Back on the airwaves, Dr. Dobson tells his followers that the struggle for traditional marriage “has turned ugly” in Canada and encourages them to offer money and prayers because God is “in the business of answering prayers, especially those prayed in accordance with his will.”
Focus on the Family Canada is pumped about it’s email form letters to MP’s regarding the introduction of legislation legalizing same sex marriage. Their server went down for a bit as their mass mailing campaign kicked in.
Focus on the Family Canada was set up in 1983 and has an operating budget of 11 million dollars. 80 percent of that comes from subscriber/supporter donations, the rest from foundations and sales of it’s products.
The Canadian branch has 87 thousand subscribers and is headquartered in Langley BC.
But does receiving hundreds and thousands of form e-mails and rote phone calls from supporters of interest groups like Focus on the Family sway MPs’ views?
Rahim Jaffer, an Edmonton Conservative MP who plans to vote against the Liberal bill, said he places less weight on form e-mails from across the country than personalized communications from his voters. But he is astonished at the volume of feedback he has received — about 10,000 responses — both from Canadians outside his riding and constituents who responded to his survey on the issue.
“Certain things really do motivate people and others don’t. This one clearly has Canadians really interested on both sides of the issue,” he said.
Libby Davies, a New Democrat MP who supports same-sex marriage, said groups that are lobbying on the issue are “being very sustained in their efforts.”
The vote could come soon, or take weeks.
The Catholic church has also taken it’s predictable stand on this issue.
I have to wonder how seriously politicans take mass mailing campaigns from whatever side of an issue they may be from.
And when it gets down to it, how ‘free’ is this vote for back-bencher libs?
Focus on the Family Canada is Canadian in name only. Like any US media or lobby import it is viewed with suspicion when it suits us to be suspicious.
I don’t like being told how to think or how to approach any level of government, by any lobby group of any kind.
I haven’t written the member of this riding regarding Bill C-38. Given he is a newbie conservative he will have more of an opportunity to weigh his political future than some liberals. When the vote comes, I’ll be looking at the absentees, and I’ve no doubt there will be some.
I’d walk up to him and simply say, “You have been given a free vote, be there and please vote by conscience.”
Published 3 years, 8 months ago
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I know you’re nervous about American theocons getting messed up in Candadian politics, but I’d bet that the feelings about C-38 aren’t being ginned up that much by Dobson; there’d be a native Canadian resistance even without it.
The really interesting political part is “how ‘free’ is this vote for back-bencher Libs.” Liberals from rural ridings that have voters that might be “red-state” in American parlance, having more traditional values are caught between their voters (and/or their own conscience) and party leadership.
It disturbs me that this is not a “free vote,” that MPs are to vote with their party. They are putting the parties ahead of what their constituents want and what Canadians want. Making it not a free vote makes a dictatorship in my view.
Michelle:
No it is ia free vote.
The difficulty comes with some Liberals. Ministers have to vote yes, it is the polical pressure being put on Lib back benchers. Do they cave in to party pressure? How busy the constiutents are letting their MP know what they want is hard to tell.
We’ve had free votes before and the main scrambling and pressure has always been behind the scenes on the hill in the ruling party.
Most of these politicans want to hang on to their jobs next election. For them that will require the machine of the party and some won’t want to lose that.
Mark:
The polls vary, when asked most Canadian favour keeping tradition. I don’t know that many polled understand the four years of this going through the courts or the role of the feds and the provinces. It’s an emotional issue.
I think we are going to have an economic backlash (in the short term at least) from the US if the legislation goes through.
Since civil marriage is already accepted in Canada and evidence from the Netherlands and Belguim don’t show the dire consequences predicted in the change of definition and US legislators don’t understand the parlimentary system, I suspect there will be lots of noise.
C’est la gere.
Privacy laws with US companies in Canada are far more consequential to voters and our day to day lives.
And I don’t mind any one from the US commenting.
I think most Canadians haven’t an understanding of the hows and what of the process, and may be why you don’t see a lot of people piling into the comments section.
I am appalled at how low we have come as a nation
many people came to Canada because of what Canada
was ,but because of politician searching for votes
thats all going down the drain. If one chose to move to new land we must respect the laws of the land , but it seem whenever we have new imigrants we went for their vote and throw our young children with all kinds of immorality. Example (1)Some children canot hear the lords prayer it was deleted from our schools. I would like to point to the bible mainly LEVITICUS chapter 18 verse 22 Then turn to CHAPTER 20 verse 13 says it all. it plainly says that a man should not lay with another man as if he was a woman. Does our leaders really know the bible or do they really care. God help this Country .
I surely pity the future generation of this once blessed Country.
May God help us all