Christian Heritage Party of Canada Sturgeon River-Parkland candidate Ernest Chauvet speaks at a party event in Morinville Thursday night. – Stephen Dafoe Photo
by Stephen Dafoe
About 30 Christian Heritage Party of Canada (CHP) supporters and interested residents popped by Higher Grounds Espresso Bar Sept. 3. Party leader Rod Taylor, Sturgeon River-Parkland candidate Ernest Chauvet, and Edmonton-Mill Woods candidate Peter Downing visited to speak on the party’s platform.
Taylor is en route to Ottawa from his native BC and has decided to stop in and visit his party’s candidates along the way. Chauvet, a resident of Legal, is one of six CHP candidates in Alberta presently, and one of 25 nationally.
Taylor told his Morinville audience he would like to see the party field 100 candidates in this election. “I would be happy if we had 100 candidates or more, but I’m happy with the candidates that we do have now, he said.
Taylor went on to say the party would need 170 candidates, all of whom would have to win their seat to form a government. It is a reality he knows will not come to pass this time around, but he is confident the 25 candidates already registered to run will get the party’s message out.
“You will face rejection. You will face disappointment. You will be misunderstood at times,” Taylor said of those running for the party this election, adding he hoped local media would give the party an airing of its platform.
Taylor said the party has taken the approach this election to run candidates where the Conservative candidates are not strong on pro-life.
“The Christian Heritage Party has primarily taken the approach that we are going to run primarily candidates where the Conservative MP or the Conservative candidate is not enthusiastically, joyfully and boldly pro-life,” Taylor said. It is a move he felt gives the party credibility and deepened the party’s relationship with the pro-life movement in general. “Some of them, in spite of sharing exactly the same values as we do, have thought it is a wasted vote. Our goal is to raise the level of righteousness in Canada. If there’re good men and women in office today, who are doing everything that can be done. Right now we only have 25 candidates registered. Why should we run against the exceptionally good ones? We should run where there is a need.”
Chauvet running for the first time
One of Taylor’s 25 candidates running on a Christian values, pro-life, responsible spending, platform is Legal resident Ernest Chauvet, best known for turning his community into the French Mural Capital of Canada.
Chauvet spoke passionately about his reasons for running and the party’s platform. “It is my hope that as you look and reflect on this party, it is a reflection of you, of your inner values, and who you are as a person,” Chauvet told the 30 gathered to hear the party’s values.
Chauvet tackled the notion that CHP is a one issue party head on. “It is a pro-life party,” he said. “But what is life? It is the unborn, but it is more than the unborn. It is not limited to that. The other issue like the budget come out of that or the richness of what life is all about and what it has to offer.”
On the pro-life side of the party, Chauvet had strong words including calling for a federal study on the psychological impact of abortion on women. “You don’t hear about the emotions and the struggles,” he said. “In the campaign we will be presenting this — why not have the pro-choice people and the pro-life people do a study together to see the impact of abortion on women. I will suspect many pro-choice people won’t want to see it. Why would you not want to have research done if you truly are pro-choice to see if there is a psychological impact?”
Chauvet also spoke about the national debt. “It is completely unacceptable to run a country, which becomes the parent in the care of all the citizens, and say, ‘I will not be responsible fiscally. I will give all these things that the people want and then make them pay later,’” Chauvet said. “It’s like saying to your kids, ‘I’ll provide all these things for you and when it’s time to leave home at 18, here’s the bill. Whatever it cost — you pay for it.’ That’s irresponsible government.”
VIDEO COVERAGE
Below are videos of CHP leader Rod Taylor and Sturgeon River-Parkland candidate Ernest Chauvet.
