You
would think that our most fundamental means of choosing our
government (voting) gives everyone a fair chance to be heard.
A
more detailed explanation of the electoral
system in
Ontario, its shortcomings and the possible improvements to the
system is presented elsewhere. Here we want to address the point
that voting for "pro-life" candidates within the
traditional parties has not produced results for the pro-life
movement.
Partly
this is due to the major media,
which created a "Canadian culture" hostile to pro-life
concerns.
Partly
this is due to the strategy used by the pro-life movement, which
has not been able to create a block of voters ready to disregard
political allegiances in order to vote "pro-life".
One
of the most successful pro-life initiatives, using this strategy
at the federal level, was the "Liberals for Life"
campaign in the months leading to the June 1997 federal
election. Dan McCash, a pro-life organizer from Toronto, and his
Liberals for Life group were able to gain control of ten federal
Liberal riding associations and elect ten Liberal pro-life
candidates. This was a major achievement as an organizational
effort. However, the Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister at
the time, Jean Chretien, did not certify any of these pro-life
candidates and substituted them with candidates toeing the party
line on abortion.
