The dust is still settling from our recent Federal Election Campaign and CLC continues to "mop up" some of its unfinished political business. As we attempt further analysis of the results and prepare a video account for our Fall strategy meetings we have answered a few observations from long time supporters.

Mary, my mom, will celebrate her 95th birthday later this year, God willing, and is still pretty astute when it comes to some current affairs. But it baffles her as it confounds so many other pro-life/pro-family people why good people would otherwise vote for pro-abortion politicians.

Until the abortion issue came up in 1969, voters were pretty well committed for life to their favorite political parties, whom they felt best represented their interests for the good of the country.

But, for many well-informed members of the electorate, that all changed with the passage of Trudeau's Omnibus Bill, which opened wide the doors to abortion.

Then, when the Canadian Constitution was repatriated in 1982 and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was adopted without including protection for the unborn, it became impossible for many people of good faith to continue with traditional voting patterns.

Today, as more people begin to realize the source of many of our additional problems stemming from the Charter, such as judicial activism, the work of CLC and its constant battle to inform the Canadian public are slowly being recognized and acted upon.

As you well know, the work requires much dedication and great resources of manpower and regular contributions. Every summer for the last 25 years donations have dramatically decreased as supporters headed to the beach for their annual vacation. But the work at the Toronto offices of Campaign Life Coalition goes on, as babies need to be saved from abortion and the elderly need to be protected from death by euthanasia.

During July and August, most of our volunteers take a leave to spend some leisure activities with their families and friends. Their dedication and efforts are difficult to replace, even temporarily. So, with assistance from our summer interns, filling in for vacationing full time staff, the workload is shouldered daily and the work gets done.

Many 'solid citizens' wonder if we're making any headway in pro-life, pro-family strategies. The answer is a resounding YES! Why have we not seen great victories by now? It is precisely because the people we are trying to influence usually reflect the views of the general public and access to them comes primarily from the secular media.

Others who are churchgoers or those who attend places of worship are not well-informed on life and family issues. In most cases, pastors are overwhelmed and in great need of assistance from local grassroots supporters. We attempt to remedy this through CLC News, The Interim, LifeSite Daily News, Catholic Insight and a wide variety of methods of communication. Each of these independent media sources is having a solid impact on the Canadian public.

But never underestimate the role that each of you plays in the education of our fellow Canadians. Without you and your fidelity to the struggle, we would not have been able to hold the line and make steady gains, even if only by baby steps. In this election, pro-life voters and candidates, demonstrated that there is no social peace on abortion; politics will never be the same. The abortion topic was mentioned more often than ever before in a Canadian election campaign although the issue itself was avoided; however, we're getting there.

When anyone donates to Campaign Life Coalition, they know automatically that they are giving the pro-life, pro-family movement the fuel it needs to complete its tasks. Every donation to CLC guarantees the donor the biggest bang for his buck. We don't waste a cent.

We fundraise to supplement the generous donations from our faithful supporters because, as you know, even their sacrificial giving doesn't provide all the funds needed to carry out the essential tasks. Rest assured, things are not slowing down during these summer months, because the attacks on human life do not take a vacation.

The backbone of CLC and the strong base of its support is prayer. With a total abandonment to the will of Almighty God, the individual commitment by its front-line workers and of the tens of thousands of supporters across the country, with a fervent desire to change society to respect all human life, CLC manages to carry out most of its tasks with fervor and, yes, success.

So, although my mother and a lot of us were hoping and praying that this battle for life would be resolved quickly, the reality is that everything happens in God's time.

Now, we need YOU, our faithful supporter to help us pay the wages of our summer interns and help to meet regular monthly commitments.

We're well aware of the many summer preoccupations, but please take the time to help us here so we can continue to do God's holy will in these struggles.

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Now that the election is over, MPs, both the veterans and new ones, are settling into their jobs. One of the most important rights of free people is the right to communicate our concerns to elected officials. Many years ago we came up with the idea of "adopting an MP" in which you let them know that life and family issues are vitally important to you as a voter and to educate them on the issues. You should write letters, fax, email and call your MP regularly about concerns you have on the issues of the day. But nothing beats a personal visit to an MP at his or her constituency office. Here are several helpful reminders:

1) Go in pairs so that one take a record of what is said. There is safety in numbers - it will give you more confidence and you have someone to back up your side of the story if there is ever a problem.

2) Be polite but firm. A forceful case made with a friendly smile and courteous demeanour, will go a long way to making our case and it never does any good to close the door - MPs won't want to see you again if you are rude. (For that matter, neither do most other people.)

3) Provide information (which can be taken from our newsletters, The Interim, LifeSite Daily News or other pro-life resources) not just opinion.

4) Let them know that come election time, life issues determine who you vote for and otherwise support.

5) Don't forget to let your MPs know when they do something good. Congratulate them when they make a stand for life and family in the public square. But don't be afraid to let them know when they need to be corrected.

The election is not the end of our political activities, but the beginning. It is important for all pro-lifers to contact their MPs and urge them to stand up for life and family in the upcoming session of Parliament.

We are extremely disappointed with the cabinet Paul Martin selected for himself and announced on July 20. How bad is it? Even the Toronto Star noted that it tilted to the left. While every cabinet position is important, there are a half dozen that are especially worth watching and in each such portfolio, pro-abortion and anti-family MPs filled the post. The two most important are Health and Justice. Martin named former NDP British Columbia premier Ujjal Dosanjh the new Health Minister. Dosanjh might very well be the most pro-abortion politician in Canada. In 2001, in the waning days of his provincial government, Dosanjh attempted to make abortion even easier to get. Furthermore, he centralized control of hospitals by eliminating local hospital boards because pro-lifers were having too much influence on them. He was also a vocal supporter of the province's bubble zone laws which limited the free speech rights of pro-lifers near abortuaries. Irwin Cotler remains in the Justice portfolio where he no doubt will be responsible for promoting the government's plans for same-sex "marriage". During the election campaign, Cotler reiterated his long-standing support for redefining marriage to include homosexuals. We anxiously await the decision from the Supreme Court on the reference case brought before them by the government to see if their extending marriage rights to homosexuals passes constitutional muster. But, please, don't expect too much.

Other appointments of concern are Aileen Carroll to International Cooperation which overseas Canada's foreign aid (where money is often distributed to international depopulation schemes), Pierre Pettigrew as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Bennett as the Secretary of State for Public Health and Tony Ianno as Secretary of State for Children and Caregivers. All of these cabinet ministers are pro-abortion and anti-family.

Only three known pro-lifers made it to cabinet, although none affects life and family issues: Albina Guarnieri was named Minister of Veterans Affairs, Andy Scott was moved to Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Joe Volpe stays at his Human Resources post. We hope that Martin does not crack the whip on his MPs, who although cabinet ministers, must be allowed to vote according to their consciences on moral issues.

Ujjal Dosanjh's first promise as the new Minister of Health was to clamp down on privatization; we are very skeptical whether this would include private abortuaries which have long been spared criticism from many of those who worry about the encroaching privatization of health care services within our public system. CLC British Columbia President John Hof found Dosanjh's claim to want to curb private facilities to be incredulous. "For him to claim that he will be stopping the 'for profit privatization' of healthcare in Canada is a joke. As Premier of B.C. he promoted and encouraged for profit, private abortion mills. He even went so far as to protect the profiteers of these facilities by abrogating the civil rights of anyone who opposed" them. Hof continued: "Dosanjh will be hard pressed to explain his legacy of protection and support" of these private abortuaries "as he tries to shut down MRI clinics across the country." Well, it certainly would show what his priorities are.

On July 8, a National Post headline screamed that Conservative leader Stephen Harper was going to move the party to the centre, a move that will upset social conservatives and even small-government libertarians (many of whom were disappointed with Harper's "issueless election"). Some cynics see the "move to the centre" as a calculated effort to minimize the influence of pro-life and pro-family activists within the party. After the election, most media coverage blamed the "gaffes" of pro-lifers during the campaign for the Conservative Party loss, never mind that social conservatives in both the Conservative and Liberal parties improved their lot, with many winning by bigger margins than they did in 2000. According to the Post (and later other media outlets), a leak from the first Conservative caucus meeting after the June 28 election indicated that Harper told his MPs that he would move the party to the centre in order to make a big breakthrough in Ontario where, the media mythology has it, moderate voters are uninterested in the abortion and same-sex "marriage" issues. According to the paper, "he wants to put a more moderate stamp on the party." Moderate often is media-speak for total acceptance of the gay and pro-abortion agenda. Several Conservative MPs deny the reports saying that the media is spinning its own agenda.

This is all disheartening if true. It is clear to honest observers that being pro-life is not an impediment to electoral success; there is no need to hide or, worse, banish any semblance of social conservatism from the party. Indeed, the three candidates who are blamed for the party's poor showing - Cheryl Gallant, Randy White and Rob Merrifield - all soundly defeated their political opponents. Some backroom strategist might be willfully blind to the lesson that principled opposition to abortion and same-sex "marriage" is an electoral advantage; or they might just misread the political landscape and erroneously suggest the party hug the mushy middle. While Harper, who is not pro-life, might be getting such advice, we are skeptical that these stories are true. Numerous MPs have told us that the media reports paid no resemblance to the actual meeting that they attended. There could be a number of reasons for this: the leak didn't happen or the person who leaked the story had ulterior motives. Who knows? We hope that they are not true, but there is only way to ensure that even if they are, it won't matter: remain involved. The most important thing is that people who are inclined to support the Conservatives remain active within the party. While the party postponed indefinitely its policy convention scheduled for this Fall, saying they are instead preparing for the next federal election, it is vital that the grassroots work to ensure the nomination of pro-life candidates at the local level. The party will have difficulty ridding itself of social conservatives if its base and pro-life MPs stand firm on the issues.

There is still time to let the federal government know you oppose the reclassification of the so-called morning-after pill. In May, Health Canada announced it would allow the drug, formally known as levonorgestrel, to be available over-the-counter at pharmacies without a doctor's prescription after it had "consulted" with the public. Pro-lifers oppose easy access for the MAP because it is an abortifacient and can seriously imperil the health of the woman using it.

The pro-life movement has rightly maintained that the morning-after pill is an abortifacient because it prevents implantation, not fertilization, by making the lining of the uterus inhospitable to the newly formed embryo. Please let Health Canada know they must not allow this dangerous drug to be distributed over-the-counter.

The Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF), the life issues branch of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote a letter to the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPA) asking that pharmacists inform clients of the abortive potential of the Morning After Pill. The letter, signed by COLF chairman Bishop Pierre Morissette of Baie Comeau, also requests the "Association's position on respecting the freedom of conscience and religion of pharmacists who do not wish to distribute this pill" and notes the health risks of the pill. In recent years, the CPA has become an advocate of pharmacists distributing the morning-after pill without a doctor's prescription. Bishop Morissette writes, "Genetic science demonstrates clearly that human life begins at conception, not implantation." The letter requests that CPA members inform women seeking the MAP of its true, abortive nature, saying it would be a terrible tragedy for women to learn after the fact that they may have unwittingly aborted their babies.

After years of steadfastly refusing to pay for abortions at private abortuaries in the province, the Manitoba government has caved in and agreed to fund the "Jane's Clinic", which was bought from Henry Morgentaler earlier this year by a pro-abortion group. Morgentaler sold after years of trying to pressure successive governments in the province to cover the full abortion fees, which usually exceed $500 per "procedure." Last year, the Morgentaler facility committed 370 of the provinces 3,000 abortions. This year, "Jane's Clinic" filed suit against the government of Gary Doer to force it to fund their abortuary. The government backed down and began paying the full abortion fee beginning July 1. Immediately upon learning of this tragedy, Campaign Life Coalition Manitoba began a petition drive to reverse the decision. CLC Manitoba will also continue its once-a-week pro-life witness outside the abortuary. Meanwhile, the NDP Manitoba government continues to refuse funding of legitimate healthcare services in private care clinics. As the operator of one such facility said, "The fact is that our doors are open to partner with the provincial government, we have made proposals to them but they are not willing even to entertain conversations with us." Apparently, the only private facilities that most governments don't mind funding are those that kill unborn babies. What a warped sense of healthcare.

Joe Borowski was such a pro-life hero and inspiration that CLC names its award for the politician of the year after this stalwart defender of the unborn. Joe grew up on the Prairies, worked in a mining town where he was an outspoken activist, got married at 19, had three children, opened various businesses and eventually ran for provincial politics and became a Manitoba cabinet minister. He eventually resigned over the abortion issue, becoming the only cabinet minister in Canada we know of that resigned his post over principle on any issue. He later fought the federal government over abortion funding, refusing to pay his taxes and taking a fight over the Charter's silence on the rights of the unborn all the way to the Supreme Court. In Borowski: A Canadian Paradox, Lianne Laurence has written a marvelous account of Joe's journey from mining town to the top court in the country. We highly recommend this book from Interim Publishing Ltd. We encourage you to purchase a copy by calling The Interim or, if you cannot afford one, recommending your library purchase a copy. They make great gifts - for your MP, young pro-life university students, schools, libraries, etc... Borowski: A Canadian Paradox is available in hardcover and paperback. The hardover is $39.95 plus GST ($2.80) and shipping (from $3 to$11 depending on where you live). The paperback is is $24.95 plus GST ($1.75) and shipping (from $2.50 to $9). Call Carla at (416) 204-1687 or 1-800-730-5358 to order your copy today. Discounts of nearly 33 percent on the price of the book and lower shipping costs are available for purchases of five or more.

It is almost that time of year again. On Life Chain Sunday, October 3, pro-lifers from across the country will participate in a silent, peaceful, pro-life witness, for one hour. Last year, at least 18,000 Canadians testified to the injustice of abortion and the harm that it does as people coast to coast held signs with one of four simply worded messages: "Abortion Kills Children," "Abortion Harms Women," "Adoption the Loving Option" and "Jesus Forgives and Heals." There is no need to engage passers-by in conversation and in most locations, participants are encouraged to pray silently for the hour; this is silent witness, not a confrontational approach to the issue.

The importance of this witness is twofold. First, it sends the messages of the four aforementioned signs. As Life Chains occur at major intersections on a Sunday afternoon in hundreds of communities, millions of Canadians are exposed to truths that are too often censored by the mainstream media. Second, our witness sends a message that tens of thousands of Canadians stand with their unborn brothers and sisters. When politicians or the media claim we have social peace on abortion, our witness exclaims "no we don't!" For the time and location of the Life Chain in your community call your local pro-life group. In the Toronto area, which last year featured more than 40 Life Chains, call Maria at our Toronto offices at (416) 204-9749.

Election time is always an exciting time to be involved with Campaign Life Coalition. The pace is accelerated, the commitment is constant, and the team work is rousing. Would you like to become more involved with Campaign Life Coalition particularly at election time? We need you. Send us your name and contact information and we will gladly bring you on the team. Be sure to let us know to which federal riding you belong. Another federal election may not be far off and we are organizing our team now. Come join us. Contact CLC at 1-800-730-5358 or (416) 204-9749.

Yours for life
Jim Hughes
National President

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