“As long as I am prime minister we are not opening the abortion debate,…” Stephen Harper, quoted in Globe and Mail, April 21, 2011
The above quote by Mr. Harper on abortion should surely make people wonder about democracy in Canada. After all, if P.M. Harper can decide he is not “opening the abortion debate,” what’s to stop him from doing this with other important and moral issues? In fact, his government has already intervened along with the Canadian Human Rights Commission(CHRC) against free speech.
“The Attorney General of Canada, the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre and B'nai Brith Canada will be intervening in the Lemire case in support of Section 13, arguing that it is a reasonable restriction on freedom of speech” (Canadian Constitution Foundation Letter of April 28, 2008).
The words “reasonable restriction on freedom of speech” have become a weapon to punish decent, law-abiding Canadians for daring to have an opinion in a so-called “free society.” But, our society is not free when one man, the prime minister of Canada can decide what issues will be debated. This, I believe, smacks of a self deluded dictator and an affront to our supposed democracy. Yet, nobody in his conservative party appears to have the courage to challenge him. Here they are running around the country begging for votes and their leader is issuing statements that he will not allow the abortion debate to be opened. Do they not see that debate on any issue should be free and open in a so-called democratic society? Or are they prepared to be whipped into place, like political dogs, that do as they are told and beg for their master’s favor?
As, I said earlier, I believe Mr. Harper is a danger to freedom and democracy. Imagine if he had said, “as long as I am prime minister we are not opening the debate on the environment.” All hell would have broken loose. There would have been huge headlines across the country. The talking heads on TV would have erupted into condemnation about the lack of democracy in Canada, and probably called for his resignation. But hey, we have a double media standard here in Canada, abortion to them is a sacred sacrament and as long as Mr. Harper suppresses any discussion on it, that’s fine with most of them.
Yet, the media are always trumpeting the slogan free speech and free expression must be paramount. Yeah sure, if they believed that they would be challenging Canada’s would be dictator. They are all mostly hypocrites when it comes to the killing of the child in the womb by abortion. Investigative journalism is dead just like the children slaughtered by abortion. And our democracy challenged prime minister I believe cares more about power than moral principles. God help Canada with this kind of dictatorial “leadership.”
Stephen J. Gray
April 21, 2011.
Note: See the slaughtered victims of killing by abortion at: www.AbortionNo.org
