Over the summer, ARPA Canada will be re-posting an old blog or article each Thursday. We hope that you enjoy these blasts from the past as we re-live some of the major content, issues, and campaigns of ARPA’s past 15 years.
The following article, written by Mark Penninga, was originally published in the Reformed Perspective Magazine and reposted on ARPA’s website in 2014. Given that three leaders and one interim leader of the Conservative Party have come and gone since then, with a new leader set to be announced in just a few weeks, the thought that we’d share this article noting the successes and failures of the last time there was Conservative government in Ottawa. What might we expect from a future Conservative government?
In a June 2011 article for Reformed Perspective I detailed 10 realistic goals that could be accomplished for our nation under this Conservative government if our leaders have the courage to lead and if citizens give them the encouragement and accountability to do so. Now that we are about halfway through this government’s mandate, how are we faring on these issues?
1. Give Aboriginals the responsibility and hope that belongs to all Canadians
Grade: B+
Not long after ARPA published a policy report on this issue in 2012, we were very encouraged to see the federal government announce a number of bills and policies to increase accountability, equality, and opportunity for Canada’s Aboriginal peoples. In June 2013, the First Nations Financial Transparency Act became law. Aboriginal MP Rob Clarke has also introduced a private member’s bill C-428 entitled the Indian Act Amendment and Replacement Act. And the government has also taken steps towards allowing private property ownership on reserves and increasing parental responsibility in education.
As encouraging as these changes are, they are small steps in light of the enormity of the problem. And given that the issue crosses into provincial responsibility, much more can also be done in having the provinces and federal government work towards a common vision.
2. Reform the Canadian Human Rights Commission
Grade: C-
In light of all the opposition from all sides of the political spectrum to problematic sections of the Canadian Human Rights Act, it is striking that it took a private member’s bill (Brian Storseth’s C-304) to finally abolish Section 13 in the summer of 2013.
This was a huge victory, but the current government can’t take much credit for it, apart from not actively opposing it. Much more can be done to reform or even abolish the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
On June 18th, the House of Commons adjourned, setting the stage for an election campaign that will end the 41st session of Parliament. This is an appropriate time to look back on the past four years and see what was accomplished, especially through the lens of ARPA Canada and the issues that we focus on.
Pre-born Human Rights:
When the Conservatives were handed a majority in the last federal election, many Christians hoped that pre-born human rights would finally be addressed. These hopes were in vain. Although some courageous MPs stood up for the pre-born, the leadership of all the political parties in the House of Commons did their utmost to suppress these efforts.
Motion 312, championed by MP Stephen Woodworth, was the first motion that held promise. It asked that “a special committee of the House of Commons be appointed and directed to review the declaration in Subsection 223(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada which states that a child becomes a human being only at the moment of complete birth.” Local ARPA chapters hosted presentations by Mr. Woodworth on this motion and many ARPA supporters encouraged MPs to support it. But with the party leaders all vocally opposed, the motion died in the House by a vote of 203 to 91. Yet Motion 312 reignited a discussion that was quiet for too long. Momentum for addressing this injustice was building.
The following article, “Report Card: Assessing Canada’s Conservative Government on 10 Key Issues” was originally published in the Reformed Perspective magazine. It has been updated and included here as a reference item for our readers. You can download a PDF of the updated version, linked at the bottom of the text if you wish to print a copy.
By Mark Penninga (Updated July, 2014)
In a June 2011 article for Reformed Perspective I detailed 10 realistic goals that could be accomplished for our nation under this Conservative government if our leaders have the courage to lead and if citizens give them the encouragement and accountability to do so. Now that we are about halfway through this government’s mandate, how are we faring on these issues?
1. Give Aboriginals the responsibility and hope that belongs to all Canadians
Grade: B+
Not long after ARPA published a policy report on this issue in 2012, we were very encouraged to see the federal government announce a number of bills and policies to increase accountability, equality, and opportunity for Canada’s Aboriginal peoples. In June 2013, the First Nations Financial Transparency Act became law. Aboriginal MP Rob Clarke has also introduced a private member’s bill C-428 entitled the Indian Act Amendment and Replacement Act. And the government has also taken steps towards allowing private property ownership on reserves and increasing parental responsibility in education.
As encouraging as these changes are, they are small steps in light of the enormity of the problem. And given that the issue crosses into provincial responsibility, much more can also be done in having the provinces and federal government work towards a common vision.
2. Reform the Canadian Human Rights Commission
Grade: C-
In light of all the opposition from all sides of the political spectrum to problematic sections of the Canadian Human Rights Act, it is striking that it took a private member’s bill (Brian Storseth’s C-304) to finally abolish Section 13 in the summer of 2013.
This was a huge victory, but the current government can’t take much credit for it, apart from not actively opposing it. Much more can be done to reform or even abolish the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
ARPA Canada is thrilled to finally see Bill C-304 pass through the Senate this week, removing the infamous Section 13 from the Canadian Human Rights Code. This Section has chilled free speech in Canada and been used to classify the truth as hate speech. We tip our hats to MP Brian Storseth, who had the courage to introduce this legislation and defend it all the way through Parliament over the past couple years. The fact that it is a private member’s bill and still passed is a huge testament to just how much these reforms are needed. Press on! We need to make changes in the provinces as well.
Calgary Sun – June 26 2013: OTTAWA – An Alberta MP has succeeded in his bid to repeal a section of the Canadian Human Rights Act long seen by
free-speech advocates as a tool to squelch dissenting opinions. Conservative MP Brian Storseth saw the Senate give third and final reading late Wednesday to his Bill C-304 which repeals Section 13 of the Human Rights Act, an act that had been used to, among other things, attack the writings of Sun News Network’s Ezra Levant and Maclean’s columnist Mark Steyn. Section 13 ostensibly banned hate speech on the Internet and left it up to the quasi-judicial human rights commission to determine what qualified as “hate speech.” But, unlike a court, there was no presumption of innocence of those accused of hate speech by the commission. Instead, those accused had to prove their innocence.
With elimination of Section 13, producing and disseminating hate speech continues to be a Criminal Code violation but police and the courts will adjudicate rather than human rights tribunals. Read more
Stand Up for Freedom Canada salutes MP Brian Storseth for making Canada much more free this Canada Day! He tirelessly worked to reform the Canadian Human Rights Code. Canadians, don’t relent. Many more reforms can be made provincially and federally. Freedom must be protected day to day. (more…)
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is organizing a petition to repeal sections of the Human Rights Codes in BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan that violate our fundamental freedoms. Find the downloadable version (for printing and signing) here (more…)
On a warm summer evening, the Barrhead/Neerlandia ARPA group teamed up with MPs Rob Merrifield and Brian Storseth to host a public forum in their community about the infamous human rights commissions and Mr. Storseth’s Bill C-304, which recently passed in the House of Commons and is currently in the Senate. “It is important that we never again give up our fundamental freedoms to the bureaucracy and to government” Storseth noted in a video interview with ARPA. “That is ours as Canadians to protect and defend and decide on, not somebody else, and we can never give those powers over to the bureaucracy because it will only be abused and expanded at that point in time.”
Mr. Storseth encouraged the audience to carry on with the progress by making similar changes to the equivalent sections of the provincial human rights legislation. He also made a point of thanking you, our readers, for your efforts to have his bill passed in the House of Commons. (more…)
Bill C-304, An Act to Amend the Canadian Human Rights Act (protecting freedom), passed a vote at report stage in Parliament on May 9 th , 149-129. This bill, sponsored by Alberta MP Brian Storseth, aims to repeal the most contentious clause of the CHRA, Section 13. Similar to the vote at second reading, the yeas and nays were disappointingly split along party lines, with Liberal MP Scott Simms the only opposition MP to vote with the governing Conservatives to protect our freedom of expression. (more…)
Update: See how your MP voted on C-304 here. See how your MP voted on C-304 here. Last night the House of Commons voted 158 to 131 to pass Bill C-304 ” (more…)
Bill C-304, “An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act” is being debated in Parliament today and is scheduled to have its first vote tomorrow evening. If you have not yet contacted your MP to support this legislation, please do so now (more…)