OTTAWA, December 12, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Paul Martin officially takes over from Jean Chretien as Prime Minister of Canada today, and has released his new list of cabinet ministers. While Mr. Martin has installed anti-life and anti-family caucus members in the most powerful positions in his inner circle and cabinet, for the first time in many years there are some pro-life MPs in the Liberal government cabinet. Paul Martin, as LifeSite has reported in the past, has the same ties as did his predecessor Jean Chretien to the powerful Desmarais family. Chretien sat on the board of Power Corp. subsidiary Consolidated Bathurst Inc. before becoming leader of the Liberal Party and his daughter France was married to Paul Desmarais’ son Andre. Martin, was hired in the 1960s to work for Paul Desmarais senior by Maurice Strong. Desmarais made Martin president of Canada Steamship Lines and then, in 1981, made him spectacularly rich by selling the company to him and a partner. (https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/may/030502a.html )
Moreover Martin recently announced publicly that he would have internationalist and depopulation-pushing environmentalist Maurice Strong as an advisor. (https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/oct/03102904.html ) Martin himself has an anti-life and anti-family voting record. (https://www.lifesitenews.com/clc/fedvotes/ ) As LifeSite reported last week he has appointed pro-abortion and pro-homosexual marriage supporters to top posts in the Prime Minister’s Office. (https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/dec/03120101.html ) Among new cabinet ministers that read like a who’s who of anti-life, anti-family activist politicians include: Anne McLellan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness; Claudette Bradshaw, Minister of Labour and Minister responsible for Homelessness; William Graham, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Jean Augustine, Minister of State (Multiculturalism and Status of Women); Carolyn Bennett, Minister of State (Public Health). Scott Brison, the former Progressive Conservative homosexual-activist MP who defected to the Liberals was made Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with special emphasis on Canada-U.S relations.
However, for the first time in many years, several pro-life Members of Parliament were appointed to the cabinet and as parliamentary secretaries. Among the pro-life and pro-family supporters in these positions are: Albina Guarnieri, Associate Minister of National Defence and Minister of State (Civil Preparedness); Joseph Volpe, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development; Dan McTeague, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs with special emphasis on Canadians Abroad; Jim Karygiannis, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport with special emphasis on Transport and Environment. Commenting on the selections, Jim Hughes, President of Campaign Life Coalition Canada told LifeSite, “I’m happy for the good solid pro-life MPs now in cabinet which shows that you can be party loyalists without giving up your strong moral convictions. And I long for the day when the cabinet will be full of pro-life, pro-family people who will then truly represent the bulk of grassroots Canadians.” See the official list of cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries: https://www1.pm.gc.ca/eng/new_team.asp https://www1.pm.gc.ca/eng/new_team_1.asp