Our staff had been given an extra day off for the Canada Day weekend. As I settled down on the veranda with a morning cup of tea and the newspaper, the telephone brought me back to earth early that Saturday morning. The call from a CLC leader in Ottawa asked the question “Were you aware that Henry Mortgentaler will be receiving the Order of Canada?” I was told the announcement was arranged to be made on Monday June 30 on the eve of Canada Day. Within minutes, once the full impact of what was happening settled in, CLC had mobilized key players.

Our National Organizer, Mary Ellen Douglas of Kingston, who was going to spend time planning the upcoming wedding of her younger daughter, instead worked on a media release that would go across the country before noon. Deny Dieleman, our Toronto office manager, set the wheels in motion to properly distribute the release to all the media.

John Henry Westen, editor of LifesiteNews was contacted at the cottage of his in-laws, beginning a much needed four days rest in the company of his wife Dianne and seven children. He got out of the lake and listened with incredulity to what was unfolding before settling down to spread the word. Steve Jalsevac answered his cell phone en route to a wedding as they quickly discussed the role that LifesiteNews could play.

By mid-afternoon, Mary Ellen was giving media interviews and attempting to contact CLC National leaders with the news. Quite simply, the media wouldn’t believe it and we couldn’t corroborate it, without identifying our sources, which we refused to do.

A late night email on Friday from the Prime Minister’s office to members of the Conservative Caucus indicated that the country’s most notorious abortionist would receive this award. The fear on the part of the PMO was that the public might perceive that the award was being bestowed on Mortgentaler, by the Government and not by a committee led by Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverly McLauchlin.

LifeSiteNews published an article on Sunday alerting Canadians about the impending announcement from the Governor General and giving detailed information about who to contact to immediately protest the decision. Another article on Monday confirmed that the information about the award was indeed accurate and two more articles were published on the holiday Tuesday. In all, LifeSiteNews has published over 40 articles to date on the issue.

Before the announcement was made public on Canada Day, the Rideau Hall phone lines were so jammed, that incredibly, the Governor General’s office began referring callers back to our national organizer, because her phone number appeared on CLC’s Media Release.

CLC further learned that four Conservative MPs were attempting to rally their colleagues to de-fuse the situation by sending an email, containing the names of over 50 Conservative MPs opposed to Henry receiving the award, to Prime Minister Harper.

Indictment on Canada

On July 1, the Governor General, after receiving the recommendation from the Advisory Council of the Order of Canada, announced the nation’s highest honour would be given to abortionist Henry Mortgentaler by naming him a member of the Order of Canada, along with about two dozen other and more deserving candidates (philanthropists, businessmen, educators, scientists, etc…). In some ways, this was long expected – he has gathered numerous honours including honourary doctorates at universities – but that doesn’t make it any less offensive for many Canadians who recognize abortion as the taking of a human life.

More than anyone else, Mortgentaler is responsible for the current Canadian legal situation of no law restricting or regulating abortion. He is in fact one of the architects of the Culture of Death. It is impossible for Morgentaler to be awarded the Order of Canada without it being seen it as an official endorsement of abortion.

The process for choosing such honorees is shrouded in secrecy, so we have to rely on information that has been made public, rumours that were reported and friendly sources within Parliament who passed on information received. It is public knowledge that there are 11 members of the Advisory Council including chairperson Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada; bioethicist Patricia Baird; Kevin Lynch, Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Government (and one of the two government appointees); Karen Kain, artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada. Their proceedings are secret although it has been widely reported that at least the two government representatives on the council opposed giving Morgentaler the Order of Canada; it is thought to be unusual if not unprecedented for an appointment to not be unanimous.

Whoever opposed the honour deserves to be lauded; however, it appears that these two individuals did not also object to the normal Order of Canada Advisory Council procedure being altered to ensure Morgentaler’s award – that is they did not vigorously oppose the unprecedented non-unanimous award and acceded to Justice McLachlin’s decision to hold a simple majority vote as the basis to recommend Morgentaler for the Order of Canada. It is not public what that vote was although it has been repeated in a number of media reports that the vote was 7-2 for Morgentaler. Whatever happened, it is clear is that the normal process was circumvented and that an unprecedented controversy surrounds the award.

The citation on Morgentaler’s Order of Canada recognizes him for “his commitment to increased health care options for women, his determined efforts to influence Canadian public policy and his leadership in humanist and civil liberties organizations.” In other words, he is being recognized for his abortion advocacy, which included flagrantly breaking the law, being arrested numerous times, and serving time in jail.

Undoubtedly, his supporters will make comparisons to U.S. civil rights activists. But unlike the American civil rights activists who practised civil disobedience in order to advance legitimate civil rights of a discriminated minority – a change in attitude that has come to be accepted throughout society – Morgentaler’s actions led to an activist Supreme Court decision throwing out minimal abortion restrictions and a country still deeply divided on the issue of abortion.

Unlike any Order of Canada honourees in the past, the honour for Morgentaler generated widespread public debate and controversy. That alone speaks to why he should not receive the Order of Canada: he is a leading figure in a contentious political and moral issue and the state is seen to be endorsing one side over the other when it grants him official recognition with Canada’s highest honour. Furthermore, as Douglas Farrow, a professor of Christianity at McGill University noted in the National Post online, it raises serious concerns about what will happen if an abortion case were to come before the Supreme Court of Canada when the Advisory Council’s chair is also the Chief Justice of the highest court of the land. Will she recuse herself when that time comes?

The Order of Canada is considered the highest civilian honour in this country. But by giving Morgentaler this award, the Order of Canada is devalued and disgraced. It is offensive that this honour should even be considered for a man whose only claim to fame is that he is a professional killer of defenseless babies in their mothers’ wombs. Are those the actions and values we should be celebrating? As Mary Ellen Douglas said, the Order of Canada “should be given to people who have made Canada a better place to live and the elimination of thousands of human beings who would have contributed to the future of Canada is a disgrace not an honour.”

Indeed, the Order of Canada is given to individuals who have “a lifetime of distinguished service” which has “enriched the lives of others.” We cannot fathom how abortion has enriched the lives of any Canadian although, sadly and ironically, Morgentaler has personally extinguished the lives of tens of thousands of unborn babies, his abortuaries have killed hundreds of thousands of babies, and the abortion license he was instrumental in bringing to Canada has resulted in at least three million dead unborn babies. Is this worth honouring? The public outcry over his Order of Canada award suggests not.

Once the Order was made public, call-in shows displayed the outrage of average Canadians to this mockery or debasing of Canada’s highest award. CLC created an on-line petition on behalf of Silent No More Awareness Campaign (men and women who regret their roles in personal abortions). CLC also organized a rally at the Governor General’s residence in Ottawa on July 9, did a telephone voice blast encouraging people to attend, arranged for buses, sent emails to churches, and gave countless interviews. We also participated in conference calls with other organizations and MPs attempting to coordinate all the efforts, placed newspaper advertisements, and commissioned a poll asking “Should abortionist Henry Morgentaler receive the Order of Canada?”

Recipients of the Order of Canada called CLC offices saying they were going to return their honours because the Order had now become debased at the hands of Justice McLauchlin and her committee. When we went to press at least eight Order of Canada honours have been returned. Honouring an abortionist has made the Order of Canada not worth having.

Action Items: Contact Ms. Emmanuelle Sajous, Deputy Secretary, Order of Canada Chancellery, and urge her to consider terminating the appointment of Henry Morgentaler to the Order of Canada saying that he does not represent the values of Canadians, that his appointment is divisive and that his criminal record and professional misconduct make his appointment inappropriate. Write to Ms. Sajous at Rideau Hall, 1 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A1.

Also, write to the Governor General, stating your opposition to this appointment to Her Excellency the Right Honourable, Michaelle Jean at the same address
as above.

Please also write to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to express your opposition to Morgentaler’s honour but also to urge the Prime Minister to set up a committee to look at how the process of appointing members to the Order of Canada works with the goal of providing greater transparency and accountability.

In May, Linda Gibbons was arrested after witnessing against abortion outside the Scott abortuary in Toronto. She was charged with disobeying an officer and is in the Vanier Centre for Women in Milton, Ontario, awaiting trial. During her witness, she placed tiny headless dolls on the doorstep of the abortion mill symbolizing what happens inside the facility. When the police came, she refused to abide by the Sheriff’s order to move outside the 30-foot bubble zone. The bubble zone is maintained despite the fact that the injunction was supposedly a temporary measure requested in 1994 by then NDP Attorney General Marion Boyd.

Ms.Gibbons usually does not speak with the arresting officer and goes limp when she is arrested, forcing the police to lift her off the ground and into the police car. This time, however, she co-operated. She told friends that at her age she didn’t feel like being forcefully handled – although it is notable that after a long absence (about eight years) she has resumed witnessing to the injustice of abortion.

Action Item: Send letters of support and encouragement to Linda Gibbons, Vanier Institute for Women, 665 Martin St., P.O. 1040, Milton, Ont., L9T 5E6.

A headline in the June 22 Toronto Sun declared “We’re a ‘pro-choice country’,” and the sub-head claimed 91% of Canadians support abortion “but are split on who should foot the bill.” That is a pretty astonishing declaration and shocking number, out of line with every other poll we’ve seen on the issue in Canada. But the headline writers cherry-picked their facts to leave an incredibly misleading impression. The Angus-Reid poll found that 91% of respondents approved of abortion in all or some circumstances and 5% would re-criminalize abortion in all circumstances. The Sun compared apples and oranges to present a highly misleading picture of public opinion on the issue.

That 91% still seems high, but a more nuanced and accurate rendering of the figures would show a much deeper ambiguity on the issue. About one in four (22%) support abortion only in cases of rape, incest and medical emergencies and another 7% support abortion when it is necessary to save the life of the mother. These are quite rare cases, although they are always offered as the heart-wrenching cases for which abortion “must” be permitted. According to U.S. data from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, such cases constitute at most 1-2% of abortions.

It is safe to assume it is not significantly higher in Canada and thus a sizable portion of the 91% alluded to in the headline oppose abortion in about 98% of all cases. When the nuances are teased out, one discovers that the country is slightly more pro-abortion (50% in favour of all abortions in Ontario and B.C.) according to the polls. On the issue of funding, the country is less supportive. Forty-four percent of respondents think abortion should only be publicly paid for in medical emergencies and 4% think abortion should never be funded with taxpayer dollars.

The only source quoted in the story, other than the poll, is Carolyn Egan, a spokesman for the Ontario Coalition of Abortion Clinics, who provided the headline quote when she claimed “there is no doubt” that Canada “is a very solidly pro-choice country.” She said the polls show “we’re moving beyond” the debate. Perhaps that’s why reporter Bryn Weese did not feel the need to contact a pro-life group for comment on the poll. But there is a difference between a debate that has been settled and a debate that is being squelched. The details of the poll show an ambiguity that is not reflected in the lack of abortion law today. The debate is far from over.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission has notified Catholic Insight, the monthly magazine of news and analysis edited by Fr. Alphonse de Valk, that it is dismissing the case and closing the file on a February 2007 complaint against him and the magazine by Edmonton gay activist Rob Wells. The Commission said it was doing so because the material Wells cited as offensive “is not likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt based on sexual orientation.” It added that “the file on this matter has now been closed.” This is the good news. The bad news is that Wells could appeal the decision to the Federal Court. Also, Catholic Insight has had to bear $20,000 in legal costs even though it never even made it to the tribunal hearings. The complainant, however, has his legal fees covered at taxpayers’ expense.

The complaint, part of a campaign of harassment by homosexual activists, charges the magazine and its editor of spreading homophobia through its articles of news and opinion that took issue with aspects of the gay agenda including same-sex ‘marriage’. The complaint, a jumbled collection of allegedly offensive quotations, says the magazine is guilty of hate speech under Section 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Fr. de Valk says the magazine has never published hate speech and charges that the complainant has pulled quotations out of context from just 16 of the 108 articles Catholic Insight has published on the issue of homosexuality over the years. These articles dealt with the ongoing push within the public sphere to normalize homosexuality and, in particular, to legalize homosexual ‘marriage’. Fr. de Valk said his magazine has the obligation to address these issues from a Catholic perspective and said it was “chilling” that a government tribunal might make this any part of their business simply because an activist disagreed with that perspective.

The decision not to proceed with the complaint is a victory for moral sanity as well as freedom of the press and the free exercise of religion. It signals that religious and niche publications that take politically incorrect stances might - might - have the right to run their magazines and newspapers as they see fit. Still, this was a punishing ordeal. On top of the legal bills, is the fact that Fr.de Valk says dealing with the complaint took up half his time a s editor. This case, like the ones against journalists Ezra Levant and Mark Steyn together with CHP leader Ron Gray, demonstrate the truth in the statement that when it comes to Canada’s Human Rights Commissions, “the process is the punishment.”

Action Item: Write your MPs and demand that the Canadian Human Rights Commission be abolished or substantially changed by removing Section 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act.

The Kingston General Hospital’s (KGH) Board of Governors represents the public and meets annually to ratify and confirm contracts, deeds, etc…, and the actions of the Board of the Directors during the preceding year. Pro-lifers, who are members of the Governors in Kingston have used this opportunity since 1983 to change the hospital’s abortion policy. In 1988, the annual meeting was shut down when the two pro-life Governors held pictures of aborted babies in front of the audience who refused to listen.

In 2007, the Board of Directors effectively eliminated the need for the Governors when it decided that the Board of Governors would no longer hold ratification motions. Hospital President and CEO Joe de Mora justified the move claiming the Governors did not have all the information necessary to understand all the decisions. The actions of the Board of Directors raise serious questions about the governance of the hospital – why ask people to become members of a corporate body that represents the public and then presume that they are incapable of performing their task and neuter them of their ability to make decisions. But this is precisely the kind of games this hospital plays. From 1990-2005, each year they held a roll call vote at the request of CLC National Organizer and Board of Governor member Mary Ellen Douglas.

Suddenly, in 2006, they refused the request (contrary to the Parliamentary procedure they follow – a fact confirmed by the Speaker of the House of Commons and area MP Peter Milliken.) Since 1971, 29,000 healthy babies have been killed by abortion at Kingston General. As Douglas said in a letter to the Kingston Whig Standard, “It would seem that the board of directors is so nervous about even hearing about this issue once a year that its members are now prepared to eliminate the need for the governors to act on their responsibilities.”

Of course, this is nothing new. During the NDP government of the late 1990s, British Columbia abolished hospital boards entirely because too many pro-lifers were elected to them and raised disturbing questions about abortion and called others to account for their approval. Such is the extremism that is necessary to prop up legal abortion: normal democratic processes are circumvented to prevent any accountability for the regime of abortion-on-demand.

Campaign Life Coalition activists in Kingston picket outside the Governors meeting every year. They have done this since 1985, carrying signs that point out to those attending the meeting that Kingston General Hospital kills more than 1,000 babies every year. We have three members of the Governors including Mary Ellen, who go inside to the meeting after the picket and use different strategies each time to publicly deliver the message to the Governors that have a responsibility to vote to change the hospital’s abortion policy.

This year, because of fiscal problems at the hospital, the largest number of Governors ever attended the meeting at the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour. Twenty-one pro-lifers stood beside each entrance so that the Governors’ driving in were forced to view the messages on the signs. One read, “Receive me Lord, KGH sent me.” Another, an ‘in memorium’ sign, listed the number of babies that have been killed at KGH each year.

There was no opportunity to speak at this year’s meeting but CLC will revise its strategy again for the meeting next year. Pro-lifers in every city which has a major hospital should consider becoming a member of the Governors to publicly challenge their local hospital to end the abortion practice.

The International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec City last month was an upcoming historic event that CLC decided required a pro-life presence. CLC, The Interim, Campagne Quebec Vie and LifeSiteNews shared a large corner at the Congress exhibitors’ area. Thank goodness they were there since their presence revealed the issue to be an important one for many attendees. Several experienced workers, three of whom were fluent in French, were able to answer many questions during their long hours at the display tables.

They were repeatedly thanked for bringing the life issues to the Congress since there was, surprisingly, little mention of them during the eight days of the event. Pope Benedict mentioned the Right to Life early in his mass homily and Cardinal Arinze also explicitly referred to the issue. The LifeSiteNews team worked very hard to obtain interviews on life and family issues with prominent cardinals and bishops at the event.

They were very successful at this and the quotes given to them by individuals such as Cardinals Ouellet (Quebec), Rigali (U.S.), Dziwisz (Poland), Barbarin (France) and Tumi (Cameroon) resulted in reports of very positive benefit for the movement. Cardinal Ouellet’s comments that the Congress signaled a turning point for the Church in Quebec would also seem to indicate that Quebec’s Catholics will now also begin to seriously question their province’s leading role in the spread of the anti-life culture in Canada.

LifeChain is the peaceful, prayerful, pro-life witness that tens of thousands of Canadian pro-lifers hold annually as they stand up with signs that remind the public that abortion takes the lives of unborn children, that it harms women, and that there are alternatives to abortion. This year, LifeChain will be held on October 5 and at most locations across the country it is held from 2-3 pm. Jesus asked of His apostles if they could keep watch for one hour while He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. (Of course, they famously fell asleep.)

All that LifeChain asks is that you stand in solidarity with the unborn and witness to the injustice of abortion for one hour. As many passers-by have let us know over the years, it is a powerful witness that changes hearts and provides hope to our society. For more information, including how you can become a LifeChain organizer in your community or within your church, please contact us at (416) 204-9749 or 1-800-730-5358.

CLC National is co-sponsoring the International Pro-Life Conference “Creating a Culture of Life Around the Globe,” in Toronto October 2-4 with Life Canada and the International Right to Life Federation. CLC Toronto is hosting the event which promises to be an informative and inspiring three days. Speakers include Dr. Jack Willke, president of IRLF; Father Gerard Wilberforce, the great, great grandson of slavery abolitionist William Wilberforce; Stephanie Gray of the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform; Georgette Forney, co-founder of Silent No More Awareness Campaign; Dr. Sheila Harding, Associate Dean of Medical Education at the University of Saskatchewan; Fr. Alphonse deValk C.S.B., editor of Catholic Insight magazine; MPs Tom Wappel and Jeff Watson. More speakers will be announced in the up-coming months. They come from across the globe and provide distinct insights into protecting innocent human life and the dangers of abortion.

The conference price is $195 and that includes the Thursday reception and Friday banquet. The cost for the conference without the reception and banquet is $150. You may register by calling CLC at (416)204-9749 or 1-800-730-5358.

The conference will be held at the Marriott Toronto Airport Hotel and there are a limited number of rooms being reserved at a special price for conference attendees – a saving of more than $100 per room per night, so book as soon possible. Standard rooms will be $109 a night. Suites are $149, not including taxes. Quote code NLC to avail yourself of the special rates when calling the hotel at 416-674-9400.

We look forward to seeing you at the conference.

CLC needs a secretary for the National President in our Toronto office. The secretary needs to be a strongly self-motivated, flexible and people-oriented person especially competent in reliably providing a wide variety of secretarial services in a fast-paced environment. The positions requires an extensive knowledge of pro-life issues and a strong, personal commitment to the pro-life cause. Candidates for this positions would ideally be very familiar with Campaign Life Coalition and its work. Please contact office manager Deny Dieleman at (416) 204-9749 or 1-800-730-5358.

Occasionally, it is necessary to activate pro-lifers for immediate action. For those of you with access to the internet, please forward your email address to clc@lifesite.net. This will enable us to enhance our communications with supporters for specific action items.

Yours for life and family
Jim Hughes
CLC National President