Federal candidate booted by Tories for homosexuality article will still appear on ballot
A popular Sikh pro-life and pro-family federal candidate in
Ontario was quickly dropped by the Conservative party earlier this week after
an article surfaced from earlier this year in which he said he believes that
homosexuals can receive therapy to become attracted to the opposite sex.
Jagdish Grewal, running in the Mississauga-Malton riding, wrote
an editorial in the Punjabi Post earlier this year with the title —
mistranslated by mainstream media — "Is it wrong to become a straight
person from a homosexual?”
In the article, Grewal called sexual actions between two members
of the same sex "unnatural behaviour" while saying that children with
same-sex attraction should be able to receive reparative therapy if they and
their parents desire it.
NDP leader Thomas Mulcair as well as Liberal Leader Justin
Trudeau called for Grewal to be dropped as a candidate. The Conservative Party
acted quickly to give Grewal the boot.
"These comments do not reflect the views of the
Conservative Party of Canada. We believe that all Canadians — regardless of
race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation — deserve to be treated with
respect and dignity," the Party said in a statement. "Mr. Grewal is
no longer an official candidate for the Conservative Party."
But Grewal reacted with dismay, saying that his article,
originally in Punjabi, had been mistranslated and that he harbors no ill
feelings towards homosexuals.
He says that the headline of his article properly translated.
Most media reported the title as, "Is it wrong for a homosexual to become
a normal person?"
Grewal in his article was reacting to an Ontario private
member’s bill passed in June that made it
illegal to provide
psychotherapy to minors for either homosexuality or gender dysphoria, and
prevents the government funding such therapy under the Ontario Health Insurance
Plan.
"The political competition of today raises the question of
whether any person's wish to become a straight person is wrong?" Grewal
wrote in Punjabi at that time. “If it is a parent's right to set guidelines for
their children in terms of their education, career and health, then why is it
illegal for them to strengthen their natural heterosexuality?”
When asked by CTV News on Wednesday about his opinion on
homosexuality, Grewal said: “I have always and will cherish every human
on this earth without any discrimination.”
In an interesting twist, Grewal will still appear as the
Conservative candidate on the ballot since the party’s decision to oust him
came too late for Elections Canada to change ballots. He has decided to
continue his campaign.
Jim Hughes, National president of Campaign Life Coalition,
applauded Grewal for not dropping out of the race.
“I’m glad that he’s still running, and I’m glad that he’s still
on the ballot. We’ll have to leave it to voters to decide if they agree with
him or not,” he told LifeSiteNews.
Grewal has stated that if he wins, he will appeal his case to
the party. If the party still rejects him, he will sit as an independent.
“I will show them the actual translation of that article,” he
told CTV News. “If the Conservatives will bring me back, fine, otherwise I
(will sit) as an independent (if elected).”
Grewal’s views on marriage and sexuality may be closer to the
Conservative Party’s own views than what the mainstream media would lead the
casual reader to at first suspect.
A Conservative
party policy declaration affirmed
by delegates at a 2013 convention states under a heading titled “Family and
Marriage” that it supports “legislation defining marriage as the union of one
man and one woman” and that the “family unit is essential to the well-being of
individuals and society.”
Gwen Landolt, National vice-president of REAL Women of Canada,
criticized the Conservative Party for dropping a candidate over outlining a
legitimate position on therapy for homosexuals.
“It’s unfortunate this happened. Mr. Grewal has every right to
express an opinion that many Canadians would agree with. He’s been badly
treated in this because he’s really speaking from a legitimate perspective when
it comes to human sexuality,” she told LifeSiteNews.
Landolt said the topic of homosexuality is driven by “so much
political correctness” rather than evidence-based science to the point that no
one can even rationally criticize tenets of homosexual ideology without being
attacked as a ‘homophobe’ and a ‘bigot.’
“This has to be stopped,” she said, adding that it is “just
ridiculous” how a “small minority of people” who make up the
homosexual-activist movement end up “calling the shots” on candidates when it
comes to elections because of their verdict on who is being politically correct
and who is not.
