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Passion and outrage at pro-choice rally

‘We are not passive
receptacles, we are
not handmaids, we are
human beings’

By Joel MacKenzie,
Staff Writer

n Tuesday, September

25, supporters
of women’s abortion
rights rallied outside the
Vancouver Art Gallery in
response to motion M-312.

The motion was created

by Conservative MP
Stephen Woodworth, who
proposed the creation of a
committee set to re-examine
the point at which foetuses
should be considered
persons under Canadian
law. The motion received
little support from MPs, and
was defeated on September
26 by a 91-203 vote. But
its existence still proved a

threat to women’s ability
to legally have abortions,
an issue that, since 1988,
Canada has had no law
regulating.

The rally included
female speakers from a
range of ages, including
ones representing The BC
Federation of Labour, the
Abortion Rights Coalition
of Canada, and the SFU
Women’s Center. Many
were dressed in radical
handmaid costumes,
reflective of characters
from Margaret Atwood’s
The Handmaid’s Tale, a
dystopian novel depicting
women as subjugated by
men in society. The group
spoke to a crowd of men
and women supporters.

Irene Lanzinger,
with the BC Federation
of Labour, blamed Prime
Minister Stephen Harper
for allowing this debate to
continue, despite promising
to not re-open it during

his election campaign. “I
thought we had the right
over our own choice,”

said Lanzinger during

an interview. “We're not
turning back the clock on
women’s rights,” she said in
her speech.

The female speakers
shared their experiences
with abortion and their
feelings about being denied
something they consider a
basic right, in some cases,
by men. Speaker Susan
Spratt, the Western Regional
BC and Alberta director for
the Canadian Auto Workers,
said that in 1971, at the
age of 17, she was denied
the right to an abortion by
a panel of men because
they determined that she
“looked” healthy enough to
give birth. Many expressed
feelings of oppression from
the government who they
consider to have no right,
as speaker Zanib Ghlayem
said during an interview,

BC Liberal chief of staff resigns

By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer

hristy Clark’s BC

Liberal party suffered
another blow last week with
the resignation of chief of
staff, Ken Boessenkool. The
former senior policy advisor
to Stephen Harper tendered
his letter of resignation after
his role in an “incident of
concern” was investigated.

In his letter to Clark,
Boessenkool said, “Earlier
this month I was involved
in an incident where |
acted inappropriately.

I was wrong, regretted
my behaviour very
much and immediately
and unconditionally
apologized.”

Boessenkool noted that
he now had the chance to,
“be with my family,” in his
letter.

He finished with, “I
have been very proud to
be at your side and proud
of what I helped the team
accomplish. Nothing
should stand in the way of

 

Ken Boessenkool | Photo courtesy of Mike Carroccetto/Postmedia News

your successful leadership
and the accomplishments

6G

of your government in
creating jobs and making

family life affordable.”
The “incident of

concern” allegedly took
place at a Victoria bar and

to “get involved in my own
body.”

Joyce Arthur, founder
and executive director
of the Abortion Rights
Coalition of Canada, said in
her speech, “this is not an
issue about abortion, this
is an issue about choice—a
womans right to choose.”
She continued, “we don’t
need separate protection
for foetuses because we can
trust pregnant women to
make the best decisions for
themselves, their families,
and their pregnancy.”

Some, including SFU’s
Dr. Suzana Kovacic, alleged
that the bill had nothing
to do with abortion rights,
and that, more importantly,
the motion would serve
to create discussion on the
definition of human life and
its beginning. Questions
did appear to hint at the
motion affecting the ability
to have an abortion, though,
as it asked what the “legal

involved Boessenkool
and a female staffer.
Clark, however, declined
to comment on the exact
nature of the episode,
leaving it at, "There has
been no suggestion of any
criminal conduct in this at
all.”

Despite knowing
about the incident for a
couple of weeks, Clark
kept Boessenkool on the
job until the investigation
was completed. When the
topic of why she didn’t
suspend Boessenkool for
the duration of the process
came up, Clark stated that,
“T think an employer has
a duty to gather the facts
before letting someone go.
Everything that was done,
was done absolutely to the
letter.

The ‘incident of concern allegedly took place at a Victoria bar
and involved Boessenkool and a female staffer.

“After the investigation
was done and I was

impacts and consequences”
on the “rights of a child
before the moment of
complete birth.”

The motion did receive
a lot of support both from
Conservative MPs, and
allegedly from Canadians
in general. Eighty-seven
of the votes supporting
the motion came from the
Conservatives, the majority
of the 163-member Caucus.
And ina press conference
following the vote,
Woodworth commented
that the government
received massive amounts
of mail in support of the
motion.

Woodworth also added,
“this issue was never
closed, it’s not closed now
and will never be closed if
we in Parliament continue
to stick our collective head
in the sand.”

presented with all the facts,
I had a decision to make
and I made that decision.”

Taking over as chief
of staff is a former deputy
minister of highways and
chairman of BC Hydro, Dan
Doyle. Doyle is Clark’s third
chief of staff in 18 months,
following Boessenkool’s
dismissal after only eight.

Clark attempted to
focus on the positives by
bringing up Doyle’s resume,
saying “he has about 36
years of unblemished
public service to the people
of British Columbia. He’s
helped deliver some of
the biggest projects in the
history of our province,
including the Pacific
Gateway, including the
Olympics.

“It’s good news that
someone of this calibre
is going to be joining our
team in making sure we
are remaining focused
100 per cent on creating
jobs in British Columbia
and strengthening our
economy.”