The Liberal government is introducing legislation that would require charities that provide pregnancy counseling to disclose whether they also provide abortion or contraception, or referrals to those services.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland made the announcement Tuesday during her weekly press conference with other ministers, including Health Minister Mark Holland.
The government says it wants to crack down on anti-choice groups masquerading as providing full-service pregnancy support, when in reality they are turning women away from accessing some services, including abortion.
If the bill passes, organizations that fail to clearly disclose their services could lose their charity status.
“We are introducing this legislation to ensure that women seeking information about their health care options are not misled, and that those who mislead Canadian women are “We are doing this to ensure that we are not subsidized by taxpayers.” .
The Liberal Party has become increasingly vocal about abortion, a central issue in the US election campaign, in an effort to put pressure on the Conservative Party, which has several anti-choice members in its caucus.
To pass the bill, the Liberals need a yes vote from another opposition party.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh will next table a motion in the opposition Republican House of Commons asking other parties to support his pledge to expand access to abortion in Canada.
Mr Singh said Conservative MPs had tabled several “anti-choice” motions, but the Liberals had not done enough to improve access to abortion.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2024.
