On Parliament Hill

This past weekend, I participated in the We Need a Law flag display at A.D. Penner Park in Steinbach. The 100,000 pink and blue flags that were planted on the hill at A.D. Penner Park were a powerful representation of the 100,000 innocent lives that are lost to abortion across Canada every year.

Many Canadians believe that there are at least some regulations governing abortion in Canada, but sadly, that is not the case. There are no guidelines governing when and why a termination of pregnancy can be procured. In fact, Canada is the only democracy in the world without some type of legislation protecting children in the womb. We Need a Law is working to build support from across Canada for abortion legislation.

In 1988 when the Supreme Court of Canada, in a divided decision, struck down Canada’s existing law banning abortion, they also indicated that Parliament had the right to establish protection for the unborn child. Unfortunately, subsequent governments have not modernized human rights protections for individuals at early stages of life.

The future is even darker under Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government. In 2014, the day before thousands of Canadians were scheduled to rally on Parliament Hill to express their pro-life views at the annual March for Life, Justin Trudeau was doing his best to make sure future Liberal candidates would never do the same. Mr. Trudeau announced publicly that any pro-life candidates wishing to seek the Liberal nomination in their ridings need not apply. The Liberal Party leader stated that he has “made it clear that future candidates need to be completely understanding that they will be expected to vote Pro-Choice on any bills.” He added, “We make sure that the people who are stepping forward are consistent with the Liberal Party as it is now, as it stands under my leadership…”

This essentially means that all future Liberal Candidates must support abortion if they expect to be approved as a candidate for the Liberal Party.

I find this terribly offensive. As a Conservative Member of Parliament, I am not afraid to state that I am Pro-Life and I believe that life begins at conception.

It appears Mr. Trudeau believes that MP’s who hold Pro-Life views are somehow unworthy of holding public office and those candidates should be screened out of the process, which leads to the inevitable question; what other views will Justin Trudeau focus on weeding out next?

If Canada is going to continue to be a nation that is blessed, I believe we must draft and pass legislation that provides for protection of the unborn child. We need to start a national conversation, and I believe that Canadians are capable of discussing this issue with open hearts and informed minds to ultimately come up with the right solution. To have no law is not a solution.