Yes or no

Meanwhile, the government still won’t clarify its foreign policy on abortion.

When asked yesterday if there is a federal government policy against funding groups that facilitate abortions in developing countries, a spokesman for Bev Oda, the Minister for International Co-operation, refused to give a direct reply.

“As we have said many times, the G8 initiative on maternal and child health is about making a positive difference and save the lives of mothers and children in the developing world, not about reopening the debate on abortion,” Jean-Luc Benoît said in an e-mail. Asked to offer a yes or no answer to the question of whether the government would give money to a group that facilitates abortions, Mr. Benoît simply reiterated his first response.