Pro-life hospice forced to shut down in BC now looking to open new center in Alberta

(LifeSiteNews) — A Canadian pro-life hospice society, which was kicked out of its facilities by the British Columbia provincial government in 2021 for refusing to offer euthanasia, is looking to open a new “sanctuary hospice” safe space for the “very sick” in the province of Alberta.

Delta Hospice Society (DHS), based out of the Vancouver area in British Columbia, told LifeSiteNews that plans are in place to move shop to Alberta, due to “years of absolute abuse at the hands of the BC NDP.”

“Yes, we are planning to build a Hospice in Alberta,” said DHS President Angelina Ireland to LifeSiteNews.

“The Alberta government and Alberta Health Ministers have been welcoming and kind, very understanding of our mission and allowing us the opportunity to exist without the expectation that we kill our patients via ‘MAiD,'” she added.

Ireland knows what it means to be “hijacked” by the state. On March 29, 2021, the DHS was evicted from its two buildings after the Fraser Health Authority, one of five publicly funded healthcare regions in British Columbia, canceled its lease after the society refused to offer euthanasia to its patients.

As it stands now, DHS is currently operating out of a small office after its Irene Thomas Hospice and the Supportive Care Centre were taken over by the Fraser Health Authority. DHS was given no compensation for its assets, which Ireland says have an estimated value of $9 million.

The Irene Thomas Hospice site is now run by the government, complete with euthanasia.

Ireland noted to LifeSiteNews that the DHS will not give up on British Columbia and is hopeful things may change politically there soon, but the reality is that it cannot operate in the province as needed to help patients.

“Our unwavering dedication to HealthCare that does not include killing our patients is a position not welcome in the current NDP-led government of British Columbia,” she told LifeSiteNews.

“We are hopeful that one day, when the NDP is ousted from BC politics, we may return to build another Hospice in BC- one that is desperately needed.  We will retain a presence in BC and wait for the day that we may remedy the terrible wrong that was done to us.”

As reported by LifeSiteNews, Alberta’s United Conservative Party (UCP) government will be cracking down on euthanasia and introducing legislation to ban the practice for minors while making it difficult for adults to be approved for the procedure.

“Alberta’s government also plans to introduce legislation that, if passed, would regulate any Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) performed in Alberta, ensuring there is consistent oversight that protects vulnerable Albertans,” the UCP government announced in a press release.

New hospice will be a ‘safe space’ for patients

DHS’s new space in Alberta has the support of the UCP Conservative government of the province, which, Ireland notes, is happy to help them with their needs.

While a final site has not yet been picked, Ireland is hopeful to find a location close to a major hospital, to “relieve acute care beds of palliative patients who choose to be with us.”

“It is an exciting time for us as we look for a suitable property in Alberta.  We have not decided on a location yet. I have been on the ground in Alberta over the past few months investigating certain communities,” she told LifeSiteNews.

“We believe we can be of great value to the people of Alberta and help to provide authentic Palliative Care, so they may live well until their natural end.  We want to preserve the National Treasure of  Palliative Care, as passed down to us from Canadian heroes like Dr. Balfour Mount,” she said. 

Ireland told LifeSiteNews that the DHS’s new “sanctuary hospice” will be a “safe place for the very sick.”

“We will protect them from the euthanasia activists and predators looking to take their lives prematurely. We will not provide euthanasia on our premises,  nor will we allow ‘MAiD assessors’ on-site or provide effective referrals,” she said. 

“This will be the first Sanctuary Hospice created in direct resistance to the Canadian euthanasia program called ‘MAiD’. God willing, it will be the first of many.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has not taken an official public stance on euthanasia, but many of the MLAs and cabinet members are pro-life.

She took over the UCP on October 11, 2022, from Premier Jason Kenney, who strongly opposed euthanasia, after winning the leadership of the party.

It is important to note that the Catholic Church affirms the truth that euthanasia is immoral in all circumstances and would be outright illegal in a just society.

In 2021, the federal government under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expanded euthanasia from killing “terminally ill” patients to allowing the “chronically ill” to qualify after the passage of Bill C-7. Since then, the government has sought to include those suffering solely from mental illness.

In February 2024, the federal government delayed the mental illness expansion until 2027 after pushback from pro-life, medical, and mental health groups, as well as most of Canada’s provinces.

The Liberal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney, however, has worked to expand euthanasia 13-fold since it was legalized in 2016. Canada now has the fastest-growing assisted-suicide program in the world. Meanwhile, Health Canada released a series of studies on advanced requests for assisted suicide.

Euthanasia is now the sixth-highest cause of death in Canada, after it was not listed in Statistics Canada’s top 10 leading causes of death from 2019 to 2022.