VIOLENCE AGAINST PREGNANT WOMEN:

FETAL RIGHTS STIR DEBATE ON ABORTION

by Chris Wright

The National Post, March 5 2008

It is sadly hypocritical to discredit another's motives while defending a position based solely on your agenda. This was seen recently in the attempt by Joyce Arthur of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada to label the efforts of a grieving mother as seeking “vengeance,” when speaking of Mary Talbot, a supporter of proposed Bill C484.

Many Canadians know the ugly story of the killing of 19-year-old Olivia Talbot and her unborn child. As Mary Talbot (Olivia's mother) pointed out in response to Ms. Arthur, the killer of her daughter and her unborn child will not be affected by the passing of this legislation. His sentence -for one count of murder, not two, even though his own confession was that his intent was to murder the child - has already been determined. Seeking vengeance is no longer an option for Mary Talbot, even if she did desire it.

Bill C484 would allow charges to be laid in the death of an unborn child if the mother is a victim of violent crime. That is its sole application. That said, as Dr. Margaret Somerville noted in the article, this bill forces the Canadian people to confront the truth that there is life in the womb of a mother. In her words, “Unavoidably, this bill tells us that a fetus is not a nonexistent entity. Which is really what the pro-choice people have struggled to get Canadians to believe: that until it's born it doesn't exist, so you don't have to worry about abortion.”

Not surprisingly, therefore, the most prevalent voice of opposition to this bill is the voice of the pro-abortionist lobbyists. They seek to discredit Mary Talbot's position as being biased, and yet their own position is completely politically motivated. This is essentially why Ms. Arthur and others are criticizing this proposed bill - because they perceive it as challenging their vested interest, namely the pro-abortion movement.

Copyright 2008

VIOLENCE AGAINST PREGNANT WOMEN:

DON'T GIVE UP

 by Sven Eric Johnson

Ottawa Citizen, September 3 2008

In recent news, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced that the Conservative party was proposing to abandon Bill C-484, the Unborn Victims of Crime Act, due to the possible federal election.

As a young boy growing up on a farm in Saskatchewan, I distinctly remember my father telling me, at the age of five or six, how important it was to always finish any job or project that I'd started. I really wish a great big dad would sit down our government leaders and look them straight in the eye and tell them this.

It is a shame to see so much hard work to go down the tubes all in the hopes of being most popular party with the most votes. I also seem to remember from high school, those who moved on to the next grade or were honoured at graduation, were those who worked and completed their work, and not necessarily those who were most popular.

My hopes are, for the sake of demonstrating its integrity to Canadians, that the Conservative party continues working toward the goal they started with. They need to promise they will reintroduce legislation after the election outcome.

Sven Eric Johnson,

Ottawa

VIOLENCE AGAINST PREGNANT WOMEN:

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: BABY, IT'S REAL

by Sarah Sonne
The Calgary Herald, September 1 2008

Re: "It's not a baby," Letter, Aug. 29.

I'd like to respond to Andy Mulcahy's comment that we do not have an innate emotional attachment to a fetus, in his letter complaining about Bill C-484.

A good friend of mine is pregnant, and I and the rest of our group of friends are extremely attached to her fetus. We touch my friend's belly and talk to it, we call it by name, we discuss how it develops week by week, and we are all excited to meet it in a couple of months. How is this scary? I support Bill C-484 for my friends and their unborn children, not some unrelated stranger whose uterus I feel the need to control, as Mulcahy suggested. Mulcahy was once a fetus. This is something every pro-choicer has to come to terms with eventually.

Sarah Sonne,

Vanier, Ont.

VIOLENCE AGAINST PREGNANT WOMEN:

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: MINISTER'S ACTIONS SURPRISING, CONFUSING

by Sarah Sonne
The Guelph Mercury, August 30 2008

 

Dear Editor - Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson's announcement Monday that the Conservative government would be introducing a replacement bill to Bill C-484, the Unborn Victims of Crime Act, in order to avoid "reopening the abortion debate" was both surprising and confusing.  Bill C-484 only broadens what is already law in Canada -- embryos, fetuses, and unborn children are already afforded some protection through Section 238 of the Criminal Code and the Assisted Human Reproduction Act.

Section 238 of the Criminal Code, which Bill C-484 would be amending, protects unborn children during the act of birth. Likewise, the Assisted Human Reproduction Act states it is a criminal offence to destroy an embryo or fetus without the written permission of the parents or donors.

At conception and birth, it is a criminal offence to "kill or destroy" a wanted unborn child, and yet abortion has not been affected by either of these laws, which have been in place for years.

Bill C-484 simply takes that foundation and bridges the gap between conception and birth, making it a criminal offence to kill or harm a wanted unborn child at any point in a pregnancy without the permission of the mother. It's nothing new, and it has no ability to affect abortion since all three laws hinge on the mother's consent (or lack thereof).  Fifteen pregnant women have been brutally murdered since 2004, five of them this year.  This is a much needed amendment and I fully support it.

-- Sarah Sonne, Guelph

VIOLENCE AGAINST PREGNANT WOMEN:

A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO HAVE A BABY
by Sarah Sonne
The Toronto Star, June 9 2008

Letter to the Editor Re:Pro-lifers, not women's shelters, love Bill C-484, June 6 2008

In defending "women's rights," Antonia Zerbisias is actually limiting choices for women. To say that Bill C-484 is anti-woman and anti-choice, or that "women's interests are not paramount," is illogical and unfounded. Bill C-484 was created specifically to support women's interests in the protection of their unborn children. The act states, "This section does not apply in respect of conduct relating to the lawful termination of the pregnancy of the mother of the child to which the mother has consented."

The bill is not about abortion. It simply states that when a mother has chosen to carry her child to full term, the law supports that choice and will not allow someone to take that freedom away from her without consequences. We're not talking about a return to "coat hangers and knitting needles" here; we're talking about weapons being used to take a pregnancy away from a woman by force.

Bill C-484 does not change the definition of a human being, nor does it take any choice or rights away from women. It empowers a woman's choice to reproduce and it sends a clear message that violence against pregnant women is wrong by addressing the very thing that defines a pregnancy – her fetus.

The bill attempts to empower a victim of violence by validating her choices and freedom, yet it appears that its critics are concerned with everyone whom it does not apply to.

Find a woman whose pregnancy has ended because of violence and ask her how she feels.

Sarah Sonne, Vanier, Ont.

VIOLENCE AGAINST PREGNANT WOMEN:

LETTER TO THE EDITOR RE: A THREAT TO RIGHTS

by Sarah Sonne
The Kitchener Record, August 6, 2008

In her letter to the editor on July 29th, Elizabeth Clarke states that "The bill [C-484] would amend the Criminal Code to allow homicide charges to be laid in the death of a fetus when a pregnant woman is attacked."

Bill C-484 is not a fetal homicide law. In order to be considered as such, it would have to classify fetus' as victims of homicide under the Criminal Code. It is not attempting to do that. Rather, it would create a new offense with similar sentencing to homicide, without granting person hood to unborn children. America can have fetal homicide laws because they also have restrictions on abortion, Canada does not. Bill C-484 also includes three important clauses. It explicitly excludes abortion, acts of good faith, and any act or omission of an act by the pregnant woman. Therefore this law would only protect a certain class of unborn children who are killed or injured during an attack on a pregnant woman, without giving fetus' autonomy, or giving the law any jurisdiction to prosecute pregnant women.

If Ms. Clarke had actually studied Bill C-484, she would see that all of her fears have already been taken into consideration. But evidently, she did not.

Sarah Sonne

VIOLENCE AGAINST PREGNANT WOMEN:

MORE RIGHTS, MORE CHOICES FOR WOMEN

by Sarah Sonne

There is currently a private member's bill that has entered committee in Parliament. It is receiving a lot of attention, and a lot of confusion has surrounded what this bill is and what it is not.

It is Bill C-484, the Unborn Victims of Crime Act. If it becomes law, it would make it a separate offence to kill or harm a wanted fetus during an attack on the mother if the attacker knew or ought to have known that she was pregnant when she was attacked.

Violence against women rises dramatically during pregnancy. A pregnant woman is six times more likely to be abused than a woman who is not pregnant. This bill would protect and support pregnant women by clearly stating that she is not on her own in protecting her unborn child. It would fill in the gap that pregnant women currently experience by validating that they want to have their child, and that if they lose their pregnancy because of violence they will be mourning a death that is not recognized.

Canada claims to be a pro-choice nation, but it currently completely disregards the choice to be pregnant. Women have the right to choose to be a mother, or to have an abortion. But if she chooses to be a mother, the nine months leading up to the birth of her child are like a no-man's-land in the eyes of the law. While she gets ultrasounds, decorates her baby's room, picks names and clothes and reads book after book on pregnancy and mothering, she may not realize that her unborn child is not recognized by the law. The law does not consider an unborn child human until it has exited the womb alive. Until that moment the baby and the mother are considered one person, and all rights default to the mother. Except the right to consider her fetus a baby.

If a pregnant woman is attacked and she cannot protect her unborn child, she has no backup in the eyes of the law. Because Canada does not protect the choice to be pregnant, if pregnancy is taken away from her through violence, it is not recognized in the courts.

There have been cases in Canada where pregnant women have been specifically targeted because they were pregnant, even one case where a woman was stabbed in the abdomen with a sword, and yet no charges were laid in the death of her wanted child. If a woman is shot in the stomach for target practice, which has also happened, and she survives but her baby dies, the harshest penalty that can be laid is assault.

It doesn't matter that she has a room waiting for the moment she becomes a mother, it doesn't matter how much she considers her unborn baby her baby and not an extra body part. The fact she has lost part of her future is not recognized by the law because the unborn child isn't legally recognized.

Property is protected under the law. Possessions are protected under the law. Pets are protected under the law. None of these things are human, and yet it's not OK to attack them. It doesn't make sense that anything wanted can be destroyed without recognition. If Canada is truly pro-choice, it needs to facilitate all choices. It needs to empower women to keep their child.

It's simple; if a woman chooses to keep her child, that should be her right. And if Canada says she has that right, but does not recognize in court when that choice is taken away, then she really never had that right. Canada as it stands now, is saying women have the right to be a mother, but they are on their own while they are pregnant because we are pro-choice. There's no middle ground.

Bill C-484 is very clear in what it does and does not say. It deals specifically with a wanted pregnancy. It says if a woman wants her child, no one can violently take it away from her. It says if a woman is attacked and her unborn child dies, she has the right to consider her unborn child a victim. It validates her feelings that her unborn child is one of the most significant parts of her life while she is pregnant.

It gives women more rights and more choices. It is a pro-choice, pro-woman bill and needs to be applauded as such.

Sarah Sonne lives in Guelph.

Copyright 2008

VIOLENCE AGAINST PREGNANT WOMEN:


ONE STEP CLOSER
by Amy Good

St. Catharine's Standard, November 18 2008


I wrote an article that was published on Sept 5th QUIT SPECULATING AND LOOK AT THE VALUE OF BILL C-484. The article was regarding Ken Epp's Bill to help protect pregnant women and their unborn children against acts of violence. After Harpers caucus pulled it's support of Bill C-484 I am very happy to hear that on Sat Nov 15th Resolution P-207 passed at the Conservative Policy Convention that was held in Winnipeg.


What this means is now it is policy for the Conservative Party to support bills that create a separate charge for the injury or death of an unborn child. As a young Canadian with many friends at that child bearing age (as well as myself), I am proud to say that we are moving closer to seeing laws to protect wanted unborn children.

VIOLENCE AGAINST PREGNANT WOMEN:
I'M PROTECTED NOW


by Sarah Sonne
Winnipeg Sun, November 19 2008

Re: Conservative policy convention. I am writing to commend the Conservative party for passing Resolution P-207 (protecting pregnant women) at their policy convention this past weekend. Passing legislation that recognizes the injury or death of an unborn child during an attack on a pregnant woman is something that will secure my vote for, and trust in, the Conservative party.


I am looking forward to the day when I can be pregnant and know that my decision to keep my child is respected and my unborn child is fully protected. Thank you for listening to my voice, and the voice of many other young women, and making it party policy to protect us in the way we, as young and pregnant women, want to be protected and not compromising to appease a demographic that is not, and does not want to be, pregnant.


Sarah Sonne
Vanier, Ont.

HOUSE OF COMMONS
September 25 2005

Mr. Myron Thompsoon (Wild Rose, CPC):


"Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure to meet a group of young people called MY Canada, or Motivated Young People for a Strong Canada.


My Canada is meant to serve as a banner for all young Christians in Canada, between the ages of 15 and 35, who are committed to being a voice for truth and justice in our nation. They are not representing a denominaion or a special interest group. Their mission is to engage with leaders to let them know they exist and what their heart is for our nation as well as to motivated and mobilize young Canadians so they too will become leaders themselves one day.


They recognize that the voice of the younger generation particularly those who hold fast to traditional standards of morality is pretty much absent. One of the reasons this exists is because the federal leaders have told them how the younger generation things. My Canada is here to say they want their voices to be factored into the equation.


I would invite all members to come and meet with these future leaders at a breakfast meeting this Thursday at 8:00am in Room 200 West Block. It will be well worth their time. Welcome to the House, MY Canada."


[Applause and standing ovation by many members in the House of Commons]

MYC MAG SWITCHES TO BLOG FORMAT! - NOTICE:  OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS WE HAVE HAD A VOLUNTEER WRITERS TEAM THAT HAS BEEN WRITING ARTICLES ON A VARIETY OF TOPICS.  SOME OF THESE ARTICLES HAVE BEEN FOR OUR PERSONAL SITE, OTHERS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED TO NATIONAL NEWS OUTLETS AND HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED.  UP UNTIL NOW (MARCH 2010) WE HAVE POSTED THESE ARTICLES ON OUR MYC WEB MAGAZINE.  AS OF THIS MONTH WE ARE GOING TO BE TRANSITIONING TO A BLOG FORMAT.  THE NEXT SEVERAL (MANY!) POSTS WILL BE RETROACTIVE POSTS OF ARTICLES THAT HAVE BEEN WRITTEN ON A VARIETY OF TOPICS IN THE LAST YEARS.  WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THEM AND THAT THEY ARE A SOURCE OF GREAT INFORMATION FOR YOU.


DISCLAIMER:  The views in these articles are the views of the writers, not necessarily the official views of the MY Canada Association.  Our writers are free to share their perspectives openly.

One of our members, Joshua James Harlan Fry, a 19 year old from New Brunswick, wrote this article for the 40th anniversary of abortion being legalized in Canada. On May 14th, 1969, abortion was legalized in Canada under certain conditions. In 1988, abortion was decriminalized completely, striking its reference out of the Criminal Code, leaving Canada with no laws or restrictions on abortion. We hope to see many of you on Parliament Hill on Thursday for the National March For Life. The theme this year is "Exodus 2009: A Future Without Abortion."

Just something I have been asking myself over and over again... and it's really gotten to me. People, and sadly the laws, say that a child in the womb is not a person until it's either born, or X days have passed.
This, too me, makes no sense. It brings back haunting images from times and wars past when people attacked others because they didn't look the same, or because they were different.

Take a look at all the genocides going on in the world today. Out of hate, out of dislike for differences. Take a look at slavery in the past of African Americans. They looked different, so they were less then human, was a defense many people used. And yes this extends into World War II, into Nazi Germany. The people whom were being attacked and killed were considered less then human. They were considered weak and useless. They were not considered human by those laws.

Now let me ask you something and please bear with me until the end of this little rant, please. We, as humans, all have a few things in common. For one thing we are all different. No two humans are the very, exact, same. Even identical twins are different in some way. We have different sizes, different hair, eyes, noses, ears and skin tone. Each and every single one of our finger prints are, in fact, unique.

Now let me ask you something else. How many chromosomes do you have?
Forty-Six (46).
Now let me ask you this next question. How many chromosomes does a child in the womb have? Forty-Six (46).

So now let me ask you what makes us so different from a child in the womb then? They have the same amount of chromosomes as every other human being on earth. They have the same building blocks that we have had and we still do have. We are no different, at the very base of it, then the child in that womb.

Take a look at a pine tree seed. It's smaller then the fully grown tree, it's still a tree. It's got the material it needs to be a tree. It's never going to be anything else but a tree. It's a tree. You can look at a child in the womb the exact same way. It may not look like a fully grown human, but it's still a human.

I find it sick that people would think of children in the womb as not human at all. How does this work out, then? Did we suddenly change when we were born? Did we morph into being a human? We, from the very beginning of conception, are human. We don't suddenly change to being human once we are out of the womb or at a certain date. We are human.
You cannot say that while I was in my mothers womb that I was not a
human, because I am a human now. You cannot say I am less then human when I still have the same amount of chromosomes as I did when I was in my mothers womb.

You were never anything else but a human being. You were a human being inside the womb, you were a human being when you were born, when you first learned how to ride a bike, when you first looked at the stars, when you took your first breath. You were human. You were a part of this species here on earth when you where conceived, and you are still a human being now. What gives you the right to tell someone who will be a
human being, who will look up at the stars, someone who has the same amount of chromosomes as you, a born human being, that they are not a human? You were not some other being while you were in the womb, you were not just a blob of cells, you were not something less then human.

You were, and are, a human being. The only difference is that you made it out alive.

God Bless You Whoever You Are,

Joshua J.H. Fry

Go to our FaceBook Group as well and see more posts.

Our Director (Faytene Kryskow)'s Speech To Our Parliamentarians At Our 2008 Parliamentary Reception:

Good Evening! If you have not already heard it from one of our young people we want to begin by say a big WELCOME to all our of our Parliamentarians! (Applause and whooting). We appreciate you and we thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to be with us this evening. We really hope it will be a refreshing time, a tasty time and a fun time for you as you connect, heart to heart, with young people that have come from both far and near to honour you. That is what this night is for. It is our way of saying thank you to our Parliamentarians for their tireless service both to their constituents and to all Canadians. Plainly put: we think you are awesome! After these brief remarks we will encourage you to continue to eat, mix, mingle, dance and enjoy the amazing company in this room! Stay as long as you want to!

Also in just a moment, I am going to call up a couple of our young people to share a brief word with you, but before I do, let me honour those of you that might be a little new to the MY Canada Association by giving you a quick introduction to who we are and why we are here this week. For those of you that are familiar with us – we are so excited to bring a good report to you regarding the growth and effectiveness of the organization since our last Parliamentary Reception, a year ago. Many of you have been a deep encouragement to us as you have given us advice and coaching about how we, as young Canadians, can apply ourselves in helping to shape Canada for future generations. As the director of MY Canada I want to say that in SO many ways, the good report I am about to bring is in honour of you and your great input!

The MY Canada Association began in 2005 when a group of young adults from Vancouver received a deep conviction that it was time for a non-partisan voice to begin to emerge from the young generation in Canada and engage in meaningful dialogue with our national leaders. Canada had the young Liberals and the young Conservatives, young new democrats but what about simply the YOUNG CANADIANS who were willing to work with every party and who were passionate to see Canada strong for generations to come? At this same time, there were several voices both in national media and voices coming from this very Hill who would say blanket statements like, “The youth of the nation believe this, or young Canadians believe that…” Often these blanket statements were very socially liberal, at times extremist and very digressive from the founding principles that have made Canada great in so many ways. Without getting into all the semantics of these statements and their ideologies we simply felt that more often than not these blanket statements made of the next generation did not represent us. At the same time we realized that we were not doing our job! If this was the perception of young Canadians, we must not have been engaging in the awesome system of democracy in an effective way. We were not ‘showing up’ and that needed to change. I think we would all agree that with the lowest voter turn out in recent Canadian history just occurring in this past election, there is a need for young Canadians to SHOW UP. So off we went, and here we still are.

In 3 short years the MYCanada Association has grown to a membership and on-line network size of 30,000 with a strong internet presence. Along with this we have established a house office here in Ottawa where young adults can come for a 3 month internship to learn how they can be effective forces for positive change in Canada on a variety of fronts. Some of these young people have gotten so hooked that they have become long termers. We currently have 5 full time workers who have decided to dedicate this season of their life to the work of MY Canada.

Over this past year our leadership has traveled from coast to coast speaking and motivating Canadians in a variety of forums. We have personally hosted 5 events (a conference and 4 rallies) which, we realized just last night have had an accumulative attendance of over 11,000 people. These events have stretched across the nation we have hosted them in St. Hubert (Quebec), Nunavut (Iqaluit), Edmonton, Toronto and Saint John’s NB. We are excited to say that we are also ramping up for a very big year in 09 with perhaps our largest events yet coming in St. John’s and Vancouver.

Along with this, we mobilized, enthusiastically into elections all across Canada. We are so happy to see the SMILING faces of many MPs that we helped get elected in this reception tonight. It was our joy, privilege and honour and we are so glad to see your faces on this Hill. We had a lot of fun knocking on your doors, especially when people would change their vote simply because they said we were young and good looking – we’ll take it for ya!

Finally, a major and growing emphasis of the organization this past year has been media. As director of MY Canada I have been on national television at least once a week bringing a report from Parliament Hill to our viewership and beyond. Along with this we have been on several national talk shows – one of our favourite being a special feature with Radio Canada in Quebec. We are hooked on the camera – just some of you (admit it). Along with broadcasting media, our young people are watching national papers ever day and writing multiple op-eds a week under their own names. You are likely reading our words much more often than you realize.

We are growing every week and loving ever minute of it! Our nation is great and it is great to be able to contribute to her building in these and other ways. We count it a privilege and an honour to be right here, right now. We also want to say that we are committed. We are committed to working in any and every way that we can to support you as you bring forth legislation on issues that we are excited about.

A big hats off to Chris Warkentin for getting his Crystal-Meth bill passed, to Ed Fast for his internet pornography bill, to Joy Smith for her tireless work regarding human trafficking and the recent success of her motion at the Conservative Policy Convention (we can’t wait to see what comes out of that!), to Ken Epp for trumpeting women’s rights and protecting pregnant women through his work on the Unborn Victims of Crime Bill (WE LOVE IT and were so excited when this resolution passed at the Conservative Policy Convention a couple weeks ago), hats off for John McKay for his poverty bill that received royal assent, for the many AMAZING MPs that spoke out on behalf of Canadians opposing the controversial appointment to Henry Morgentaler to the Order of Canada, for Members from every party that supported raising the age of Sexual Protection. In our language we want to say, YOU GUYS ROCK!

It was a joy to work along side of you, speaking to committees and lobbying MPs to see these pieces passed. My first of 2 messages to you tonight is that we want to remind you that we are COMMITTED, I will repeat, COMMITTED to bringing our time, voice, network, technical ability, graphic design ability and whatever we can to the table to support other amazing legislation like this that you will undoubtly bring forth in the 40th Parliament. As we have said in previous years, we will say it again, “We are here and we are here to stay.” This is our Canada and we are taking responsibility for her. We truly want to see her strong for generations to come and we are committed to walking shoulder to shoulder encouraging our Parliamentarians as you seek to do the same. Our goal will either be to build our names and our organizations or our nations – I know, as I look around this room, that it is truly full of nation builders.

By the way (we will put in this plug) if you are looking for admiistraative staff, we do have a roster of amazing young people who have told us that they would be humbled by an opportunity to work in a Member’s office. If you are in a jam, feel free to let us know and we will get some great young people to contact you. Our heart is to serve. We know that as you are strenthened, in every way (which clearly includes good staff around you), Canada will be stronger – and if you have not caught on, we are all about that!

As the MYCanada director my second and last message to you is this: PLEASE, for the sake of this nation and future generations stand strong for the things that matter – family, safety, life, health and stewarding our great nation’s natural resources nation well. Continue to be men and women of courage. Canada needs it. Young people are hungering for it. Many of you have touched, trumpeted and prevailed against the injustices of our day but there is much left to do. To draw just one illustratiuon – the fact that Canada is the ONLY Western nation that has no laws on life for the unborn, in our assessment, is not a tribute to our progress but cowardice.

We have noticed, in the history books, there are really only 2 sets of names you read about: the outstandingly evil and the outstandingly, courageous, principled. Those who had no cause and lived lives of apathy and timidity are rarely remembered and rarely mentioned. We believe, in many ways, we are in a window of time where Canada is calling for men and women of fervent passion to rise with a cause beyond our pocketbooks.

William Wilberforce said once, ““If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.”

Where are the Wilberforces of our nation and of our time? The ones that will work for a cause of righteousness, mercy or justice until it is the standard in society.

Be men and women of courage.
Do the right thing – if you don’t know what the right thing is, ask us and we will give you our perspective on a variety of issues.
Be the solution, be the righteous instigators of our time.
Stare evil in the face and say, “Not in my Canada.”
Don’t hold back.
You have been given the keys to this nation, in this moment of time.
Your timidity, excuses, or apathy, could cost future generations everything.
Your courage could deliver masses.

Why am I being so forthright? It is because I can feel the DNA of history shapers in the room who have the power to move mountains with words.

Mr. Trudeau – may I be so bold as to say, Justin, your name means Justice. How interesting that a young man with this name would be given the favour of tabling the first Private Member’s Bill. As you consider what to bring forward, our hope is that it would set standard of true and pure justice. Make the wrong things right. If you need some ideas of what to bring forward, we have a few and would love to share them with you. We are looking forward to the first chance we get to sit and share, heart to heart, with you and other new faces to the house.

Beloved Parliamentarians, Divine Providence has ordained that the well being of Canadians has been entrusted to you. The decisions you make will mentor, shape and in so many ways set the climate of this nation. Look in our eyes, listen to our voices, remember our faces – in them see the faces of your children and grandchildren.

For their sake and ours, leave this nation, better than you found it. We believe, we honour you, we appreciat you and want to say again that our hope is that togethere we will build a strong Canada for generations to come.

On that note, I would like to call up a couple of our young people to share their dream for this awesome nation they will inherit.

On Sunday, The Right Honourable Stephen Harper requested from the Goveror General that the 39th Parliament be dissolved and Canada would enter into Its 40th Election - the third in four years.  this is the perfect oppertunity for the church to rise up and vote for righteousness, life and morality issues.  Much was accomplished over the last two years through the minority Conservative government - i.e. raising the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16, clear support fro Israel from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and the apology for Residencial Schools to the First Nations peoples of Canada, but much more still needs to be accomplished.  We need a government that will bring in legislation that would protect pregnant woman and their unborn children from violence, ensuring religious and free speech rights are not overturned by out of control Human Rights Commissions and the protection of our most vulnerable of citizens - unborn children in the womb. 

Voting is an important tool that we as Christians have been given to help guild, steward and disciple our nation in righteousness and justice.  We have a responsibility to not only pray but to show up on October 14th and vote for a righteous government.  I encourage you to find out about the candidates in your area, what their policies and platforms are on key moral issues facing our nation and the world today.  When you find a good candidate help them on their campaigns, gather your friends and family and encourage them to do the same thing, do your part to ensure that the 40th Parliament has seats filled with men and women who will stand for righteousness, justice and life.  One of my favorite quotes from Faytene is "The greatest act of intercession was not a prayer but an action" Do your part in intercession and act.  

Hello blogging world!

My name is Tamara Crampton, and I have been an intern with Faytene since January 19th 2006. However, it is now my time to leave our nations capital and move to Edmonton. As my time in Ottawa comes to a close, I have been thinking of all the things that I have learnt and experienced as an intern.

Before moving to Ottawa, i had no grid for politics, did care about politics, probably couldnt have told you who was the Prime Minister let alone who my member of parliament was. Then God ransomed my heart for the nation at TheCRY 2006 and I knew that I had to do something more. So i moved to the heart of the nation (Ottawa) where I was changed for ever!

Some of my favorite stories from my time as an itern:

One day, I had this urge to go to McDonalds (which is not something i normally crave) but I had a feeling we should go. So we pull in and initally i wanted to go through the drive through but had a feeling we should go inside, so we go inside and there are all these men in suits and little walkie talkie things in their ears. We were both super crious as to what was going on, and we were just chatting to each other and the guy in front of us says, "The Prime Minister is here". Ashley and I were shocked when from around the corner comes, yes the Prime Minister. So Ashley and I sat down near the PM and prayed for him from our booth. So funny!


What I have picked up as an intern:

One of the things that I picked up interning here was that members of parliament are just men and women who are simply doing their job. I came to a realization that so many (myself included) just bashed these men and women not having an understanding that if we are not speaking they only hear one side of the story and their job is to represent the people and so if only one side is speaking they are going to represent what they are hearing. I began to have a huge appreciation for the nations leaders. I also realized there are many who have a heart for God and are doing their best to see God come to Canada.

I also began to see that being a voice in the nation isnt all that hard, all you have to do really is show up. Some of my favorite times are being on Josiah teams. For those who dont know a Josiah team is when we have young men and women from all over Canada come to Ottawa and we meet with MP's and Senator's to talk to them about the issues we feel are affecting us in the nation. Its amazing to sit with the people that are shaping and changing our nation everyday and we get to share with them the issues on our heart. It's tangible changing the nation stuff and I love it. I love it because you dont have to be a genius or even know a lot about politics (if you know me you would know that I am not much of a political kid) but you just have to have a heart for Canada and our generation and you are set!

I am going to miss this beautiful city and the fact that I can see the Peace Tower whenever want, but I am excited to see what God is going to do with my life in the future. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has stood with me in the past season of my life. Who knows what the future holds only God and thank the Lord he knows and I dont.

Tamara Crampton

Don't Be Fooled: The Truth Behind Bill C-543

Most of you reading this are probably aware of Bill C-484, the Unborn Victims of Crime Act (if not, see blog post below). However, you may not be aware of Bill C-543, a bill which claims to be a better, "less controversial" alternative to C-484. Don't be fooled, you savvy reader, and here's why:

- Bill C-543, brought forward by Liberal MP Brent St. Denis, is simply a counter-bill made solely for the purpose of detracting support from Bill C-484.

- To understand Bill C-543, let's look at Canada’s legal system. When sentencing, judges are permitted to consider “aggravating circumstances”. These are facts or situations that a judge thinks should make the offender more guilty, and therefore deserve a longer sentence.

- All Bill C-543 does is specify that pregnancy can be used as an aggravating factor. However, pregnancy can already be used as an aggravating factor. So basically this brings ZERO change to the legal system. Absolutely nothing new. So why does Bill C-543 even bother?

- Basically, those who oppose Bill C-484 believe that it will recriminalize abortion by making the fetus a "person". This is not true at all. They also believe that the bill will be used against pregnant women. This is false; the goal of the bill is to protect pregnant women. So, all C-484's opponents want to do is bring down the bill, which is the purpose of Bill C-543.

- If that's not enough, you should know that Mr. St. Denis has already introduced a Private Members Bill this Parliament. Basically, that means that Bill C-543 cannot come up for debate in this current government (or Parliament), so it has no chance of being passed.

In summary, don't be deceived into thinking both bills do the same thing. Bill C-543 does nothing new to protect women's rights, whereas Bill C-484 is making real progress. Lets not halt progress; lets expose the truth behind Bill C-543.

You can:

- Write letters to the editor; you would think that Bill C-543 would be easily exposed, but no one has pointed out its obvious flaws.

- Tell everyone you know about this, so that they don't support Bill C-543 without knowing its true and deceptive purpose.

Thanks so much for responding to this call to action. You are being a righteous nation changer.

- Jonathan -

Bill C-484 by Sarah

Just a quick note to let everyone know what's new with Bill C-484 (The Unborn Victims of Crime Act). For anyone who hasn't heard, Bill C-484 is a Private Member's Bill sponsored by Ken Epp, and it passed second reading on March 5, 2008. It would amend the Criminal Code by creating a new offense, so that anyone who attacks a pregnant woman and kills or injures her unborn child would be charged not only with an offense against the woman, but an offense against the unborn child. THIS IS HUGE. And, it's just common sense.

If I was pregnant, having baby showers and decorating a nursery, picking out baby names and putting money aside for diapers and baby clothes, and on the way to my car late at night some person jumped me with a knife and stabbed my stomach and killed my baby, I would be horrified to find out that s/he couldn't be charged with taking my baby away from me.

But, right now, in Canada, the only charge that could be laid would be aggravated assault. At least 15 pregnant women have made the headlines for being severely attacked since 2004, and only 2 of those women survived. One of them was stabbed multiple times with a sword in the stomach; she survived but her baby did not. The person who did it was only charged with assault. Another woman was beaten to death for refusing to have an abortion. This is a very real situation.

We already instinctively know that a woman who is expecting considers her unborn child to be extremely valuable. And yet, we don't reflect that in the law, because babies are invisible until they are born alive. To me, that's ridiculous. They aren't invisible in the natural; everyone knows when a woman is getting ready to birth and you can't tell that woman that she's not carrying a life inside of her. But the law does all the time.

Needless to say, I became very excited about Ken Epp's bill after I recovered from my shock that this was not already law. The bill doesn't attempt to make unborn children recognizable persons under the law (that would outlaw abortion because you can't kill people; hence C-484 creates an entirely new offense instead of adding unborn children to the list of homicide victims) but it would be the first bill that gives any protection to unborn children in the past 20 years.

The bill is currently in the Justice Committee awaiting debate and then third reading. As part of a campaign to ask Members of Parliament to support this bill, we have postcards on our website that can be downloaded and printed to mail to your MP.

We also have a 3 minute informational video plus mini-poster that is available for churches or other groups to promote awareness on Bill C-484.

AND, there is an on-line petition that is collecting signatures in support of Bill C-484, to be presented to Ken Epp in the fall. Please sign it! Unofficial polls cannot be tabled in Parliament, but they can actually have more influence, especially when they get media coverage.

Go here to sign the petition:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/BillC484/signatures.html