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Stephen Harper Raised Funds for Radical Right-wing Organization |
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Written by Liberal Party of Canada
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Thursday, 12 January 2006 |
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper spoke at a large fundraising dinner in Richmond, B.C. on March 31, 2005, for a far right group that advocates against same-sex marriage and abortion, and published cartoons depicting Liberal Prime Ministers as Nazis.
The Canadian Alliance for Social Justice and Family Values Association (CASJFVA) is a far-right-wing association that recently published a caricature on the cover of its July/August issue which portrayed Prime Minister Paul Martin as a Nazi receiving an award from Hitler for “the destruction of Canada’s foundational institution (family).” The group also published a similar illustration of former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.
Mr. Harper was joined at the March event by Conservative MPs Art Hanger and John Duncan, and Richmond Conservative candidate Darrel Reid. The event raised approximately $15,000, which helped CASJFVA spread their anti-gay, socially-conservative message as a third-party political advertiser.
For example, the group lobbied against the inclusion of sexual orientation under hate crimes laws by hosting a booth at the 2003 Pacific National Exhibition that featured a banner reading (in Chinese): “Protect freedom of speech. You must not support C-250 or you cannot publicly criticize child molestation, necrophilia, self-mutilation or torture, polygamy or unnatural sexual behaviour.”
The Conservative Party, and the Canadian Alliance before it, has had a long-standing relationship with CASJFVA:
- Conservative Justice Critic Vic Toews received an achievement award from the group and praised their efforts in the House of Commons, saying “Canadians across the country are grateful for its efforts.”
- On October 16, 2005 – less than two months before this campaign began – Conservative MP Jason Kenney spoke at a fundraiser for the group, saying “Your organization is respected across Canada for its work to defend the most important institution of society: family.”
This is yet more evidence that the moderation that the Conservative Party has sought to portray to Canadians in this election is just a thin veneer. |
