No funding for rights-denying outfits

Volunteers for Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC) are continuing their research that we reported on here into the funding of rights-denying anti-choice organizations.

Specifically, we are looking for public money — government, arms’-length granting bodies — going to these gangs. Remember DJ!'s success in getting an Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) grant rescinded from Lambton Crisis Pregnancy Centre?

At the time, we were impressed by the anti-discriminatory language used by OTF and its promise not to fund such outfits again.

So it was with some disappointment that a volunteer ran across this, an announcement of a two-year grant of nearly $129K to a fake clinic in Huntsville called Christine’s Place.

Here’s a screen shot.

(I defy anyone to tell me WTF they plan to do.)

I wrote to my old bud, Thomas Chanzy, VP, Public Affairs, on Monday to alert him to this new oopsie.

Zoom.

Today I received this.

Dear Fern Hill,

In light of the concerns you have raised with us, we have looked into this matter and I can confirm that this grant has actually already been rescinded in full before any payment was made to this organization. There is therefore no reason to consider your request that we rescind this grant.

I want to thank you for the attention and consideration you give to the Foundation and its impact in Ontario communities.

"Already rescinded." Grand.

We applaud OTF for its ability to evolve and for its commitment to public input.

UPDATE: My pal Thomas Chanzy has two corrections to make.
1. Trillium Foundation's budget does NOT come from gaming proceeds. Rather, funding comes directly from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

2. The rescinding of the grant was at the request of the organization itself.

So, it seems we credited OTF with a bit more evolution than is warranted. We'll keep our eye on grants awarded.

Desperate Crisis Pregnancy Centres: Healthcare or Counselling?

These are trying times for fake abortion centres.

First, the old styling -- "crisis pregnancy centre (CPC)" -- has become so indelibly associated with lies, manipulation, and slut-shaming, they've taken to rebranding themselves as Options/Choice/Life/WhatHaveYou Centres.

Then they were getting dinged by false advertising claims and lawsuits.

According to an analysis by NARAL [US pro-choice organization], 79 percent of the crisis pregnancy centers that advertised on Google indicated that they provided medical services such as abortions, when, in fact, they are focused on counseling services and on providing information about alternatives to abortion.

In response, they began vociferously denying they were medical facilities.

"We aren’t a medical facility,” explains [Lambton Crisis Pregnancy Centre's executive director Kim] LeBlanc.  “We don’t refer people to pediatricians and we don’t refer them to abortion clinics. We aren’t qualified.”

So what then to make of fake clinics acquiring medical equipment and advertising "healthcare services"? Here we reported that we'd found only one such ultrasound-enhanced CPC in Canada.

Now, spurred by a virtual brown envelope over the transom, we report on another, Crossroads Clinic in Brooks, Alberta.

From its Services page:

More than just a pregnancy care center, Crossroads Clinic is a medical facility focusing on all aspects of sexual [!] health.

It lists the usual "Pregnancy Options Counselling," "Abortion Recovery," "Pregnancy Testing" (drugstore pee-on-a-stick type), but also includes "Sexual Abuse or Trauma Recovery" and "STI or STD Testing."

(Anyone ever heard of a CPC offering sexual abuse counselling? Let us know.)

We accessed its charitable status to check on its funding. It reports government funding running at 4-5% of total revenue for the past four years. (No specific sources given.)

Canada Revenue Agency asks its lucky participants to inform them of "new services" and in 2013, Crossroads reported one such.

HEALTH CARE SERVICES ==> Medical professionals provide pregnancy test and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment.

Okey-dokey, now they provide healthcare services and indeed ask that "patients" bring their Alberta Health Care number and a photo ID. (Maybe a DJ! reader would like to undertake a query to Alberta Health over that oddity.)

So, beyond aiding patients' peeing on a stick, what do these services entail?

A magic ultrasound machine!

Women come to Crossroads Clinic both to confirm pregnancy and review their options. Having an ultrasound scan by trained medical professionals gives a client the accurate and timely information she needs to make educated decisions about her pregnancy and her future.

We are so blessed to have ultrasound technology on-site.

Blessed, indeed. While its website is all very secular and professional, its Facebook page is way more jesus-y.

As of course it should be since Crossroads is a member of Canadian [formerly Christian] Association of Pregnancy Support Services (CAPSS), whose "core documents" (well worth the read for the Bible verses alone) can be downloaded here.

Regular DJ! readers might remember that it was the affiliation with CAPSS that got the above-mentioned Lambton Crisis Pregnancy Centre stripped of the second part of its Trillium Foundation grant, according to the Sarnia Observer.

Upshot: no matter how they style themselves, what services they try to offer, who they associate with, CPCs in Canada are on the ropes.

And here ends, for now, DJ!'s survey of fake clinics in Alberta.

But we're on a mission here at DAMMIT JANET! We want to see the closure of all fake clinics in Canada.

And we'll do whatever we can to effect that.

Up next, British Columbia, and perhaps more surprisingly, Quebec.

UPDATE: From Jaden Fitzherbert on Twitter: the fake clinic in Fredericton offers ultrasound.

UPDATE to "Without Going into Details"

I just about broke the blog trying to update the post on reaction to the partial defunding by Ontario Trillium Foundation of a fake clinic. I have no idea what I did but I undid it and am trying this instead.

Our Number One Fan, in addition to stalking, runs a sideline in conspiracy theories, shared by SUZY ALLCAPS.

Here's what SHE quoted from his blogpost:

Andrea Cohen Barrack [CEO, Ontario Trillium Foundation] just “happens” to be the Chair of the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region!

Plain text for the usual reason of juvenile redirects on hyperlinks: http://www.bigbluewave.ca/2014/11/todays-link-dump-abortion-catholic.html#idc-container

Sooooooo. You see what that means, don't you?

Our pal Balbulican clearly did.

Wow! What a scoop! Obviously evidence of...uh, a highly skilled, active and much sought after woman who's active in not-for-profit Canada?

Just so you know, my conspiratorial little friend, Andrea is also a senior adviser to the mildly conservative C.D. Howe Institute, Vice Chair of the Roger's School of Management at Ryerson University, a lecturer at U of T.

And indeed, Ms Barrack is a hella accomplished gal.

Goddess bless Balbulican for his futile but funny interactions with Canada's BIGGEST Fetus Fetishist.

"Without Going into Details" *snerk*

We had been wondering why Fetus Freak Media and its running blog lackeys hadn't done its usual shrieky foot-stompy hissy fit routine over the partial rescinding of an Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) grant to a fake pregnancy centre.

The fake clinic itself responded on its blog in a rather tight-lipped manner citing "philosophical differences" with OTF while accusing an unnamed blogger (ahem).

One particular blog has been making false allegations regarding our Centre and is taking credit for the rescinding of the OTF grant.  This same group has been making allegations against other Pregnancy Centre’s [sic] in Canada.

And that seemed to be it for reaction from the zygote zealots.

Well, silly us, we were googling terms like "Lambton Crisis Pregnancy Centre" (the defunded Sarnia racket), "Ontario Trillium Foundation," "crisis pregnancy centres" and, we admit, "Dammit Janet!" and even "fern hill."

Crickets.

It appears that Fetus Freak Central has decreed that we are to remain "anonymous evil blogger" and the clinic itself is not to be named either. "Crisis Pregnancy Centres" seems now to have fully morphed into pregnancy options centres.

Quite by accident, we ran across this yesterday by our old pal Mike Schouten, aka Creepy Dominionist Guy. It's a reprise of a blog post at his site, We Need a Law [Like a Hole in the Head].

Here it is in its full goddy glory (my bold).

Christians who strive to live by the Scriptures will know that the two greatest commandments are to love the Lord with heart, soul and mind, and to love their neighbours as themselves (Mark 12:30-31). 

Follows of Jesus desire to live selfless lives and this is characterized by putting others [sic] needs ahead of their own. I bring this up in connection with the work of faith-based pregnancy care centres. These centres are for the most part staffed by volunteers who give up much to come to the aid of those in need. 

The volunteers provide compassionate help to women experiencing unplanned pregnancies, post abortion grief, domestic violence, and sexual assault. They are on the frontlines of assisting some of the most vulnerable people in society and regularly help women make informed choices that set them on the path to a better life. The care they offer extends well beyond the moment of birth or abortion. In very practical ways they come alongside people in need and so enable them to continue living productive and joy-filled lives as they transition into motherhood. And right now, pregnancy options centres need our support. 

As we documented* just over a year ago, pregnancy options centres are increasingly under attack by abortion advocates. Yes, there are Canadians who are so excited about the fact that a woman ought to be able to kill her own child that they simply cannot fathom the thought that some women choose life for their pre-born child. 

Without going into details we want you to know that these attacks have intensified in recent weeks. We ask that you do what you can to support a pregnancy options centre near you. This can be done through donations (see here for a list of centres across Canada). You can also help them by offering words of encouragement and prayer for those on the front lines. They are daily engaged in the culture seeking to show love to those in need. 

We can do better and we can certainly show those who oppose helping pregnant women that they have a skewed sense of social justice. Let us not be characterized as a country that let's [sic] its citizens flounder in depths of despair.

(*That "documentation" goes to a previous protracted hissy fit over Joyce Arthur's exposure of fake clinics in BC, published in 2009 for hevvinsake. [And what is it with these people and apostrophes?])

Onto their game, we looked some more and found amateur statistician Patricia Maloney's foot-stomper and its follow-up. And while she refers to me as a "fake person," she has at least the good bloggy manners to link to my offensive "potty mouthed" blogposts.

Things have since escalated. I tweeted at Creepy Dominionist Guy on twitter and got this.

Hey, genius, @mike_schouten did you actually read my blogposts? No bullying involved. I asked @ONTrillium questions. They reassessed. OOPS.

— Fern Hill (@fernhilldammit) November 24, 2014

They're playing the martyr card again and I'm now a bully. In addition to being fake and potty-mouthed.

Note though they have NOTHING narsty to say about the organization that actually yanked the funding when asked (nicely) to justify the grant. The nice rich foundation that might yet be bullied convinced of the error of its ways.

Nope. They're attacking a wee blogger.

In other words, without going into details, they got nuthin'.

We, on the other hand, have MASSIVE giggles.

UPDATE: DJ! hits the (fetus fetishizing) Big Time! LifeShite weighs in.

MORE UPDATE: Over here our personal stalker one-man fan-club seems, like most of his tribe, unable to distinguish between politics and rights.

Philosophical Differences versus False Allegations: Defunded Fake Clinic Responds

Yesterday (November 13/14), Lambton Crisis Pregnancy Centre announced the rescinding by the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) of the second instalment (amount unknown) of a $83,800 grant.

Here it is.

Due to a fundamental philosophical difference the OTF has decided to rescind the grant.  This means we received funding for one year’s operation but will not receive further funding for the second year. 

. . .

One particular blog has been making false allegations regarding our Centre and is taking credit for the rescinding of the OTF grant.  This same group has been making allegations against other Pregnancy Centre’s [sic] in Canada.

Hilarious, yes?

They claim to have "fundamental philosophical difference" with the once and future (?) major granting organization, but throw "false allegations" at a wee (unnamed) blogger.

The CPC in question seems to have set a stalking horse on us in the person of commenter and self-proclaimed videographer Nathan Colquhoun who takes issue with my post about inappropriate medical equipment at the Lambton outfit here and here.

He claims to have no dog in this fight but his profile shows him to be some kinda xian pastor.

Okey-dokey then.

Are they laying the groundwork to sue us?

In its blogpost the Lambton Liars refer to a paper supposedly refuting Joyce Arthur's damning report "Exposing Crisis Pregnancy Centres in BC".

When a couple of those fake BC clinics tried to sue Joyce for defamation over her report, it did not end well for them.

Lambton CPC's argument, of course, should be with the Ontario Trillium Foundation, not moi.

But, hey, this is totally typical behaviour for bullying liars. Take on the small fry while kissing the big kahuna's ass.

What I find mysterious -- and OTF must find relaxing, at least for the moment -- is the total disinterest by mainstream media over what seems to me (ahem) to be a fairly Big Story.

Major Grant Foundation (All But) Admits Error in Funding Prolife Liars!

OK, that's probably not the headline they'd go with -- but that's the story.

Stay tuned. . .


UPDATE: The Sarnia Observer reports. It seems that OTF doesn't have a problem with fake clinics as such but rather a particular problem with Canadian Association of Pregnancy Support Services (CAPPS). That's a Christian (the "C" used to represent Christian) umbrella organization with 70 fake clinic members across Canada. Good enough for me. For now.

Poking the Trillium: CPC Grant Rescinded!

Last week DJ! reported on public funds from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) being given to a religious anti-abortion group, specifically the Lambton Crisis Pregnancy Centre.

I also wrote to OTF and tweaked them on Twitter. And got this quick response.

@fernhilldammit Thanks for this. As a public funder, we don't condone discriminatory practices. Getting info. We'll get back to you tmw.

— Ontario Trillium Fdn (@ONTrillium) October 30, 2014

A further response on Twitter directed me to OTF's website where one can download a PDF called Policy Suite*, dated October 30, 2014 (!). I was directed to the anti-discrimination section.

On page 37, we find this.

Funding of grantees
OTF will not fund organizations that discriminate, or that seek to limit the legal rights and activities of people.

Which is a quite succinct description of crisis pregnancy centres.

My email to OTF was passed along to Thomas Chanzy, Vice-President, Public Affairs. I had linked to the relevant DJ! blogposts and informed them that I intended to blog on their response, so they should consider themselves on the record.

Here's part of what he said in his first email:

Thank you for your email and thank you for raising this issue with us. I appreciate your interest in ensuring that our funds are a good use of public money, and we are taking your comments very seriously.

As indicated on twitter, we, as a public funder, do not condone discriminatory practices and we have an anti-discriminatory policy in place to ensure that our grants do not fund such practices. In addition, our program guidelines clearly states that we will not fund advocacy activities.  

We acknowledge that the lines can be blurry between advocacy and non-advocacy activities in the nonprofit sector. That’s why we are committed to always improving our granting practices. We have recently revised our anti-discriminatory policy as part of our ongoing review process. In particular, our revised policy now explicitly prohibits the funding of activities that seek to limit the legal rights and activities of Ontarians.

I note that you have specific questions about our grant to the Lambton Crisis Pregnancy Centre. Let me consult our program staff on this particular grant and we will provide you with an answer by the end of this week.

And he did. It's full of careful (and very good) bureaucratese, but it's about as straightforward as this sort of communication can be. I was impressed. I'll post the whole thing if people are interested. For now, here are the relevant points.

I had three questions.

Question 1. What due diligence did OTF conduct to assure itself that the Lambton CPC was a legitimate community asset and not a religious organization with a clear agenda of dissuading women from accessing a legal medical service?

The answer: OTF uses local decision making and volunteers do the work. Then matters go up the chain and staff assesses "the organisational eligibility of the applicants, and the feasibility of the projects for which funding is sought."

Here's the good part.

Our process relies on assessments by individuals, and all act in good faith. It is not fail proof.

Then, more on process and overseeing committees, blahblahblah.

Question 2. What measures are being taken/will be taken to ensure that no money is ever given to such groups again?

Answer:

We acknowledge that no system is fail proof. That’s why we are committed to always improving our granting practices. 
…
As already noted, our revised policy now explicitly prohibits the funding of activities that seek to limit the legal rights and activities of Ontarians.

Not quite "mistakes were made" but pretty darned close, eh?

Question 3. Under what circumstances might a grant be rescinded? I note that the grant to Lambton CPC -- a sizeable one of $83,800 -- is to be delivered over 2 years.

And now the WOOHOO! part:

We have reassessed the grant made to this organisation and have rescinded the remainder of the grant.  We have informed the organization that no more funding will flow. We have a clear policy on rescinding grants; several grants are rescinded annually, for compliance, financial and risk management purposes.

No more funding will flow.

Now DJ! would never ever take credit for something that wasn't totally merited, and despite Mr. Chanzy's assurance that "several grants are rescinded annually," we say again:

WOOHOO!

We must commend OTF and Mr. Chanzy for their quick and responsible response. I'm not a gambling gal, but I am reassured that Ontario's ill-gotten gains are being returned to communities as well as possible.

When I told Sweetie the news, he wondered about the legality of picking (on) a trillium. I looked and found this.

…despite what most Ontarians think – it is not always illegal to pluck or otherwise annoy the trillium.

UPDATE: Oh lard. I had Mr. Chanzy as Vice-President, Pubic Affairs. Now corrected. Sorry (mostly), Mr. Chanzy.

MORE UPDATE: You can do it too. How to Defund Crisis Pregnancy Centres.

UPPITY-DATIER (November 14, 2014): Lambtons Crisis Pregnancy Centre responds.

Due to a fundamental philosophical difference the OTF has decided to rescind the grant.  This means we received funding for one year’s operation but will not receive further funding for the second year. 

. . .

One particular blog has been making false allegations regarding our Centre and is taking credit for the rescinding of the OTF grant.  This same group has been making allegations against other Pregnancy Centre’s [sic] in Canada.

Taking a wild leap here and assuming that DJ! is the unnamed blog, I'd suggest that the Lambton CPC direct its complaints to the Ontario Trillium Foundation. If my allegations are false, then OTF has made a terrible error, eh? One they should be answerable for, yes?  

Amusing innit that the CPC has "philosophical differences" with the granting agency, but has no problem calling me a liar?


*UPDATE: (July 9/16) That link no longer connects with the PDF. Here is OTF's anti-discrimination policy.

Lambton CPC: Nuthin' to Hide?

Recently, DJ! nosed around and found that some crisis pregnancy centres in Canada do indeed have ultrasound machines believed by fetus fetishists to have the magical property of dissolving women's will for autonomy.

Which is odd, considering that they claim NOT to be medical facilities, but, just, you know, counselling and information centres with sidelines in mom-n-tots drop-ins and baby clothes.

In fact, in Ontario, the Ministry of Health does not fund these fake clinics or regulate them specifically because they are not medical clinics.

What to make then of this promotional video from the Lambton Crisis Pregnancy Centre, the fake clinic that recently received $83,800 of public funds from the Ontario Trillium Foundation?

The video shows many jolly babies, new mums thrilled to have a place to drop in and chat, some jeezus talk, but at about the 4:30 mark it gets interesting.

During a tour of the facilities, we are shown one of their "counselling rooms." Here's a still.

What's that chair-like thing that appears fleetingly in the background?

It looks to me like an ob/gyn chair, rather like this, taken from an assortment of such medical equipment here.

I wanted to be sure so I asked a professional pal to have a look. Here's the judgement:

Well I looked at it frame-by-frame between 4:36 and 4:42 - - the videographer was supposed to avoid the bottom of the chair with the pale blue cushioning.

Shot angles before and after make it clear that they wish to give the impression that they are providing a comprehensive survey of the interior (Nuthin' t'hide, here) when it's pretty clear at 4:36 - 4:37 that they don't want you to see that chair.

What that chair is, specifically, I cannot say - - they have been successful with selective camera angles.  Sorry.

Point, videographer.

Also odd is the woman's comment from that room that clients can "exit out quietly without going through the reception room."

Why would clients want to exit out quietly if they're just having a jolly conversation about prenatal vitamins?

And WHAT THE FUCK is a piece of medical equipment doing in there? Are they conducting obstetrical examinations? Are they performing non-medical ultrasounds?

Enquiring minds....

UPDATE: November 14. 2014. A commenter named Nathan Colquhoun claims to be the videographer in question. He says the video is hosted on his YouTube account, but I didn't see it.

He says the chair-thing is in fact a baby's high-chair. Okey-dokey.

He also takes issue with the tone of this blog. Okey-dokey.

I'll have more to say, but for now have a look at the webpage connected to his profile. He's some kinda Xian pastor. When I tried to go to "The Story," which appears to be the name of his "ministry," my anti-virus software wouldn't let me, and who am I to argue?

Crisis Pregnancy Centres in Canada (part of an ongoing series)

There is no disagreement about what a crisis pregnancy centre is.

A crisis pregnancy center (CPC), sometimes called a pregnancy resource center (PRC), is a type of non-profit organization established to counsel pregnant women against having an abortion.

In fact, so notorious are CPCs for their anti-choice agenda they are rebranding themselves with variants of the words "life," "choice," "options" and so on in their titles. The subject of a recent blogpost on public funding for CPCs in Ontario is known both as Lambton Crisis Pregnancy Centre and as The Pregnancy Options and Support Centre.

We've had some response from the granting agency, Ontario Trillium Foundation, and we'll get to that in future post.

For now, let's take a look at what CPCs actually do.

First off, what they do is significantly different from what they say they do.

They say they offer counselling and education about "crisis" or unplanned pregnancies. They say they offer non-judgemental support for all options. They say they provide accurate and complete information about all aspects of pregnancy and possible outcomes.

That's bullshit.

What they do has been documented in countless undercover investigations and revelations from former workers and volunteers.

Here's a recent investigation from the US on How Crisis Pregnancy Centers Lie to Women to Stop Abortion. Here's another from BC in 2012 and a recent one from Texas. Google "undercover crisis pregnancy investigation." There are tons of them.

Here's an undercover report by The Star on a fake clinic in Toronto from 2010. And here's another of the same clinic from 2012.

The reason undercover investigations are necessary is because CPCs have gotten a lot smarter about what they reveal in their online presence, particularly after the 2007 brouhaha over the Ottawa Senators hockey team support for such an outfit in a Christmas charity. (We have a blogpost in the hopper revisiting the highlights of that schmozzle. I'll link when it's up. Link.)

No longer do their websites include links to bogus organizations claiming that abortion causes breast cancer, abortion causes addiction and mental illness, abortion causes infertility, et fucking cetera. All of those lies have been thoroughly and repeatedly debunked, so CPCs do not publicly link to them anymore.

But in the actual clinic, with an actual live, vulnerable pregnant and possibly already shit-scared woman there, those lies come burbling back up.

In fact, some "counsellors" can get very creative in the crap they spew. (Some undercover investigators report finding it really really hard not to burst out laughing.)

They lie, they distort, they manipulate.

Because their only purpose is to stop abortion. All the rest is window dressing.

After the 2010 Star investigation, a reporter contacted the Ontario ministry of health to ask what the heck officials intended to do about this abuse of patients' trust.

The provincial health ministry has no immediate plans to crack down on pregnancy resource centres that often use misinformation to discourage women from choosing abortion without always disclosing their pro-life perspective.

“We don’t fund them, so we don’t have a lot of oversight on them,” said Andrew Morrison, a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care. “As with these types of things that are sort of outside the ministry purview, it is ‘buyer, beware’ and a matter of people doing a bit of homework.”

A Star investigation published Aug. 7 found that charitable organizations called crisis pregnancy centres often give out misleading or untrue information about the physical and psychological risks of abortion under the guise of options counselling to women facing unplanned pregnancies.

Beyond the purview of the Ministry of Health because they don't FUND them.

A comment from a pro-choice advocate in the article:

“These people are accountable to no one,” [Maria Corsillo, manager of the Scott (abortion) Clinic] said of the pregnancy centres, which often have codes of ethics but are not subject to any oversight beyond what is required of registered charities.

Ethics? Ms Corsillo is being overly kind there, but she hits the nail on the head.

Charitable status. That's all that's required to get tax-free dough from their supporters. And, it seems, FUNDING from the gambling population of Ontario courtesy of the Ontario government's Trillium Foundation. (I'll link when that post is up. Link.)

Odd, innit? No oversight from the Ontario Ministry of Health because no FUNDING. But FUNDING from Ontario Trillium Foundation despite no oversight.

We have more to say.

UPDATE: Ontario Trillium Foundation responds to our questions about the Lambton Crisis Pregnancy Centre grant. Upshot: grant rescinded!

Again, Public Funding Given to Religious Anti-Abortion Group

Back in January 2009, DJ! reported on public funding -- in the form of a Trillium Foundation grant -- being given to a crisis pregnancy centre, aka a Christian slut-shaming organization. I wrote to the foundation to ask its justification for this largesse but never heard back. (In truth, I didn't follow up.)

That was a rather minor grant of $8,600.

In April this year, a far larger grant was made to another fake clinic in Sarnia.

From the Foundation's website:

Lambton Crisis Pregnancy Centre

$83,800 over two years to operate a satellite office in rural Lambton County that educates women facing unplanned pregnancy on the options that are available to them.

Let's back up a bit. For those who haven't heard of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, it is the sop to our collective conscience for our government-run numbers racket, aka the "gaming industry".

Basically, the Ontario government preys on the hopes and delusions of its citizens, rakes in a ton of dough, then parcels some of it out to community and health centres, boys and girls clubs, you get the idea.

Now regular readers of DJ! know what crisis pregnancy centres are but here's a quick refresher on how they work at the moment in ass-backwards Texas.

In many of the Excited States, these evil organizations get actual taxpayers' money handed out to them specifically to lie to, manipulate and shame women. (Check the Texas link for some breath-taking dollar figures.)

So, sure, we have them here in Canada -- just yesterday, the Grand Opening of a new one was reported in Strathmore, Ontario -- but they are privately funded by churches and other meddlesome panty-sniffers.

Or so we thought.

But now we learn that $83,800 of Ontario "gaming" enthusiasts' hard-earned dough has been doled out to a religious organization.

What do we think of this, fellow fans of fairness, democracy, and accountability?

Here is the website for the Lambton Crisis Pregnancy Centre. It's fairly standard for these operations, offering, for example, "post-abortion counselling".

No matter how long ago your abortion took place, it is never too late to seek healing and resolution. Heart’s Hope is facilitated in a group or can also be in a one-on-one setting. It is a ten week program that allows you the opportunity to face your decision, grieve your loss and promote healing. Our trained facilitators will treat you with compassion and empathy; we recognize that grief is a deeply personal thing and we aim to gently guide you through that process.

Because abortion is always and inevitably a "loss" that requires "healing" and "grieving," right?

It is a registered charity and on its donation page it includes a link to Canadian Council of Christian Charities, lest there be any confusion about where they're coming from.

I plan to write to the Trillium Foundation (contact info here) to ask again about this practice. You can too.

It also has a Twitter account, @ONTrillium.

This is public money. It should NOT be going to religious brainwashing concerns. If "we" as the people of Ontario must bilk our neighbours of money, at least let's salve our consciences by sharing the ill-gotten gains with organizations that actually do some good in our communities.

UPDATE: A response:

@fernhilldammit Thanks for this. As a public funder, we don't condone discriminatory practices. Getting info. We'll get back to you tmw.

— Ontario Trillium Fdn (@ONTrillium) October 30, 2014