In light of American news about the potential reversal of Roe v. Wade, it’s important that Canadians do not get smug or complacent about abortion access here. The issues in Canada are very different, as the main barriers to abortion are funding and lack of access outside of urban centres, rather than criminality. Additionally, there are many institutional features in Canada that protect us from a lot of what has happened in the U.S.
However, that doesn’t mean that everything is going great here, or that there is no reason to remain vigilant.
For starters, the anti-choice movement in Canada is extremely well organized and openly boasts about wanting to influence the political process in order to roll back abortion rights in this country.
There is also a lot Canada can be doing to improve access to abortion services. While the bulk of abortion accessibility lies within the jurisdiction of the provinces, there are certainly steps the federal Liberals should be taking in order to improve access, such as making good on a campaign promise and enshrining abortion into the Canada Health Act.
It is also an undeniable fact that out of the two parties ever in contention to form government in this country, one of them actively courts the anti-choice vote. Yet for some reason to acknowledge this point leads to accusations of playing wedge politics — not just from Conservatives, but also many legacy political reporters and pundits alike.
Under Stephen Harper, the Conservatives refused to fund abortions in our foreign aid, and the official Conservative party policy still states that “abortion should be explicitly excluded from Canada’s maternal and child health program in countries where Canadian aid is delivered.” The Liberals reversed this when they formed government. It is not some “gotcha” game to ask Conservatives if they would reinstate the ban, as stated in their party’s policy.
Conservative party policy also problematically calls for the expansion of conscience rights for doctors and other health-care workers by getting rid of effective referrals, and “supports conscience rights for doctors, nurses and others to refuse to participate in, or refer their patients for abortion, assisted suicide, or euthanasia.” This was echoed in the last campaign platform for the Conservatives under former leader Erin O’Toole.
It is not wedge politics to point out the Conservative approach to conscience rights would make abortion access invariably worse. Nor is it being divisive to note that the Conservative view on expanding conscience rights goes directly against legal precedent in this country, including a 2019 decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal that found doctors still had a duty to refer their patients for medical assistance in dying, even if they had a religious or moral objection.
Over the past decade, the Conservatives have been the only major federal party to introduce private members’ bills or motions that seek to restrict abortion; just last year, a majority of the Conservative caucus voted in favour of curtailing abortion access. It is not nefarious partisan chicanery to point any of this out — those are just the facts.
The next leader of the Conservatives needs to figure out where they stand on abortion. One doesn’t have to agree with Leslyn Lewis’ views to acknowledge that she at least has the integrity to be truthful and direct. Conservatives want to be able to explicitly court the anti-choice vote, and they want to be able to do so without ever having to address this with the vast majority of Canadians who support a woman’s right to choose.
Canadians aren’t divided on the issue of abortion, but the Conservative party is. Until they figure out how not to be, it’s fair game to point it out.
Supriya Dwivedi is a Liberal commentator who works as senior counsel for Enterprise Canada and is the director of policy and engagement at the Centre for Media, Technology, and Democracy. She is a contributing columnist for the Star. Twitter: @supriyadwivedi
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
