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Fredericton's
political candidates are being surveyed by a right-wing
interest group on hot-button issues such as publicly funded
abortion clinics and same-sex marriages.
The
survey is being conducted by the local chapter of the
Canada Family Action Coalition.
Among
the questions is whether the candidates would support
legislation that would protect clerks, clergy and places
of worship from being charged with discrimination if they
refuse to participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies.
Another
question is if the candidates would support a law that
would protect health-care workers from participating in
medical procedures that violate their conscience, religious
or personal beliefs, such as performing abortions and
dispensing birth control.
The
head of the coalition's local chapter, Rev. Karl Csaszar,
said the questions are provocative but they involve issues
voters care about.
Fredericton
North Progressive Conservative candidate Peter Forbes
said he'd received the survey and immediately passed it
on to his campaign manager.
When
asked about the survey, Forbes shared his opinions on
some of the topics.
"I
don't subscribe to same-sex marriages. If two people of
the same sex wish to live together, it's a free country,
but I'm not sure the state should sanction those,"
he said.
"I
have a problem with that for a practical reason. I believe
children need the male/female respective psyches to provide
balance."
Forbes
said he didn't think taxpayers should pay for abortions
conducted at private abortion clinics.
As
of Tuesday, Fredericton-Fort Nashwaak NDP candidate Penny
Ericson said she hadn't received the survey.
When
told what questions it contained, Ericson said she didn't
like its format because it only allowed candidates to
respond by saying "yes," "no" or "uncertain."
Ericson
said she supports taxpayer-funded abortions at the Morgentaler
abortion clinic, "because they're not doing it in
the hospitals on a regular basis."
On
same-sex marriages, she said, she believes churches should
make their own decisions about performing those ceremonies.
"What
I would support is the European system of a civil ceremony,
and where a religious service is optional for the parties
and at the discretion of the church."
The
Liberal candidate for Fredericton-Fort Nashwaak, Kelly
Lamrock, said he'd received 25 surveys from public interest
groups and was attempting to answer them all.
However,
Lamrock said, issues of such importance deserve detailed
responses.
"I
don't think, on a lot of these issues, an informed opinion
can be given with a checkmark."
Lamrock
said if he had time to write a detailed response to this
survey, he would tell the coalition he thinks churches
should have a guaranteed right to refuse to perform any
ceremony they disagree with.
"I
also believe, though, that the state should not stand
in the way of loving relationships between two adults."
He
said he is skeptical of any kind of private health care,
including abortion clinics.
"I
do support, in the first trimester, a woman's right to
choose, but one would have to convince me that a private
abortion clinic is a necessary thing."
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