Vellacott said he hoped the ad hoc committee that had deemed Conservative MP Mark Warawa’s gendercide Motion M-408 non-votable earlier this year had “learned their lesson.”
“There were a lot of shenanigans that went on at that time,” the veteran pro-life MP and former co-chair of the Parliamentary Pro-Life Caucus said. The Parliamentary library people had indicated there was nothing unconstitutional in Warawa’s M-408, which called for the House of Commons to condemn the practice of the gendercide of girls through sex-selection abortion.
Unless there is something “clearly unconstitutional” in a private member’s motion or bill, it should reach the floor of the House for a vote, he said.
“I doubt they will mess around with it this time,” said Vellacott. “Parliamentarians learned their lesson. It would be wise to let the Westminster democratic parliamentary process to proceed.”
The Saskatoon-Wanuskewin MP introduced two motions Dec. 6 that are abortion-related, and could run afoul of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s promise not to reopen the abortion debate. Motion M-482 calls for a special committee to study abortion-related Supreme Court of Canada decisions since 1988 to look at what the court says about Parliament’s role in the protection of unborn children and make recommendations the government could make to address any negative impacts. And Motion M-483 calls for a special committee to examine “what legal protections Canada ought to provide to children before birth, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Canada ratified in 1991, which states that ‘the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth.’ ”
Vellacott said he would like Canada to be in compliance with its 1991 signature on the UN’s convention.
His other motion would challenge the myth that Canadians have a “right” to abortion, when in fact the Supreme Court of Canada decisions have left a “legal vacuum.”
He noted that Justice Bertha Wilson, “a feminist” and “pro-abortion,” wrote that Parliament had an interest in protecting the unborn child at some point during its nine months gestation.
“It’s important to hear from the justices,” he said. “They passed it back to the legislators. Something should be done in that regard.
“I don’t think we need to run from this issue,” he said. “We have nothing to fear when we’re pursuing truth.”
Canada’s legal void or vacuum is similar to that of communist countries such as North Korea and China, he said.
There is a need for legislators to come up with a law that provides protection “along that nine-month continuum,” he said.
Vellacott also introduced a private member’s bill, Bill C-560, for “equal, shared parenting” in the event of marriage breakdown.
Vellacott is not running in the 2015 federal election, and said he hopes to leave a legacy after having served six terms since 1997. However, he must decide by the end of January which one of these three items he will pursue, since he will only have one more opportunity to advance private member’s business before the writ drops. Vellacott said he could introduce still another motion or bill instead.
“I’m keeping my cards to my chest,” he said. “There’s a possibility of another initiative that needs to be done in our country.”
As he makes his decision over the Christmas break, he will be making consultations with colleagues and constituents, he said. He will have to inform the House which initiative he chooses by late January or early February.