LANGLEY, BC—The opening this month of Focus on the Family Canada’s new Ottawa think-tank is expected to give social conservatism a stronger presence on Parliament Hill.
The mandate of the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada (IMFC) is to conduct research and provide resources to MPs and senators on a broad range of current issues of relevance to families, including the age of consent, taxation, child care, marijuana decriminalization, divorce, assisted suicide and palliative care—and all from a Christian perspective.
Focus senior vice-president Derek Rogusky says the fact that the IMFC was not around to influence the debate over the definition of marriage does not diminish its importance.
“We would have all loved to have seen this five, even 10 years ago,” he says. “But…there’s just no shortage of issues that impact the family. And so even if we missed one real key issue, there’s still a need for this type of organization doing this type of work.”
Planning by the B.C.-based ministry to open an Ottawa office began about five years ago.
Heading the think-tank is executive director Dave Quist, who has worked on the Hill for seven years—six years as executive assistant to former B.C. Conservative MP Reed Elley and one year in the office of the Leader of the Opposition.
“I know how busy an MP’s office is, and quite honestly, there simply isn’t time in the day sometimes to do all the necessary research it takes to debate an issue,” he says.
Joining Quist are two researchers, a communications director and a secretary. He also recently published the inaugural issue of IMFC Review, a twice-yearly magazine.
Janet Epp Buckingham, who oversees the Ottawa office of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, welcomes the IMFC as avaluable ally on issues of mutual concern.
“We have been stretched very thin over the last few years, because the issues are very important, they’re very intense. I welcome having another voice, another perspective, another group,” says Buckingham.
“Plus, you can’t just have one group saying something [to politicians]. We need to be supporting one another.”
Reinforcing that desire to be heard, Quist believes, is “a general awakening by the social conservative community across Canada…people asking, ‘How did we get here and what can we do to strengthen family in the years ahead through policy?’”
Rogusky insists, however, that the paramount goal of the IMFC is to help Parliament craft family-friendly laws, regardless of who forms the government.
“It is very much non-partisan,” he says. “We’re not about grassroots lobbying. We’re not about trying to vote certain people out of office. We’re not behind one particular party or one particular candidate—never have been and never will be.”
“We’re not going to be organizing the petitions and letters to the MPs. There are other groups that will do that,” Quist adds. “We want to say [to them], ‘Here’s the impact on children, here’s the impact on moms or dads or couples, if you go down this road.’”
At the same time, Rogusky does not rule out temporary partnerships with secular groups and individuals to achieve mutually desirable results.
“We’d be eager to work with anyone and everyone, but it would be on a case-by-case basis, obviously….That includes other think-tanks, academics, people in the media, civil servants and even elected officials,” he says.
Rogusky concedes “it’s going to take some work” for the IMFC to overcome the perception fostered by critics of Focus on the Family that it is merely a front for the “religious right.” But he is confident that will happen.
“We’re not going to be bullied or intimidated by anyone,” says Rogusky. “And over time, with a real emphasis on consistently putting out good quality research and defending that research, you may not always agree with us, but eventually you’re going to have to respect us.”
