A while back, I had some favorable things to say about Stephen Harper , the Conservative prime minister of Canada. This elicited howls of protest: “How could you! Harper is pro-abortion!” As it happens, Harper has challenged the Canadian political class on a number of issues—same-sex marriage, the Kyoto treaty, government day care, and gun registration.
But I checked with Fr. Raymond J. de Souza, that astute observer of all things Canadian, and it does appear that the best one can say about Harper and abortion is that he waffles. In fact, Fr. de Souza devoted one his columns in the National Post to just this subject. You can read it here (via christianity.ca).
I had written, “I suppose I could vote there [I have dual citizenship by virtue of being born in Canada] and, if so, would likely vote for Stephen Harper of the Conservative Party.” I expect Mr. Harper is not worrying about getting my vote but, if he wants it, he’ll obviously have to do better. (Of course, in Canada’s parliamentary system, you vote for a member of parliament whose party then chooses the leader who, if the party can form a government, becomes the prime minister. I’m told that the member of parliament in the place I would hypothetically vote is pro-life. Ah, such complications. If you want to know about Stephen Harper, however, read Fr. de Souza.)
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