Posted on 11/28/2003 4:38:03 AM PST by Lorenb420
OTTAWA - The Canadian Alliance MP who suggested homosexuality should once again be criminalized and hinted at a decades-old international conspiracy to "seduce and recruit" young boys was fired as his party's family-issues critic yesterday and at least temporarily removed from caucus.
Stephen Harper, the Alliance leader, moved swiftly to quell the gay-rights furor sparked by MP Larry Spencer just as the process of merging with the Progressive Conservatives enters a crucial phase.
Among other things, Mr. Spencer suggested in a Vancouver Sun interview that there are links between homosexuality and pedophilia.
"These comments are neither responsible nor acceptable and do not represent the policy of this party," Mr. Harper said outside a party meeting.
Even as Mr. Harper announced the Saskatchewan MP had voluntarily withdrawn from caucus, some Tories, already squeamish at the prospect of joining forces with the more socially conservative Alliance, expressed outrage over the comments.
"Statements like these have the potential to stigmatize the new party, so it's important that we denounce those statements strongly," said Nova Scotia MP Scott Brison, who is gay. "The cost of including people like Mr. Spencer is to exclude the majority of Canadians who value both economic liberty and personal liberty.
Mr. Brison, who is considering running for the leadership of the merged party, called Mr. Harper's response "tepid."
He issued a statement calling on the Alliance leader to permanently suspend Mr. Spencer, a demand echoed by gay rights activists.
Joe Clark, the former Tory prime minister and an opponent of the merger, said Mr. Spencer's remarks should serve as a "clear warning" to moderates, who may want to reconsider their support for the creation of a single conservative party.
"The comment is not the first to come from an Alliance/Reform MP and Progressive Conservatives should know it will not be the last," Mr. Clark said in Calgary.
He said a merged party will have a difficult time ridding itself of the taint left by Mr. Spencer's remarks and said they could have an effect on the Dec. 6 ratification vote by Tory delegates.
"Here it has happened just days before people cast the vote. So sometimes things happen for a reason," Mr. Clark said.
Peter MacKay, the Tory leader, issued a statement saying: "There is no place for such comments in the type of modern, inclusive conservative party we are about to build."
Mr. Harper said he doesn't think Mr. Spencer's comments will imperil the merger process, which enters a critical phase this weekend as party members select delegates for a Dec. 6 ratification meeting.
As his detractors sharpened their attacks, Mr. Harper emphasized his party's efforts to allow religious conservatives to put forward their opinions while preventing the promotion of socially unacceptable views.
He admitted the Alliance and Tories have crossed the line in the past and referred to controversies sparked by social conservatives within the PC party, pointing specifically to comments made by New Brunswick MP Elsie Wayne. She recently angered gay activists by saying homosexuals should be less open about their sexuality.
While moderate conservatives fretted publicly, organizers for the Tory "yes" committee said the Spencer affair hasn't caused a sudden groundswell of opposition to the plan to fold the two parties into a new entity.
One longtime Tory said many party members have come to expect outrageous comments from the fringe elements of both their party and the Alliance.
Several Tories, including Nova Scotia MP Bill Casey, said conservatives should rally around the creation of the new party.
"These are the opinions of one person. They are not acceptable to me, and they won't be acceptable to the new party, which won't be and can't be a continuation of the Canadian Alliance or the Conservative party," Mr. Casey said.
Mr. Brison, who said he still supports the merger, also admitted to ambivalent feelings over the eventual consequences of Mr. Spencer's remarks. He said he received dozens of calls from supporters urging him to run for the leadership to ensure a centrist message, and said the controversy will either spur him to "fight like hell or run for the hills. It's got to be one or the other."
Mr. Spencer did not speak to the media yesterday, but issued a full retraction and public apology. (See statement above)
Mr. Harper left the door open for his re-admission to the newly constituted party.
"I assume Larry will want to [return] at some point, and obviously this matter's got to be put behind us for that to happen."
Svend Robinson, a gay NDP MP from British Columbia, described the Alliance caucus as "a group of neanderthals."
"I challenge Stephen Harper to make it clear that there is no place whatsoever in the Canadian Alliance or in the House for this kind of bigotry, and not just to suspend him and say, 'Oh, maybe he'll be back sometime in the future,'" Mr. Robinson said.
It is a well known fact that neanderthals heavily engaged in gay sex and pedophilia.
That said whatever free thinking and free speaking there might have been, now will not be tolerated by the new party. Is that sort of tyrannical thinking not bigotry in its self?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.