An election is in the air, and the Liberals are floundering, as evidenced by the fact that they are 21 percentage points behind the Opposition Conservative Party.
In their desperation, the Liberals are looking to score cheap political points to rescue themselves from their political doom. They are doing so by virtue signalling once again on the abortion issue, trying to create a political wedge on abortion as they did in their 2021 election platform when they proposed they would:
No longer provide charitable status to anti-abortion organization (for example, pregnancy care centres) that provide dishonest counselling to women about their rights and about the options available to them at all stages of the pregnancy.
Simply put, the Liberals in their 2021 platform promised to strip the charitable status from pregnancy care centres because they allegedly were providing “misinformation” to women. However, for legal and Charter reasons, they were not able to carry out this proposal. The 2021 proposal was just another failed Liberal promise. However, the Liberals are trying a similar political stunt again.
On October 24, 2024, at the Ways and Means Committee, Marci len, Minister of Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) put forward a motion (#26) that was designed to score support from feminists and other woke individuals to ensure the left-wing vote goes to the Liberals rather than to the NDP. The Liberals also hope to cause division within the Conservative caucus and expose the Conservatives as “anti-choice”. It is the Liberals who are anti-choice as they want women to go in one direction – abortions. What is so wrong with providing support to a woman if she prefers an alternative to abortion? Ms len’s motion proposes amending the Income Tax Act and regulations to require charities providing reproductive health services to state clearly that they do not provide abortions or make referrals for them. In other words, the Ways and Means Motion 26 is actually an attempt to distract from their falling poll numbers and continuing scandals, hallmarks of Trudeau’s time as Prime Minister. It tries to avoid the political minefield created by their 2021 proposal and has everything to do with making abortion a wedge issue during the forthcoming election.
Reading the press release, the background briefing note, and remarks made by Liberals on introducing the Motion gives the political game away, with accusations made without providing examples to support their claim that the pregnancy centres were behaving improperly.
Moreover, if the motion had really been intended to deal with revenue under the Income Tax Act, it would have been tabled by Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland. Instead, four cabinet ministers, Freeland, len, Mark Holland (Minister of Health) and Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement), all spoke vaguely about “deceptive practices and tactics” of pregnancy care centres.
If the Liberal government truly wanted women to have choices and to support mothers seeking assistance, they would fund pregnancy care centres and adoption services. They should also insist, in fairness, that abortion clinics advertise that they do not provide counselling and alternatives to abortion.
Action Required
We do not know when the proposed legislation will be tabled and exactly what it will say. However, in the meantime, we should contact our MPs requesting them to reject the Liberal government’s political stunt, and request instead that pregnancy care centres and adoption services be funded by the government.
Government Website Provides Misinformation
The Government Health Website (https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/sexual-health/abortion-canada.html) provides deliberate misleading misinformation on pregnancy care centres.
The following warning is found on the Government health website as follows:
Warning: Crisis Pregnancy Centres
Crisis pregnancy centres are usually run by anti-abortion organizations. They often look like clinics or support centres, but they are designed to discourage people from getting an abortion.
This warning deliberately misinforms the public. The primary objective of support centres is to assist mothers to keep their child if they so choose and support the mother and child after the birth. The offensive misinformation must be removed. Please contact the following government agency by mail, or by lodging a complaint on their website:
Public Health Agency of Canada
130 Colonnade Rd
A.L. 6501H
Ottawa ON K1A 0K9
Toll-free: 1-844-280-5020
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/corporate/contact-us.html
Thanks so much,
For the Family
REAL Women of Canada