At their recent convention, the Conservative Party of Canada voted to accept new policies including combating human trafficking, income splitting for families with children, reducing the power of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, and adding additional charges for individuals who injure or kill an unborn child when a  crime is committed against its mother. Read the full list of policies and see how the vote turned out for each of them by reading this article here. Time will tell how seriously Harper and the party leadership take these new policies, especially given Harper’s warning to not make the party too ideological.

Some of the policies accepted:

P-119 Party believes the government should take “strong action” to combat human trafficking and take a lead in developing international agreements and protocols against human trafficking.

P-203 Party supports legislation to remove authority from the Canadian Human Rights Commission and Tribunal to regulate, receive, investigate or adjudicate complaints related to Section 13 (hate messages) of the Canadian Human Rights Act.

P-207 Party supports legislation to ensure that individuals who commit violence against a pregnant woman would face additional charges if her unborn child was killed or injured during the commission of a crime against the mother.

P-218 Party believes that Canada’s multicultural society is a “valued reality” and accepts the need to foster understanding and equality of opportunity while expecting Canadians “to adopt Canadian common values such as equality, democracy and the rule of law.”

P-223 Government should in consultation with provinces, territories and aboriginal leaders, direct an independent audit of all social services providers to aboriginal communities to determine what if any measures of effectiveness are employed and whether the programs provided result in desired outcomes. Ottawa should also establish a three-party co-ordinating body to develop strategy for co-ordination of all programs and services provided to aboriginal communities. The Auditor General of Canada and counterparts in provinces should evaluate the actual outcomes as well as the financial accountability in audit reports on aboriginal services.

P-305 Party supports income splitting for couples with children.

P-308 Party supports right of workers to organize into unions but also respects private property and the decision of fellow workers not to participate. 

P-105 Party supports exploration and development of offshore oil and gas resources in Canadian waters including the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic. Supports ensuring that “accurate and complete information on the risks and benefits of such development is made available to the public.”