Thousands rally at Canada’s National March for Life in Ottawa

Canadaʼs March for Life takes in place in May to mark the month in 1969 when the omnibus bill that decriminalized abortion in Canada was passed. This year’s march fell on the anniversary of the vote.

It took almost 25 minutes for a crowd that organizers said was in the thousands to inch its way from Parliament Hill down Wellington Street to Elgin Street during the National March for Life in Ottawa.

Members of every ethnic background, young and elderly, priests, families and church groups carried pro-life signs and walked the streets of the Canadian capital to press for an end to abortion and euthanasia in Canada.

The day began with liturgies celebrated at Notre Dame Cathedral, St. Patrick’s Basilica, and St. Clement. Ottawa-Cornwall Archbishop Marcel Damphousse was the main celebrant at the cathedral, joined by papal nuncio Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič, Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Bryan Bayda, and some 30 priests and deacons.

At a midday rally before the march, organizer Debbie Duval told the crowd, “We march on a Thursday, in Ottawa, because that’s when our legislators are sitting in the House of Commons. We want them to hear us. We want them to know we’re here.”

Matthew Wojciechoski, Project Manager at Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), which organizes the annual event, told the crowd, “We are here to call upon the members of Parliament to enact legal protections for all human beings from conception up to natural death. To remind Parliament of four simple words, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’”

The March for Life takes place in May to mark the month in 1969 when the omnibus bill that decriminalized abortion in Canada was passed.

This year’s march fell on the very anniversary of the vote and adopted as its theme Jesus’ command, “Follow me.”

CLC national president Jeff Gunnarson asked the crowd to pray for founder and former president Jim Hughes who is in hospital with pneumonia and “not doing well.”

“Jim devoted decades of his life to the unborn and building this movement in Canada. Many of us are standing here today because of sacrifices he made long before we arrived,” Gunnarson said.

The featured speaker was Aleš Primc, co-founder of the Slovenian political party Voice for Children and Families that recently forced a referendum to overturn the country’s assisted suicide law. He led pro-lifers in a series of loud “hellos” to people of all ages, from unborn children to “people with gray hair like me.”

“Saying “hello” is the start of recognizing our shared humanity,” he said.

Speaker Rebecca Kiessling, a U.S. lawyer and founder of the organization Save the 1 — a reference to the one per cent of babies conceived in rape — said she narrowly escaped “the death penalty” in the womb at two abortion clinics.

Kiessling, who was conceived in rape, has dedicated her legal career to advocating for the rights of mothers whose children were similarly conceived. She lobbies for abortion bans with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Born four years prior to the landmark 1973 ruling Roe v. Wade, she said she survived only because “the (existing) law in Michigan protected me.”

“I did not deserve the death penalty for the crime of the man who raped my mother. My mother chose abortion. I wasn’t lucky: I was protected. The law matters.”

Conservative MP Arnold Viersen brought his two toddler children to the stage with him, one of them amusing the crowd by peeking through the railing and jumping around loudly enough to be heard over the public address system.

The Parliament Hill speeches and the march through Ottawa are the centrepoint of four days of events, from a candlelight vigil the night before to pray and remember babies lost to abortion, a banquet Thursday evening, and a youth summit on Friday.

Gunnarson summed up why the march continues each year. “Sometimes this work can feel difficult, sometimes we feel that no progress is being made, but then we gather here and we remember that truth does not expire, love does not quit, and courage inspires courage.”

Pro-life supporters march in British Columbia

Across the country, ihundreds also gathered at the annual March for Life in Victoria, British Columbiaʼs capital city, where participants marched through downtown streets carrying pro-life signs and banners before rallying at the legislature to hear speakers, including Vancouver Archbishop Richard Smith.

The Victoria event drew families, clergy, students, and supporters from across the province for speeches, prayer, and music focused on the protection of unborn life and care for vulnerable people. Organizers also highlighted concerns surrounding euthanasia and assisted suicide.

In his homily at St. Andrewʼs Cathedral in Victoria, Smith acknowledged that many pro-life advocates can feel discouraged by what he described as “a powerful juggernaut moving forward and expanding in a manner that appears irresistible,” pointing to abortion and the expansion of euthanasia in Canada.

But he urged participants not to lose hope, saying, “God is at work, God is on the move, and God is an unstoppable force. His saving will simply cannot be thwarted by human iniquity.”

“This is why we march,” he said. “It is incumbent upon all of us to look for any and every opportunity to witness to the truth of God’s own love for life.”

Speaking later in front of the B.C. Legislature, Smith said the annual March for Life was part of a broader effort to build “a culture of life” through speaking, celebrating, and serving.

“Our march is a very peaceful event, and a great occasion for us to witness to the beauty of all life,” he said, adding that every human being is “willed, loved and necessary.”

He also said society needs “radically transformed human relationships, defined no longer by an extreme individualism and a false notion of freedom, but by a self-giving love that welcomes the other as gift.”

Several other March for Life events are also scheduled across Canada later this month and into June.

The Toronto March for Life will take place Saturday, May 23 at 11 a.m. at Queen’s Park North in Toronto. Organizers say a prayer service will be held beforehand at 9:30 a.m., along with workshops and educational events following the march.

The Halifax March for Life in Nova Scotia is scheduled for Saturday, May 30 at 1 p.m. at St. Maryʼs Cathedral Basilica in Halifax.

The Prince Edward Island March for Life will be held Saturday, June 6 at 2 p.m. at Central Christian Church in Charlottetown.

The Catholic Register with B.C. Catholic files

This article was originally published by the B.C. Catholic and is reprinted here, with adaptations, with permission. 

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