At Issue: Education...

The Christian Heritage Party:

Policies you just can't hear from anyone else

recently received a flyer in the mail I explaining Christian Heritage Party

Policies (CHP). Unfortunately, there was no mention of post-secondary education among their many policies. (Nor were local CHP candidate Engineering Professor Baird Judson or the party office in Ontario able to provide me with any policy material relating specifically to university or college education or students.) Some of the other policies put forth by the CHP were, I felt, sufficiently unique to be reported in this column. They are also interesting to examine in light of the fact that a member of faculty is running as a candidate under these policies. There are many policies presented by the party, but this article deals only with the ones that (in my opinion) clearly set the CHP apart from the other parties running in this election.

Under the topic of ‘‘The Family and Soci- ety’’ the CHP states that it would ‘‘Oppose universal daycare but support the efforts and care supplied by individuals and groups... Re- sist any attempts to “REDEFINE” the tradi- tional family through the inclusion of ‘same sex’ partners and the adoption of children by lesbians and homosexuals... [and] Revoke the laws on ‘NO FAULT’ divorce.’’

On the issue of *‘AIDS and Public Health’’ the CHP would bring about mandatory AIDS testing for all Canadians, mandatory AIDS test- ing of all immigrants and refugees, and the establishment of AIDS hospices “‘to meet the demand for more treatment centres.’’

On ‘‘Immigration and Refugees’’ the party states that ‘‘Our immigration laws must not be tools of social engineering to permanently alter our Christian Heritage.”’

“*Justice’’ policies of the CHP contain sev- eral policies that are rather unique. First, the party claims that ‘‘The Charter of Rights is used as a manipulative instrument to advance causes that hurt the common good.’’ Second, the party has as a policy to eliminate Section 232 of the Criminal Code. Their reasoning for doing this would be so that no court cases could be reduced from murder to manslaughter. A CHP govern- ment would also work to bring a ‘‘Reinstate- ment of capital punishment for pre-meditated murder upon unanimous consent by judge and

jury.”

The party’s opposition to the Canadian Char- ter of Rights and Freedoms is further explained later in the flyer. It states ‘‘A dangerous new course has been taken which puts democracy and the liberty of future generations in peril. CHP has concluded that nothing less than the REPEAL OF THE CHARTER OF RIGHTS will suffice to restore democracy to Canada.”’

The Christian Heritage Party flyer concludes with a section on social programs. It appears that the CHP is in favour of social programs being ‘‘limited to’? Medicare and the Canada Pension Plan. Medicare would, however, be without ‘“exemption or protection to those whose lifestyle and conduct posea health threat, thereby

increasing society’s health risks and health costs.’’ It is perhaps understandable that a party with no real policy on post-secondary education would not mention the Canada Student Loans program as a social program (although it is rather debatable to think of it as a social pro- gram) that it favours.

It is clear that the policies of the Christian Heritage Party represent ideas that the majority of Canadians r.ight find objectionable. They appear to have different concepts of govern- ment and human rights than practically all other political parties. These policies, ifbetter known, may prove alarming to many people.

BRUCE DAVISON

George

Prou

Hiltsborough

George Proud M.P.

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