In the wake of International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda’s abrupt reversal on maternal health policy while in Africa, the Liberal Party is calling on the government to confirm that Oda’s announcement is in fact the new policy of the Conservative Party.
“During the past year, Stephen Harper has refused to include the full range of family planning and reproductive health services for Canada’s maternal and child health G8/G20 initiative, in spite of huge domestic and international dissent,” said Liberal Status of Women Critic Anita Neville.
“I sincerely hope that the Minister spoke in good faith, but we need to know that she speaks for the Conservative government and isn’t making promises in Africa that will be broken in Canada. We are urging Stephen Harper to follow through with Minister Oda’s announcement that Canada’s $1.1-billion funding commitment to maternal and child health will include monies for family planning and reproductive service,” said Ms. Neville.
Though Liberals view Minister Oda’s announcement as a welcome change, they believe Stephen Harper should have listened to the advice of health professionals, aid workers and the Canadian people in the first place and funded maternal health the right way.
“It would appear the Minister could no longer toe the Conservative ideological line on family planning in the face of real women in Africa who so clearly need this help,” said Ms. Neville. “This is what happens when the Conservatives’ optics and ideology comes face-to-face with real people in need.
“That’s what you get with an insular prime minister who fails to get out in the real world and see how his rigid policies actually affect people’s lives,” concluded Ms. Neville.
