Saskatchewan

Update, July 6, 2009: Just returning to check the comments and it appears this was all a hoax. Wanted to update the post to that effect, and say I’m sorry I posted about it in the first place.

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I’d be grateful if anyone had additional details on this story.

Take a look at the April 24 blog entry. A couple in Brabant Lake, Saskatchewan has allegedly been kicked out of their house for talking about forced sterilization and abortions amongst native Canadians, and for distributing a pro-life newspaper. If anyone has any details about this community and can pass them on, please do.

“ The people who keep their houses do as their [sic] told.” Sergeant Janes, RCMP detachment head. At 10:30 am Vaughn Skogstad, chairman of La Ronge Housing Authority and past NDP campaign chairman, his helper, Sergeant Janes and a constable arrived at our door of our house to tell us that we have to leave. We were told that we committed unlawful entry when we opened up our house after travelling seven hours in a snow storm. Sergeant Janes said “ you knew this was coming and you did nothing about it. It is not your house. (repeated 6 times) It belongs to the province. You knew that they were going to do this. The people who keep their house do as their told.”

I said that they are just doing this because we distributed pro- life newspapers and are exposing that Indian people are being pushed into abortion and sterilisation. He admitted that this was true. He said that you should have tried to get a lawyer and buy the house. …

There is a strong conviction among some self- proclaimed progressive elite in La Ronge and elsewhere that native people should be sterilised and have abortions by force if necessary. This clique which expects people “to do as they’re told” has never allowed pro- life materials in the North.

There are places in Canada where people believe in forced sterilization and abortion? I already know about the freedom of speech problem–though being evicted for distributing a newspaper is especially harsh.

(cross-posted to The Shotgun)

This article discusses why Saskatchewan has a lower abortion rate. I like the article because the doctor quoted talks about abortion in the context of how to lower the rate. A fine first step in changing the tone of abortion discussions would be to universally acknowledge that having an abortion does not make for a success story for anyone.

“It [the abortion rate] is lower, (but) I think we can still do better. The opportunity is here,” said Dr. Femi Olatunbosun, head of obstetrics and gynecology for the Saskatoon Health Region and the University of Saskatchewan’s college of medicine… Olatunbosun emphasized that access to abortions “is in no way limited” and is not the reason for the lower numbers. Specialists and family physicians in Saskatoon, Regina and several other centres are available to perform induced or “therapeutic” abortions with no wait time, Olatunbosun said.

However, the goal is still to decrease the number of abortions through various other strategies, he said.

“The people who keep their houses do as they’re told”

Fewer abortions in Saskatchewan

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