The Search For Harper's Heart Continues...

CHP 's Mike Schouten exposes the gaping hole in Harper's "change of heart" remedy for abortion :

We have laws that prohibit theft of property, not because thieves don’t need a change of heart, but because it is the task and responsibility of the government to bring justice to those who do wrong.

Canada is not served by polit

icians who shirk those responsibilities. This latest attempt by Stephen Harper and the Conservatives to duck an issue they fear is another clear indication that the abortion issue will never be discussed in the House of Commons under their watch.

The hole is in Harper's chest.

Changing Our Boots - CHRC Offices Closing

I can understand why the Public Service Alliance might see this as a negative move, since the human rights commissions have been a source of employment and intimidation for the union .... :
CHRC OfficesWill Close in Three Lucky Cities

The Public Service Alliance of Canada condemns the Harper government's decision to close Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) offices in Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax. The union maintains that the closure of the three offices will make it substantially harder for individuals from marginalized groups to launch human rights complaints.

The three offices slated for closure received 70 per cent of all signed complaints to the CHRC in 2008.

The union, which represents CHRC employees, says this latest attack will have a particular impact on racialized people and recent immigrants. In many cases, the closures will make it much more difficult to challenge both systemic abuses and individual instances of discrimination.

For John Gordon, National President of PSAC, the closures are indicative of a strategy by the Conservative government to destabilize human rights organizations and women's groups in Canada.

"When the Conservatives took power in 2006, one of their first moves was to abolish the Court Challenges Program and close Status of Women Canada offices across the country," Gordon said. "Women's groups were denied government funding if they engaged in research or advocacy work, and equality-seeking groups lost the ability to fund Charter of Rights challenges. The government has also cancelled funding to notable NGOs such as KAIROS , and appointed ultra-conservative partisan board members to Rights & Democracy - manufacturing a massive crisis within the organization. The closure of CHRC offices is another example of this outrageous trend."

Canadians living in British Columbia, Ontario and the Atlantic provinces will no longer have access to walk-in or telephone services at a CHRC office even remotely close to where they live. The urban centres where the CHRC offices are being closed represent a high percentage of racialized people. In fact, 60 per cent of all racialized people in Canada live in Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax.

In B.C., residents will no longer have access to a human rights commission of any kind, as the B.C. Human Rights Commission was dismantled by the provincial government five years ago.

PSAC sees the closures of the CHRC offices as part of a broader trend by the Harper government toward self-regulation - something that puts both public safety and human rights into question. By severely hampering the Canadian Human Rights Commission's ability to adequately deal with complaints throughout the process, the federal government is relying on employers to voluntarily meet employment equity obligations and address discrimination. But with no mechanisms for enforcement, the CHRC's mandate will be reduced to mere suggestions.

"PSAC will fight the closures of the Canadian Human Rights Commission offices and continue to fight the Harper government's attacks on democracy and human rights," said Gordon.

(highlighting and linkage by me)

Naturally, Mr. Gordon wants to make hay while he can. Never mind the facts. Regardless who has initiated the closure of the CHRC offices, its good for Canada. Why should Canadians be paying an 'independent' group to prosecute neighbours for saying things other neighbours don't agree with or like.

Nothing does more to 'marginalize' or 'racialize' in Canada, than to have the CHRC pointing out with the 'hammer of Political Correctness', the supposed inferiority of specific groups.

*Note to John Gordon: If only the CHRC WAS about protecting the people from the government, but it isn't. It punishes the people with their own money, and without the protection normally afforded them by rule of law. It is UNDEMOCRATIC and ANTI-FREEDOM. The people need protection from the CHRC! Today's group for special attention may be purple hats, but next year, who knows? Yellow hats may be favoured!

FIRE THEM ALL.

Abortion In Canada

Julie Culshaw
(via e-mail)

Most of you know that abortion in Canada is legal in all provinces throughout all nine months of pregnancy. This means that no one who wants to have an abortion will ever be refused. In fact, Canada is the only country in the western world that has absolutely no law on abortion at all. It is not that abortion is legal in Canada, the truth is that there is no law about abortion at all. Therefore we have absolutely no restrictions on abortion. Most countries have at least some restrictions on abortion, but in Canada - NONE.

Eleven days ago, Michael Ignatieff challenged Prime Minister Harper on his proposal for the upcoming G8 summit to be held here in Canada. Harper wishes to address the problem of maternal health and infant mortality in the third world by granting funds to improve the conditions for pregnant women. He wants to help provide poor countries with good nursing care, with nutritional information, with birthing helps, with care for newborns, all with the intention of reducing maternal and infant mortality.

I know personally that this is a huge problem. Our first child was born in Malawi 36 years ago. That night, five other women were giving birth in the hospital in Mzuzu, Malawi. My husband said to me that night, "you know our daughter will probably be the only child alive out of these six babies in five years time."

Malaria, measles, meningitis, infections, inadequate nutrition, lack of innoculations, lack of clean water, lack of the basics that we take for granted, would bring about the early deaths of all five of those children. If any of them survived those five years, they would have beaten the odds.

So when Harper made that statement about helping the third world, it rang true to me. And when Ignatieff made the response that Harper's aid should include abortion and contraception, I also knew that he was speaking a lie.

Malawi does not want the importation of abortion; those Africans treasure life precisely because they know how precarious it is. To offer them abortion is the very opposite of what they know to be valuable; they love children; they do not need some western ideology shoved upon them. They need what we take for granted: basic medical care, basic clean food and water, and the education to show them how to do this for themselves in a hemisphere that is often hostile to life.

If you are the slightest bit interested in this issue, I would encourage you to write to Michael Ignatieff and let him know that you don't want abortion and contraception included in this health package that Harper is proposing. And for goodness sake, please write to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and thank him and encourage him for taking the brave stand that he has.

It really does make a difference if we speak to our politicians. I read today that one MP said that, in all his mail, the only letters he gets on the topic of pro-life amount to only two per year. Hundreds of letters on other topics, but only 2 on pro-life issues. Let us speak up, our voices need to be heard.

You can email Michael Ignatieff at
Liberal Party of Canada
81 Metcalfe Street, Suite 400
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6M8
Phone : (613) 237-0740
Fax : (613) 235-7208
email : info@liberal.ca

and Stephen Harper at
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa
K1A 0A2

Fax: 613-941-6900
by email at pm@pm.gc.ca

For those who have been dismayed by the seeming lack of stand on pro-life issues by this Conservative parliament, this is our chance to thank them for taking this stand. Because this statement about aid to the third world really is a pro-life stand. We need to give Mr. Harper the support that he needs to stay strong in the face of those who think that abortion is a "done deal" and that we should export it to the rest of the world.

God bless you, and please remember to pray during the next 40 Days for an end to abortion in our country. I believe that the fact that abortion is even being discussed publicly (where it has been silent for so long) is the result of prayers. The issue is being uncovered, because it has not gone away, and it will not go away until there is justice for all our brothers and sisters, including those in the womb.


email: julie culshaw@ns.sympatico.ca
40 Days For Life Halifax
Concerned For Life

Poll Shows Canadian Government Out Of Touch

Along with most of the liberal media hacks.

(LifeSiteNews):

A new Environics poll shows a majority of Canadians want legal protection for the unborn child at some point before birth. This is consistent with survey results over the past seven years.

Canada remains the only country in the developed word with no legal limits on abortion throughout all 9 months of pregnancy. Yet, almost 6 in 10 respondents support legal protection for unborn children at some point before birth. Only 33% support the current situation of protection only after birth. Once again, women polled showed far more support for protection from conception on than men did: 33% versus 24%.

A majority of Canadians support informed consent requirements before an abortion that would be consistent with the informed consent expected and provided before any surgical procedure. Almost two-thirds (65%) of respondents agree that women considering abortion should be informed of the risks and possible consequences of the abortion procedure.

“The hopelessly inadequate information most women receive before an abortion is appalling,” said Dr. Delores Doherty, president of LifeCanada, the group that commissioned the poll. “Many women who have had abortions feel betrayed by the doctors involved in their abortions and some are considering class action suits.”

The poll also asked how Canadians feel about tax dollars funding a procedure that is predominately performed for social reasons, rather than medical necessity. Only 3 in 10 support the current situation of tax funding for most of the roughly 100,000 abortions performed annually. Half prefer public funding only in cases of medical emergencies and two in 10 think payment should be a private responsibility.

“Despite years of polls consistently showing Canadians want changes in our abortion policy, elected officials in every party continue to ignore the issues or worse, shut down discussion and debate,” said Dr. Doherty. “This is a sad state for a democratic nation. It is past time for our political leaders to acknowledge and take action in line with the expressed will of their constituents. The issue is not going to go away!”...

But nevermind the people....Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn't care...its not his "area of interest"!!

Different Perspective

Not mine, but I believe in free speech so...

Leonard says:

"Yes, Harper won't reopen the abortion debate. But at least he won't try to enshrine abortion in the Charter - something that was a part of the Liberal platform in the last election. At least he won't try to force New Brunswick to pay for clinic abortions on demand - his government has already dropped the law suit initiated by Paul Martin's Liberals. And there's more to that:

Under the Harper government a series of highly qualified and conservative judges have been appointed, most of whom would never have been thus elevated under a Liberal administration.

For the first time in generations the law is open to less activist lawyers and legal theories.

Harper has taken most of the funding away from the court challenge program, which financed out of the public purse a whole variety of radical special interest groups and allowed them to challenge the courts on issues of no interest to the mass of people.

This was a make-work scheme for leftist lawyers and an enabler mainly for radical feminist and gay groups.

The government removed the tax grab enjoyed by extremist film makers, who were forgiven the taxes all of the rest of us are obliged to pay so they could make sexually perverse and grotesquely violent movies and television shows -- seen, by the way, mainly by their weird friends.
...
He's done just enough to show the right that he's more than worth voting into further years of power. Perhaps an increased number of MPs would allow him to institute more of what some of us had hoped for. Even if not, the alternative is ugly.
More >>>
Exactly. No I'm not saying that we should stick to the Conservative party no matter what. But at the same time - it's not yet the time for voting them out of power. Not until we have a strong SoCon alternative to Harper's FisCons."

Umbert On The Stump

New Opportunities Abound For Harper

Oh Yeah!

Just think what floodgates of support and acceptance have been opened up with Harper's straightforward revelation that he supports killing off 100,000 Canadian babies a year. He may get calls to appear on 'The View' ! He can now be interviewed by Jane and Peter as 'friendlies'.! Where's his 'Order of Canada'? Get the man a new suit!

I'm sure it was worth it. Really. I mean, afterall, this isn't America! Harper can count on the Canadian Catholics not being a problem. And don't forget, he STILL HAS THE CHRC to keep in line any dissidents who may infringe on the rights of baby killers and perverts to indoctrinate our children in tax supported schools.

Oh Yeah. The party's just startin' folks!

HARPER FOR DEATH

Prime Minister Stephen Harper HAS said something about something!

(LifeSiteNews):

"In his strongest statements in support of unlimited abortion on demand in Canada, Prime Minister Harper today told reporters that his government would not only not open the abortion issue itself, but would prevent anyone else from raising it.

Asked by a reporter if Harper could give assurances to pro-abortion groups, who are accusing the Conservatives of engineering a stealth pro-life campaign, Harper said that he could.

"The answer is yes. This government will not open, will not permit anyone to open the abortion debate. Our position is clear," he said, speaking in French.

Another French-speaking reporter sought clarification, asking if Harper was prepared to promise that he would not tolerate the reopening of the abortion debate. "That's absolutely correct," replied Harper emphatically. "It's the position we took in the last parliament. Our position in the future is that this government will not open the abortion debate and will not allow another opening of the abortion debate."

Concluding the press scrum, a Reuters reporter asked, "Why would a conservative government not want some restriction on abortion?" Responding, Harper said: "I've been clear throughout my entire political career. I don't intend to open the abortion issue. I haven't in the past. I'm not going to in the future. Yes, there will be people in the Conservative Party who wish I would and there are some in the Liberal Party who also wish I would. But I have not done that in my entire political career, don't intend to start now. We have a lot of challenges in front of the country ... That has to be the focus of government. And I simply have no intention of ever making that a focus, the abortion question a focus of my political career."

Jim Hughes, President of Campaign Life Coalition - the political arm of the pro-life movement - told LifeSiteNews.com that Harper's statements proved once again that pro-life advocates must vote for the pro-life candidate in their own ridings regardless of the party they represent. Hughes said that he has told people for years that Harper would not protect the unborn. "I'm sorry that there are people out there who have believed that he was waiting for a majority before acting on the issue," said Hughes. "

..............................................................................

That's it for me folks. Stephen Harper is now officially PART OF THE CULTURE OF DEATH. By his own lips, he could care less that 1/3 of the babies conceived this year IN CANADA will be murdered at the expense of the CANADIAN taxpayer. It is not a subject worthy of his consideration. Worse than that, he supports abortion. He has vowed to 'NOT PERMIT' a 're-opening' of the debate on abortion restrictions. There HAS NEVER BEEN A DEBATE ON ABORTION RESTRICTIONS.



I don't know about you guys, but Cayman is looking good today!

Almost Good News, Kinda

Good coverage on the latest chapter of CHRC 'doings' at 'The World Tonight':

"..This is a perfectly logical conclusion, but I'm not prepared to concede that the Canadian Human Rights Commission reached this conclusion for the right reasons. Obviously, the BC Human Rights Tribunal went to far as to conduct a hearing on the Steyn piece (verdict still pending), and the Ontario Commission clearly wishes it could have - so are we really to believe the federal commission is simply that much more enlightened that its provincial counterparts?"

Links to the complainant, the defendant and commentary by Ezra Levant.
(h/t The Black Kettle)

Meanwhile,Magic Statistics points out to the CHRC that Friday's Supreme Court decision clarifying the difference between 'fair' and 'fair comment' might cramp their style.

In other news, PM Stephen Harper won a Human Rights Award from the B'nai Brith! (I'm not sure how this is going to help..)

With Canada Day just around the corner, maybe Harper has a birthday present in mind?