November 29, 2004

Government Approves Increased Contributions to UN Population Fund Without Investigating Allegations of Forced Abortions in China

Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) is outraged that International Co-operation Minister Aileen Carroll announced Canada will increase its contribution to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) by 40 per cent to $16.9 million each year over the next four years and called on
her to rescind the new funding for the population control agency.

CLC International Affairs Officer Samantha Singson said, “It is shocking and disgraceful that
the Canadian government should approve any increase in funding to the UNFPA without making any of its own efforts to investigate allegations of UNFPA’s involvement in forced abortions and sterilizations in China.”

The UNFPA is the world’s foremost population-control agency and has spent the past few years operating under a cloud of suspicion, battling allegations of gross financial mismanagement and involvement in coercive population control programs.

The U.S. has withheld its annual $34 million contribution to the UNFPA for the past three years because the agency supports China's one-child policy, which includes policies that coerce women to have abortions and forced sterilizations.

CLC also notes the timing of the announcement with interest, during United States President George W. Bush's visit to Ottawa, signaling an unseemly desire for this government to differentiate itself from the U.S. administration at all costs.

Campaign Life Coalition is the political branch of the Canadian pro-life movement, representing more than 100,000 supporters across the country.

Media Contacts:
Samantha Singson, International Affairs Officer, CLC Toronto and New York:
(416) 204-9749 cell phone: (416) 576-1494
Aidan Reid, CLC Public Affairs Office, Ottawa: (613) 729-0379

Campaign Life Coalition is Canada's national pro-life organization.