Hon. Bill Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, last night, thanks to the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, all the members of Parliament had a great chance to go and see the movie Amazing Grace, whichis about astory of William Wilberforce’s who had a long fight to abolish slavery. This superb movie was produced to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire
At a time when human slavery is making a comeback illicitly, in a way that calls for concerted international action, it is important to remember that before 1807 slavery was a legal and an integral part of the imperial economy. Wilberforce had to contend with arguments that the abolition of slavery would make Britain less competitive, that it would advantage Britain’s enemies, that it would eliminate jobs and that government revenues would be affected.
Wilberforce not only contended with the profiteers and the sugar barons and, he also contened against an intergrated economic system that went against God’s will for human equality. He insisted that the moral thing to do was the best thing to do and that the example would catch on as ultimately it did. Surely we would do well to heed this insight when dealing with the issues of our own time.
