During the 2019 federal election, whenever Conservative Party of Canada leader Andrew Scheer said his party wouldn’t “reopen the abortion debate,” it was like nails on a chalkboard to pro-life Catholic citizens.
There’s a backstory there I want to make you aware of to illustrate a crucial point.
As the party leader, Scheer had to say that. Why? Because the official party policy states “A Conservative Government will not support any legislation to regulate abortion.”
Now here’s the thing: in the summer of 2018, my wife and I – and 1,500 other Conservative members – were standing in a convention hall in Halifax when we voted on that very policy. A grassroots proposal had been made to have the policy deleted from the official policy declaration. About 700 of us supported the deletion, leaving 800 supporting it. So, the policy stood – hence Scheer’s mandated talking point in the 2019 election campaign.
In other words, the Conservative party pledged to stay silent on abortion because 101 people out of 37 million didn’t go to a convention and raise a voting card.
Here we are again in similar circumstances. The Conservatives are electing a leader to replace Scheer in August and are scheduled to hold a convention in November, representing another valuable opportunity for Canadians to help shape the direction of the party. (Editor’s note: On May 11, the party decided to postpone the convention to a date still to be determined.)
Similarly, the Green Party of Canada is holding a leadership contest to replace Elizabeth May, who stepped down as leader last November. The new leader will be selected at the party’s convention this October in Charlottetown.
Voting on leaders is open to party members. The cost is minimal and any Canadian citizen or permanent resident 14 years old or older can take out a party membership.
The Conservative Party leadership election will be conducted by mail-in ballots which must be received by Aug. 21, but the deadline to become a member of the party is approaching quickly, next Friday, May 15.
Online voting for the Green Party leadership starts Sept. 26, with the party’s convention scheduled for Oct. 2 to 4. To take part, a party membership must be purchased by Sept. 3.
In a democracy, large groups of people who unite on a cause can influence the political direction of society. Engagement in civic affairs, from casting a ballot in an election to political party engagement, allows people of good will to have an impact on the country’s trajectory.
In the last five years of being a grassroots volunteer in different civic initiatives, I’ve realized there’s a simple reason why our society keeps moving further and further from our worldview: we Christians are missing in action. We don’t get involved; we don’t organize strategically and engage. So we cede the playing field without even putting up a fight. It’s time to change that by getting involved.
As Archbishop Miller wrote prior to last year’s federal election, “The social doctrine of the Church affirms that politics is one of the highest forms of charity because it serves the common good.”
Participating in politics is a form of charity, and the recently founded Christian Civic Affairs Committees of Canada was created to help people do just that. Join one in your parish or, if you don’t have one yet, contact us at civicaffairs.ca for more information and help in setting one up.
Marc Vella is president of the Christian Civic Affairs Committees of Canada. He is a parishioner at St. James, Abbotsford.