Centre for Inquiry Canada
The Centre for Inquiry Canada is a not-for-profit educational organization with headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Canadian organization was founded as a member and volunteer driven organization in 2007. It is the Canadian affiliate of CFI Transnational. Their primary mission is to provide education and training to the public in the application of skeptical, secular, rational and humanistic inquiry through conferences, symposia, lectures, published works and the maintenance of a library.
History
CFI Canada was originally established as a branch of CFI Transnational in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 2006. Initially supported in part by CFI Transnational, CFIC is an independent Canadian national organization with branches in several provinces. Justin Trottier served as the first National Executive Director from 2007 to 2011, followed by Michael Payton until June 2013, and by Eric Adriaans from March 2014 to July 2016.Structure
CFI Canada is governed by a Board of Directors to whom the National Executive Director reports. The ancillary Council of CFI Canada is a quasi-governance body responsible for the election of the Board and for approval of changes to CFIC by-laws. Branch directors report to the National Executive Director.Branches
CFI Canada has branches in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Saskatoon, Calgary, Regina, Kelowna, Victoria and Vancouver.Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Skepticism (CASS)
The Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Skepticism was a science-focused working group of CFI Canada, acting as a national Canadian science advisory group that encouraged evidence-based inquiry into scientific, medical, technological and paranormal claims using scientific scepticism. CASS conducts research, provided educational programs in schools, and published papers on a variety of scientific topics in a proactive approach to public outreach, and also acted reactively to non-evidence based scientific, medical, and paranormal claims in public discourse.CASS was formed in 2010 to act as point of contact for science outreach for the organization. The committee was a volunteer driven panel of experts and enthusiasts. CASS was run by two co-chairs. Past co-chair members included Iain Martel, a University of Toronto contract lecturer with a background in the metaphysics of physics, Michael Kruse, a contributor to Skeptic North with a background in health. CASS activities were incorporated into the work of the Board of Directors in 2014.
Strategic Priorities
Drawing on the success of CASS, in 2014, CFIC developed the Committee For the Advancement of Human Rights and the Committee for the Advancement of Education. The three priority areas are championed at CFIC's Board of Directors by the committee Chairs. In 2019, CFIC states that its strategic priorities include secularism, scientific skepticism, critical thinking and building community.Campaigns and outreach activities
CFI Canada branches host a public education series across the country featuring leading academics, scientists, authors, performers and artists. National campaigns on relevant themes are also a key focus for the organization's activities.Secular library
CFIC houses a library of approximately 7000 secular books available for loan to members for research and study purposes. Large portions of the library were in storage from 2011 to 2014 with a repatriation of the full collection occurring in June 2014. The CFIC library was relocated to the Ottawa Branch in 2017.Extraordinary Claims Campaign
The Extraordinary Claims Campaign was a series of planned advertisements developed in 2010 based on the Carl Sagan quote "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". It was designed to be a follow-up to the Freethought Association of Canada's Atheist Bus Campaign in 2009. The ads were to feature a list of "extraordinary claims" on topics of pseudoscience, religion, and alternative medicine, including Allah, Christ, Bigfoot, chiropractic, and many more. The campaign also focuses on public education, running a series of events and publishing articles throughout the campaign that explored each extraordinary claim in more detail. The campaign received coverage in The National Post and The Toronto Star. However, as of 2017, these ads never went up.10:23
CASS takes part in the annual 10:23 campaign, an international campaign aimed at raising awareness about what homeopathy is with the slogan: "There's nothing in it." In cities around the world, individuals get together to take an 'overdose' of homeopathic pills to highlight their dilution and ineffectual nature. In 2011, members of CASS in Vancouver were featured taking their overdose on a CBC Marketplace episode dedicated to homeopathy called: "Cure or Con?"In March 2011, CASS sent an official complaint to Ontario Health Minister Deb Mathews, to express concern over a move in the province of Ontario to create a college of homeopaths as a regulated health profession. Key demands have been to ensure that the term "doctor" remain and be enforced as a protected term and to ensure public health safety with particular reference to the promotion of homeopathic vaccines.
Public education and events
During the Canadian federal election of 2011, CASS sent questionnaires asking candidates their position on public health as it relates to homeopaths and alternative medicine practitioners, scientific integrity and political influence, climate change, and critical thinking education. Responses received were posted publicly.In the summer of 2011, CASS sent a team of four members to speak on a variety of skeptical science topics at Polaris 25 in Toronto. The panel was the first of its kind at a Canadian science fiction conference and was modelled after Skeptrack at DragonCon in Atlanta.