On Parliament Hill

Funding Foreign Abortions

  • Ted Falk, Author
  • Member of Parliament, Provencher

Prime Minister Trudeau has long been a vocal proponent of abortion. Many Canadians remember his ultimatum in May of 2014 that anyone who thought differently than him on this subject need not apply to run as Liberal candidates in the federal election. Though historically the Liberal Party allowed a greater range of opinions, under Justin Trudeau some sitting Liberal MPs suddenly had the welcome mat pulled from beneath their feet.

Last May, as thousands of Canadian women and men gathered on Parliament Hill to call for the human rights of the unborn to be respected – one of the largest rallies each year – the Prime Minister quietly lifted the restriction that prevented federal foreign aid dollars from being used for abortion services overseas.

Then just recently, in a reactionary response to a change in American policy, Prime Minister Trudeau decided to further increase Canada’s already soaring foreign aid budget to fund more abortions overseas. The Minister of International Development, Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced that Canada would join an effort to make up the six hundred million dollar loss resulting from the American decision and establish a dedicated fund for abortions abroad. Missing in her announcement was an explanation of where she would decrease aid funding in order to pay for this new commitment.

In 2015, Canada spent $5.8 billion taxpayer dollars on foreign aid. Canadians are undeniably generous, and foreign aid can be an effective way to help struggling developing countries, yet as more and more of our tax dollars leave the country while Canadian families struggle to put food on the table and heat their homes, we need to ask whether paying for abortions overseas is really the best use of our tax dollars.

Despite all the new taxes he’s forcing on Canadians as he sinks the country into debt, the Prime Minister seems to think so.