Knights of Columbus

Brian Cinq- Mars- Grand Knight- 204-340-6314

Next meeting Sept 2nd 1 pm

Welcome Our New MB State Life Director

Tim Scatliff

Dear Brother Knights,

It has been my honour to work with you over the past 10 years as Life Director for MB State. 

I had to fill very big “shoes” following the death of PSD Merlyn Onyschuk. We never had a chance to transition from his role at that time as Life Director – a role that he had mastered. His widow, Connie, was very helpful sharing some of his notes with me in how to plan and execute the March for Life. 

However, we have now found a much younger Knight with a passion for Life to take on the role as the Life Program Director – a position that I would love to mentor and help transition and support a younger Knight. 

Please welcome Bro. Jude Vaz, a young and very active member of Steinbach’s KofC council and current District Deputy for his region. He has a strong passion for supporting Life from conception to natural death. A fire fighter by profession, and father of a young family, he is ready to take on the position as Life Director for Manitoba State.

Thank you, Bro. Jude, for stepping up to this challenging role!

Manitoba Wheelchair Program

Larry Kustra - Program Chairman, Manitoba Wheelchair Program

The Manitoba Wheelchair program joined with the Canadian Wheelchair Foundation to provide quality wheelchairs for those in need. The increasing need globally includes Canada. The Knights of Columbus strongly supports this program. The Foundation relies on the participation of local councils and individuals. Many councils in Manitoba are already participating. Is your council involved? If you are not, would this be a worthwhile program for your council or for you personally?  

The wheelchairs cost $195.00 each. All donations are accepted (including from individuals). Tax receipts are available for donations over $35.00. Please visit the Canadian Wheelchair Foundation website (https://cdnwheelchair.ca) for donation details. (All donations are to be sent directly to the Canadian Wheelchair Foundation – not to Manitoba State.)

I look forward to your involvement in the Manitoba Wheelchair Program.

Vivat Jesus!

Larry Kustra

Former Supreme Director

ASAP Program - Aid & Support After Pregnancy

The “Aid & Support After Pregnancy” program has been a very successful program for many councils. Please continue to support the following organizations authorized as ASAP eligible for the program by Supreme:

• The Family Support Centre of Winnipeg

• Villa Rosa

• Selah House

• Prairie Pregnancy Centre (Portage la Prairie)

• Life Culture.

How Do We As Brother Knights Evangelize Life Respectfully in Our Families, Our Parishes, Our Community, and Our Country?

Tim Scatliff 

The pictures below are of one of our grandchildren. The top two images were taken with a 4D Ultrasound machine at a mission hospital in Panama 14+ years ago, 3 months before he was born. Some call it “choice” if a mother wants to terminate this child’s life, or the father doesn’t want the responsibility of raising a child. Some may say he’s not a person, yet he is exactly the size he needs to be at this stage of his development. And, he’s definitely alive. Others say that we would not allow late term abortions in Canada. Well, check out “Right Now’s” recent and incredible undercover videos HERE.

As Brother Knights, as Catholic men, and possibly as fathers, grandfathers, and maybe even as great-grandfathers, what are your or our strategies for evangelizing the sacredness of Life from conception to natural death? How are we intentional about trying our best to reach, not just every member of our families, but to respectfully engage the public in establishing protection for all humans and care and compassion for those struggling with hard times?

Prayer is clearly the strongest weapon we have! But, without getting too deep, as opportunities to pray and as pro-life resources are endless, let’s just recognize how some of our brother Knights or their children are being intentional and, in many ways, deeply committed to the challenge of our current culture. 

Supporting Our Pro-Life Youth: 

Charité Lafrance, daughter of Jean and Janelle Lafrance reported recently that: “I want to pause and express my sincere gratitude to everyone who has made it possible for me to reach this point. To all those who donated to my internship, thank you for your devoted support and partnership in the fight to save babies from death! And to those who have supported me through your prayers, thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"It is God who works in people’s souls and opens their eyes to the affliction of his youngest children, the pre-born. I want to share some of this experience with you so that you can see some of fruits of your gift. Working as a team leader for CCBR this summer has afforded me the privilege of witnessing the effect that the outreach is able to have on society and individual lives, as well as the impact that it has had on me and other members of the team at CCBR!”. 

Charité goes on to say: “…our team has been blessed to see some of the fruits of sharing the truth about abortion. A few weeks ago, CCBR received a phone call from a woman who was on her way to her abortion appointment when she drove past our signs. When she saw the signs, she decided that she could not do that to her child and chose life, praise God! Also a few weeks ago, one of the team leaders had a man come up to her and say, “I just want to shake your hand.” He told her that he and his wife became pregnant with their second child when their first was only 9 months old, and they didn’t know how they would make ends meet. They were going to have an abortion, but they, too, came by the signs and decided to have their baby! These stories are a great encouragement to the team at CCBR as I hope they will be for you, and I wonder how many more lives have been saved without our knowing it. Along with lives saved, we have the privilege to see minds change about abortion right in front of us. For example, at the very first door of the very first door-knocking shift of the internship, I met this man who thought abortion was needed in certain difficult circumstances. I agreed with him that women can be in very difficult situations when they are pregnant and we want to help them. And he agreed with us that there are also families with born children who face immense challenges, but we would never kill a born child to solve these problems. Then I asked, if we wouldn’t kill the born child, why the preborn child for the same reason? And after agreeing that all humans should have the right to live and that abortion kills a human being, he agreed that abortion is never ok! One of my favorite parts of being a team leader is getting to hear not only my conversations, but those of all the interns as well. We work through challenging conversations together, and share in the joy of good conversations and seeing minds changed.”  - Charité's full report is attached.

Internship update letter 2026.pdf

Supporting Our Brother Knights In Their Full-Time Ministries:

Brother Kyle Coffey: “I am a fellow knight living in St. Adolphe and I work as the Manitoba Outreach Director for CCBR, a national educational pro-life organization. Our team’s mission is to make abortion unthinkable in Canadian society; firstly, through street outreach and secondly, through presentations to churches and schools. Across Canada, we reach millions of people yearly with the truth about abortion…I would love the opportunity to present to you, my brother knights, about (my work through) CCBR’s ministry, our educational strategy, how we can work with your council and your parish to build a culture of life, and my financial need.”

You can reach Brother Kyle at kcoffey@endthekilling.ca.

Brother Scott Hayward: is young Knight from Brandon, Manitoba: “After being born into one of the only countries in the world with no law on abortion and working full-time in the political pro-life movement that saw little success, we realized it’s time for change. Instead of rallying and protests, we’re organizing and mobilizing to effectively nominate and elect pro-life politicians across the country, so we can start passing life-saving legislation for the first time in over 40 years…"

"RightNow exists to nominate and elect pro-life politicians by mobilizing Canadians on the ground level to vote at local nomination meetings, and provide training to volunteers across the country to create effective campaign teams in every riding across Canada. It is only when we have a majority of pro-life politicians in our legislatures, that we’ll see pro-life legislation passed in our country.” But that’s not all, check out “Right Now’s” recent and incredible undercover videos HERE.

Brother Kevin Dunn: You may know Kevin as the Brother Knight from Ontario, originally from Manitoba, who has contributed greatly to the dignity of all human life with his films "Euthanasia Deception", "Fatal Flaws", and others. He also hosts and films the "National March for Life" held every year in Canada for EWTN, among other assignments. In 2023, we had Brother Knights from all three Archdioceses in Winnipeg host Kevin Dunn's film, a feature length documentary called "ROE CANADA: The True North in a Post-Roe World". The film, shot equally in the US and Canada, asks the question if our nation could ever see a ‘day like Dobbs’. You can see the trailer and see more information HERE. 

The documentary and Kevin's work was featured in the "Catholic Register" HERE.

For more information, you may visit the DunnMedia website HERE. 

Brother Alex Schadenberg: is the Life Director for Ontario State. He maintains the world’s most widely-read blog on issues related to euthanasia and assisted suicide: epcblog.org.. Quoting an excerpt in an article from “The Interim” on Brother Alex: “(Alex has been the) Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) since July 1999. 

Brother Alex is the chairperson for EPC-International since November 2007. He has authored articles published in newspapers world-wide. He maintains the world’s most widely-read blog on issues related to euthanasia and assisted suicide: epcblog.org. He co-produced the Euthanasia Deception documentary and the Fatal Flaws…”. You will see more about his latest production “Life Worth Living” just below.

“Life Worth Living” with Alex Schadenberg

* See what Life Worth Living uncovers—and why so many are calling for urgent public awareness.

Need Additional Help?

Special Olympics Update

Richard Carlyle

Congratulations to Team Toba on an outstanding performance at the 2026 Special Olympics Canada National Summer Games in Medicine Hat last week!

Team Toba finished the Games with an incredible 68 medals:

We are so proud of your hard work, determination and achievements. Thank you to our coaches and mission staff for supporting the athletes every step of the way.

Get your Tickets for the Inspire Gala

One extraordinary evening. One incredible cause. Endless impact.

Your support helps Special Olympics Manitoba athletes access year-round sport, from their first experiences at age two to local competition, Provincial Games, National Games and even the world stage.

The Inspire Gala, presented by Manitoba Liquor Mart, brings our community together to help make those opportunities possible. 

Guests will enjoy an unforgettable evening featuring exceptional wines, a five-course gourmet dinner with expertly selected pairings, exciting live and online auctions, and stories from Special Olympics Manitoba athletes.

Most importantly, every ticket purchased helps more young athletes with intellectual or developmental disabilities get their start in sport, develop their skills and confidence, and discover just how far sport can take them.

You may Buy Tickets by emailing Mallory at: mcordingley@specialolympics.mb.ca.

“All my years of service to the poor have helped me to understand that they are precisely the ones who better understand human dignity. If they have a problem, it is not lack of money, but the fact that their right to be treated humanely and with tenderness is not recognized.”

Mother Teresa

The newsletter is usually dispatched the last week of each month. If you have suggestions or articles, please ensure we have them no later than end of the 3rd week. We cannot guarantee all articles will be published.  For July and August, we publish a summer edition. 

* While your editors endeavor to provide accurate information, if there are errors or omissions, please contact either Claude Lagacé (email claudelagace@mymts.net) or Tim Scatliff (email tscatliff@gmail.com).