UPDATE: Petition for Inquiry Commission in Quebec, Candada, has now been HANDED IN!! - article and picture in Le Soleil newspaper

[Jack Ryan]

An article in Le Soleil, a French-language daily newspaper based in Quebec, Canada - around 70,000 copies are distributed each day.

Agnès Maltais calls for commission

Le Soleil (Quebec, Canada), Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - page 8 (via Google Translate)

PICTURE: MP Agnes Maltese tabled a petition of 2,570 signatures on Monday calling for a commission to examine the practices of sectarian groups.

In the last week of a 20-year career in the National Assembly, Taschereau MP, Agnès Maltais, filed a petition gathering signatures of 2,570 people demanding that a commission look into the practices of groups drifting sectarian.

Ms. Maltais said she was touched by the case of Eloise Dupuis, a 27-year-old Jehovah's Witness who died in October 2016 at the Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis a few days after giving birth to her first child. She had, as her religion would, refused a blood transfusion that could have saved her life.

"I believe that under the guise of freedom of religion, we accept things that would otherwise be considered illegal," Maltais said in a press briefing. "For me, this petition is a legacy. I would like to tell Quebec society to be concerned about these people who are also experiencing financial abuse and sometimes sexual assault in these groups."

She recalled that in addition to the 2,570 signatures, several people refused to put their name on the petition even if they supported it because they feared that a family member would see their name and that their support would be at the origin of family conflicts.

ILLEGAL PRACTICES

"I say to all parties: this mandate must be fulfilled. A commission must look into this idea that there are illegal practices under the guise of freedom of religion. Let's not forget that we have a whole history in Quebec with regard to sects," said Ms. Maltais, listing the Jewish sect Lev Tahor, the Church of Scientology, the Order of the Solar Temple and the sect of the late Guru Roch Thériault, says Moses. "If you knew everything I heard... there were people crying!"

Jonathan Lavoie, whose brother Jean-Claude died in 2006 after refusing a transfusion following an operation for an intestinal tumor, and Manon Boyer, aunt of Éloïse Dupuis, were present alongside Ms. Maltais as well as other family members of deceased persons in similar circumstances.

"There are 900 Jehovah's Witnesses in the world every year who die for this reason. Eloise would still be here if the doctors had done what they were trained for. How can we accept that in 2018, doctors and politicians submit to a medieval doctrine such as the doctrine of blood among Jehovah's Witnesses?" Asked Ms. Boyer, adding that she did not believe that the Quebec Liberal Party wants to do anything to change the situation.

"I hope that the upcoming elections bring the Parti Québécois or Coalition avenir Québec to power, which would be a ray of hope for us," concluded Ms. Boyer.

READ ORIGINAL LANGUAGE ONLINE ARTICLE:
https://www.lesoleil.com/actualite/politique/sectes-agnes-maltais-reclame-encore-une-commission-3b935cbf1337593e14e53e4b09ef2d5b