OTTAWA, June 8 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Today, Eric Lowther (MP, Calgary Centre) questioned why taxpayers paid for a document which blacklists conservative non-governmental organizations at the United Nations “Beijing + 5” conference on women’s equality. “This week, the Government of Canada is participating in the United Nations ‘Beijing + 5’ conference on women’s equality in New York City,” Lowther said. “However, it seems that in the view of the government, not all organizations are ‘deserving’ of equality. A paper paid for by the Canadian taxpayer seeks to marginalize conservative organizations participating in the Beijing + 5 conference.”
Entitled “Right-Wing Anti-Feminist Groups at the United Nations,” the attack piece was funded by a $106,100 strategic grant of the Women and Change Program of the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada.
“The paper lists 40 organizations that are apparently too conservative for the liking of the government, and which the paper criticizes for their participation in UN conferences,” Lowther said. “The positions taken by our delegations are not subject to any scrutiny or review by Parliament, and this lack of transparency needs to be addressed. It is particularly unacceptable that conservative organizations participating at these meetings would be targeted and blacklisted by a Canadian government grant,” Lowther said.
“This is a democracy,” said Lowther, “and the government should not pick and choose which Canadian taxpayers are acceptable and which should be banned from participating in the democratic process.”
See the report here.