Christian Heritage Party outlines its priorities

Paul Tuns:

On Sept. 15, Christian Heritage Party leader Rod Taylor held a press conference to elucidate where the party stands on issues other than abortion while committing itself to “the protection of innocent human life from conception until natural death, a position we still hold . . . and on this position we stand alone.”

Held in the Ottawa Press Gallery on Parliament Hill but ignored by journalists other than the camera man obliged to be there, Taylor noted that the CHP had policies on economic and other issues that “are not as well known” as the party’s pro-life position. Taylor stated, “We believe they are also critical to the growth and stability of Canada, and in fact, that they are inextricably entwined with issues of morality and social values.”

Taylor said that “As a starting point for this discussion, we point to the opening statement of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which posits Canada’s founding principles as recognizing the ‘supremacy of God and the rule of law’” which are the guiding principles of the CHP. Deviating from these principles, Taylor observed, is “contrary to the spirit and letter of the Charter; it also puts at risk, not only the rights and freedoms it was intended to protect, but the economic wellbeing of Canadian families and the nation itself.”

The CHP leader said God’s moral code “carries with it a promise of blessing for those who obey it and a judgment for those who despise its precepts,” and thus it is relevant in “the areas of economics, health, productivity and security.”

Taylor said the federal government has a debt of $1.2 trillion – “a trillion is a thousand billion and a billion is a thousand million. That’s a lot of money” – and is growing by $109 million a day. He noted that Canada pays $120 million a day on interest on the debt, which will increase with higher interest rates. Taylor said, “I’m sure every politician in the country could think of a better use of $120 million per day than to pay it to the international banksters.” But, he added, “very few of those politicians have had the honesty, the courage, or the fiscal discipline to cut wasteful spending in order to achieve a balanced budget.” Taylor said, “It’s too easy to use borrowed money to promise voters programs and entitlements.”

The economic problem of the debt has a moral dimension, with Taylor adding it is a “hidden burden on future generations who will have neither benefited directly from the expenditures nor had a voice in approving them.” Taylor called deficit spending “theft from the generations yet to be born.”

For this reason, the CHP has a policy of mandatory balanced budgets, a requirement for sound stewardship from the government. He said that the Conservatives and Liberals are talking about responsible budgets, but their respective track records raise doubts about their commitment to fiscal probity. Taylor said, “While the current government has set a new record for irresponsible and reckless spending, doubling the federal debt in just eight years, the previous Conservative government of Mr. Harper—while promising during successive election periods to return to balanced budgets—added nearly $150 billion to the national debt.”

Taylor said, “The Bible advises against debt and certainly against failing to pay back one’s debt.” The other federal parties have no plan to stop deficit spending, let alone start paying off the debt.

The CHP leader said that other social problems are the fruit of a “nation that violates the spirit and the letter of God’s will.”

He said that children who are not taught to “honour your father and your mother,” are less likely to obey the law when they grow up. Yet education policy in much of the land encourages educators to tell children not to talk with their parents “about the gender ideology being imposed on them in public schools.” Social transitioning is sometimes carried out behind the backs of parents, and ideological “recruitment of young people as LGBTQ activists without their parents’ knowledge or consent” has a “destructive impact on young lives.”

Taylor also condemned individuals, especially youth, “embracing a lifestyle inconsistent with their biological gender” and beginning a course of biological alteration that has health and reproductive ramifications that can last a lifetime. “Aside from the moral considerations,” said Taylor, “there are huge economic aspects” including the cost of drugs and surgeries that “are borne by hardworking taxpayers” in Canada’s socialized health system. Furthermore, a health system that is already taxed to the limits and unable to meet many medically necessary procedures should not be providing unnecessary and “extremely harmful” procedures.

Taylor said permissive divorce laws and the growing trend of young people eschewing marriage altogether has led to higher rates of single-parent homes, which social science shows lead to poorer life outcomes including dropping out of school, using illegal drugs, being incarcerated, and experiencing poor mental health. “These are all tragic consequences in themselves but each incident also carries an economic cost for society,” Taylor said, noting “the use of court time, prison space, medical attention, and the distraction of a parent from other responsibilities.”

The CHP leader also pointed to the tolerance of “harmful and addictive drugs” that is leading to a greater number of overdose deaths, addictions, and drug abuse. Taylor chastised the federal and British Columbia governments for effectively legalizing hard drugs in the province, leading to an increase of opioid deaths: “The tragedy of these lost lives is accompanied by an outrageous financial burden as paramedics race around trying to revive those whom society has abandoned to hopelessness.” He said the compassionate and common-sense approach would be to “help these troubled souls to get off these drugs, to find purpose in living and to become productive citizens.”

Taylor also listed other immoral behaviours such as prostitution and sloth that are harming society, but he saved until last the “intentional dishonesty” of government that “lie about their intentions, their motives, and the results of their actions (which) invite God’s judgment on their tenure and on the jurisdictions over which God has granted them a measure of temporal authority.” Governments at all levels, Taylor maintained, “must humble themselves” to properly serve the public.

Taylor told The Interim that he held the press conference because “many Canadians, even many Christians, do not even know about the CHP” and “even fewer know that we are not a one-issue party.” That said, Taylor noted that “common-sense economic conservatism” cannot be “successfully implemented unless we end the shedding of innocent blood” – and the CHP is the only party promising to do that.