Pat Maloney at the National Post read my mind.
One would hope that in a country where there are no restrictions on abortion there could at least be a public debate — especially about a bill whose sole purpose is to protect women from unwanted abortions. Remember that there is no consensus on abortion; polls consistently tell us show that many Canadians want some limits on abortion.
In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the country’s abortion law. But the court did say that Parliament has the right to legislate protection of the unborn.
Even though Mr. Harper would not support such a bill, he doesn’t have to. Bill C-510 is a private member’s bill, not a government bill. The purpose such bills is to give backbench MPs from all parties the opportunity to bring forward legislation they believe in, independent of what’s on the government’s agenda.
Mr. Harper would get one vote — just like any MP — and he could vote as his conscience dictates.
The National Post has been covering the recent events at Carleton University where the students union, CUSA, has decertified the anti-abortion group LifeLine.
There is a striking parallel between what is going on at Carleton University and what is going on in Parliament.
As the Post recently stated: “The fact that these young men and women are anti-abortion should have nothing to do with whether they are worthy of coverage. This is about certain students, CUSA, acting like petty tyrants because they do not like the views of some of their fellow students. This goes against every principle of free speech. Why is there not more outrage about this?”
And why is there not more outrage about abortion debate being shut down in our Parliament? This also goes against every principle of free speech.
Think about it: why should CUSA allow pro-life students to speak out about abortion, when our political leaders won’t allow pro-life MPs to speak out about abortion? CUSA has learned that it’s okay to shut down free speech on unpopular topics.
And where that kind of thinking ends God only knows.
As a relatively new immigrant here, I won’t pretend to understand the intricacies of Canadian government. However, I have always been annoyed that the Harper government has been allowed to give the abortion topic the silent treatment, even to the point of making the lack of discussion an election platform.
“I have been clear throughout my entire political career I don’t intend to open the abortion issue,” he said. “I haven’t in the past; I’m not going to in the future.”
Refusing to debate any topic is wholly undemocratic and doesn’t fulfill the government’s duty to be a tool for public opinion. Maloney cleverly parallels this situation with what is happening at CUSA. She asks an important question here, why isn’t there more outrage about this violation of free speech?
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Good points. It is amazing to see there is discussions as to whether or not students or Parliamentarians should be allowed freedom of speech. A healthy Country should be discussing issues not the right to discuss issues.
Just so you know, my wife works at Carleton and she said she had to walk by some disgusting displays of mutilated bodies.
But guess what, they weren’t aborted babies, no they were the anti-fur protesters. So I guess it is ok to display those kinds of images……I told her to submit a complaint that it offends her but she doesn’t want to lose her job.