A meet-and-greet with Saskatoon MP Brad Trost went ahead Saturday at the Sandman Hotel after the Saskatoon Public Library cancelled the room booking from its Alice Turner branch due to security concerns.

The event included pro-life discussion and the library was concerned about planned protests at the event, saying it didn’t have security of protocol to handle a public demonstration.

No protestors showed up to Saturday’s meet-and-greet, which included discussions about gun ownership, economics and pro-life issues.

It was standing room only with more than 50 people in attendance.

Trost, who is running for leadership of the Conservative Party, discussed ways that politicians and the public can encourage a pro-life culture and answered questions from the audience.

“Right now, the institutions in Canada – the Senate, the Supreme Court – tend not to be supportive of the pro-life perspective,” Trost said. “What I was talking about was things that the broad Canadian public support, that lean towards the pro-life direction, or things we can do to encourage a positive culture of life - teaching people about the value of human life, helping young mothers in difficult situations to access finances.”

Eric Schalm, a member of the provincial and federal Green Party, originally planned to protest at the library but instead attended the event inside and asked Trost questions about his views on accessibility to contraceptives and sexual health education.

“I wanted to have a debate instead of a one-sided propaganda machine,” Schalm said.

Trost responded to other questions from attendees including doctor-assisted dying, to which he said there should be tighter legislation around the issue. He was also asked about the government’s support for indigenous youth when it comes to education, social services and clean water. He told the crowd he’d like to see money reallocated from climate change initiatives to environmental issues, like clean water, and that non-governmental organizations should “take the lead” on issues involving indigenous youth, rather than the federal government.

In light of no protests at the event, Trost tweeted at the library to ask for an apology for being forced to move the event.