May 08, 2014 - 4:18 PM
OTTAWA - At least three former Liberal MPs could find themselves barred from running again for the party due to their staunch opposition to abortion.
Indeed, at least one — former cabinet minister Gar Knutson — says he fully expects to be "red lighted" by the Liberal party.
Knutson had hoped to seek the party's nomination in Ottawa-Orleans, where Leader Justin Trudeau's hand-picked star recruit, retired general Andrew Leslie, is vying to carry the Liberal banner in the 2015 federal election.
Knutson's hopes were dashed Wednesday when Trudeau said no one would be allowed to seek a Liberal nomination unless they commit to support a woman's right to choose to have an abortion.
The only exception he'll make is for incumbent Liberal MPs, several of whom share Knutson's belief that abortion is morally wrong.
At least two other former MPs — one-time minister Joe Volpe and veteran backbencher Dan McTeague — could similarly find their dreams of a political comeback shattered by Trudeau's new dictum.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014