Former Canadian Alliance family issues critic Eric Lowther, the Calgary Member of Parliament defeated in the last election by Progressive Conservative Party leader Joe Clark, will be remembered for a long time by pro-family activists. He was dedicated to his work on family issues, despite having other portfolios to juggle as well. He was invited to REAL Women's annual conference in March to receive their annual award "to recognize and honour an individual or group who has made an outstanding contribution to preserve and promote traditional family values."

He wasn't able to escape the conference after that, however, because CFAC (the Canada Family Action Coalition) and HSLDA (the Home School Legal Defense Association) also insisted on using the Alberta event for presenting him their own awards. Mr. Lowther was a Reform Party/Canadian Alliance MP for three years, from his election in 1997 to the 2000 election, representing the riding of Calgary Centre.

Jeannine Lebel, president of REAL Women, presented Mr. Lowther with their award, praising him as an "outstanding spokesman and tireless advocate" for family values. She noted his support for traditional marriage against the onslaught of same-sex "marriage" and for the Canadian Family Tax Coalition, which was pushing for equity in tax law for one-income, two-parent families.

Mrs. Lebel noted particularly the Christian MP's introduction of a resolution in the House of Commons in defense of traditional marriage, a resolution that received the support of a majority of federal legislators. She also said that the national communications network he set up among pro-family groups and individuals "greatly strengthened and advanced the pro-family, pro-life movement in Canada."

Roy Beyer, president of CFAC, likened Eric Lowther to Daniel in the Old Testament, using his time in public office to stand against moral compromise and to promote truth. He commended Mr. Lowther for his strong character - honesty, compassion, commitment to unity, prayerfulness and respect for others - saying that, due to the way he did his work, the former MP had a tremendous motivating impact on others for the good of pro-family work in the country.

Dallas Miller, senior legal counsel for HSLDA, called Mr. Lowther, who himself is a homeschooling father, a catalyst for the pro-family community while he held public office. Mr. Miller noted the former MP's effectiveness at bringing people together in pro-family work. He particularly commended Mr. Lowther for his attempts to push for public scrutiny of the controversial United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international treaties.

Mr. Miller voiced the desire of many pro-family Canadians across the country when he expressed the hope that Mr. Lowther would find himself back in public office in the future. This hope increases daily as we watch Progressive Conservative Party leader Joe Clark continually reinforcing his public hostility to family values. Mr. Clark's latest attempt in this vein is probably one of the most loathsome developments in Canadian political history - the Tory leader's decision to lead Calgary's "gay pride" parade last month.