Pro-choice and pro-life supporters have long been on opposite sides of the abortion debate in Canada, but is there a middle ground between the two? Is there a place for both sides to have a voice in the debate?
00:00:00.000Even if we accept that the majority of Canadians support abortion rights,
00:00:06.620most people in the country I don't think are aware that Canada has no abortion law,
00:00:11.340that abortion is legal right up until one moment before a child is delivered in this country.
00:00:17.700There may well be a middle ground in the abortion debate between the pro-life and the pro-choice sides of it on this particular issue,
00:00:24.520but if you ask Justin Trudeau and his cabinet, we shouldn't even be allowed to have the discussion.
00:00:30.720Last week, thousands and thousands of Canadians flocked to Ottawa for the March for Life,
00:00:35.540and many more in Toronto for the first March for Life on the steps of Queen's Park, taking place in tandem.
00:00:41.980And there were even a great many members of Parliament or members of provincial Parliament that showed their support for the pro-life cause.
00:00:48.440Sam Oosterhoff in Ontario, who said that he wants to make abortion unthinkable in his lifetime.
00:00:54.100Which does not threaten anyone's rights. It doesn't threaten a woman's right to choose, even.
00:00:58.880He says, I want to make it unthinkable. That's an education statement, not a legislation statement.
00:01:05.500And on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, several members of Parliament, like Brad Trost,
00:01:09.420who's a great supporter of the work we do here at True North, and Bev Shipley, and Harold Albrecht,
00:01:14.700decided to stand up for life and stand up for the unborn,
00:01:19.080a marginalised group in a country that says it's on the front lines of every human rights and social justice battle.
00:01:25.240I'm obviously pro-life, and I don't hide it or feel a reason to.
00:01:28.660But I'm also pro-free speech, and think that anyone, whether on the pro-life or the pro-choice side,
00:01:33.560should be allowed to express their opinion, recognising a great many Canadians,
00:01:38.000millions of them, in fact, who don't take Justin Trudeau's position on this.
00:01:41.660Although, let's look at the statement issued by Mariam Monsef,
00:01:45.160the Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality,
00:01:49.300in an open letter that she sent to the Conservative members of Parliament that attended the March for Life.
00:01:55.480I was deeply concerned by each of your participation in this year's March for Life,
00:02:00.900an anti-choice rally, on Thursday, May 9th.
00:02:04.380As you are well aware, women and women alone have the right to make decisions concerning their own bodies,
00:02:09.780a right that has been upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada for more than 30 years.
00:02:14.900While you and your party may disagree with this, it is an issue that has long been decided,
00:02:19.580and the court has ensured that no one person or politician, including the leader of the opposition, Andrew Scheer,
00:02:26.340or any member of your caucus, has the authority to dictate to women what they can and cannot do with their own bodies.
00:02:34.440Monsef writes that by standing at rallies, having a screening of a pro-life film,
00:02:38.720what they're basically doing is saying they want to roll back women's rights and autonomy,
00:02:43.600which she says is simply unacceptable.
00:02:46.240Now, even if you agree with Mariam Monsef's position that abortion is the decision of a woman and a woman alone,
00:02:52.120you should not oppose anyone being allowed to discuss it.
00:02:55.560I mean, if you're so self-assured in your position,
00:02:58.080why wouldn't you welcome the debate and prove everyone who disagrees with you wrong?