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Abortion bill C-43: the 1st time I voted against my party
I estimate that I voted about 2,000 times during my seven terms as a Member of Parliament. I really only remember three votes… the three votes where I voted against the position of my party. No matter what anyone says, there are always repercussions from voting against your party. In my case, the repercussions were all different.
My votes against the position of my party are:
My votes against the position of my party are:
- Brian Mulroney’s Abortion Bill C-43
- Joe Clarke’s position on the Clarity Act Bill C-20
- Stephen Harper’s vote on terminating the benefits of the Atlantic Accord agreement.
Over the next three days, I will talk about each one.
The first vote where I voted against my party was the Abortion Bill C-43 brought forth by Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservative government. After a great deal of divisive debate, Prime Minister Mulroney’s government tabled a bill in November 1989, listed as Bill C-43. I found it confusing and unclear. In some cases, abortions would be approved and in some cases they would be considered a criminal offense, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The women involved had no say, and the decision would only be up to healthcare professionals. I decided to vote against it.
Recently released cabinet documents reveal that there were a lot of contrasting opinions in the Cabinet as well.
Minutes before the bill came up for the vote, I was so nervous that I went down to the basement floor of the House of Commons and I walked the maze of hallways as fast as I could. I walked and walked, and I walked faster and faster. The bells calling us to vote were ringing, and when the bells stopped, I just had a few seconds to get to my seat and vote… which I did. Then nothing. Nobody said anything. Nobody did anything. Life went on.
At this time, I was Chair of the Atlantic Caucus. Each week, the Atlantic Caucus members of the PC party came together and talked about the issues that we wanted most addressed at the National Caucus, which included the Prime Minister and all of the ministers. National Caucus was also held each week.
As Chair of the Atlantic Caucus, it was my responsibility to set the agenda and also to bring the Atlantic issues to the appropriate ministers on behalf of the Atlantic Caucus.
Shortly after the abortion vote, the government was proposing to cancel the Feed Freight Assistance Program, which helped Atlantic farmers be competitive with farmers in other areas of the country. It was of great concern to our farmers. We were also told that the cancelation of this program could cause the failure of the huge grain elevators in Halifax. I was commissioned by the Atlantic Caucus to raise the issue with the minister.
The minister most responsible for this issue was the Honourable Doug Lewis, Minister of Transport. I knew Doug well, and I liked them. He had been the House Leader for a time as well. When I approached Doug, the conversation went like this:
“Mr. Lewis… we need some help with the Feed Freight Assistance issue in Atlantic Canada. It is a big issue.”
Doug responded, “Yeah… where were you when we needed help on the Abortion Bill?”
I was floored. It took me a minute to come to my senses. Then I said: “Doug… if you’re going to penalize all the Atlantic farmers because of MY vote on abortion, I’ll need to resign as chair of Atlantic Caucus.”
Doug answered, “I think that you should.” And he walked away.
I couldn’t believe it. So, I submitted my resignation letter to the Whip and assumed that the Atlantic Caucus would be selecting a new Caucus Chair at the next meeting.
However, two days later, Minister Lewis pulled me aside in the House of Commons and apologized. He offered to talk about possible alternatives to the Feed Freight Assistance program in my office, and we did. I don’t know if the decision to apologize came from Doug Lewis or if someone intervened. I suspect that the Whip may have had a say in this.
In any case, it’s clear that my vote against the party was taken as a negative action. I survived… which is more than I can say for Bill C-43, the Abortion Bill. C-43 was defeated in the Senate by one vote… the vote of Progressive Conservative Senator Pat Carney. She also “broke ranks” with the party for the same reasons as I did. Bill C-43 collapsed, and no party has ever had the nerve to try again to create a law on abortions.
Tomorrow I’m going to talk about my vote in favour of the Clarity Bill. Although this vote was against the position of my party, I always felt that it was the most meaningful piece of legislation that I ever voted on for Atlantic Canada. This one has a surprising outcome.
The first vote where I voted against my party was the Abortion Bill C-43 brought forth by Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservative government. After a great deal of divisive debate, Prime Minister Mulroney’s government tabled a bill in November 1989, listed as Bill C-43. I found it confusing and unclear. In some cases, abortions would be approved and in some cases they would be considered a criminal offense, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The women involved had no say, and the decision would only be up to healthcare professionals. I decided to vote against it.
Recently released cabinet documents reveal that there were a lot of contrasting opinions in the Cabinet as well.
Minutes before the bill came up for the vote, I was so nervous that I went down to the basement floor of the House of Commons and I walked the maze of hallways as fast as I could. I walked and walked, and I walked faster and faster. The bells calling us to vote were ringing, and when the bells stopped, I just had a few seconds to get to my seat and vote… which I did. Then nothing. Nobody said anything. Nobody did anything. Life went on.
At this time, I was Chair of the Atlantic Caucus. Each week, the Atlantic Caucus members of the PC party came together and talked about the issues that we wanted most addressed at the National Caucus, which included the Prime Minister and all of the ministers. National Caucus was also held each week.
As Chair of the Atlantic Caucus, it was my responsibility to set the agenda and also to bring the Atlantic issues to the appropriate ministers on behalf of the Atlantic Caucus.
Shortly after the abortion vote, the government was proposing to cancel the Feed Freight Assistance Program, which helped Atlantic farmers be competitive with farmers in other areas of the country. It was of great concern to our farmers. We were also told that the cancelation of this program could cause the failure of the huge grain elevators in Halifax. I was commissioned by the Atlantic Caucus to raise the issue with the minister.
The minister most responsible for this issue was the Honourable Doug Lewis, Minister of Transport. I knew Doug well, and I liked them. He had been the House Leader for a time as well. When I approached Doug, the conversation went like this:
“Mr. Lewis… we need some help with the Feed Freight Assistance issue in Atlantic Canada. It is a big issue.”
Doug responded, “Yeah… where were you when we needed help on the Abortion Bill?”
I was floored. It took me a minute to come to my senses. Then I said: “Doug… if you’re going to penalize all the Atlantic farmers because of MY vote on abortion, I’ll need to resign as chair of Atlantic Caucus.”
Doug answered, “I think that you should.” And he walked away.
I couldn’t believe it. So, I submitted my resignation letter to the Whip and assumed that the Atlantic Caucus would be selecting a new Caucus Chair at the next meeting.
However, two days later, Minister Lewis pulled me aside in the House of Commons and apologized. He offered to talk about possible alternatives to the Feed Freight Assistance program in my office, and we did. I don’t know if the decision to apologize came from Doug Lewis or if someone intervened. I suspect that the Whip may have had a say in this.
In any case, it’s clear that my vote against the party was taken as a negative action. I survived… which is more than I can say for Bill C-43, the Abortion Bill. C-43 was defeated in the Senate by one vote… the vote of Progressive Conservative Senator Pat Carney. She also “broke ranks” with the party for the same reasons as I did. Bill C-43 collapsed, and no party has ever had the nerve to try again to create a law on abortions.
Tomorrow I’m going to talk about my vote in favour of the Clarity Bill. Although this vote was against the position of my party, I always felt that it was the most meaningful piece of legislation that I ever voted on for Atlantic Canada. This one has a surprising outcome.