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Planned Parenthood: Saskatchewan Tory MPs Maurice Vellacott And Leon Benoit Attack Group After Government Grant

Maurice Vellacott

First Posted: 09/30/11 04:40 PM ET Updated: 11/30/11 05:12 AM ET

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OTTAWA - Two more Tory MPs are taking swipes at the International Planned Parenthood Foundation.

One claims the group conned the government when it applied for and got a federal grant of $6 million over three years.

Another is linking it to the sinister and long-discredited science of eugenics.

Saskatchewan MP Maurice Vellacott says the federation was deceitful in claiming that the money would only go to countries where abortion is illegal.

Alberta MP Leon Benoit wants to condemn the foundation over an award named for Margaret Sanger.

Sanger was a pioneer in planned parenthood who embraced a type of eugenics.

Saskatoon MP Brad Trost started the ball rolling earlier this week with a web post condemning the decision to fund the international family-planning group.

While the Prime Minister's Office is adamant that abortion is not an issue for the Conservative government, it still seems to be a touchy subject for backbenchers.

The Planned Parenthood grant is a case in point.

Trost said in his web post that the government's claim that the money would be used in countries that bar abortion is "hair-splitting."

Vellacott said the federation is "trying to dupe" the government over abortion.

"Even in those countries where abortion is technically illegal, it's naive to think that Canadian tax dollars are not being used to promote abortion," he said in a news release.

Benoit has put a motion on the order paper asking the House of Commons to condemn the International Planned Parenthood Federation for the annual Margaret Sanger Award because "part of Margaret Sanger's philosophy constitutes eugenics."

The award is actually presented by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America to recognize "leadership, excellence, and outstanding contributions to the reproductive health and rights movement."

The eugenics movement flourished in the early part of the 20th century. It argued for improving the population by controlled breeding. It was embraced by the Nazis in Germany and was cited in support of forced sterilization in some countries, including Canada.

Sanger espoused a version of eugenics.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version said two more Saskatchewan MPs were taking swipes at Planned Parenthood. Benoit is from Alberta.

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OTTAWA - Two more Tory MPs are taking swipes at the International Planned Parenthood Foundation.One claims the group conned the government when it applied for and got a federal grant of $6 million ove...
OTTAWA - Two more Tory MPs are taking swipes at the International Planned Parenthood Foundation.One claims the group conned the government when it applied for and got a federal grant of $6 million ove...
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Aeons
50 Fans
10:44 PM on 10/03/2011
Planned Parenthood does much good work.

Condemning the organization for ideological slights almost a century old is ridiculous.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Marcus Davies
I'm still standing
120 Fans
02:32 PM on 10/02/2011
Want to have some fun at these clowns' expense? A group of their constituents is raising money in their names for Planned Parenthood. You can find then here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Let-Brad-Trost-know-hes-wrong-Support-Planned-Parenthood-Canada/227102527347207?sk=wall
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headstrong
176 Fans
05:34 AM on 10/02/2011
I see the "christians" are oozing out of the slime.
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Gravff Itti
53 Fans
07:17 PM on 10/01/2011
Make no mistake, the Harper Regime's hard core group of true believers - far-right wing Christian evangelicals and fundamentalists MPs and supporters - burn with righteous desire to see abortion and homosexuality outlawed.

The fever to bring about what they see as Canada's divinely determined destiny to be ruled by Christian laws and precepts burns hot and fast.

It isn't for nothing that members of this group of true believers are faithfully convinced of the 'End Times', the 'Second Coming' and Canada's perceived prophesied role in the 'End Times'.*

* "The Armageddon Factor", by Marci McDonald
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Charles Allen
135 Fans
10:13 PM on 09/30/2011
Massive increases in prison costs despite dropping crime, military expenditures on unneeded jets, shaky economy, and now the abortion issue.

Obviously the conservatives are trying to take us back to the good old days of Mulroney, remember how great those were? (Not to mention the big bags of cash delivered directly to the prime minister)
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
canobserv
723 Fans
10:31 AM on 10/01/2011
yes well that didn't end very well for Mulroney..........or the conservative party....one can only hope it ends as well for them this time......it's just to bad we have to wait 4 more years
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BritishColumbian
American/Canadian liberal
2697 Fans
12:05 PM on 10/01/2011
We don't really have to wait 4 more years as Harper's major goal is to stay in power. Pressure can be put on different levels of gov't to stand up to Harper as he rams through his agenda and his balanced budget by off loading costs to provincial gov'ts as he tried to do in the RCMP funding for BC. He initially made it a take it or leave it proposition but it seems he is more interested now in actually negotiating with the provincial gov't.
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CanadaStan
Cogito ergo spud, I think, therefore I yam
173 Fans
04:27 PM on 10/01/2011
Yeah and if he wasn't fixing prisons you would be bitching about overcrowding...
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The Canadian
Stop Harper
754 Fans
07:32 PM on 09/30/2011
Canadian Tea Party, although I suppose up here it would be the Timmie Party
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PortlandZoo
Wait... what?
2287 Fans
11:20 AM on 10/01/2011
not Timmys! The Cow Patty Party.
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BritishColumbian
American/Canadian liberal
2697 Fans
11:58 AM on 10/01/2011
I agree that there are some similarities between the tea party and the wing of the Canadian conservatives that are really vestiges of the Reform Party. I spent some time refreshing my knowledge of this movement which predates the tea party as it began in 1986 as a western based political movement. In fact, CNN wrote an article outlining that the Canadian Reform Party could have been the roots for the tea party movement.

I think it is important to see this movement which is very much a part of Harper's DNA in its Canadian context as it grew out of discontent with the direction their founders believed Canada was heading especially in relation to being opposed multiculturalism and special status for Quebec. It is really worth the time to google "Canadian Reform Party" and read about its history and platforms including the Triple E Senate.

Where I see a huge difference is that the Reform Party wanted to decentralize and reduce the size of giov't, Harper appears to be heading in a different direction in consolidating power at the federal level as seen in his fight against Vancouver's Insite program and his original take it or leave RCMP contract with BC. This is a much different direction with what the tea party is pressing for.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
tnanimation
343 Fans
07:14 PM on 09/30/2011
Okay, you're covering the abortion 'issue' in Canada (which by the way is non-existent, this issue was put to rest long ago), What I find absolutely disgusting is the use of the tiny fetus model in the palm of the hand pic every time this issue is brought up. It happened one more time this week with the announcement of Mexico's laws regarding abortion. Perhaps a few anti-abortion activists on staff at HP? Sad, very sad.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
AC Fraser
bend before you break
218 Fans
 
08:43 PM on 09/30/2011
I agree! HufPo find a more neutral image. That's what reporters are supposed to be right?
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BritishColumbian
American/Canadian liberal
2697 Fans
09:44 PM on 09/30/2011
Not the way HP operates now. Sensationalism and misleading headlines like three people speaking out is a "triple threat". I have my doubts that many of the people working on this site do not have a clear understanding of how Canadian gov't works and sees everything through the lens of what is happening in the States.
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viewfromuphere
821 Fans
 
11:52 PM on 09/30/2011
HP is now master of the screaming headline....

kind a sad really....they don't need them...
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
canobserv
723 Fans
10:32 AM on 10/01/2011
HP is no longer HP ........it is HP/AOL.....a VERY differant animal
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ConcernfromCanada
195 Fans
06:08 PM on 09/30/2011
Harper rules with an iron fist. There is no way he is not condoning these statements otherwise he would have silenced them by now. During the election he enforced strict rules to stop his candidates from answering questions. His cabinet has always had to go through the PMO before answering anything. So I think this is all another smoke and mirrors show. Harper will say he does not want to open the abortion issue but will allow these dissenters to create a stir and then Harper will try to look like he is only listening to his constituents when enough rabid voices of the minority try to dictate to the rest of us. They are kidding themselves if they think that they will win that fight.
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CanadaStan
Cogito ergo spud, I think, therefore I yam
173 Fans
04:31 PM on 10/01/2011
Oh yeah, that's why he's allowing farmers to sell their own wheat, he's getting rid of the gun registry, he allows the expanded census to be voluntary..

When did giving the citizens more freedom become ruling with an iron fist?
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Ed Kapp
6 Fans
05:47 PM on 09/30/2011
These dopey backbench CONS openly dissenting Lord Harper is music to these ears!
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ConcernfromCanada
195 Fans
07:59 PM on 09/30/2011
You are kidding yourself if you think this is part of Harper's agenda. He stifled his caucus and cabinet in his last term (all public statements and interviews had to be approved by the PMO) and during the election his candidates were warned not to answer questions and many did not even participate in all-candidate local riding events at the direction of the party honchos. So to have three backbenchers speaking out is all part of the Harper scam. He will let this ignite a manufactured crisis and then use it as a reason to try and change the laws.

Music to my ears would be if reasonable and ethical Conservatives walked away from this Reform Party and taught them that they are not beyond reproach as a result of their majority.
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ConcernfromCanada
195 Fans
08:00 PM on 09/30/2011
Sorry, meant to say: if you don't think this is part of Harper's agenda
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trokebyt
1 Fans
09:48 PM on 09/30/2011
You can't be serious. Yes, democracy in Canada has suffered due to party discipline, but on occasion, back-benchers do rise up. They are from Saskatchewan and Alberta, two of the least progressive parts of this nation, and like many areas in America, they simply exist in another age. The sad thing is, they are probably doing a spot-on job of representing their constituents. But not at Harper's behest. Maybe he took the wrong side on this InSite agenda, but for anyone who can read the Globe without moving their lips the abortion debate has been settled for years. Planned Parenthood isn't just an abortion and birth control service, it also tackles preventative care and primary health services for the have-not's.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
MsCanuck
Wife, Mother, New Democrat, Pro-Choice, Atheist
245 Fans
05:36 PM on 09/30/2011
Where are the Women MPs and the Progressives defending Planned Parenthood? Men have no business in the abortion issue. period.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Whistlejackett
Hey stop doing that
1002 Fans
 
08:49 PM on 09/30/2011
What you say is garbage. Men also have a right concerning abortion.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Charles Allen
135 Fans
10:14 PM on 09/30/2011
The right to have one if they get pregnant.
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dresdengirl
2639 Fans
09:48 AM on 10/01/2011
Until and unless men get pregnant, they have NO voice in abortions.
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BritishColumbian
American/Canadian liberal
2697 Fans
09:46 PM on 09/30/2011
There is no real balance on this site.
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yer
Stop the Alberta Taliban
245 Fans
05:28 PM on 09/30/2011
Alberta Taliban hard at work destroying Canada
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Ascoli
1435 Fans
07:11 AM on 10/02/2011
Canada's west is as sickening as texas
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