DELTA, British Columbia (LifeSiteNews) – The mayor of Delta, British Columbia has brazenly demanded that income raised by the pro-life Delta Hospice Society (DHS) be diverted to government-run hospices that commit to euthanizing sick people.
As reported in the Surrey Now-Leader, Delta Mayor George Harvie demanded from British Columbia Premier John Horgan that he must take “whatever steps” are needed to make sure the money raised from the DHS-owned Hospice Cottage Charity Shoppe supports government-run hospice services.
The request from Harvie was made in a letter dated April 13 and came only a week after the DHS voted in a 100 percent pro-life board of directors and life-affirming constitution.
Said Harvie to Horgan in the letter, “I would urge you to take whatever steps you can to ensure that thrift store assets and revenue are restored to the Irene Thomas Hospice as originally intended by the Delta community.”
Harvie in his letter also wrote that “The Delta Hospice Society does not represent the interests of the Delta community,” as its “board has been actively recruiting members who are sympathetic to their religious and pro-life beliefs.”
Angelina Ireland, president of the DHS, told LifeSiteNews that Harvie has been on a two-year “campaign to disparage the Delta Hospice Society and its board of directors.”
“He has spoken at rallies and on the radio demanding our resignations because we refused to kill our patients in our hospice,” said Ireland.
“Is his worship, Delta Mayor George Harvie, suggesting that in his city private businesses should be concerned that their private assets will be seized to fund causes that he is passionate about? We at the Delta Hospice Society will defend our private property rights and we call on all Canadians concerned about constitutional freedoms to stand with us.”
Ireland noted that the DHS is a private organization that receives no money from the government and has members from across Canada.
She told LifeSiteNews that money raised from its charity shop goes “to fund our national toll-free helpline supporting Canadians looking for authentic palliative care services and counseling.”
“Our private organization has a constitution and bylaws that support authentic palliative care and prohibit any participation in euthanasia,” said Ireland.
Ireland told LifeSiteNews that Harvie and the Delta city council “stripped us of our permissive tax exemption we had been given for years before … apparently because we refused to participate in MAiD.”
The DHS must now pay property taxes of around $35,000 a year.
“What Mayor Harvie has never done is speak to us about anything, never asked for our side of the story or our concern for access to authentic palliative care services. It seems to me that public servants should not be picking sides in this way and blatantly crossing boundaries,” said Ireland.
In October of 2020, the city of Delta voted to deny DHS a tax exemption for its Cottage Charity Shoppe because it refused to commit to the euthanasia of its ill patients.
However, there has been good news of late for DHS.
On April 2, it scored a huge win for life at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) after electing a full pro-life board and voting in a new constitution which affirms life to its “natural end.”
The DHS had earlier urged all of its pro-life members to attend the AGM to ensure enough votes to pass a revised constitution and bylaws that “affirm life to its natural end.”
While most DHS board members are Christians who oppose assisted suicide, and Ireland herself is Catholic, euthanasia activists went to court for the right to join the society. The British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that the DHS could not exclude membership applications from euthanasia supporters.
On March 29, 2021, DHS was evicted from its two buildings of 35 years after the Fraser Health Authority, one of five publicly funded health care regions in British Columbia, canceled its lease in a refusal to allow euthanasia at its palliative care facility.
Both the DHS Irene Thomas Hospice and the Supportive Care Centre were taken by the Fraser Health Authority. The DHS was given no compensation for its assets, which had an estimated value of $9 million.
As it stands now, the DHS is operating out of a small office and operates a store, The Hospice Cottage Charity Shoppe, which is valued at just over $3.5 million. This shop now serves as its main source of revenue.
The Canadian government legalized euthanasia — the lethal injection of sick patients — in 2016. Since that time, DHS had been under attack by both the provincial government and euthanasia activists because it refused to allow the practice at its palliative care hospice.
Contact information for communications:
Mayor George Harvie
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 604-946-3210