A bit of a levity occurred when a reporter of the press conference to announce the official formation of the Family Coalition Party recently, mistook Donald C. MacDonald (a former leader of the Ontario New Democratic party and now the Chairman of the Commission on Election Finances) as a candidate for the new party

11,000 signatures

Mr. MacDonald was sitting beside Don Pennell the interim leader of the newly-formed party that had just turned in over 11,000 signatures in order to obtain official statues as a political party in Ontario. Mr. MacDonald was amused but declined a hurried invitation to join the party.

Ontario law requires 11,000 valid signatures of eligible voters, a sampling which will be checked, before official status is granted. The large pile of signature sheets on the table came under the scrutiny of the television cameras and the air was filled with excitement as candidates, party officials and media looked on.

In a fighting speech, Don Pennell charged that that the three mainstream Ontario provincial parties no longer represent the basic values and principles of many of the people. He said that thousands of Ontario voters feel that they have been disenfranchised.

Pro-family values

The family Coalition Party, he says, will give voters an opportunity to vote for men and women who represent tradition, pro-life and pro-family values.

Mr. Pennell said that 76 per cent of MPs elected in the last provincial election promised their constituents that they would work to close the illegal Morgentaler abortuary but instead a new abortuary has opened, Pro-life supporters,  he claims have marched by the thousands, picketed, written numerous letters and lobbied many MPPs, and yet no one has listened.

Human life sacred

Men and women in Ontario have lost confidence in a political party which is more concerned about wine and beer in the corner store, Mr. Pennell said, than paying attention to many thousands of pro-life pro-family supporters who cry out for justice for the unborn.

The Liberals, he said, have sold their principles to the NDP for political power and have done a great disservice to the voters. Almost every piece of legislation passed in the past two years has come from the socialist think tanks, he charged. The Liberals are void of ideas and adopt only what Bob Rae, the premier-in-waiting, wants placed on the agenda, he claims.

If the NDP wants more private abortuaries, as well as expanded hospital facilities for killing the unborn, Mr. Pennell said, the Liberals with the Attorney-General leading the way, is certainly attempting to accommodate them.

“We, in the Family Coalition Party,” he said, “find it reprehensible that the top policemen of this province will not defend the most innocent of human beings – the unborn child.”

Mr. Pennell said that the success in obtaining over 11,000 signatures in such a short time came at the expense of the Liberal party. He charged that the Liberal government has failed to listen to the grassroots voters, who are dissatisfied with the passing of Bill c-7, the sexual orientation legislation.

“Tradition is not outdated,” Mr. Pennell said. “The sacredness of human life, the traditional values of the family and society are the things for which men and women fought and died.  The province we live in is in serious moral decay led by politicians who seem not to listen to reason.”

The Family Coalition Party, Mr. Pennell said, will give hope to those who have lost faith in the political system. For the first time in many years, the voters will have an option at the polls – a party that is based on traditional values, and is not afraid to put forward bold new ideas for the future.

The party’s principles reflect traditional – mainstream – values and center on the primacy of family life and strongly oppose secular sex education, pornography, and legalizing prostitution.

Preserve family

The Family Coalition Party I strongly in favor of preserving the family farm, expanding care for the elderly in their own homes, a recognition of parents rights’, tax policies attuned to protecting the family, Sunday as a day of rest, and a childcare system that is based on the needs of the individual child.

Mr. Pennell said that he is firmly opposed to giving out birth control pills and condoms in schools, with or without parental knowledge or consent. The claim of “safe sex” while using a condom is false, since condoms have a 17 per cent failure rate in preventing pregnancy. The Family Coalition Party, he said, believes strongly that unwanted pregnancies and AIDS will be prevented most effectively by the practices of chastity and fidelity within marriage.

All three party leaders, he said, favor the proposed pay equity legislation, which is a very flawed theory and the people are not in favour of it. The Family Coalition Party is in favour of paying women equal pay for equal work but it is not in favour of requiring employers to pay women for work of “comparable value” feeling that this could be used to the detriment of women.

As a new Party, Mr. Pennell said, “We do not have all the answers and in many areas policy has not been fully determined.” He said that his party would make the preservation of the environment a top priority. He described himself as an environmentalist, saying that our mandate as Canadians is to keep perpetuity the Canada we love – to look after God’s Creation he asked: “If you love your country and have respect for it – how can you pollute what you love?”