CHP Platform – Life and Family

Better Solutions for Life and Family.

• The CHP is the only pro-life party in Canada today. From conception, to natural death, every life is precious.

• Promote adoption, not abortion.

When a woman is faced with an unanticipated pregnancy, we should surround her with care, comfort, counsel and the information she needs to make a decision she will not regret later.

Every baby is a wanted baby, though not necessarily wanted by the natural parents. Many couples are eagerly waiting to adopt children and nurture them in a loving home. Adoption, therefore, must receive primary attention as a desirable alternative to abortion. The duty to give conceived life the opportunity to develop in a secure and loving environment provided by adoptive parents must supersede any legal provision to terminate a pregnancy by abortion.

With a concerted effort by each citizen, displaying love in action, Canada will become once more a life-affirming and child-loving nation—a model for the rest of the world to follow.

The CHP believes that this is a Better Solution.

• Protect unborn victims of crime.

One of the Harper government’s most cynical offenses against morality was the introduction of a government bill to crush Conservative MP Ken Epp’s Bill C-484, the Unborn Victims of Crime Act. In introducing his replacement bill—which Campaign Life Coalition called “gutless”—Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said his bill (almost identical to one introduced a year ago by a pro-abortion Liberal MP) was designed “…in a way that leaves no room for the introduction of fetal rights.” Fetal rights should be introduced. Historically, people of African origin were at one time defined as not being “persons”; that was wrong, and the law was changed. Women in Canada, before 1929, were defined as not being “persons”; that was wrong, and the law was changed. The fetus is, at present, arbitrarily defined as not being a “person”; but that is wrong, and it must be changed.

We can do better—our humanity demands it.

• Defend marriage and the family by calling a Royal Commission to study the issue.

Same Sex Marriage will have an enormous social impact on our nation. Therefore, we believe our parliament should have devoted ample time to examining the facts. Both Liberal and Conservative governments broke their promises to Canadians, as neither authorized any real enquiry into the facts.

France on the other hand, when faced with this same issue, appointed a Parliamentary Commission to carefully study the social implications of such legislation. The commission dedicated two years of examination and study, after which the report recommended against legalizing same-sex “marriage” and against legalizing same-sex adoption. The report stated: “The purpose of adoption is not to give a child to a family, but to give a family to a child.” Decades of sociological research now shows that children do much better with a father and a mother than with two “mothers” or two “fathers”.

In Canada, same-sex “marriage” was forced on an unwilling nation by the Liberal government of Paul Martin after only two weeks of sham “hearings” by a stacked committee; and the Conservative promise to defend the traditional family was cynically abandoned as soon as they were in office.

The CHP would appoint a Royal Commission, and give it the authority to do a thorough examination of the issue and suspend the legislation that allowed same-sex ‘marriages’ until the enquiry is complete.

• Prevent Euthanasia

The Netherlands experience, where official acquiescence became legalization, and led eventually to thousands of murders each year, shows clearly that we should not follow that path, but must retain the Criminal Code sanctions against “assisted suicide” and other forms of euthanasia.

• Introduce Family-friendly Childcare Allowance — $1,000 a month for families where one parent stays home to raise the children.

CHP policy, overall, reflects the conviction that the married two-parent family is the most important foundation of society. Public policy should reflect a recognition and protection of the important function of a family in training up the next generation of stable and responsible citizens. The CHP Family Friendly Childcare Allowance touches on child care, but in a way totally different from all of the other parties. It would provide $1000 per month to any family where one of the parents chose to stay home and raise their children—until age 18—unlike the current policy of $100 per month for children under 6.

The Conservatives recently added a $2000 per child tax credit—annually—which will provide about $310 per child in tax relief. Hardly what a family needs to help a parent stay home to raise their children. For real pro-family legislation, you need the CHP’s $12,000 annual childcare allowance.

The average take-home pay of a woman who works at a second job is under $1000 per month. We want to help her stay home and care for her children if that is what she wants, and surveys continually tell us that this is what she wants.

Additionally, it will open about 1.5 million existing job spaces — mostly entry-level jobs, which would especially help to relieve youth unemployment — and would reduce overall unemployment to between 3 and 5 per cent.

Now that’s a Better Solution!