Brad Trost was making no apologies for his comments about Planned Parenthood last week, even though Prime Minister Stephen Harper's re-election campaign was in damage control mode in response to Trost's claims that the government has denied funding to the organization, and that grassroots support from anti-abortion groups helped make that happen.
The MP for Saskatoon-Humboldt made his original comments at the Saskatchewan Pro-Life Association annual convention, which was held in Humboldt on April 16. At that event, Trost said his efforts to deny the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) government funding were successful due in part to petitions he and other Conservative MPs circulated amongst pro-life supporters.
"I cannot tell you specifically how we used it but those petitions were very, very useful and they were part of what we used to defund Planned Parenthood, because it has been an absolute disgrace that this organization and several others like it have been receiving one penny of Canadian taxpayers' dollars," Trost told those present.
But Trost added the fight against Planned Parenthood continues, because the organization is still seeking government funding.
"They're still trying to get their snout back in the public trough," he said.
The federal government has never made any announcement about denying IPPF funding. But the organization's application for $18 million over the next three years has been in limbo since last year. The organization, which works in Canada and throughout the world in all areas of sexual health, has been vilified by pro-life groups for providing women access to abortion services.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's top aide was quick to dismiss Trost's comments, and insisted no decision to cut IPPF's funding had been made.
"I honestly don't know where he got his information," said Dimitri Soudas, official spokesman for the Conservative Party. "He's a backbench MP who, without question, isn't aware of the way that our program works."
Soudas added that the Conservatives would be willing to work with International Planned Parenthood and other groups who focus on the strict criteria set out in the government's G8 "Muskoka Initiative" on child and maternal health.
On the campaign trail in Conception Bay, Nfld., Prime Minister Harper himself refused to answer questions on the topic, nor was he willing to declare his own position on abortion. However, he insisted that the government has no plans to recriminalize abortion.
"My position is I'm not opening this debate," he said. "I don't want it opened, I have not wanted it opened, I haven't opened it as prime minister. I'm not going to open it. The public doesn't want to open it. It's not the priority of the Canadian public or this government, and it will not be."
In a candidates' debate at the University of Saskatchewan on April 21, Trost defended his own claims, insisting that he has always been clear about his feelings on abortion.
"The prime minister does not share my views," he noted. "This is an issue which we have differences on. I would like him to come around. I don't think he will change, but I respect him and I respect what the party's status is on it and I know he respects how I represent my individual constituents."
In a statement on her Facebook page, Saskatoon-Humboldt NDP candidate Denise Kouri said voters deserve to know more details about Trost's campaign to kill funding for the IPPF.
"He's bragging about an unannounced government decision to deny funding to Planned Parenthood," she said. "We can't know the details or the reasons, and that's the problem. There's a real lack of transparency in terms of how the Conservative government has made decisions."
Kouri, who has worked extensively in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on issues of health and development, said Trost's vehement opposition to abortion shows a lack of respect for women in general. She noted that IPPF "is a highly regarded international organization that makes a difference in the lives of millions of families around the world."
Liberal candidate Darren Hill was likewise aghast at Trost's comments, saying he was very concerned by what seemed an "underhanded" and secretive way in which efforts to defund the IPPF were carried out.
Hill noted he doesn't like abortion "any more than anyone else," but "Not being female, (and) having never been pregnant or in that position, it's not my position to say what's right or wrong for an individual woman in Canada." He stressed the need for further education as a way to prevent unwanted pregnancy.
Hill said Trost's outspoken views showed a lack of respect for the prime minister, in his delivering a message that's out of step with the party leader. It also showed a lack of respect for the people of Saskatoon-Humboldt, by pushing Trost's "own, secret, hidden agenda" rather than representing the interests of the entire constituency.
"Every Canadian is entitled to his or her opinion," said Hill. "This is a democracy, and that's what makes us special. But at the end of the day, as an elected official, I have to represent all my constituents, whether I share their views or not. In pushing this issue, he's representing a single special interest group."
Trost did not make himself available to the Humboldt Journal for further comment.
