May 9, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Like most social conservatives, I was very disappointed to see that PC leader Doug Ford decided to drop Tanya Granic Allen as a candidate over the weekend, citing the “tone” of some of her past comments.
After Granic Allen’s stellar performance during the leadership race and her personal sacrifice in staying on to run for MPP, Ford’s decision to drop her seemed like a betrayal. Allen said as much herself in an email to supporters from Parents As First Educators (PAFE), the parental rights advocacy organization she returned to upon her abrupt departure from the political arena.
But while Granic Allen may not be running for MPP, the agenda and the policies she has been fighting for over the past several years may still be alive and well. On May 8, Doug Ford announced that he remained committed to repealing and replacing the sex-ed curriculum – the very issue Granic Allen had joined the leadership race to advocate for in the first place. Additionally, Ford promised to cut funding to post-secondary institutions that refuse to allow controversial figures to speak. Pro-lifers are often targeted and silenced on campus, so this is a very welcome announcement.
Granic Allen indicated cautious optimism at Ford’s announcement, tweeting, “Glad to see that Doug Ford [is] still committed to repealing & replacing the intolerant Wynne sex-ed, following my lead in the campaign and my advice of yesterday.” In response to questions, she followed that up with another a few minutes later: “People ask me will Doug Ford actually deliver on his promise to repeal and replace Wynne’s sex-ed. I don’t know, but he cannot possibly be worse than Wynne. Let’s hope Doug wins and then keeps his promise.”
I’m of the same mind as Granic Allen. Ford is a populist, not a social conservative, and so his decision to drop Allen over “tone” as he put it was not a betrayal like that of Patrick Brown, who claimed he was a social conservative before turning around and stabbing us in the back. Ford has stated clearly that social conservatives do have a place in his PC Party, and the fact that he has taken pains to publicly recommit to repealing and replacing the sex-ed curriculum is at minimum a very positive sign. Ford also does not appear to be targeting social conservatives like Patrick Brown was, either—MPP Sam Oosterhoff was on Steve Paikin’s show recently and referred to “pre-born human rights” without triggering the sort of tempter tantrum Brown would have thrown, and Ford has also chosen to stand by former radio host Andrew Lawton despite left-wing media demands that he be thrown overboard.
While it is disappointing that Tanya Granic Allen will not be taking a seat in Queen’s Park this year as a Member of Provincial Parliament, it would be tragic for social conservatives to take their eyes off the prize. Granic Allen and thousands of others have fought long and hard to get Kathleen Wynne’s sex-ed curriculum repealed, and social conservatives now have a very real opportunity to accomplish that goal. On the other hand, if social conservatives decide to turn on Ford rather than attempting to get rid of Kathleen Wynne and then hold Ford to the public promises he has made, our last opportunity could be gone. We will not get another chance to repeal and replace that curriculum.
There are quite a few very good social conservatives running in Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative Party at the moment, and those candidates deserve our support. This is no longer the party of Patrick Brown, where social conservatives are purged and silenced as a rule. We have a chance to make an impact in this new party. I agree with Tanya Granic Allen. I think we should take it.
