On April 10, Parliament refused to give unanimous consent to Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth’s Motion 476 that called on MPs to “affirm that every Canadian law must be interpreted in a manner that recognizes in law the equal worth and dignity of everyone who is in fact a human being.” Woodworth already used his one chance to bring a motion to debate [...]
Frank Coleman, who became leader of the governing Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, and thus premier of the province, last month, was defending his pro-life views when it was reported that he and his family had regularly taken part in the Corner Brook annual Walk for Life. Coleman issued a statement on April 18 after the media reported his pro-life [...]
Conservative MP Kyle Seeback said pro-lifers need to look at the individual candidates and their views, and not the party label when deciding for whom to vote on election day. At the Campaign Life Coalition National Pro-Life Conference April 5, Conservative MP Kyle Seeback (Brampton West) said that pro-life Canadians should vote for candidates who share their views about abortion [...]
Memoirs and Reflections by Roy McMurtry (University of Toronto Press, $45, 562 pages) Late last year Roy McMurtry released his autobiography, Memoirs and Reflections, giving his account of a long and, some would say, distinguished career in public service. McMurtry has played a role in numerous political and legal dramas in this country since the 1960s, taking on bit parts in the [...]
The aging of Canada’s population and the significant burden posed by complex conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, is leading to concern about the deficit in quality care to meet the needs of elderly patients. According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, there are 103,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias diagnosed each year. There are 750,000 people living with some [...]
Maurice Vellacott Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott (Saskatoon-Wanuskewin) chose neither of his pro-life bills when it came time to table his private member’s business when the House resumed after its Christmas recess. On Jan. 31, Vellacott rose in the House to declare: “I have had a difficult decision to make. I have 4 items on the Order Paper, and all of [...]
Proposed euthanasia law is ‘unconstitutional, imprecise and lethal’: EPC Quebec premier Pauline Marois may face an election before her governments's Bill-52 is passed. The Quebec legislature recessed for two weeks when the latest session of the National Assembly ended Feb. 20, which might help kill Bill 52, the so-called medical-aid-in-dying bill that would bring euthanasia to Canada’s second largest province. [...]
Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty raised doubts about income-splitting for tax purposes, leading to a debate within the Conservative ranks about whether to abandon key 2011 election platform. During the 2011 federal election, Stephen Harper said that a Conservative government would allow income-splitting so families could save on income taxes once the government’s finances were back in the black. In [...]
CHP deputy leader Rod Taylor And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Ezekiel 22:30 Here we are in the first few weeks of 2014; we in the Christian Heritage Party, like all Canadians, [...]
Stephen Woodworth (second left) with pro-life youth from Manitoba. MP Stephen Woodworth (CPC, Kitchener Centre) talked to a pair of pro-life groups in Brandon, Manitoba in January about his 2012 motion, M-312, that sought to have Parliament explore the scientific and medical evidence regarding preborn life and determine if that information had any human rights implications. When it was defeated [...]
Eric Ames named interim leader Phil Lees stepped down as leader of the Family Coalition Party. Phil Lees, leader of the Family Coalition Party of Ontario, resigned his position in a move made public by a Jan. 16 email to members and supporters. According to long-time pro-life activist and FCP president Lynne Scime, Lees resigned to work full-time with the [...]
Justin Trudeau Resolutions that the Liberal Party of Canada will consider at their biennial convention in Montreal Feb. 20-23 include endorsing the legalization of euthanasia and prostitution. The Liberal Party website says, “this convention will be a key milestone on the road to the next federal election in 2015,” because “delegates will vote to adopt the policy resolutions that will [...]
The Supreme Court will decide whether the Obamacare contraception mandate can be forced on employers. According to the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which was largely upheld by the Supreme Court in June 2012, contraception must be included by insurance policies. Religiously affiliated non-profit businesses such as Catholic hospitals are currently exempted from the contraception mandate. For-profit businesses are still required to fund [...]
Michael Chong has tabled a private member's bill that seeks to empower MPs and caucus at the expense of party leaders. Conservative MP Michael Chong (Wellington—Halton Hills) introduced his private member’s bill, C-559, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Parliament of Canada Act (reforms), which would increase the power of MPs by taking power away from [...]
Maurice Vellacott has tabled two motions that would establish a parliamentary committee to examine the legal obligations owed to pre born children. On Dec. 6, Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott (Saskatoon-Wanuskewin) filed a pair of pro-life motions. (Both Motions M-482 and M-483 listed below) Both motions call for the creation of parliamentary committees to examine the rights of the unborn. M-484 [...]