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CHP accomplishments/events in 2012
Christian Heritage Party Communiqué – Vol 19, No 51, December 18, 2012
Accomplishments Events in 2012
Vicki Gunn, Executive Director of the CHP
During those final few weeks of the year, it’s customary to look back over what we’ve done and wonder what we’ve accomplished.
The Lord has placed many opportunities in our paths to develop as a party dedicated to His glory; to have an increased presence in our communities; and to further prepare for our mandate of governing this great nation.
At the national office, we are very busy ensuring the smooth function of the party. We are grateful to Sylvia Lyons, our administrative assistant, who works tirelessly to ensure that our membership, finances, and contact with Elections Canada run smoothly.
Our leader’s assistant, Dinamarca Lorenzen ably oversees the administration of our leader’s office and the national store.
We celebrate our many members who represent CHP Canada in many events across Canada but also participate in local issues, provincial issues, and church issues as part of our Christian mandate to be our Lord’s ambassadors in every aspect of our Christian life.
Jim, Rod, and I have taken a look at some of the highlights of 2012 where we were able to publicly represent the Christian Heritage Party. As a political party our function is broader than the lobby groups with which we happily work together to further our common interests. We participate in many aspects of political issues sometimes not overtly federal in nature; but we have a vested interest in the outcome.
So, you might have wondered, what events have your National Leader, Development Director, and Executive Director been involved with?
Pro-life
Life issues are very dear to all of our hearts so we’ll start with our activities on the pro-life side of things. We each represented the Christian Heritage Party at pro-life events from coast to coast. We each normally attend the events nearest to our homes as a cost-saving measure.
Rod attended a presentation of Euthanasia Prevention Coalition at Kelowna Right to Life and hosted our table at the National Prolife Convention in Toronto.
Jim engaged people in Halifax at a CHP table at the Campaign Life Conference and attended a Campaign Life Coalition fund raising banquet at which MP Stephen Woodworth, presenter of the motion to have Parliament examine when life begins, spoke.
Jim represented the CHP, carrying our signature “Think Adoption Not Abortion” banner, at the Halifax March for Life, while Vicki, along with Irma DeVries (Perth-Wellington) and other CHP volunteers, attended, carried the banner, and handed out thousands of CHP bookmarks at the Ottawa March for Life. We had many opportunities to talk with interested people about the role of the Christian Heritage Party in Canada. CHP volunteers in British Columbia, organized by Gerhard Herwig, also represented the CHP at the Victoria March for Life with our banner.
We were delighted that Rod was able to visit with Mary Wagner in prison in Ontario and also spoke again with Linda Gibbons. Both of these ladies have served many sentences for their refusal to acknowledge the “bubble-zone” around abortuaries. Rod was also able to visit with MPs, speakers, and other pro-life activists.
Rod also participated in the multi-organizational teleconference, which founded the Legislative Initiatives Committee. Representatives from many national prolife groups are now working together on pro-life legislative proposals. It produced a joint declaration of support for Motion 312. LifeSiteNews reported on this declaration.
This Committee is providing a unified front to the often fracture pro-life movement.
Vicki represents the CHP at these Toronto meetings, which are also attended by a representative of the Parliamentary Pro-Life Caucus and about 40 prolife groups. In November, Member of Parliament Mark Warawa, presented Motion 408, regarding sex-selective abortions and CHP Canada is actively supporting that effort. You are encouraged to download a copy of this petition and circulate it. Completed forms should be sent to Mark Warawa at:
Langley Constituency Office,
#104-4769 222nd Street,
Langley, BC
V2Z 3C1.
This motion is expected to come before Parliament in the spring.
Vicki also represents the CHP at the Life and Family Committee, which is seeking to draw together various organizations concerned with both life and family issues to ensure a united presence among pro-life, pro-family groups.
Province and Community
We are sometimes approached by community organizations or provincial organizations which ask us to become involved in initiatives on that level. We each participate after consulting with each other to ensure that our membership would be well represented by participation in each activity.
We also each participate on our CHP Provincial Councils. Jim is currently serving Nova Scotia by completing the organizational responsibilities of a Provincial President, Vicki serves as Ontario Provincial Prayer Coordinator, and Rod serves as Vice-President of the BC Provincial Council.
With these official CHP positions we also have become involved in issues not normally in the mandate of a federal political party but this has brought us some attention in our communities.
Jim became actively engaged in organizing people to protest the closure of Talbot House by the provincial government after false accusations were presented against both Talbot House and their administrator. This is the only Christian addiction treatment centre for men in Nova Scotia. Protest efforts assisted in ensuring that Talbot House will soon be reopening and its former executive director, having been cleared of any wrongdoing, has been reinstated. Additionally the NS Dept of Community Services responsible for this inappropriate ruling has been relieved of its responsibilities in overseeing recovery centres.
Jim attended the two day simulcast Global Leadership Summit organized by the Willow Creek Association. Some of the speakers included renowned leader and pastor Bill Hybels, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, negotiator and mediator William Ury, director of International Justice Mission Pranitha Timothy, senior pastor and author John Ortberg, and many others.
Ontario, like most provinces, has faced pressure from the government to make all educational institutions gay-friendly because of a misguided belief that gay youths represent a demographic disproportionately impacted by bullying. Vicki worked together with Ontario’s Family Coalition Party, and many other organizations to battle Ontario’s “Anti-Bullying Bill,” Bill 13, which bullied its way through the provincial legislature. Many other CHP members participated very heavily on a provincial level, as they do in most provinces.
The Ontario Council is the only CHP group that has been allowed to participate in Missionfest activities across Canada. Vicki annually rallies volunteers to participate in representing the CHP at an information table at Toronto Missionfest. This is an event that starts with setup Thursday afternoon and is open to the public Thursday evening to Saturday evening.
Many CHPers were present at Campaign Life Coalition’s “Defund Abortion” rallies in Ontario. Vicki represented the CHP in York-Simcoe.
Vicki was invited to host a CHP information table by a group combating the cafeterias being closed in some Ontario public schools to allow Friday Muslim worship services for the students. While education remains a provincial matter, the equality of students was being violated in having young women placed behind the young men, while menstruating girls were placed at the back, unable to participate because they were deemed “unclean” by Sharia standards.
In October, Vicki was invited to address the Greater Toronto Area Ministerial Association providing information on abortion and the need for churches to educate their congregants. Iain Morris, past president of Simcoe-Grey EDA addressed gambling, as the Ontario Lottery Games has proposed to open a slot machines casino locally.
Vicki also served as a speaker at a public meeting in Simcoe-Grey seeking to educate local residents about the dangers of opening such a gambling establishment.
Finally, Vicki attended a two-day meeting hosted by Elections Canada for the Advisory Committee of Political Parties (ACPP). She represented the CHP on an ACPP conference call prior to the by-election and completed an Elections Canada assignment to assess the situation and possible prevention of future “Robo-Calls” situations, such as occurred during polling in the 2011 general election.
Rod is heavily involved in serving as Interim Deputy Leader of the British Columbia Christian Heritage Party (CHP-BC, our first provincial wing). Preparations are underway for an Annual General Meeting in 2013. BC will hold provincial elections in May 2013.
Representing his Electoral District Association, Skeena-Bulkley Valley, Rod, together with Joe Boonstra, laid a wreath at Telkwa Remembrance Day ceremonies. Luke Kwantes, our National President and Annette Onderwater, Skeena’s Treasurer, laid a wreath at the Smithers cenotaph.
Rod also participated in CHP Skeena-Bulkley Valley’s Fall Fair parade and info booth for three days with local members, meeting the public and presenting party information.
Skeena Bulkley Valley is one of our healthiest Electoral District Associations (EDA), President Luke Kwantes and Rod visited members in Prince Rupert, Terrace, Kitimat, Smithers, Telkwa, and Ft. St. James. For those who would like to know the secret of SBV’s success, personal contact is high on their list of essentials.
Media
Rod produces an article each Friday for ChristianGovernance.ca. He’s also often printed in the “Letters to the Editor” of his local newspaper.
Saskatchewan member, Gilles L’Heureux arranged for Rod to be interviewed by a local newspaper and radio station during Rod’s tour of Saskatchewan.
Jim remains popular with his local newspapers and CBC for interviews regarding firearms, hunting, and small business. His position as leader of CHP Canada is sometimes included but many people recognise his position with the CHP locally whether it’s mentioned or not. He was interviewed and featured in Outdoor Sportsman 2012 Hunting Magazine. Jim was interviewed on Road Kill Radio by former leader Ron Gray on Ron’s “Family Freedom Fighters” show. He was also interviewed in Nova Scotia for his work with Talbot House, and interviewed and given opportunity to prepare a future article for Integrity Magazine. Jim had some very good coverage of our prolife policy in The Interim and on the Campaign Life Coalition website.
Vicki was interviewed regarding the opening of slot machines and a casino in the Simcoe-Grey electoral district in Ontario. The event was featured in an article after Vicki spoke at a public meeting in Wasaga Beach.
Electoral District Association (EDA) & Electoral District Visits
Jim presented the CHP to a Gideon’s group in Nova Scotia. He also spoke to members and guests in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. As part of forming networks, he engaged and met with Roman Catholic and Protestant theologians. This gave him opportunity to introduce the party and encourage working together for the common good. He also prepared and presented his vision forward to delegates at the 25th Convention.
Vicki spoke at four Electoral District Association Meetings, presenting our leader’s vision at three.
In his position as Development Director, Rod gets kudos for the amount of contact he’s had with the public and with CHP members.
Rod, made a three-week, 7,000-km trip through BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, meeting with members and potential members in Prince George, Hinton, Niton Jct., Edmonton, St. Albert, Morinville, Neerlandia, Vegreville, Lloydminster, Saskatoon, LaRonge, Regina, Moose Jaw, Medicine Hat, Stettler, Calgary, and Sicamous.
He addressed members at a dessert social in Walkerton, ON (Huron-Bruce EDA) hosted and arranged by Huron-Bruce Youth Caucus on the topic: Biblical Standards for Political Action.
He spent two days in Ottawa with our PEP Director, Thomas Sabourin, and his wife, Denise. They attended Question Period at the House of Commons, visited the National House of Prayer, and met with several MPs.
As the national board places high priority on our prayer support across Canada, Rod hosted CHP Prayer Coordinators in a prayer meeting for the work of the CHP in BC. We continue to enlist intercessors who will coordinate prayer at the EDA or provincial level.
By-Election
Vicki spoke at the nomination meeting of Andrew Moriarity for the November Durham by-election.
Rod met briefly with our by-election candidate, Andrew Moriarity, and his team; he also liaised with Victoria by-election candidate, Dr. Philip Ney, and his team.
This is just a brief summary of some of the opportunities with which the Lord has blessed us. There has been so much more accomplished in 2012 but I trust that this will encourage us all. May the Lord be glorified in our response to the opportunities that He has placed in our paths.