Canadian Federal Election 2000

Party Profiles
(reprinted from the December 2000 Interim)

Liberal

Party Policy

Although the Liberal Party has never voted on abortion as party policy, the party as a whole is staunchly pro-abortion, leading Prime Minister Jean Chretien to declare on two occasions this year that "We Liberals support a woman's right to choose."

The official Liberal Party response to the CLC Election 2000 questionnaire states that "the Liberal Party supports a woman's right to choose." This is the first time that the party has stated this to be its official position, although pro-life Liberals say that its Chretien's policy, not theirs.

The Liberals were responsible for the legalization of abortion in 1969 and for the exclusion of preborn children from the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. Since taking office in 1993, Chretien has repeatedly refused to open the abortion debate to change the status quo, which is abortion on demand.

The party has introduced several pieces of legislation in the past seven years which advance the rights of persons living a homosexual lifestyle at the expense of the traditional definitions of "spouse" and "marriage", although most Liberal MPs voted in favour of the motion supporting the traditional definition of marriage.

Through its Status of Women Secretariat, the party promotes feminist policies. It also funds the Court Challenges Program, which gives taxpayer dollars to primarily feminist activists and homosexual activists to challenge government policy.

The party passed a pro-euthanasia resolution at its national convention in Ottawa in 1997.

The party has been a leading - and some would say fanatical - supporter of the anti-family, anti-life agenda at the United Nations.

Election Platform

From Red Book III: "We're increasing federal benefits to low and middle-income families to over $9 billion annually."

A Liberal government will double "maternity and parental benefits from six months to one full year."

It will contribute "$2.2 billion over five years" to the Early Childhood Development Initiative which was launched in September of this year by the federal, provincial and territorial governments.

Track Record

The Liberals send delegations to United Nations conferences which have a reputation for advancing the most pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, world de-population and anti-national sovereignty agendas of all the "progressive" delegations in the world.

The Liberal government has supported the testing in Canada of the abortion drug RU-486.

As the government, the Liberals introduced "hate crimes" legislation, Bill C-41, in 1995 so that judges could increase a person's sentence if they were found guilty of a crime and "sexual orientation" was determined to be a motive behind the crime.

They introduced Bill C-33 in 1996 to add "sexual orientation" to the Canadian Human Rights Act as a category of people protected against "discrimination."

The Liberals also introduced Bill C-23 in 1999 granting all the benefits of common-law couples to same-sex partners and, thereby, effectively redefining marriage.

In November 1999, Yvon Charbonneau, then Parliamentary Secretary to the Health Minister, spoke on behalf of the government against Bill C-207. The private member's bill would have protected health care workers who refused to participate in abortions from employment and education discrimination.

"[Day]'s kind of like a political opponent's dream come true ... The whole picture," including "his Neanderthal views on social policy," such as abortion and homosexuality. Warren Kinsella, Chrétien strategist and longtime Liberal consultant (Ottawa Citizen, Aug. 31, 2000)

The party continues to look for support among the provinces to implement a national daycare strategy which critics argue discriminates against families which choose not to use paid daycare services.

Party Policy

The Canadian Alliance has no official policy on abortion or euthanasia or related issues.

The party defines marriage as "the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others."

"We recognize there are issues so important to Canadians that direct public input is desirable. Therefore, we will introduce measures that allow citizens to initiate binding referenda. In addition, we will also seek the consensus of all Canadians through judicious use of national referenda, both on issues having significant implications for Canadian society and on proposed changes to the country's Constitution."

The party wants to eliminate tax discrimination against single-income earning families. It also supports the rights of parents to raise, nurture and discipline their own children without state interference except in cases of abuse or neglect.

The party supports Parliamentary accountability in the consideration of international treaties.

"We will end the discrimination in the tax system against families where one spouse stays home .... We plan to increase the Spousal Exemption amount from $6,140 to $10,000. This will allow families with stay-at-home spouses to earn the same tax-free amount as families with two incomes."

The party says "the tax system shouldn't discriminate [in favour of] parents who pay for outside care." Therefore, it promises to introduce "a $3,000 per year, per child tax deduction .... Every parent of a child under 16 will receive this tax deduction ..."

"All families want their children to receive a quality education. Most parents choose to send their children to publicly funded schools, but some pay large amounts to choose other options for their children. A Canadian Alliance government will bring forward tax reform measures to allow parents in this situation to keep more of their income to provide for their children's education, while respecting provincial jurisdiction."

"We will make Canada's governing institutions more democratic: allow free votes in the House of Commons, on everything except budget votes and non-confidence motions; allow Canadians to bring forward citizen-initiated referendums ...; allow constituents to recall MPs who fail to serve and represent the people of their riding; ... allow full Parliamentary review of important government appointments like presidents of crown corporations, Supreme Court justices, and the Governor of the Bank of Canada ..."

"We will preserve and protect the family unit. We will protect the institution of marriage as the exclusive union of one man and one woman. We will encourage counselling in any uncontested divorce where there are children involved. We will follow the unanimous recommendations of the Special Joint Committee on Child Custody and Access to ensure that shared parenting is the norm in the aftermath of divorce."

Track Record

The Canadian Alliance and its predecessor, the Reform Party, have attracted a significant number of pro-life and pro-family members and MPs, but the number of MPs and party leaders who are nervous about, if not hostile to, social conservative values, has limited their ability to exercise as defining a mark on the party as many grassroots activists would like.

In June of last year, the Alliance's predecessor, the Reform Party, introduced a motion for debate in the House of Commons in defense of the historic heterosexual definition of marriage. It passed with the backing of a large majority of MPs.

Party Policy

The Bloc is officially pro-abortion. Leader Gilles Duceppe has said that legalized abortion is a cultural victory which must not be squandered, and which must be protected

Track Record

Party policy does not fall as sharply along the left-right ideological spectrum, but does seem to be moving more consistently leftward both economically and socially under Gilles Duceppe. A majority of MPs consistently vote in favour of socially liberal and pro-United Nations policies, such as Bill C-19, which ratified the jurisdiction of the UN's International Criminal Court in Canada.

Progressive Conservative

Party Policy

The Progressive Conservatives do not have an official policy on life issues, a party official confirmed to The Interim.

He also said they don't have an official policy on same-sex issues, although they believe in "equality for all" and oppose "discrimination based on sexual orientation."

Policy language surrounding economic policy and tax relief tends to focus on individuals and businesses, rather than families.

Election Platform

Increase and make refundable the caregiver credit, in consultation with groups representing seniors and Canada's disability community.

Increase the married and equivalent spouse amount to $12,000 by 2005. When this change is fully implemented, a single earner family would not pay income tax until their income reached $24,000 per year.

Introduce a child tax amount of $1,176 to assist Canadian families. This will create a tax cut of $200 per child for families with children.

A party official told The Interim proudly that many open homosexuals are running as candidates for the party in the current election.

Track Record

When last in government, the Tories tried to pass Bill C-43, which allegedly would have placed limits on abortion, but which many critics argued would accomplish nothing in practice. The bill gave the pro-abortion movement virtually everything it wanted, with only a symbolic nod in the direction of the pro-life movement.

The Tories also approved the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, without reservations and despite Alberta's rejection of the treaty, regardless of the objections raised by pro-family forces about the threats posed in the document to the role of parents in the raising of their children.

Party Policy

The New Democratic Party is officially and vehemently "pro-choice" on abortion.

The party opposes "discrimination" on the basis of "sexual orientation," and supports the "right" of same-sex couples to "marry."

Election Platform

The NDP platform promises "a comprehensive reproductive health policy that recognizes women's right to control their own bodies and opposes re-criminalization of abortion."

It also promises "amendments to the [Canadian] Human Rights Act to recognize same-sex marriages."

The party plans to double the child tax credit to $4,200 per year and "extend the benefit to all low-income families with children."

The NDP will "work with provincial and territorial governments to create a national plan for child care and early childhood education. The National Early Years Fund will be fully funded at $3.5 billion a year by 2004 and be based on five principles: comprehensive, integrated, accessible, quality, non-profit."

For people with disabilities: "Make disability and medical expense tax credits fully refundable to all Canadians with disabilities"; "ensure that all future policies and practices of federal government departments, agencies and programs are viewed through a disability lens"; "top up pensions for those whose only source of income is Canada Pension Plan disability pension ..."; "improve access to employment training for persons with disabilities."

"Strengthen the central role of the UN in maintaining peace and security and protection of international human rights."

"Democratize the UN through increased participation by public and civil society organizations and restrictions on veto power of the permanent members of the Security Council."

Party Policy

"We affirm that human life exists and is sacred from conception and has God-given value, regardless of race, age, gender, or physical or mental handicap ... No person, institution, or government shall tolerate, encourage, or decree death by means such as abortion, euthanasia, or suicide."

"We favor the elimination of all public funding of organizations that advocate or perform abortion."

"Government efforts should be directed toward encouraging families to provide home care for the sick and elderly. Proper codes for medical, palliative and hospice care will include facilitating the alleviation of suffering and preventing the taking of human life."

"Forms of reproductive technology and methods of birth control leading to abortion, non-therapeutic experimentation, and assaults on the fidelity of the husband/wife relationship, are contrary to our principles."

"Marriage is a divinely ordained and permanent institution which requires the government's protection."

"We affirm that the family is a God-ordained institution and the fundamental, indispensable basis of human society ... We affirm that heterosexual, monogamous marriage is God-ordained as the foundation of the family, and that any other form of union whatsoever is Biblically prohibited."

"We assert that government efforts should be directed primarily towards so ordering the economy that mothers will not find it necessary to supplement family income by work outside the home."

"Parents - and not the state - are responsible for the raising and educating of their children."

"The International Court of Justice in the Hague must not become more than a court of arbitration for international disputes. Overtures to strengthen the World Court by investing it with powers of compulsory jurisdiction which make its decisions binding on all states, should be dismissed as another intrusion into national sovereignty and a direct move toward world government. 'International Law' must not take precedence over legislation prepared by the duly-elected representatives of sovereign states."

Election Platform

"Our position in regard to the sanctity of life is well known ... We affirm that the issue of abortion is not, and never was a woman's issue. Instead it is an issue which affects us all, our very survival as a nation, our ability to take care of one another and our ability to compete ... In addressing this issue, CHP does not minimize the specific needs of women, neither does it ignore the duty of each and every individual and the collective duty of society. We concur that pro-life legislation will by itself not stop abortions, instead a 'Samaritan approach' to this problem is needed and a change in personal and public attitude is essential to make abortions ultimately cease. CHP seeks to provide compassionate alternatives to the horror of abortion with this program called: 'Make Life Your Choice'."

"The family is the building-block of the nation, so that's where the CHP will start national restoration .... The CHP's 'Family-Friendly Tax Credit' would strengthen families by providing $1,000 a month if one parent stays home to raise their own children. What would be the results? Families would be strengthened. We'd get better care for children: parent care is almost always better than daycare ..."

Track Record

The CHP consistently speaks out in favour of life and family in Canada's public square. The CHP has actively supported the pro-life movement, and actively solicited their support in return as Canada's only federal pro-life party.

Several other officially recognized parties will be running candidates. They are the Canadian Action Party (CAP), led by Paul Hellyer, the Communist Party (Miguel Figuera), the Green Party (Joan Russow), the Marijuana Party (Marc-Boris St-Maurice), the Marxist-Leninist Party, (Sandra Smith), the Natural Law Party (Dr. Neil Paterson and Dr. Ashley Deans), and the Rest of Canada Party (ROC) (Ace Cetinski).

CAP says it is "above all, a pro-Canadian party dedicated to the principle that Canada can best serve its citizens and the world by re-claiming and maintaining its sovereignty as an independent country."

The Communist Party is ideologically committed to the implementation of socialism in Canada: " We offer a clear and consistent vision of a Socialist Canada."

Natural health care, organic farming, "yogic flying" and renewable energy promotion seem to be leading issues for the Natural Law Party.

The Rest of Canada Party says that its main focus is achieving national unity by radically decentralizing confederation.