Politics
Friday May 11, 2007
See today's LifeSiteNews stories
Canadian March for Life Hits New Attendance Level of 7,000 With 75% Youth
By John-Henry Westen
OTTAWA, May 11, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - This year's March for Life, the 10th annual march organized yearly by Campaign Life Coalition drew a record 7,000 participants and was populated mainly with youth, estimated at around 75% of the crowd. The rally began with speeches by various Members of Parliament, who told the assembled crowd how encouraged they were with the presence of so many young people determined to fight for the right to life of unborn children.
Wheel-chair bound, and witty Frank Mountain, the President of Campaign Life Ottawa, and the chief organizer of the March gave a special introduction to the daughter of new Conservative MP Pierre Lemieux. Elizabeth Lemieux, a dynamic, young and spirited pro-life activist who was the motivating force behind her father's entrance into politics. Elizabeth addressed the crowd with vigour spurring her youthful companions to enthusiasm.
Former Liberal MP and now life and family activist Pat O'Brien addressed the crowd introducing MPs who made brief comments. In addition to Lemieux, Conservatives, Maurice Vellacott, Jeff Watson, Mark Warawa, Myron Thompson, James Lunney, David Anderson, Dean Del Mastro, Rod Bruinooge, and Cheryl Gallant were in attendance. Liberals included Paul Szabo and Paul Steckle, with both Tom Wappell and Andrew Sheer not able to attend as they were then engaged in parliamentary duties.
In addition to the Members of Parliament, Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition, Fr. Frank Pavone founder of Priests for Life USA, Janet Morana and Angelina Steenstra from the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, and many others addressed the crowd both before and after the march.
The pace of the marchers was noticeably faster as chanting groups of teens led the crowd, wearing matching pro-life t-shirts and waving signs and banners. A drummer kept beat with a favorite pro-life chant repeated again and again by school groups up and down the line. A large contingent of Knights of Columbus in full regalia was an eye-catching presence.
Canadian Catholic novelist Michael O'Brien walked through the crowd with this reporter and had these reflections to share after the march. "I felt an infusion of tremendous new hope," he said. He described the majority of participants as being "young and vitally motivated." He also noted an "increased number of Catholic and Orthodox priests in evidence." Concluding he said, "The issue of abortion is not going away and in fact this new generation is more motivated than ever."
The editor of Canada's national pro-life newspaper The Interim, Paul Tuns, told LifeSiteNews.com that he travelled to and from the March with a busload of students from St. Michael's College, a Catholic high school in Toronto.
"The students were excited when we went home on the bus," recalls Tuns. "The mood was upbeat," he said, "I feel reinvigorated." Tuns' son Patrick is the President of the pro-life club at St. Mike's and the proud father notes that the numbers from the school in attendance at the March this year doubled from last year with a full busload of 46. "Next year they're planning two buses," he added.
Several of the March participants noted the fact that weather forecasts for Ottawa Thursday promised a thunderstorm, but no rain materialized. "It seems that every year it looks like rain, but its always beautiful weather," said Paul Tuns, chalking it up to "providence" rather than coincidence.
(photo courtesy of John Pacheco with many more from LifeSiteNews.com to come in the next few days)
Back to TopSHARE THIS STORY: E-mail Print Newsvine Digg Reddit Del.icio.us Facebook
Latest Headlines
- Majority on Mexican Supreme Court Endorse Constitutionality of Abortion Law
- Pelosi Spokeswoman About-face: Catholic Church "Clear" on Life Teaching After All - But Catholics Need Not Listen
- Pro-Life Billboard Vandalized with "Joker" Face Paint and Slogan: "Why So Serious?"
- Round Up - All You Need to Know about the Democratic National Convention
- McCain: "If I Am President, Advancing the Cause of Life Will Not Be Above My Pay Grade"
- Mainstream Media Admits Anti-Family Bias: NBC to 'Gay' Activists: 'Your Victories Are Our Victories'
- Pelosi's Theologizing on Abortion is a Repeat of Biden's Own Quotes on Meet the Press
- Murder Victim's Family: Proposed Tory Bill Shows No Compassion
- Canadian Pro-Life Hero Linda Gibbons Celebrates 60th Birthday Behind Bars
- Canada's Human Rights Commissions a Threat to Academic Freedom: US Academic Elites
- 13th Canadian Bishop Publicly Denounces Morgentaler Order of Canada
- US Report: Over 900,000 Doses RU-486 Have Been Prescribed
- Jews, Muslims, Evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons, Sikhs and Hindus Join to Fight Homosexual "Marriage" in California
- Letters to the Editor for Wednesday, August 27, 2008
- Biden's Bishop Will not Permit Him, Even if Elected VP, to Speak at Catholic Schools
Most Read this Week
- Biden's Bishop Will not Permit Him, Even if Elected VP, to Speak at Catholic Schools
- Bishop Calls Modern Cultural Changes "Pleasing" to the Devil
- "Catholic" Speaker Pelosi Denies that Catholicism Condemns Abortion
- The Enemies of Life in Ecuador Messed with the Wrong Bishops
- Cardinals, Bishops and Congressmen Slam Pelosi on Abortion
- Talk a Woman out of Abortion in the UK? Two Years Jail
- Articles in Prominent Medical Journal Doubt Worth and Benefit of HPV Vaccines
- American Apparel Defends "Pornographic" Billboards
- Levant Target of Latest Human Rights Complaint By Homosexual Activist
- New York Cardinal - Pelosi Not Worthy of "Providing Leadership in a Civilized Democracy"
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.