Disaster relief group's anti

Disaster relief group's anti-2SLGBTQ+ views draw pushback in Ottawa

MPP, councillor say city shouldn't have invited Samaritan's Purse to help with floods

Samaritan's Purse is in Ottawa to help residents with flooded basements, but an MPP and a city councillor say the group's anti-2SLGBTQ+ positions mean it should never have been invited to the city.

The evangelical Christian disaster relief organization has been setting up its base camp at a Nepean church and is preparing to respond to the Canada Day floods.

Tammy Suitor, Canadian disaster relief manager with Samaritan's Purse Canada, said the city has already provided a couple hundred names of people who need their help. She said the organization is planning to stay for four to six weeks.

City council approves raft of supports, reviews of Canada Day flood response

But on Wednesday, Ottawa Centre MPP Catherine McKenney posted on social media asking why Ottawa is "importing a well known anti-queer organization into our city at a time when we are faced with growing homophobia and transphobia."

McKenney, who is non-binary, cited cases in New York where Samaritan's Purse required volunteers to sign a "statement of faith" to participate in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to reporting by U.S. media. The statement essentially disqualified LGBTQ people and atheists, and people were reportedly turned away for refusing to sign.

"We can help residents without making many feel unsafe," McKenney said.

Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster, who serves as council liaison for women, gender equity and 2SLGBTQ+ affairs, said the city needs to uphold basic standards on human rights in its partnerships with outside groups.

"I don't think we should be welcoming an organization with a very recent history of extremely homophobic actions and a statement on their website that makes it clear that people like me are not welcome," said Troster, who has been married to her wife for 16 years.

Samaritan's Purse is a global organization. Its Canadian branch has been around since 1973 and offers disaster relief including food, water and temporary shelter, according to its website. Its website also includes a statement of faith stating that marriage is "exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female."

Its global president is Franklin Graham, who has called homosexuality a sin. He is the son of well-known preacher Billy Graham.

The controversy over the organization's statements of faith has previously spread to Canada. In 2016, the organization asked a Newfoundland-based volunteer co-ordinator to confirm that she did not believe in same-sex marriage or a woman's right to have a legal abortion, and let her go when she refused.

Suitor called the concerns raised by McKenney and Troster a "non issue."

She referred further questions to Samaritan Purse Canada's media team, but did say that the organization does not currently require the statement of faith for volunteers.

Asked if that also applies to managers, she declined further comment. CBC is still awaiting a more fulsome response from the media team.

"There is no discrimination whatsoever," Shari Fenn, director of communications for Samaritan's Purse Canada, told CBC on Thursday.

Troster said she's worried the organization's history and stated views could lead to discrimination in Ottawa.

"It could be potentially harmful," she said. "If they state very publicly, for example, that they don't believe that a marriage like mine is acceptable, how could I guarantee that I would be receiving equitable service?"

Others said the scale of the Canada Day flood disaster and the need for quick action forced the city to accept help where it was available.

Knoxdale-Merivale ward was among the most affected areas, and its councillor, Sean Devine, said he was calling around looking for help for his residents. He said another organization, Team Rubicon, told him they simply had no capacity — but Samaritan's Purse said it did.

"So I relayed that information back to the city so that the city had clarity on that," said Devine. "And then the city reached out and formally asked Samaritan's Purse to come to Ottawa and to help out."

Ryan Perrault, the city's general manager of emergency and protective services, said the city cast a wide net for support and called upon both the Red Cross and Samaritan's Purse.

Devine said his first experience with Samaritan's Purse was following a tornado that hit his community in 2018. They returned in 2022, and Devine said they were "extremely beneficial."

He said he raised questions about the group's faith-based requirements when asking whether it could pitch in this time around. He said he doesn't share their views and had concerns about the statement of faith.

"I raised that question, because I remember that caused some frustration back in in 2018," he said. "I asked them, do you still practise that way? Do you still require that people sign a statement of faith? And they said no, they do not. They changed that practice."

He said Samaritan's Purse told him they have no intention of trying to force their beliefs on the people they're helping.

"They said, categorically, they welcome all volunteers and they will help anyone," he said. "We are at a time right now when we need help desperately, and I didn't know any other organization that showed up."

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he was unaware of the history of Samaritan's Purse on 2SLGBTQ+ rights, and said he understands that would cause concern in the community. But he said the city was looking for anyone who could respond to urgent needs after the flooding, which affected more than 6,000 households.

"In the immediate hours after an emergency, it's kind of all hands on deck," he said.

"If we need to take a step back and look at the background of this organization and review their participation going forward, I'll leave that to city staff to make that decision and that determination," he added.

But Troster isn't convinced. She noted that the Red Cross is already on scene and ready to provide that support.

"I understand we need to have all hands on deck, but I'm very, very uncomfortable with this organization being welcomed into our city," she said. "I don't believe that disaster response should be managed by religious organizations that have a very clear political perspective."

Arthur White-Crummey is the municipal affairs reporter at CBC Ottawa. He grew up in Ottawa, spent years in Saskatchewan covering the courts, city hall and the provincial legislature, before moving back to his hometown. You can reach him at arthur.white-crummey@cbc.ca