Abortion: Scheer will not gag his deputies

The Conservative Party may say that it will not reopen the abortion debate if it is elected, but there are some people who recognize behind the scenes that it will not be able to prevent its members from doing so if they wish. A tenor of anti-abortion conservatives warns that such a scenario is virtually guaranteed, given the number of pro-life MPs on the Conservative team.

Officially, the Conservative Party sticks to its line, namely, that "a Conservative government will not reopen this debate and reintroduce a draft law on this subject". But the word "government" should be understood as referring to the ministerial team. Backbench MPs will remain free to file one. In the Conservative backroom, we recognize that "parliamentary privilege exists" and that it is not possible to prevent an elected official from presenting the bill of his choice.

Outgoing MP Brad Trost, who has been in all the abortion fighting over his 15 years in Parliament, predicts that this is exactly what will happen.

"Andrew (Scheer) and Alain (Rayes) can promise what they want, but given the identity of our backbenchers who are running in safe riding for the Conservatives, I suspect that measure of unborn children would probably be put forward, "predicts Mr Trost at Duty. "It's not a guarantee. But I know the personalities of my colleagues and their commitment. In the end, they will do what they think is morally right and defend the beliefs of their constituents. "The current Conservative caucus has 44 pro-life MPs out of 95, including 34 in the election this fall. The Campaign Life Coalition Group has so far identified 34 other pro-life Conservative candidates.

It will be all the more tempting for the Conservative Party's political platform to support the introduction of a law imposing an additional sentence for violence against a pregnant woman, if the fetus is injured or killed, and the party condemns sex-induced abortions. selective. Two positions that could very well be the subject of a private bill, without breaking the rules of the party, notes Mr. Trost. The program further stipulates that "in the case of voting on moral issues such as abortion" Members may "vote freely". "The leader of the party can not do anything, made there, to legitimately block such an initiative," insists Mr. Trost.

Disappointment of activists

The pro-life environment is annoyed by conservative procrastination. "We want clarity. A yes or no. It's not that hard to do, "says Matthew Wojciechowski, Vice President of Campaign Life Coalition. "It's frustrating and a little annoying to be in limbo with this." Mr. Wojciechowski points out that Mr. Scheer has in the past defended the right of MPs to introduce bills or motions of their choice. He does not understand today his reluctance to clearly reiterate this position.

The pro-life activist believes that the Conservative leader plays on words. "When they say that the government will not reopen the abortion debate, most Canadians understand the word" government "as the entire parliamentary edifice, all members of Parliament. So they must be more precise. "

We Need a Law, a non-partisan group calling for the adoption of a federal law on abortion, is equally irritated by the Conservative leader's recent hesitations. "We are really looking for clarity from Andrew Scheer," says group legal counsel Tabitha Ewert. There is a lot of confusion about the Conservative Party's position on this issue. (…) Canadians have the right to know before voting. She criticizes the Conservative leader for sticking to his "line" that can be interpreted in various ways.

Brad Trost believes that this ambiguity, Mr. Scheer voluntarily created when he ran for the party leadership and tried to woo both his anti-abortion colleagues and those more progressive socially. Mr. Trost was also in the running, mainly to defend the pro-life stakes, and the majority of his support went to Mr. Scheer when he was eliminated.

"There has always been this ambivalence and these statements that you can interpret one way or another," says Trost. "There were messages to bring these two camps of the conservative coalition together, and what we see today are the fault lines. "

Andrew Scheer's position is the same as that under Stephen Harper's leadership. During the Harper government's reign, three bills and a motion on abortion or recognition of fetuses as human beings were presented by conservative politicians.