A conservative MP found himself the target of a wedge group this past week and wrote about it on his blog. The issue MP Garth Turner was trying to bring to the forefront got rather lost in the name calling.

I received the NDP statement of Faith and Justice statement as a by-product of mentioning Turner’s dust up with Defend Marriage Canada.

The difficulty with these verbal sparring matches between polticans and  lobby groups is people walk away with generalizations. The NDP statement can be found here.

The New Democratic Party’s Faith and Social Justice Caucus is an informal group of Party activists who’s vision of political and social justice is, at least in part, rooted in faith. We are people who find congruence between our politics and the values that underpin our faith, as was the case with some of the founders of the NDP, including Tommy Douglas.

We believe that the neo-conservative right has unfairly seized the religious discourse and have used it toward their own ends. The religious right has been so successful at this, in recent years, that many have come to associate religion with intolerance, conservatism, capitalism and even imperialism. This must stop.

We hold the opposite to be true. Many progressive and social democratic principles can be founded upon, and guided by, religious values. Love, forgiveness, generosity, dignity, liberation, equality, respect, as well as the support and acceptance of the poor and marginalized are but a few of these values. We proclaim it loud and clear: there is a religious left! (more)

Regional and party breakdown of issues mattering to federal parties and satellite groups.
Issues important to Canadian last federal election.