in the late 1980s. The current Adventist healthcare facilities are seniors' homes located near Saint John, New Brunswick; Toronto, Ontario; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Alberta and near Victoria, British Columbia. Health promotion, NEWSTART Through the Loma Linda University Public Health department, studies have been conducted on Seventh-day Adventists comparing them to the general population. The results show that the principles of healthful living, if followed, can lengthen a person's life by 11 years. In 1978 a guest at the Weimar Institute in Northern California made an acronym of the principles of Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Temperance (Self-discipline), Air, Rest, and Trust in God. A group of institutions across the United States advocated these health principles. Freedom of religion From the late 1800s Seventh-day Adventists have advocated the separation of church and state. Their interest in freedom of religion arose out of federal legislation in the United States which endorsed Sunday rest. In Canada, laws prohibiting labour on Sunday resulted in several cases where Adventists were arrested for working on Sunday. After the second world war, Canadian interest in human rights grew into a prominent political movement. John G. Diefenbaker advocated a Canadian Bill of Rights. He had provided legal representation for Adventists organizations on the prairies. Adventists considered him a friend. Lawyer Darren L. Michaels led the Canadian SDA Church to add their voice to those advocating the passage of a Canadian Bill of Rights. Michaels reported the issues involved to Adventist via their church paper, the Canadian Union Messenger. Membership statistics The Presidents The Canadian Union (For a brief time, the Eastern Canadian church continued to be called the Canadian Union while in West, the Western Canadian Union had been established.) W. H. Thurston, 1901–1909 W. H. Thurston, born November 14, 1855, at Kingston, Wisconsin. He entered his first ministerial work there around 1890. He served as a Wisconsin Tract Society district director and then helped two more experienced preachers with tent evangelism. In 1894, he and his wife sailed to Brazil along with F. W. Westphal and his wife, who were going to Argentina. The Thurstons were one of the firsts Adventists to work in Brazil. At the 1901 General Conference W. H. Thurston related stories of the work in Brazil. After the 1901 General Conference, he was asked to serve as head of the newly formed Canadian Union Conference covering, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime provinces. Administrative highlights include: the