On Jan. 9, the Carleton University Students Association voted in favour of granting the campus pro-life group, Carleton LifeLine, club status. This came after much controversy and concern from a motion put forward and accepted by CUSA in December, that seemed to make it impossible for any group opposed to abortion to attain official club status. LifeLine threatened legal action and both the university and students assocation heard from angry alumni at the one-sided decision.
The vote to approve the club was almost unanimous. It was only Ken Woolliscroft, a 36-year old president of the Women’s Studies Society, who opposed the club getting status from CUSA.
Although this may seem like a great feat and opportunity for a sigh of relief, Carleton LifeLine is not quite free of the original motion. Now, it will have access to $2,000 in annual funding, among other benefits. However, at any time, this could potentially be challenged. This is because any of its activities as a club could come in conflict with:
1) CUSA and CUSA Inc.’s respect and affirmation of a woman’s “right to choose.”
2) A decree that no CUSA resources, space, recognition or funding be allocated for “anti-choice” purposes.
Nicholas McLeod, spokesman for LifeLine, said his organization is prepared to face scrutiny from CUSA because “if you take the policy extremely literally,” all of LifeLine’s activities would violate CUSA’s policies. “So, I don’t know where the students association is going to draw the line.”
Katy McIntyre, vice president of CUSA Student Services and a supporter of the December vote to not recognize LifeLine, originally put forth a “motion to amend discrimination on campus policy.” Interestingly, The Interim discovered through a Google search that McIntyre had been involved with another socially liberal cause. In the same month that she worked to deny CUSA recognition of LifeLine, she led a pro-same-sex “marriage” demonstration on Parliament Hill, as the Conservative government introduced a motion asking Parliament to revisit the SSM issue.
