Correction - June 5, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version that incorrectly said house leader Mary Polak took part in a God and Government conference. In fact, she was not part of the conference. A previous version of the article also misstated the name of Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) Canada.

VANCOUVER—A BC Liberal MLA is among an unknown number of politicians who have taken part in events hosted by a socially conservative group whose efforts have included creating a campaign for abortion legislation.

Laurie Throness took part in a God and Government conference last year, hosted by the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) Canada, which has organized the event since 2009.

While the BC Liberal party as a whole says it is firmly pro-choice, ARPA is clear about its agenda. The organization states on its website: “Yes, we believe religion and politics can mix.”

Throness has said he has no formal relationship with ARPA.

Canadian politicians have been forced to clarify their stance on abortion in the wake of legislation in the United States that restricts or prohibits access to abortion services. Just last month, Conservative Party of Canada Leader Andrew Scheer said he would not reopen the debate when asked whether he would allow MPs to introduce laws on abortion.

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Though a law has yet to be tabled in Canada, one constitutional lawyer says Canada is not immune to the erosion of reproductive rights.

In 2012, ARPA created the We Need a Law organization, which wants to see Canada create new legislation to “protect the unborn.” Executive director Mark Penninga said the group’s goal is to equip Canadians to share their outlook with government officials.

“ARPA Canada, in all of our work but also the God and Government conferences, is never partisan and is really directed toward any government official, regardless of their religious beliefs,” he explained.

In addition to supporting abortion legislation, the group opposes B.C.’s sexual orientation and gender inclusivity policy, medically assisted dying and bans to conversion therapy, according to its website.

Canada has no abortion legislation ever since a 1988 Supreme Court ruling, despite a failed attempt by Brian Mulroney’s Conservative government in 1991. ARPA — which formed in 2007 and is under the direction of a board with members in B.C., Alberta and Ontario — launched the We Need A Law campaign in hopes of changing that.

Penninga said the goal is to uphold “preborn human rights to the greatest degree possible,” federally, provincially and through the courts.

At last year’s national God and Government conference, Throness, the BC Liberals’ critic for children and families, gave a talk entitled “Hope for social conservatives.” It was followed by a roundtable discussion that included three other unnamed MLAs, according to an ARPA release.

Throness attended another ARPA event last year on medically assisted dying and was most recently the final speaker at a B.C. edition of the God and Government conference held on May 4 of this year. The exact content of each talk is unclear.

“I am pro-life from conception to natural death,” Throness said in an email confirming his attendance. “I don’t condemn women or demand laws to limit their rights. I call for love, which in the long run is much more powerful than the law.”

Throness told Star Vancouver he met with We Need a Law in 2015 for an introductory meeting and, “as best as” he can remember, has not met with them since.

Meanwhile, in February of last year, Liberal MLA Mary Polak spoke at an ARPA event in Langley, B.C., that discussed medically assisted dying. Her comments suggested the anti-abortion wing of the caucus is large and influential.

“Pro-life people are actually a pretty important part of our party. And a pretty important part of our support. And we need to be listening to the concerns that they have,” she said in a Facebook video. “And it was a result of that we managed to work through on things like the exemption for religious hospice.”

Polak later advocates for using non-religious arguments to advance religious positions in the video.

Polak also told Star Vancouver she has no formal relationship with ARPA.

In an emailed statement, a BC Liberal media spokesperson said Polak has been in politics for almost 25 years and “fairly represents her constituents.”

Earlier this month, Throness landed in hot water after speaking at an anti-abortion protest at the legislature with Rich Coleman, former BC Liberal leader and former deputy premier. Throness told the March for Life protesters “don’t back down and don’t apologize.”

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Following their comments, BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson tweeted on May 9 that the party remains pro-choice, without naming Coleman or Throness.

Throness then tweeted on May 14 that he does not condemn women or call for laws against women’s rights.

“I do encourage societal consensus around the obvious — that a fetus is a beautiful, intelligent human child, and that every child deserves love, at every stage of development,” the tweet continued.

Asked how many caucus members are anti-abortion, Throness said he was unsure but pointed to the two attending the March for Life as a “general indication.”

“I am pleased to be part of a caucus that allows individual members to speak their mind on matters of conscience,” Throness said, noting “with sadness” the way anti-abortion advocates are treated by media, academia, interest groups and government.

“Pro-life people have legitimate concerns that deserve to be heard in the mainstream of our society, rather than verbally denigrated, condemned, stigmatized, discriminated against and marginalized by it,” he added.

While Penninga would not share a list of politicians who have participated in God and Government conferences, he said that both federal NDP and Liberal politicians have attended national conferences in the past.

The federal New Democratic Party and Liberal Party did not immediately respond to questions about whether any members have attended. According to a Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson on Monday, the prime minister will not reopen the debate on abortion legislation.

Still, We Need A Law’s support is growing, ARPA’s executive director said, arguing many Canadians don’t support the status quo. Penninga said the group is advocating for what it calls the “international standard” to regulate abortion as well as recognize rights for the fetus.

Their draft law includes three specific components: banning abortions after 12 weeks, allowing for “necessary” exceptions in some cases, including when a mother’s health is at risk; mandatory counselling prior to the decision; and a 48-hour “pause period” in which a pregnant woman would be asked to reflect on her options.

But critics say any abortion legislation in Canada would severely restrict women’s rights. That’s why Canada does not need a law, according to Kasari Govender, lawyer and executive director of West Coast Legal Education & Action Fund (LEAF).

“I think there are very serious consequences in what they’re asking,” Govender said.

Even a law aimed only at restricting “late-term abortions” is trying to solve a problem that does not exist, Govender explained, saying “few” happen in Canada and anything after 24 weeks is done only because of serious health risks.

Both independent counselling and a “pause period” assume a woman cannot make a decision for herself, she added. The latter is more restrictive, as women living in rural areas would have to travel — and stay for two days — before receiving an abortion.

“These kinds of restrictions may seem innocuous but in reality they rarely are,” she said.

Govender pointed to a growing fear that what is happening south of the border could genuinely affect reproductive rights in Canada.

“We have to realize that abortion rights can be eroded fully or dramatically, and we have to keep our eye on all sides of that.”

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