As the national March for Life wended its way through the streets of Ottawa and reconvened on the lawn of Parliament Hill, the MP whose private member’s Motion- 408 against the sex-selective abortion of girls gave rise to this year’s march theme, rose in the House without approval from his party and caught the Speaker’s eye.

“Mr. Speaker, 20,000 Canadians from all walks of life gathered here today in front of the Parliament buildings,” said Warawa. “They are asking Canadian leaders to end discrimination against women and girls occurring through global gendercide.”

Motion-408 was introduced last year but was withdrawn when two parliamentary committees ruled it could not be voted upon in the House of Commons. When Warawa tried to raise the issue during the time devoted to MPs’ statements, he found the party whip pulled his time slot.

A recent ruling by House Speaker Andrew Scheer said that Parliamentary rules do not require the Speaker to abide by lists provided by party whips. After the ruling, Warawa rose to give a statement earlier this year, but it focused on a non-controversial fundraising talent show in his riding.

On May 9, however, Warawa took advantage of the freedom available for backbench MPs. “The Canadian Medical Association revealed that this barbaric form of discrimination is occurring in Canada.”

The MP then echoed the theme of the March, saying, “‘It’s a girl’ should not be a death sentence.”

“Gendercide is the ultimate form of discrimination against women and girls,” Warawa said. “A huge thanks goes to the thousands across Canada standing up against all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls.”