Ending abortion is a top issue for the Christian Heritage Party and is on a list of priorities the party’s Foothills candidate said would bring a principled approach back to government.
Marc Slingerland said people tend to think of the Christian Heritage Party as a one-issue party focused on ending abortion, but he said that’s not the case.
“It’s a single party issue,” he said. “We stand alone in our strong defense of life and family, but we have a full platform that covers all aspect of government.”
This is Slingerland’s second run at federal office. The Lethbridge resident and teacher ran in the Macleod riding in the 2011 federal election.
Slingerland said the issue of abortion has not been decided and that most politicians don’t want to bring up.
“Right now even bring up the issue you immediately get tarred and feathered,” said Slingerland. “We need to introduce the discussion.”
The party is pro life and he said its ultimate goal is to end access to abortions in Canada. However, if elected Slingerland said the party would move towards its goal taking incremental steps, starting by setting limits on how far into pregnancy a mother can get an abortion.
“The vast majority of Canadians time and again in surveys have said they support some term limits,” he said.
Compared to the Conservative Party’s “pragmatic” record Slingerland said the Christian Heritage Party would take a principled stand on important issues.
Slingerland said the Conservative Party has expanded the government and been more focused on holding on to power than bringing a truly conservative view to government.
“When people hear small ‘c’ conservative, they think small government committed to fiscal prudence,” he said. “Under Stephen Harper the Conservative Party has grown the size of government beyond anything it has ever been under Liberal or Conservative governments.”
Slingerland said there are a number of other areas where the Conservative government has failed, including justice, supporting the military and bringing in fair tax relief.
He said the government has not been fair with its tax plans bringing in tax cuts that benefit specific groups that are likely to support the party.
“It’s all about gaming the system for power as opposed to setting a principle,” said Slingerland.
As the country slipped into recession, Slingerland said there is no simple fix to Canada’s economic woes.
He said the government should be providing an open market place and ensuring a level playing field.
Slingerland said one of the first steps to getting out of the current economic situation would be providing infrastructure funding using interest free loans available from the Bank of Canada for infrastructure projects. He said a similar process was successfully used by former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King.
However, Slingerland said it should be up to local municipalities to decide where best to direct infrastructure spending.
“Almost any problem can best be solved by the people who are closest to the problem,” he said. “So a bureaucrat in Ottawa deciding where to spend money doesn’t make any sense.”
Slingerland said energy and environment are key issues in the Foothills riding.
He said getting energy resources to market is important, but it’s more important to improve the capacity to process and refine resources within Canada to retain more value within the country.
