Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff speaks to reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010.Pawel Dwulit
Stephen Harper's Conservative ideology is at work in two recent government decisions, the Liberals say.
A Harper political ally, Gerard Latulippe, who was Stockwell Day's Quebec lieutenant when he was Canadian Alliance leader, was chosen this week to take over the controversial arms-lengths agency Rights and Democracy.
And last week, International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda made it clear that abortion and contraception will not be part of the initiatives on improving maternal health the Prime Minister had said would be a focus of this summer's G8 summit.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff had laid down a marker for Conservatives on that issue. He warned the Harper government not to play " ideological games" with women's health and said the commitment should extend to abortion programs.
A senior Ignatieff official says that in both these cases - human rights and reproductive health - "ideology is at work".
Mr. Latulippe was named to head Montreal-based Rights and Democracy yesterday, replacing president Remy Beauregard, who passed away suddenly last month. There has been much criticism that the Conservatives politicized the agency by stacking the board so that it is staunchly pro-Israel.
The Liberals argue Mr. Harper has created a mess with the agency "by appointing hyper-partisan people to the board and now he pretends to fix the mess by appointing an ex-Canadian Alliance candidate."
The reproductive health debate is another example of ideology - but one that has its pitfalls for the Liberals too. As a result of his taking a pro-choice position, Mr. Ignatieff has been criticized himself.
In a recent Catholic Register article, Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins takes issue with the Liberal position:
"It is astonishing that the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Michael Ignatieff, has issued an official statement advocating contraception and abortion as fundamental elements in addressing this important issue," said the Archbishop.
"There are many fruitful ways to improve maternal health and child health, and the discussion should centre on the most effective strategies for doing this."
While the Liberals respect the Archbishop's view, the OLO official says Mr. Ignatieff's comments "were simply to make sure that Canada would continue its long-standing practice on these issues."
"You can ask any expert… they will tell you that multiple pregnancies are a very, very serious problem for both mothers and kids. Add botched abortions and you have a truly catastrophic situation," the official said.
"We are not advocating abortions. We just believe that family planning and all reproductive health options should be taken in consideration if we are serious about maternal health."
(File photo: The Canadian Press)