“Faith is not a component of my life. It’s just my life. I don’t separate them.”
That is how John McKay, Liberal member of Parliament for Scarborough-Guildwood, Ont., describes how his Christian faith has impacted his work as a politician for the past 23 years.
“Whatever I do in politics, I do it as a reflection of my faith,” said McKay, 77, who is retiring from politics after serving 23 years as an MP.
McKay, who attends The Peoples Church in north Toronto with his wife Carolyn Dartnell, has seen changes in Canada. “We are firmly moving into a post-Christian, post-religious country,” he said.
One of the things pushing the country in that direction is the merger between right-wing politics and evangelicals in the U.S. — a trend that saddens him.
“The evangelical church in the U.S. has done more to diminish the Gospel of Christ than pretty much any other organization,” McKay said.
Of his time in Parliament, McKay looks back with satisfaction on three significant pieces of legislation he proposed — all private members’ bills — that were passed into law.
The first was C-260, passed in 2003, which requires cigarette manufacturers to produce “fire-safe” cigarettes that extinguish when left unattended, reducing their flammability.
The second, C-293, the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act, was also known as the “better aid bill.”
Passed in 2008, it requires the Canadian government to be sure that foreign aid is tightly targeted toward the goal of poverty reduction. And it requires the government to report in a timely and transparent way on how aid money is spent.
“It was pretty hard to argue against making aid more effective, and against making sure aid gets to people who need it most,” McKay said of the bill, which was supported by aid groups like World Vision.
He is also proud of Bill C-423, The Modern Slavery Act, which was passed in 2023. The law requires businesses to publicly report on their efforts to reduce the risk that forced or child labour is used in the production of their goods.
Since the bill’s passing, about 40 per cent of the 6,000 or so businesses that have published reports have identified some problems in their supply chains. “The problem was bigger than many thought it was,” he said.
McKay says no party is the sole occupant of the high ground on any issue. “I can say unequivocally that the Liberal Party does not have the corner on the truth and all that is good and holy,” he said. “But neither does any other party.”
As for how his time in office will be judged, “I leave it to others to decide my reputation,” McKay said.
“I just tried to run the race faithfully. I hope I ran it well.”
‘Run for office’
Also retiring is Ed Fast, a Conservative member of Parliament for Abbotsford, B.C.
“My faith [in]forms every aspect of my life,” said Fast, 69, who has been an MP for 19 years. “Everything I have done as a politician is rooted in my faith values.”
For Fast, who attends Northview Community Church with his wife Annette, those values include honesty, integrity, love, peacemaking, compassion, promoting life and forgiveness.
“I believe people of faith have a role to play in politics, to bring their faith values to the table,” he said, noting that people of many faith traditions can be found in Parliament today.
“I encourage people of faith to run for office, to apply their faith in the decision-making process for the country.”
At the same time, he laments that the space for people of faith in Canadian society is narrowing, “especially for Christians,” a marginalization that will leave the country “impoverished.”
“We live in a highly divisive environment, more divided than [it] has ever been,” he said. He would like to see people of faith lead the effort to bring people together. “We need people of goodwill to discuss how we can live together in peace and harmony.”
Fast said some of the highlights from his time in Parliament include chairing the standing committee on justice and human rights and serving as international trade minister in Stephen Harper’s government.
He is proud of Bill C-277, his 2007 private members’ bill that doubled the prison sentence for child luring from five to 10 years.
Fast also draws satisfaction from sponsoring Bill C-314, a private members’ bill that sought to amend the Criminal Code to prohibit mental illness from being used as a reason to access medical assistance in dying (MAID).
The amendment was defeated, but a final decision on whether to permit mental illness to be used for MAID has been postponed beyond the initial one-year exploration period — a development to which Fast feels he helped contribute.
Fast says his involvement in legislation about MAID is consistent with his faith. “Having faith means wanting to protect life at all stages,” he said.
