Conscience Rights

 

Open letter to Justin Trudeau – honoring conscience rights

Editor’s note. Justin Trudeau us the head of the Liberal Party and the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. This “Open Letter” was originally sent to Mr. Trudeau by Patricia Maloney, a prominent blogger, and others displeased with Mr. Trudeau’s insistence that there is no room in the Liberal Party for pro-lifers. In an update today, Ms. Maloney says the letter now has over 100 signatures.
Dear Mr. Trudeau,

Justin Trudeau, leader of Liberal Party of Canada

We the undersigned, are very concerned about your recent edict to exclude pro-life people from being candidates for the Liberal Party. We are also concerned that you say you are doing this, because you are a strong believer in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
We must confess, we find it impossible to reconcile the two.
First, our Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees freedom of conscience (See section 2(a) freedom of conscience and religion). This is a fundamental right and the Charter is very clear in that it promises that all Canadians have this right. This would include all persons who wish to run for political parties. How can you in good conscience, exclude people because their consciences guide them differently, than yours does?
Second, when some honourable ex-Liberal MPs wrote you, you dismissed their concerns because you felt the writers were “old men.” This dismissal is also against the Charter, since your comments are both ageist and sexist, and so discriminatory based on same. (“See section 15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability).
Would you likewise discriminate against a young female’s opinion? Or conversely, perhaps you are implying that you would only listen to a young female’s opinion? In either case, this would still be discrimination based on age and gender.

If you do not agree with these men’s arguments, I would love to hear what your counter arguments would be. Instead you chose to ignore their arguments, preferring to attack the speakers instead of the subject at hand. This is not helpful in furthering honest and intelligent discussions on any issue including abortion.

Finally, on many occasions you have stated that a woman’s right to choose is guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. But this is not the case at all. The Supreme Court Justices in the 1988 Morgentaler decision never stated that a woman had a constitutional right to abortion. How can you believe then, that her right to abortion is guaranteed by the Charter? It isn’t. Please see here for a detailed discussion what is in that decision, as well as what isn’t.
We must admit we are very confused by your understanding of the Charter. On the one hand, you ignore what is clearly guaranteed in the Charter, and on the other hand, you invent something that is clearly not in the Charter and say that it is. With all due respect Mr. Trudeau, your sentiments are logically incoherent.

We respectfully request that you welcome all persons into the Liberal Party regardless of their beliefs about abortion and that you respect their right to vote in accordance with their conscience.
We believe all persons deserve the same respect regardless of conscience beliefs, of gender, or of age.
Let the people decide if they wish to vote for these differing viewpoints. That is why we hold elections. It really isn’t for the leader to decide this. We believe this is what democracy is all about.
We respectfully request that you respond to this letter, and we look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Source: NRLC News