By Patrick B. Craine
NOVA SCOTIA, June 9, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a historic victory Tuesday, the heavily pro-abortion New Democrat Party of Nova Scotia won a majority government, taking 31 of the 52 seats.
Premier-designate Darrell Dexter, leader of Nova Scotia’s NDP for eight years, was beaming Tuesday night as he reflected on the victory, reports The Halifax Chronicle Herald. “Who would believe that NDP-orange would cover Nova Scotia from Cumberland County … right down through the Valley as far south as Shelburne County and right on through to Cape Breton Island?” said Dexter.
The PC Party of Nova Scotia, led by Premier Rodney MacDonald, has been in power for ten years, but in this election they suffered an incredible defeat, taking only ten seats. “The people are never wrong and the people have spoken tonight,” said Mr. MacDonald. The Liberals, led by Stephen McNeil, will form the Official Opposition, holding eleven seats.
The victory of Dexter’s NDP, the first NDP victory in Atlantic Canada, is being credited to Dexter’s emphasis on taking a more centrist position. He avoided the typical NDP association with organized labor that made them less palatable to Nova Scotian voters, proposing a “balanced, practical plan,” and using the soft-sounding slogan “making life better for Nova Scotia families.”
Herm Wills, President of Campaign Life Coalition Nova Scotia (CLCNS), is concerned, however, about the future families of Nova Scotia. “What we have to be looking at is tomorrow’s families,” he told LifeSiteNews.com, “we have to have a vision for tomorrow’s families.”
CLCNS sends a questionnaire every election to all candidates asking them about their views on key life and family issues. The response they received from the NDP in this election was predictable, but alarming nevertheless. The NDP’s platform is officially and strongly pro-abortion; the party supports abortion without restriction for all nine months of pregnancy. Dexter’s Chief of Staff, Dan O’Connor, affirmed this platform in his response to the CLC questionnaire on behalf of all 52 NDP candidates.
According to the questionnaire, the NDP will not support measures to prevent Nova Scotian taxpayers, who put forward $2,500,000 annually for abortions in the province, from funding abortions that are not deemed medically necessary. The NDP said they will, however, support measures that ensure women are informed about the consequences of and alternatives to abortion. They say they will oppose euthanasia and protect religious freedom regarding the celebration of marriage, but that they do not support the true definition of marriage.
Wills is not optimistic about the new NDP government. “The best we can hope for is the status quo,” he says. According to Statistics Canada, there are already 2,000 abortions per year in Nova Scotia. “The worst we could hope for,” Wills continued, “is expansion of abortion services and a decrease in services to women who want to keep their children.”
“My hope is that they won’t do anything drastic. And I don’t know what else they could do right now except give Planned Parenthood more money or something. I think we need to challenge them – are they willing to help a woman who does not want to have an abortion because this is an intrusion on herself … are they willing to do that, and if they are, are they willing to give money to organizations, faith-based or not, who help women with that pregnancy?”
“I think this will be the big challenge for us,” Wills continued, “to see if we can get them to step up to the plate.”