Toronto, June 8, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In its just mailed June newsletter, Canada’s national pro-life organization, Campaign Life Coalition, reports on the stunning rejection by an Ottawa Conservative riding association and party leaders of pro-marriage candidate John Pacheco. Pacheco was the principal organizer of the huge April 9 Ottawa rally in defence of marriage.
CLC reports in the section titled, Marriage activist nixed as Ottawa CPC candidate, “Despite the fact that Pacheco worked with life, faith and family groups to organize the largest demonstration in memory on Parliament Hill, drawing 15,000 Canadians from all denominations and which had Tory leader Stephen Harper as a speaker, the Conservative Party constituency association deemed him unfit to be their standard-bearer in the riding”. Pacheco appealed the decision, reports CLC, but lost his appeal and Ontario Progressive Conservative MPP John Baird won the nomination.
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The pro-life organization reveals that Baird, the candidate strongly favoured by the party leadership, is a “close ally of Harper who co-chaired his 2003 leadership campaign and served as Ontario co-chair in last year’s federal election”. Baird is also noted as a proponent of gay “marriage”, which Harper spoke against when he attended the rally organized by Pacheco.
CLC adds its “serious concern” that “if he is elected, Baird, like Belinda Stronach, will likely become a thorn in the flesh of the many social conservatives in the party, given his hostility to the social conservatives in his provincial party”.Â
The newsletter continues, referring to other strongly social liberal candidates recently recruited by the party leadership, such as Global TV news anchor Peter Kent, . “It amazes us”, says CLC, “that the Harper machine keeps recruiting and favouring these prominent pro-gay, pro-abortion types who are bound to cause grief to the party. We are extremely disappointed in both the riding association and the upper echelons of the party”.
See the complete June CLC National News at
https://www.campaignlifecoalition.com/national_news/2005/news_0605.html
See previous LifeSiteNews.com story
Conservative Party Rejects Organizer of Huge Ottawa Marriage March As Potential Candidate
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/apr/05042911.html
SJ