Wedge issues draw eyeballs
Liberal moves push Tory leadership hopefuls on abortion and gun control
Hours before the first official Conservative leadership debate, the Liberal government turned its sights on abortion and gun control Wednesday, drawing new attention to wedge issues that have emerged in the race to become the next Tory leader.
In an afternoon announcement, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said Ottawa has earmarked more than $3.5 million for initiatives run by Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights and the National Abortion Federation Canada to provide financial aid to those seeking longdistance abortion services and funding to train health-care workers offering abortion care.
“These investments reflect our belief that women and women alone have the right to make decisions about their bodies,” Duclos said.
His comments came on the heels of an announcement by Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino about changes to the rules regarding the sale and transfer of nonrestricted firearms. As of May 18, individuals and businesses must confirm the recipient’s identity and the validity of their license with the registrar of firearms before transferring a gun. Businesses will also be required to keep sales records related to nonrestricted firearms, which include certain rifles or shotguns. Most long guns are nonrestricted, according to the RCMP.
Neither announcement was entirely new; while funding for abortion services was not linked to specific organizations at the time, the money comes from a $45-million pledge in the 2021 federal budget.
The regulations on nonrestricted firearms also first appeared in two orders-in-council dated April 29.
That prompted questions over whether the Liberals were attempting to spark tension in the Conservative leadership race on the same day that the six candidates were set to face off in an English-language debate in Edmonton.
“As conservatives continue to step up their pattern of negative attacks and divisive politics, it’s as important as ever that our Liberal team stays focused on delivering the progressive policies Canadians voted for in the last election,” read a Liberal fundraising email sent late Wednesday afternoon, which also made note of the impending leadership debate.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters Wednesday, however, that his government had already been working to improve abortion access issues “for a long time.”
Mendicino also rejected the notion that the debate factored into his announcement.
Although law and order was one of the topics up for discussion for Wednesday’s debate, clashes between candidates on gun control have been minimal so far.
But the question of where the Tory leadership candidates stand on abortion has already landed on the debate stage.
Debate over the issue has been renewed in Canada since last week’s leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft decision on abortion rights. The draft opinion indicated that the United States’ top court could overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which ruled that women have a constitutional right to abortion.
Canada’s Supreme Court struck down this country’s law criminalizing abortion as unconstitutional in 1988, although it remains up to the provinces and territories to determine how and where the procedure is made available.
Duclos said neither the U.S. draft opinion nor disagreement within the Conservative party over abortion access played into his decision to discuss funding for reproductive health services.