Kim Guttormson
Do you really mean it, Stephen?
June 18, 2004
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Kim Guttormson |
As a general rule, social conservatives don’t find themselves in
agreement with the Liberals and NDP.
But in an election that has defied predictions and created some strange
bedfellows, they find themselves on the same page when it comes to the
Conservative party’s position in the middle of the road.
One side is hopeful, the other offers warnings, but the belief is the
same: the Conservatives under Stephen Harper have a hidden agenda.
The new Conservative party’s more-moderate-than-expected positions
have many wondering whether it’s simply a temporary shift designed
to help Harper get elected or a permanent distancing from the party’s
Reform/social conservative/Western alienation roots.
Social conservative groups such as Concerned Christians Canada hope the
Conservatives are propping up a more-electable front that will morph back
after the election. And in a rare convergence, the Liberals and NDP are
arguing the same thing.
But there is also growing concern among some traditional Conservative
supporters that Harper actually does mean what he’s saying and will
stick near the middle.
That the newly minted Conservatives have yet to hold a policy conference
and that Harper is being vague on a number of party positions does nothing
to clarify where the party actually sits, leaving room for speculation.
While he has promised free votes for his MPs, Harper has also reminded those
on the campaign trail that they should not offer up positions that differ
from what Harper has said.
“It’s a tough job for Stephen Harper,” says University
of Calgary political analyst David Taras. The Conservatives have to decide
whether “to be the NDP of the right and always be a party of protest”
or move to the centre and have a chance of forming government. “The
jury is still out on whether that transformation has happened.
“[Harper] knows what he has to do to win. But if they’re
elected, the nature of the party will have changed. Keeping everyone happy
becomes a very large job that may be no fun at all.”
The debate around what the Conservatives stand for – or what they
were saying they stand for – began early in the campaign when Alberta
MP Rob Merrifield uttered the word “abortion,” forcing Harper
to say he wouldn’t introduce legislation on the issue.
It spurred questions about the party’s position
on social issues – including sexual orientation being included
in hate crimes legislation and gay marriage. Harper said the existing
hate crime law needs
to be tweaked, but not repealed, and he won’t clarify under
what circumstances he would use the notwithstanding clause to override
decisions by the Supreme Court.
Two Alberta MPs, Myron Thompson and Rob Anders, had both agreed to attend
a rally opposing the hate-crime legislation, until party officials pointed
out it didn’t fit with stated policy. Critics say the Conservatives
were simply trying to muzzle two potentially controversial MPs who may
have sparked unfavourable headlines.
The Liberals and the NDP, along with some former Progressive Conservative
MPs who refused to join the new party, warn that what voters are seeing
of the Conservative campaign, may
not be what they get in government.
“We’re a bit concerned about a Trojan horse approach,”
says NDP chief of staff Donne Flanagan. “There’s a few new
drapes hung around the room, but it’s still framing the Alliance
party.”
Craig Chandler, chief executive officer of Concerned Christians Canada,
says some of his membership are worried there won’t be any surprises
behind the curtain should the Conservatives get elected.
“I’m getting lots of calls from people thinking Stephen might
be abandoning them for the sake of appearing moderate,” said Chandler,
who says he has faith in the Conservative leader. “I’m hearing
from some people who are not going to vote. What I’m trying to tell
them is that’s crazy. We’ve never been this close to getting
rid of the Liberals.”
While Harper, by all accounts, doesn’t rank social issues at the
top of his agenda – “He’s never ever given two hoots
about social issues,” says REAL Women’s Gwen Landolt –
groups like Chander’s and Landolt’s believe he will have to
listen to his caucus. And their goal is to get MPs who share their beliefs
elected.
“Harper is busy distancing himself from social issues, but who
is in his caucus? They can put pressure on him. We have to get them in,”
says Landolt, who stresses there are candidates they support in all three
main parties. “Individual MPs carry more weight. He’ll have
to listen to them.”
Chandler says he’s been stressing to his organization that this
is an election, and that their best opportunity to influence the party’s
direction will come at the policy convention.
“I tell them to get involved, become delegates and then we can
make a difference,” he says. “There will be huge pressure
from social conservatives at the policy convention.
“We have to stick to the game plan. It’s all in the follow
through.”
Conservatives say everyone in the party is delighted with where Harper
has positioned them – and how could they not be? The party has gone
from anticipating another term as the opposition to the possibility of
forming a minority government, according to poll results. Harper has even
raised the idea of a Conservative majority.
Bruce McDonald, who was involved with the Reform party and helps fund-raise
for the national campaign, says he’s not aware of any old-time Reformers
who aren’t happy with what Harper’s saying.
“Nothing succeeds like success,” McDonald says, adding that
the original intent of the Reform party was to push economic issues, not
social ones.
Alberta MP and Conservative party spokesman Monte Solberg says it’s
natural for policies and platforms to change as the public’s priorities
change.
“I think it’s obvious that we’re not the same party
we were 10 years ago,” he says, adding that their platform does
include some Reform staples, such as free votes, increased military spending
and stronger justice legislation. “I think it’s true we never
did have policies on all kinds of social issues, everything from abortion
to capital punishment.
“We always said matters would be put before people, vote their
conscience, a free vote.
“I think a lot of people have come to understand that conservative
parties can either blow themselves up over a bunch of issues on the perimeter
of where the public’s at, or discipline ourselves and be a government.
It’s a decision the party has made.”
Rick Anderson, a political commentator who worked with the Reform party
and Preston Manning, says there is a place at the Conservative table for
a variety of views.
“If things are handled democratically with free votes, I think
that’s what people are really looking for,” he says.
“If we didn’t have a caucus with varying points of view,
what would we be?” Conservative MP Art Hanger asks.
Some predict the potential for grassroots backlash won’t arise
from the handling of social issues, but from renewed Western alienation,
a key reason the Reform broke with the Progressive Conservatives 17 years
ago.
As the Conservatives begin to make long-coveted inroads into Ontario,
they would then need Quebec to return to a role as a truly national party.
Whether that includes working with the Bloc Quebecois in a minority government
situation, or making concessions to the province to try to win votes,
there is a belief that could upset their traditional base in the West.
“The West is waiting for the shoe to drop,” says Faron Ellis,
a political scientist at Lethbridge Community College. “Social conservatives
have no other options. Populists and alienated Westerners might not have
other options, but they think they do.”
The U of C’s Taras says Harper may face constraints in the Conservative
party that weren’t there in the Alliance version.
“If Harper does form a government with the Bloc and a lot of compromises
have to be made, the West starts saying, ‘what about us.’
In the long run, if the party doesn’t serve the interests of the
West, doesn’t reflect the values of certain groups of Canadians
on the right, they’ll find another outlet.”
Talking a blue streak
Some comments by and about new Conservatives |
Yellowhead
Conservative MP Rob Merrifield to the Globe and Mail on abortion:
“I would think that they [a woman seeking an abortion should]
have all of the information in front of them. I think [with] any procedure
that's a valuable thing for them to have.”
He later added: “I haven't thought through whether a doctor
would be the best person [to deliver that information] and it may
depend on the doctor.” Conservative candidate for
Kitchener-Conestoga Frank Luella on sexual orientation:
“I think that the biblical teaching is that [homosexuality]
is not a natural kind of relationship. I think it is inappropriate
for Christians, especially Christian leaders, to live that lifestyle.”
Conservative MP for Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke Cheryl Gallant
on sexual orientation and abortion:
"The danger in having sexual orientation just listed, that
encompasses, for example, pedophiles. I believe that the caucus
as a whole would like to see it repealed.”
She later compared abortion to the beheading of an American in Iraq.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper on abortion:
“I've been clear. A Conservative government led by me will
not be tabling abortion legislation. It will not be sponsoring an
abortion referendum."
He says he would allow a free vote on a private member’s bill.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper on same-sex marriage:
“I believe the court will defer to Parliament's judgment.
… What I saw in the [Gallant] comments was simply that the
term sexual orientation is legally vague. So I think all that needs
to be done for those who have those concerns is to make sure the
law is clear. I'm certainly prepared to do that, but I am not prepared
to repeal that legislation.”
Conservative spokesperson Jarslav Baran on personal statements:
“If personal opinions are given to media, it should be made
clear that they are personal opinions. And when they're speaking
for party policy, it should be made clear this is our party policy."
Barry Yeates, former director of political operations for
the Canadian Alliance, in a letter on the new Conservative party:
“I find myself increasingly apprehensive of the vacuous platform
and social conservative agenda now being purveyed by the newly formed
Conservative party. I think the views expressed by a number of Conservative
candidates and party officials, on topics as diverse as abortion,
sexual orientation, bilingualism and immigration verge on intolerant.
I am therefore deeply concerned about what a Stephen Harper government
could mean for Canada.”
Manitoba Progressive Conservative MP Rick Borotsik, who
is not running for re-election, on the new Conservative party:
“Red flags on EI. Red flags on official bilingualism. Red
flags on health care. Red flags on abortion. Obviously, [Stephen
Harper] is not going to bring abortion forward as an issue but certainly,
if it comes forward from his party, he wouldn't stop it. That's
a red flag. A red flag on social issues. There's an old saying that
what you see is what you get, and I say – though it's just
me saying it – I think Canadians should realize that what
they see is not necessarily what they will get."
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