By Michael Breukelman (Southern Alberta ARPA) Lethbridge Herald, May 26 2011: This past winter was a long winter for many Canadians. Here in southern Alberta, snow started flying and temperatures started plummeting around mid-November, and it stayed like that until April, at least. But there’s another kind of winter we are just entering. Unfortunately, this winter may last for much longer and have more drastic effects than our recent winter season, not just here in Canada, but around the (western) world. With this “winter weather” it’s not snow that’s flying around; it’s abortion numbers flying sky high. And it’s not temperatures that are plummeting; instead it’s fertility rates and population.

Now for some facts. Ideally we need 2.1 children per woman to keep a population stable in the West. Currently, Canada’s fertility rate sits at 1.6 – far below the necessary value of 2.1. In 1959, when Canada had only 17 million people, 480,000 babies were born. In 2002, with 31 million people, only 328,000 babies were born.

The year 1961 saw the introduction of the pill and the beginning of a declining birthrate in Canada. In 1969 abortions became legal and there was an even more dramatic decline in the fertility rate. Coincidence?
The result of these happenings, among other things, is a strain on the welfare system as the labour pool shrinks and population ages. Eventually, our population itself shrinks with catastrophic effects on our economy and society as there is no internal growth. These are some rather cold, wintry facts, are they not?

The good news is, while we have no control over real weather phenomena, we can do something to stop the abortion numbers from flying high and warm up our fertility numbers. It starts with protecting and valuing human life, promoting stable and traditional families (one father, one mother, married to each other for life and living under the same roof) and, income splitting to support stay-at-home mothers.
Not all of us have the privilege of raising a family. Those of us who do should appreciate it and make the most of it.