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OTTAWA, Ontario, May 10, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – The 2021 Canadian March for Life Youth Conference will take place on Friday, May 14 with an exceptional speaker lineup of pro-life advocates that event organizers expect to provide an informative online event. 

“Our unique speakers will address the underlying causes of abortion, the degradation of sex, the adoption of a secular worldview, and, critically, what to do about it and how to become effective pro-life advocates,” Josie Luetke, Youth Coordinator for Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), told LifeSiteNews.

The 2021 National March for Life Youth Conference is titled “I Am With You,” with the online event taking place from 3 to 8 p.m. EST. 

The free event will be hosted by CLC Youth and Niagara Region Right to Life one day after the in-person rally and march in Ottawa on May 13.

Hosts for the “I Am With You” youth event are Luetke, who is also a member of the National March for Life and Life Chain Canada organizing committees, and Mattea Merta, who works as a pro-life/family advocate as the Global Policy and Advocacy Advisor and United Nations representative with CLC. 

Luetke told LifeSiteNews that because this year’s event is virtual CLC has been able to put together a “truly exceptional speaker roster that we otherwise probably would not have been able to swing.”

Luetke said the theme “I Am With You” was chosen so that event attendees would be equipped “with the knowledge and motivation they need to bring hope and truth to their peers.”

“The only way the statement 'You Are Not Alone' can be true is if someone is willing to say, 'I Am With You.' I am most looking forward to seeing how youth take what they learn and put it into action,” Luetke told LifeSiteNews. 

Participants can join the “I Am With You” Youth Conference by filling out the online registration form at marchforlife.ca/event/youth-conference-2021/

The youth event will feature a lineup of four speakers. A promo video features speakers announcing their excitement to be a part of the event. 

Toni Mcfadden, the founder of the program Relationships Matter, will discuss how one can “honor God in your relationships.” 

Joseph Backholm of the Family Research Council will present “Why Political Issues Aren’t Really About Politics,” in which he will explain how our debates “about abortion, euthanasia, and so many other political issues are really about worldview.”

Jaw Watts is the founder and president of Merely Human Ministries, Inc., an organization “committed to equipping Christians and people who hold pro-life views to graciously defend the intrinsic dignity of all human life.” He will speak about how to “have conversations so that you can defend the value of human life even if all you have is a couple of minutes.” 

Will Witt is a media personality who works for PragerU, a digital company that puts out short videos on important daily topics. He will focus on abortion, and how after having spoken with hundreds of people and having changed their minds about it, “with the right questions, tactics, and facts, you can change anyone’s mind on the topic of abortion.”

Despite COVID-19 restrictions in Ontario banning large gatherings, organizers of Canada’s 2021 March for Life will forge ahead with an in-person rally and march in Ottawa on May 13, given “the urgency” of addressing the human rights “injustices of abortion and euthanasia.”

CLC is the organizer of the event, which last year was held virtually due to COVID-19 lockdowns. 

CLC says that along with the in-person rally and march, there is a “full program of virtual events” to be held between May 9 and May 16. 

The in-person rally will start at 12:30 p.m. EST on the steps of Canada’s Parliament Hill in Ottawa, with the march planned to begin at 1:15 p.m.

The march will return to Parliament Hill at 2 p.m. for Silent No More Awareness testimonies about abortion regret.

There will also be an online Rose Dinner at 7:30 p.m. May 13 that will be emceed by David Bereit, founder of 40 Days for Life.

Tickets for the event can be purchased by going to marchforlife.ca/event/rose-dinner-2021/.

For a full schedule of events, including online speakers, visit marchforlife.ca/march-for-life-week-schedule/