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Manitoba Tory leader Brian Pallister

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, April 18, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – Facing almost certain and lop-sided defeat by the surging Progressive Conservatives, Manitoba’s New Democratic Premier Greg Selinger has taken to calling Tory Brian Pallister “homophobic.”

This despite Pallister’s insistence that he has “evolved” from his previous opposition to same-sex “marriage,” and stated that he’s open to marching in Pride.

The focus on Pallister’s views on homosexuality is seen by political commentators as a last-minute attempt at damage control. Polling for the April 19 election indicate the NDP, which has been governing since 1999, will be reduced to a shadow. ThreeHundredEight.com predicts the Tories could get an unprecedented 51 percent of the popular vote and 42 out of 57 seats in the legislature.

The worst quote the NDP could find against Pallister came from 2005 comments he made to the House of Commons when he was a federal MP. During a debate on same-sex “marriage,” he said, “Those who support the bill, however well-intentioned, are advocating a significant social experiment.”

The “social experiment” comment was used by most news media to hook their story on the issue, though there was a meatier comment he made during the same debate which he attributed to a Manitoba pastor who had observed that it was, “‘good that homosexual people were coming out of the closets because those closets would be needed very soon for Christians.’ That is a fear that many, not solely Christians, in Canadian society have.”

In 2013, when Pallister was sitting in the provincial legislature, he opposed Bill 18, which the NDP used to force every school, public or private, in the province to allow gay straight alliances, even though their promotion of homosexuality runs counter to the Christian teaching espoused by many of those schools.

Armed only with this for evidence, NDP leader Selinger told reporters, “I think he’s homophobic. He has to answer for himself on those matters.”

Pallister responded by citing his record in the 1980s “advocating for same sex property rights for gay couples,” stating, “I don’t think I need anything but my record to stand on.” However one news agency reported that his campaign team could produce no specifics on his claim.

Meanwhile reporters asked Pallister if he would be attending Winnipeg’s annual Gay Pride Parade if he becomes premier, as Selinger had done (making himself the first premier to do so). “I'm not averse to doing that,” said Pallister, adding that he would have to check his schedule.

Pallister also allowed that his views on same-sex “marriage” had “evolved” since 2005, and necessarily so since it was legalized that year.  “I mean, the fact is the decision’s been made. The fact is what we all want to see is loving relationships supporting — when desired — children, and we want to see strong families.”

Pallister said however that he would not create a cabinet post for a minister of LGBTQ affairs, as Selinger had promised to do. This, he said, would be “not helpful.”

In recent years, Progressive Conservatives have increasingly yielded to the homosexual lobby’s demands. In Alberta, the PC Party forced gay-straight alliances on schools, and in Ontario they’ve voted to ban psychotherapy for teenagers wanting to be rid of their same sex attractions. In 2015 the newly-selected Patrick Brown was the first Ontario Progressive Conservative leader to march in Toronto’s Gay Pride Parade.

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