The Ottawa March for Life is a yearly demonstration in Ottawa. It is quickly becoming a major political event, with last year's participation reaching 12,000 marchers on Parliament Hill. It is also becoming a magnet for other pro-life events, such as the annual pro-life Campaign Life Coalition Youth Conference and the annual Campaign Life Coalition Rose Dinner.

Please click here for information about the 2009 March for Life. Next year's march will be bigger than ever, and information about it will be available shortly.

Here's a promotional video (filmed in 2008) for the 2009 March for Life: 

The following figures and anecdotes, I find, are pretty encouraging:

• Paris March for Life: On Sunday, January 22, 17 000 showed up, including three bishops, for the eighth French March for Life. The laity were encouraged by 32 French bishops to attend. L'abbé Loddé, formerly of Quebec City, was in attendance and was interviewed by the press.
• On Saturday, January 21, over 40 000 attended the seventh West Coast March for Life in San Francisco.
• On Monday, in D.C. several hundred thousand people gathered for the annual March for life. A powerful video is presented below.
• Next, in Hungary over 100 000 gathered this past week in support of the Prime Minister who is under pressure from his European counterparts for Hungary's adoption of a pro-life constitution. Poland and the Ukraine are the lone European governments supporting the government of Viktor Orban. Your prayers are needed as this nation is particularly vulnerable right now as it negotiates debt relief with the European Union. 
• Finally, on a lighter side, in today's Journal de Montréal, editorialist J. Jacques Samson, commenting on the lamentable state of the Quebec's health care system is calling for a return to hospitals run by religious communities. Tongue in cheek, he states that under the nuns Quebec enjoyed responsible admiistrators, physicians commensurately paid with their peers in the other provinces as well as their participation in the management of the institutions, including the finances.

Spread it around ! 

Two vids of this year's National March for Life, one professionally cut, the other crudely stitched together by yours truly. Guess which is which! Enjoy.

This past Thursday, May 12, 2011, I led a small group of faithful pro-lifers to Ottawa to participate in the National March for Life. It was a full day and add some, for we only got back at around 2 AM Friday morning. 24 plus hours later,  I can now say that I feel recovered from the exercise. Despite the soreness from the long hours of standing, I am glad to have gone and look forward to participating again next year.

The day began with an early departure for we wanted to arrive in Ottawa for the 10 AM mass at the Notre Dame Cathedral. This meant leaving Central Station at about 7:30 AM and rendez-vous'ing with a second group awaiting us in the west-island, at Fairview Shopping Centre. We weren't disappointed by the early departure for we arrived at the cathedral some ten minutes before mass time. Further, several of us - Donald Kondusky, Johan Distler, and myself, were fortunate to have reserved seats waiting for us; the Knights of Columbus had several cancellations and one invited three of us to join their ranks. Lucky break!

The mass was presided over my Archbishop Pendergast of Ottawa along with several of his bishop brothers.  Once over, we proceeded to Parliament Hill for the opening ceremony. On the way, Charlotte L'Heureux, Jack Coyne, Marcel Givogue, and myself, took a short cut through Major Hill park and while there paused to eye the tulips and eat our lunch. Charlotte and I tested the delicacies at one of the finer greasy spoons.  I wolfed down the fries and chicken pita.

Finally we arrived on the hill as the speeches were being made.  I don't know if it was because of the beautiful sunshine and the cool breeze, but the turnout was large. Later that day I heard that the crowd was estimated at 15 000 people, that is 3000 more than last year.

This year's theme was "Abortion Kills a Human Being." Our own Georges Buscemi, Quebec Life Coalition president, was interviewed by the French side of the CBC; his interview made be found at: http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/societe/2011/05/12/001-manifestation-avortement-ottawa.shtml.

Eventually, when all was said, we proceeded to walk through the streets of Ottawa, led by many banners and the Knights in full regalia. The walk proceeded up Wellington to Elgin, passing along its way both the cenatath and the human rights monument.  At this point our path crossed a large group of protesters and what appeared to be a jostling exercice began; the youth in both camps attempted to outshout the other with their various slogans.  Call be bias but I think our own won out.  We snaked through the streets to Bank street and back to Wellington and the hill. Our own Irene Camilli appears here. The afternoon on the hill ended with several members of "Silent No More Awareness Campaign" giving personal testimonies of how abortion had affected their lives and an orthodox prayer service.

Here are some pictures of the day : 

A chartered bus for the Ottawa March for Life will depart from across the street of Montreal's downtown central station (935 de la Gauchetière West) on Thursday, May 12 at 7:15 AM and will return to Montreal at the same location for about 6 PM. Round-trip tickets are $30 per ticket. There will one stop to and from Ottawa - Fairview Shopping Center.  To reserve call Quebec Life Coalition at (514) 344-2686.

In anticipation of the 2010 March for Life in Ottawa, here's a great report of last year's March from LifeSiteNews. 

By the way, QLC is organising buses to the March from downtown Montreal. Anyone interested call (514) 344-2686 or email us.

Also, all interested school teachers, principals, etc. who might want to bring students, contact us about the youth banquet the evening of the March (Thursday, May 13) and the all-day youth conference the next day (Friday, May 14).

Hope to see you at the March for Life in Ottawa. Last year's total participation was 12,000, we're expecting even more this year!

Mark your calendar: the 2010 National March for Life on Parliament Hill in Ottawa will take place bewteen May 12 and May 14, with the March proper happening on May 13. There will be a candle-lit vigil on the evening of the 12th, and a youth conference on the 14th. The annual Rose Dinner will take place on the evening of the 13th. Stay tuned for more info. Click here for general information about the March.

Programme of events:

Wednesday May 12

7:30 pm
Pro-life Mass, St. Theresa Parish, 95 Somerset Street West

9:00 pm
Candlelight Vigil, The Canadian Tribute to Human Rights monument, Elgin and Lisgar Streets

10:00 pm
All-night Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament ending with

7:00 am
Mass, St. Partrick Basilica, 220 Kent Street (use side street entrance)

Thurday May 13

10:00 am
Prolife Mass, Notre Dame Cathedral, Sussex Drive

10:00 am
Prayer Service, St. George Anglican Church, 152 Metcalfe Street

12 noon
Gathering on Parliament Hill, welcome and introductions

1:30 pm
March through downtown Ottawa

2:45 pm
Silent No More Awareness Campaign, Parliament Hill

4:00 pm
Closing Prayer Service, Parliament Hill, Eastern Catholic Chaplaincy of Ottawa

6:00 pm
Cocktail Hour and Rose Dinner / Youth Banquet, Hampton Inn, 200 Coventry Road tickets required in advance $75 call CLC at 1-800-730-5358 or 613-729-0379

Friday May 14

9:00 am to 2:30 pm
Youth Conference, Hampton Inn, 200 Coventry Road for information call 1-800-730-5358.

 
...went to the abortion clinic.

In Canada, over 9000 abortions are committed each year on unborn children over 13 weeks (pictured is the toe of a 14-week aborted unborn child). 

On Thursday May 13, come to the National March for Life in Ottawa. Abortion - A Crime Against Humanity. 

A pro-life youth conference organised by Campaign Life Coalition (CLC, of which QLC is the Quebec division) and co-sponsored by the National Campus Life Network (NCLN) was held in Ottawa the day after the May 14 March for Life.

NCLN is an organization that helps university students establish pro-life groups on their campuses. They provide advice, pre-printed literature, as well as access to pro-life seminars and retreats, such as this very Youth Conference that was held on May 15 in Ottawa. QLC’s secretary-general and Montreal director of the 40 Days for Life, Georges Buscemi, had a chance to attend, along with about 600 or so students from Canadian high schools and universities. During this day of seminars and plenary sessions, students were offered presentations on euthanasia and assisted suicide by Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, and Father John Lemire, and by Conservative MP Pierre Lemieux, who, during a plenary session, encouraged students to run for office. Lemieux remarked that he had never really dreamt of becoming an MP, but he gave it a try and now fights for life and family at the highest levels.

Liberal MP Paul Szabo also delivered to the students a forthright address about the ups and downs of being a pro-life MP. One presentation the assembled students particularly appreciated was that of Samantha Singson, former CLC U.N. representative and now director of governmental relations at the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), publishers of the “Friday Fax” which many pro-lifers receive weekly by email.

C-FAM monitor UN diplomats and their use of sneaky, abortion-promoting wording in their resolutions at the UN headquarters in New York City. The listeners especially appreciated Ms. Singson’s frankness when she described how UN diplomats stealthily maneuvered and inserted weasel wording in their resolutions to promote abortion around the world, and how she and the C-FAM team helped shed light on their machinations and thwart them.

What most interested us here at QLC was the one meeting which the chaperones and teachers held for about an hour in a separate room, while the students were busy elsewhere. During this session, in which Jim Hughes, president of CLC, was present, teachers and parents spoke openly about how to better approach sometimes reticent school boards with requests for money to use towards pro-life and pro-family activities for students. The lessons shared during this session could definitely carry over to teachers and parents here in Quebec. In fact, we at QLC would very much welcome any teacher or parent who is reading this and wants to know more. Just give us a call or write!