For many pro-life Canadian, the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative parties provides an excellent opportunity to present a united opposition to the ruling Liberals. Our job, though, is not to worry about the partisan questions. For pro-life conservatives, there is an opportunity to nominate a whole slew of pro-life candidates. In the newly formed Conservative Party of Canada, all ridings will have open nomination meetings. That is, existing MPs will not automatically be the candidate for the new party. So first, we must ensure that we don't lose any existing pro-life MPs and second, we must work to elect pro-life candidates in every riding for the upcoming elections. If you are conservative-minded and support or will likely support the Conservative Party, please purchase a membership for the party immediately. Many ridings are holding their inaugural meeting in late January or early February and nomination meetings about one month afterward.

Two weeks before the nomination meeting, party memberships will no longer be sold. You must have a valid membership in time to attend and vote for pro-life candidates at the nomination meeting. You must be at least 14 years old and party memberships are just $10 - a small price for the privilege of taking part in the democratic process. For information about the local constituency association, check out www.conservative.ca or call the party at (613) 755-2000. Having a valid Conservative Party membership will also allow you to take part in the leadership vote in March if a pro-life candidate emerges.

Of course, the Conservative Party is not the only party that needs pro-life candidates. The Liberal Party will have an unusual number of nominating meetings because Canada's electoral map is being redrawn. New riding boundaries mean some Liberal MPs will challenge other incumbents for their party's nomination and that some new ridings will be seeking new candidates. In any case, pro-life Liberal supporters should have a paid-up, valid party membership so that they can vote for pro-life candidates. You must be at least 14 years old. Memberships, which cost $10 each, can be purchased by calling (613) 237-0740 or online at https://www.liberal.ca/lpc/join.aspx?site=join.

We know that Paul Szabo (Mississauga South) is facing a nomination challenge, as is Rose-Marie Ur (Middlesex-Lambton). Without our help these pro-life MPs may be "defeated" by their own party before they ever face the voters. We urge all supporters who are inclined to support the Liberal Party in these two ridings and anywhere else a pro-life Liberal is running. We may also have opportunities to defeat several prominent pro-abortion Liberal MPs who face nominating challenges; we should take advantage of this historic opportunity to elect candidates who oppose abortion, euthanasia and cloning and embryonic stem cell research.

If you know of a pro-life candidate seeking a party's nomination who is not currently a sitting member, let us know. We may be able to provide assistance to the candidate and certainly we want to help other pro-life voters know if there are people they can or should be supporting in the nomination meetings. The information you provide about candidates is extremely useful and please don't assume that someone else has let us know. Because we are short-staffed, we rely on you, our grassroots supporters, to provide us with this vital information. Action Item:

You can contact us with candidates information by phone at either (416) 204-9749 or 1-800-730-5358, fax at (416) 204-1027 or mail us at 104 Bond St., Toronto, Ont. M5B 1X9.

We routinely get inquiries from supporters asking us why we support such and such a party or why we don't support another. In fact, we do not endorse any one party. We recognize that the Christian Heritage Party is the only federal party in Canada that is committed to protecting the rights of the unborn. CLC whole-heartedly supports their candidates and their efforts to raise the abortion issue during the election and we admire the tenacity of their members to continue fighting the good fight. However, abortion is not a partisan issue, so we cannot be a partisan organization.

We support any candidate who is pro-life, regardless of party. The fact that former Prime Minister Jean Chretien was a supporter of abortion does not negate the incredible work that numerous Liberal MPs have done on behalf of the sanctity of human life; likewise, many pro-life Tories laboured to have some respect accorded to the lives of the unborn child under the pro-abortion leadership of Brian Mulroney.

What is important is not just what party is in control of Parliament, but that we try to get as many pro-life MPs elected to Parliament as possible. If the C-13 vote is any indication, roughly one third of the House of Commons is pro-life to some degree. That means replacing just 50 pro-abortion politicians with 50 new pro-life MPs would yield incredible results; future bills on cloning and stem cell research would respect the sanctity of human life, we would be more likely to have pro-life business brought before the House and if government leaders permit a vote, it could pass. The same applies to changes in the definition of marriage. You don't have to be Liberal or Conservative or NDP or CHP to appreciate that. We will continue working with pro-life MPs and candidates from all parties and encouraging our supporters to get involved in the party of their choice to help elect pro-lifers to Parliament.

So far, we have had mixed feelings about the new Conservative Party. We are fearful that a ruling elite that is not friendly to our concerns may try to prevent grassroots involvement to ensure that pro-life measures and pro-life candidates are stymied. It is sad that when a handful of articulate pro-life candidates are nominated or pro-life resolutions are introduced at a party conference, the media gets into a lather about some mythical "social conservative takeover." (I wish that we had the influence the media says we we do.) For now, the new party has enshrined among its founding principles a desire for "progressive social policies" although the term is not sufficiently defined. Others say that it means the party must be fiscally conservative but socially progressive (or tolerant) by which they mean silent on the issues of abortion and homosexuality. This has been tried over and over again with no real success because many voters look at it as "Liberal Lite."

We won't comment on the specific leadership candidates until the March issue when we will have a better idea of whom the field will be composed. While the thus-far announced candidates for the leadership have yet to inspire pro-life conservatives, the interim leader, MP Grant Hill, a Canadian Alliance MP from MacLeod, was named the interim leader of the new party January 9. Hill, a medical doctor, is pro-life and pro-family and thankfully he has maintained clarity on his pro-family stand under media pressure including during his unsuccessful 2002 Canadian Alliance leadership bid.

That Hill, a veteran MP who is not seeking re-election, would be chosen as interim leader is seen as an encouraging sign for some pro-life voters who thought that the social conservative influence would be seen to be marginalized in the new party. Some of their other early appointments are also encouraging: Elsie Wayne, (Saint John), will be the Deputy Leader, Garry Breitkreuz, (Yorkton-Melville), will be the Deputy House Leader, Norm Doyle, (St. John's East), will be the Caucus Chair and Werner Schmidt, (Kelowna), was named the Caucus Vice Chair. All are pro-life stalwarts. We hope that the party will find a leader that shares their opposition to abortion.

The on-again, off-again saga of The Assisted Human Reproduction Act, the government's reproductive and experimental technologies legislation, appears to be ready for yet another comeback. With Parliament set to resume February 2, Mario Lague, a spokesman for Prime Minister Paul Martin, said the government would reintroduce the stem cell omnibus bill C-13 in the Senate (under another name - it won't be called C-13 any longer).

News reports describe the situation thusly: C-13 died in the Senate when Parliament prorogued in November, but the bill can come back in the Senate at the request of the government. Lague indicated that there would not be any amendments to the bill. Although Lague said Martin wants C-13 passed he did not include it among the three priority bills (an AIDS package for Africa, redrawing Canada's electoral map and the creation of an independent ethics counsellor) and insinuated that the reproductive technologies bill might not pass because of time constraints. "This one is also at the top of the list but there is a batting order," said Lague. "There is a timing issue. Your guess is as good as mine right now" about whether it will pass.

CLC has heard that Martin will likely shut down Parliament in early April for a mid May election. If the Senate holds hearings on the legislation, the election call will mean the defeat of the bill. The federal government has been working on legislation since the Royal Commission recommendations of 1995. The current Bill C-13 will allow the use of human beings in the embryonic stage to be used for scientific experiments. In spite of assurances to the contrary, experts state that cloning will also be allowed because all forms of cloning are not prohibited.

CLC is hoping to have the Senate split the Bill and defeat the parts which will allow the destruction and artificial creation of human life. Martin's spokesman has indicated that this is not likely. CLC will continue to work with the Senators, providing them with the information on the advances and successful applications of ethically derived stem cells, including from skin, bone, fat, umbilical cord blood and other sources. We need you to contact the senators from your province and urge them to defeat this legislation.

Action Item: 1) Pray that the Senate either amends or defeats the legislation. 2) Contact senators from your province to provide them with information on ethical adult stem cell research. If you need help finding your senators, call us at (416) 204-9749 or 1-800-730-5358 or see the complete list of senators on www.lifesite.net.

Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, announced on January 6 that they found an alternative to embryonic stem cells. The company research team discovered a synthetic substance known as reversine that is able to trigger human adult cells to revert back to more primitive, undifferentiated stem cell-like cells. Scripps stem cells were created from adult muscle cells. This is wonderful news as it will reduce the perceived need to destroy embryonic human beings to harvest their stem cells for research and regenerative therapies.

Stem cell research is the hottest field in medicine because of the promise for therapies and cures for many of our worst diseases and ailments (cancer, Alzheimer's Parkinson's, diabetes). Stem cells are undifferentiated cells, cells that can be transformed into almost any bodily tissue. In theory, this may aid in the repair and regeneration of tissues previously thought irreparable. Stem cells can be harvested from embryos but unfortunately the process results in the death of the tiny human being.

Some scientists are unbothered by the destruction of human life saying the benefits of medical advances outweigh the harm caused by destroying the embryo. But other sources of stem cells exist that do not have serious ethical implications (see above story). However, some scientists complain that they are not as flexible and that they cannot transform into every kind of tissue. The work done at Scripps may change all that. The media does not report these successes, making our job all the more difficult - and important. This is the type of information that we share with the senators so that they be encouraged to oppose not just unethical but unnecessary embryonic stem cell research.

The Canadian Broadcast Corporation reported January 9 that Prime Minister Paul Martin was working with his senior advisors on how to deal with the politically thorny issue of how to recognize same-sex relationships. Last June, the Ontario Superior Court redefined marriage to include same-sex couples and directed the federal government to change its laws in accordance with the decision. But Martin is reportedly considering a "compromise" strategy of recognizing "civil unions." The new proposal will be submitted to the Supreme Court of Canada which is currently reviewing the same-sex "marriage" legislation proposed by the Liberal government under Jean Chretien. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the latter reference case April 16.

As we have noted before, the legal recognition of civil unions is not that different from redefining marriage. It will give official sanction to homosexual relationships and give such legally recognized relationships all the rights of marriage.

The presence of civil unions in our land will make it difficult for religious institutions to define marriage on their own terms; either the government or activist homosexual groups could put political and legal pressure on the churches to capitulate. But most importantly, on a pragmatic level, the creation of civil unions will make it difficult for the government to maintain the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman because civil unions will be so similar to marriage that activist courts would surely erase whatever (limited) distinction exists between the two categories.

To many Canadians, civil unions appear to be a reasonable, or at least politically expedient, compromise. But it is fraught with problems and sells out the principle that same-sex relationships should not have the same rights as married couples. This "compromise," which isn't really one, must be opposed. We should insist an honest, principled defense of marriage, not this smoke and mirrors tactic.

The National March for Life in Ottawa will be here before you know it. There are events planned from Wednesday May 12 to Friday May 14 for all ages. With every year's March for Life, we get more people out than the previous year and we're counting on you to make that happen again. If you haven't joined us for this important witness where we proclaim that the lives of the unborn must be protected, please plan to come this year. If you've been to a march before, come out again and maybe bring another family member or friend.

We're meeting on Parliament Hill at noon on May 13 to mourn the anniversary of the passing of the Omnibus Bill of 1969 which legalized abortion on demand in Canada. We will then march through the streets of Ottawa in a demonstration to our elected officials, our unelected judges and the public that - as our motto this year has it - Life is the Only Choice. There will be a banquet in the evening at 6 pm at Lisgar Collegiate. On May 12, there is a candlelight vigil at the Canadian Human Rights Monument, a recognition that abortion violates the human rights of the unborn. Enclosed in this mailing is a candlelight vigil pledge sheet in which you can purchase candles. By pledging for candles for you and your loved ones, you will be there with us "in spirit" and will help us defer some of the costs of hosting the March for Life.

On May 14, there will be a youth conference and we encourage all young people to attend these worthwhile talks. For more information about any of the program, call us (416) 204-9749 or 1-800-730-5358. For tourist and accommodation information, contact the Capital Infocentre at 1-800-465-1867 or www.canadascapital.ac.ca. Also, many local pro-life groups charter buses for the event so we advise that you call them for information on how you can join your fellow pro-lifers for this year's March for Life and prayer services. I look forward to seeing you there.

Action Item: CLC has invited numerous pro-life, religious and community groups to co-sponsor the event. If you or your organization would be interested in doing so, please call the Ottawa office at (613) 729-0379.

A December 5 Ottawa Citizen editorial said that it is a shame there is absolutely no debate about abortion in Canada. The paper corrected the erroneous claims propagated by abortion activists that in 1988 the Supreme Court threw out the abortion law because it found any limit on abortion unconstitutional; as the Citizen notes, the Court found that the existing rules were unconstitutional and that Parliament was still permitted (even encouraged) to write a new abortion law. However, "politicians won't go near the issue and so, with no abortion guidelines whatsoever, abortion clinics in Canada can terminate any pregnancy at any time."

The editorial position of the Citizen is not what one would hope for from an influential daily paper as it seems to support abortion, especially in the first trimester, but we applaud the paper's open-ness to regulations that would restrict abortion. Whether Canadians are open to this, the paper says, is hard to ascertain because people are not allowed to have their say; many in the media, judicial and political elite have effectively shut down any political debate about the abortion issue. However, the Ottawa Citizen's exceptional editorial is one of a growing number of signs that some members of the establishment are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the totalitarian tactics of the opponents of moral conservatism.

We'll have a report on some of these in next month's CLC National News. In the meantime, immediately renew any lapsed Canadian Alliance, Progressive Conservative or Liberal party memberships and please get involved in the party nominations and more. This will ensure that the pro-life voice is not left out of the political process (there is no time to spare) and mark your calendar so you don't forget the March for Life May 12-14. (Join us for whatever days you can.)

Yours for life
Jim Hughes
National President