Monday February 23, 2004
Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Claims Abortion and Homosexuality Are "Canadian Values"
OTTAWA, February 23, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Bill Graham, Canada's minister of Foreign Affairs, in a speech to the Kroeger Leadership Forum, claimed the pro-abortion, anti-family position as that of most Canadians. The speech focused on the improvements of Canada's relations with the US since the dispute over Canadian involvement in the war in Iraq.
Near the end of the speech Graham related questions put to him by representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations working at the UN at an annual government human rights meeting. Graham said one questioner asked him "whether we were prepared to compromise our strong international support for sexual and reproductive rights for women, and for freedom from discrimination for gays and lesbians."
Graham responded, "the answer to that is no. The U.S. has its own reasons for its positions on these issues, and we take different positions reflecting the values of our own citizens." He went on to claim these as "deeply held commitments that reflect Canadian values" but did not mention that there is in fact deep division among Canadians on these "values". Much of the advance of abortion and homosexuality in Canada has been imposed by court-made law, forcing elected government members to vote the will of the party elites and decades of media and institutional propagandizing of the public.
Said Graham, "We are going ahead in asking the Supreme Court to rule on issues concerning equality rights with respect to the definition of marriage. On the international stage, we will continue working to support multilateral initiatives such as the International Criminal Court."
Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition responded, "(Graham) refuses to acknowledge that the majority of Canadians in poll after poll want some limitations on abortion. He is merely a shill for the pro-abortion movement. He is an embarrassment to the people of Canada."
The Canadian pro-abortion stand does not sit well with other member states of the UN. Samantha Singson, Campaign Life Coalition's International Affairs Officer, and a long-time pro-family, pro-life lobbyist at the UN said, "Canadian delegations to the United Nations have repeatedly snubbed the sovereignty of countries whose laws forbid abortion."
For the Graham's full speech:
http://webapps.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/minpub/Publication.asp?publication_id=380778&Language=E
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.