associated with it, check out our policy report on pornography.
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Life Week event near you!
Click the button below for more information about the March for Life.
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Click the button below for more information about the March for Life.
March for Life starting from the legislative grounds.
Click the button below for more information about the March for Life.
Click the button below for more information about the March for Life.
Click the button below for more information about the prayer service and flag display.
We would love to see you there.
The registration page is in the works… Stay tuned!
There are a limited number of spots so be sure to apply early!
How our Heavenly Citizenship shapes our earthly citizenship
As Christians, we face the unique challenge of keeping our eyes fixed on a heavenly kingdom while also following our King’s command to care deeply about the country where we live. We need constant encouragement to live as courageous Canadian citizens in a way that reflects our confidence in our heavenly citizenship.
We each play a part in bringing the light of God’s kingdom into the city where we live. Join us this Fall Tour as we discuss how to be effective dual citizens of the Kingdom of God and the Dominion of Canada.
Click to register for a Fall tour stop near you!
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Ontario
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Coaldale – Tuesday, November 1st
Lacombe – Wednesday, November 2nd
Ontario
Ancaster – Monday, November 7th
Strathroy – Tuesday, November 8th
Oxford – Wednesday, November 9th
What’s the school of thought on education in Manitoba?
I’m sure there have been times when you were deep in thought. Even lost in thought. Someone shared something with you as food for thought. Or told you to hold that thought. Well, I want to take you to the school of thought. The school of thought in Manitoba. It’s the thought that counts.
Do your part in revamping the system
They’re calling it the most major education overhaul in Canadian history. Bill 64, The Education Modernization Act, has been tabled in the Legislature. The actual debate of the bill, including public hearings, will take place in the fall. However, you can expect this to be an ongoing topic for discussion. In Manitoba politics, school won’t be out for the summer.
The Act is built on four pillars. One is improving learning and outcomes. The second is student engagement and competence for future careers. The third is ensuring teachers and staff have the tools they need to teach effectively. The fourth is governance.
The government consulted with Manitobans and asked for input on how to strengthen the education system. Many of you completed an online survey and took the opportunity to promote independent schools and of course our Reformed schools. But there is more to do! And ARPA is here to help. Please take part in our School of Thought education campaign. We will endeavour to educate, equip, and encourage you on this important political issue so you can take action and present a Biblical perspective to your provincial government.
The first phase of this campaign will focus on parents. When school starts in September, we’ll resume the campaign and cover the four pillars mentioned above, starting with student engagement and competence for future careers. I look forward to working with you to deliver a positive message to our government.
What can you do?
Two things:
1.) Relationships first, policy second. Send a respectful message to Manitoba’s provincial government about parental engagement. Please take the time to send a note of encouragement to Honourable Cliff Cullen, the Minister of Education. I have some suggestions here:
- Pass on encouragement, well-wishes, and a huge thank you for coming alongside schools during the COVID pandemic.
- Mention that you will be praying for him.
- Consider adding one of these recommendations from our Educational Diversity Policy Report
- Enshrine in provincial legislation the right of parents to select schooling for their children in line with their religious, philosophical, or cultural commitments or traditions.
- Increase parental involvement in education by requiring schools to make all curricula publicly available, to encourage parental review of curricula and classroom settings, and to invite parental participation in the extra-curricular activities their children are involved in.
You can do this by sending a thank you card. We have them all printed and ready to go. For our Reformed school supporters, the cards will be sent to the Reformed schools and be available for pick up. For those of you in the Winnipeg and Carman areas you can reach out to your local chapter representatives to get your cards. Carmanites can contact Phillip Rook ([email protected]) and Winnipegers can contact Kenton Slaa ([email protected]). You can also contact me (ed@arpacanada) and I’ll make sure you get the cards.
2.) Check out the Better Education Starts Today website. A Parent Engagement Task Force has been launched consisting of 15 local town halls, where community leaders, MLAs, parents, and school staff will discuss how the proposed parent advisory councils and other aspects of an updated education system would work. This task force will lead 15 regional town halls to hear from each region about how to improve parental voice and engagement. Check out the website for regular updates about a town hall coming to your area. Use the Educational Diversity Policy Report to let your voice be heard.
Parents know what’s best for their kids
ARPA supporters will be pleased to hear that there is some solid content pertaining to parental choice, parental involvement, and parental engagement in this education revamp. In fact, the Act makes specific mention that independent schools are exemplary in this regard.
Our Educational Diversity Policy Report supports parental responsibility in education. “The primary responsibility of parents for their children’s education is a Christian principle, and many other religious and non-religious people hold the same view. Throughout the Bible, God commands parents to teach their children the law of God, their shared history, and their religious practices.”
The report affirms that “numerous studies show that parental engagement, or at least involvement, in education is a central influence on students’ academic performance.” Resources such as Visible Learning for Teachers by John Hattie and the Centre for Real World Learning provide the latest research on parental participation and parental engagement. Both sources highlight the positive impact of what is called the parental engagement effect.
Parent engagement is better than parent involvement. Parent engagement signals a more active and personal level of participation in learning that takes place in the family. Family learning describes all those informal learning activities undertaken at home by parents with their children. The more parents and children talk to each other, the better students achieve.
A good education system is one that encourages and enables parental engagement. Our governments need to demonstrate leadership but allow engaged parents to continue to play an important role in shaping their children, in supporting their children’s needs at school, and in participating in decisions that impact their children’s future.
Don’t give it a second thought
Please join me on this important campaign and have a positive impact on the future of education in Manitoba. May God bless our efforts in promoting an educational environment where we can educate His children as we ought.
We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord. (Psalm 78:4)