Attached is ARPA Canada’s June 4, 2008 submission to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights Regarding Bill C-484 (Unborn Victims of Crime).

Slapping Down Pro-Lifers as a Conservative Political Strategy

Editorial by John-Henry Westen

September 2, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) -Justice Minister Rob Nicholson deserves a Genie Award for his performance last Monday when he was able to, with a straight face, announce that the Conservative Government was going to put forward legislation to increase the penalty for criminals who assault pregnant women.

With an election about to be called any day, everyone knows that the proposed legislation will never see the light of day. It was clumsily designed political strategy cooked up in the backrooms of the PMO where only political hacks dare tread.

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It is easy to dismiss the Conservative government’s handling of the abortion issue as unprincipled cowardice, for that’s precisely what abandoning Edmonton MP Ken Epp’s private-member’s bill — the Unborn Victims of Crime Act — looks like. However, Canada’s pro-lifers need to get real. Keep reading this editorial here.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 – For Immediate Release

As Members of Parliament, we continue to support the passage of the Unborn Victims of Crime Act, a Private Member`s Bill, sponsored by Ken Epp, MP for Edmonton-Sherwood Park. The Unborn Victims of Crime Act (C-484) is an important piece of legislation, one that will create a separate offence under the Criminal Code to injure or kill an unborn child when the mother is assaulted. At the present time, the Criminal Code of Canada “does not provide for any charges to be laid in respect of the unborn child who is injured or dies as a result,” according to MP Epp.

We, the undersigned, will continue to use all the legislative avenues at our disposal to ensure the successful passage of The Unborn Victims of Crime Act into law. We look forward to supporting Mr. Epp’s bill at third reading.

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ARPA Update> Read Ken Epp’s response here. Read the Globe and Mail’s surprisingly reasonable opinion piece about this here.

By John-Henry Westen – OTTAWA, August 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In news which came as a shock within and without the Conservative Party of Canada this afternoon, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has announced that the Conservative Government will introduce legislation to bolster penalties for those who assault pregnant women. The legislation will in effect kill the Unborn Victims of Crime Act, a private members bill with wide public and legislative support that would have recognized in law the separate life of unborn children – at least those who are ‘wanted’ or intended by the mother for birth.

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From: Angus Reid News Release 

Unborn Victims of Crime Act

Bill C-484, an act to amend the Criminal Code—also known as the Unborn Victims of Crime Act—was introduced by Ken Epp (Conservative, Edmonton-Sherwood Park, Alta.) in November 2007. The bill seeks to amend the Criminal Code to make it an offence to injure, cause the death of, or attempt to cause the death of a child before or during its birth while committing, or attempting to commit, an offence against the mother. The bill does not apply to consensual abortion or any act or omission by the mother of the child.

Two-thirds of respondents (68%) would like their Member of Parliament to vote in favour of this bill, while 13 per cent are opposed and 18 per cent are not sure. Atlantic Canada (80%) and Alberta (77%) hold the highest levels of support for the bill, while Quebecers (54%) are less enthusiastic.

Ken Epp, MP – For Immediate Release – June 10, 2008

(Ottawa) – At a press conference in Ottawa today, Conservative MP Ken Epp released the results of a poll he commissioned regarding his Private Members Bill, C-484, the Unborn Victims of Crime Act. C-484 would make it a separate crime if an attacker knowingly harms or kills a fetus being carried by a pregnant woman.

The online survey, conducted by Angus Reid Strategies June 4-5 in Quebec only, shows that fully 50% of Quebecers support the Bill, while 35% are opposed and 15% undecided. Among women, support is at 53%. (Full poll results are available on Mr. Epp’s web site at www.kenepp.com).

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By Hilary White
OTTAWA, May 15, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Women for Women’s Health has reacted strongly against an effort by a Liberal MP in the Canadian House of Commons who has put forward a bill intended to halt the Unborn Victims of Crime bill, C-484.

MP Brent St. Denis moved to introduce a private members’ bill, C-543, saying that C-484 “left too many unanswered questions and too many doors were left open.”
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Canada is debating Bill C-484, The Unborn Victims of Crime Act, which would make it a separate crime to injure or kill an unborn child in the course of committing a crime against a woman the accused knew to be pregnant. Abortion rights activists, who are fighting to defeat the bill, have announced that in early May a protest opposing it will take place in Ottawa. They “are (also) encouraging (pro-choice) supporters across Canada to hold similar protests as a sign of nationwide solidarity against Bill C-484.” They claim the bill is “all about abortion.”

In view of the controversy Bill C-484 is raising, it’s very important that we – in particular our politicians, who will vote on the bill – have our facts straight. It’s one matter to correctly understand the bill and vote against it. It is quite another to do so on the basis of facts and arguments that are not correct.

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Private Member’s Bill C-484 is now at the committee stage. This means that there is still time to compile petitions to support it. Click here for a PDF of a petition that you can use to collect signatures in support of this legislation. Simply print it off, collect at least 25 signatures, and give it to your MP or to Ken Epp, the MP who introduced this bill. Do this as soon as possible because it takes a while for the petition to get tabled in Parliament.

Your MP’s address can be found here. Ken Epps’ address is:

Ken Epp, MP

House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6