News & Analysis

Whitby-Oshawa federal by-election

A federal by-election will be held Monday November 17th in the riding of Whitby-Oshawa.  The by-election was triggered by the death of Conservative MP, Jim Flaherty.  

Although it comes under sad circumstances, this by-election is a great opportunity to elect a pro-life candidate to the House of Commons. There are six candidates and following is a run-down of what we know about each of them so far:

Candidate Party CLC Rating Commentary / Explanation
Pat Perkins Conservative Evaluation is pending
Pat has not replied to CLC's election questionnaire despite numerous requests made via phone and email. A CLC supporter spoke on the phone to someone who said he was her husband (Bob). The supporter was told:
"Pat is a Catholic and does not hide from being pro-life or being faithful to the teachings of the Church". Unfortunately, this is not sufficient to rate her as "pro-life". We need to hear directly from candidate Perkins. If you are an eligible voter in Whitby-Oshawa, you may be able to help us do that by contacting her directly. Tell her you live in the riding, explain you're still making up your mind who to vote for and you'd like her to please answer CLC's election survey. Contact Pat by phone:905-240-1490 or by email: [email protected]She is the retired Mayor of Whitby. 
Celina Caesar-Chavannes
Liberal Pro-abortion Justin Trudeau imposed an anti-democratic policy that effectively bans pro-life Canadians from running as candidates in the Liberal Party.  The Liberal Party Leader explained that a Liberal "green light committee" screens all prospective candidates to ensure that they either personally support abortion, or if they admit to having any pro-life views, will promise to violate their conscience and vote in favour of killing preborn children.  The latter scenario of course, renders the person pro-abortion, regardless of what personal views they may claim to possess. Candidate Caesar-Chavannes presumably went through this committee process and has therefore been rated pro-abortion.
Trish McAuliffe
NDP Pro-abortion
The official NDP policy is pro-abortion. The NDP does not allow pro-lifers to run as candidates. 
Craig Cameron
Green Pro-abortion He described himself as "steadfastly pro-choice" and said he "will advocate for a woman's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion".  Cameron also said he supports legalizing the form of homicide known as euthanasia.
Josh Borenstein Independent Unknown

He has not responded to CLC's election questionnaire. Borenstein ran as a candidate for the Green Party of Ontario (GPO). It is notable that one of the GPO's key campaign promises was to abolish the publicly-funded Catholic school system in Ontario. Anti-Catholic campaigners, like the GPO, usually justified their position under the guise of opposing a public funding system that gives special treatment to Catholics over other faiths. However, it is widely understood that the true opposition to Catholic schools stems from a dislike of Catholic moral teaching. It is unknown whether Borenstein subscribed to that particular GPO policy. If you're an eligible voter, contact Borenstein by phone (647)-692-7558 or email, [email protected] and ask him to fill out CLC's federal election survey to ascertain his views on abortion and euthanasia.

John Turmel
Independent Unknown
There is no contact info available for Turmel so CLC has not sent him a survey.  According to a wikipedia article, his political beliefs are somewhat unusual. He supports legalizing marijuana, which is known to be a gateway to harder drugs like cocaine and heroin. According to wikipedia, he wants police/government to keep out of gambling, drugs, sex and 'rock and roll'. He has also said that Jesus did not come to bring salvation in the afterlife, but rather, here on earth. He seems to believe that Christ's primary message was that we shouldn't charge interest on debts.

Thank you in advance for helping us to qualify a pro-life candidate.