The government of the Canadian province of Alberta has allegedly turned down an Edmonton couple for adoption because of their Christian faith. The unnamed couple who go by the initials C.D. and N.D are Evangelical Christians.

The couple was even willing to adopt an older child who typically become stuck in the foster system with little hope of adoption.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) is representing C.D. and N.D. in a court case against the Alberta government to have its decision overturned.

The married couple, who are unable to conceive, applied for an adoption in October 2016 and were initially approved by the Catholic Social Services (CSS) a representative of the government’s Child and Family Services (CFS).

Then in March 2017, the couple were told the government needed them to answer additional questions on how they would handle their potential child’s sexuality.

In its news release, JCCF said the couple responded that they would treat any child “with unconditional love, respect and compassion regardless of what the child chose to do, and regardless of the child’s sexual orientation or behavior.”

Apparently that answer wasn’t good enough and CSS unexpectedly withdrew its approval for adoption later that same month.

The couple appealed the decision. According to JCCF, in a meeting with two CFS staff in May, the couple were allegedly told that their religious faith was basically the reason for the rejection. One CFS staff member apparently added that this “was the official position of the Alberta government.”

In its news release, JCCF President John Carpay said:

“Making determinations about who is suitable to adopt on the basis of their sincere religious beliefs violates this couple’s right to religious freedom and equality under the law as guaranteed in the Charter and in Alberta’s own Bill of Rights and Human Rights Act.” 

However, this move by the left-leaning NDP government of Alberta is not surprising.

With the party’s popularity rapidly sliding in the polls, in recent weeks the NDP have started a range war with Catholics in Alberta. The party’s leader, Premier Rachel Notley, publicly accused Catholics of allowing spousal rape.

It was a bizarre statement and blatantly wrong. Though the NDP government has finally admitted as much, according to reports Notley refuses to apologize and allows the issue to fester on social media.

It seems the real issue was the Catholic school’s sex education program that differs with the NDP government’s approved program. Catholics have the constitutional right in Alberta to run their own school system.

In an interview with the Calgary Sun, United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney, the recently elected leader of the official opposition in Alberta, said:

“Rachel Notley has no more business than me or anybody else to tell Catholic schools how they should teach Catholic values. It’s none of her business. The government is basically a service provider. It’s not a surrogate parent.

“Why do they keep using the schools as a political battlefield? We’ve never had these fights in Alberta before? But they can’t help themselves. They cannot tolerate any dissent from their own political views.”

Sources:

• RELEASE: Christian couple rejected as adoptive parents, due to religious beliefs: Justice Centre
• Bell: Kenney, Notley face off in Catholic school brouhaha: Calgary Sun
• You won’t believe what the government denied this couple because of their faith: Charisma News