MP Mark Warawa dies after battle with cancer

After a brief battle with cancer, British Columbia Conservative MP Mark Warawa has died. He was 69.

Mr. Warawa died in hospice June 20 with his wife of 46 years, Diane, by his side. He is also survived their five children and 10 grandchildren.

It was only in April that Mr. Warawa announced doctors had discovered cancer in his lungs, colon and lymph nodes. In January he said he was retiring from politics to become a chaplain with a focus on pastoral care for seniors.

The final message on Mr. Warawa’s Facebook page announced his death. “Mark’s new address is in Heaven, where he hopes to see you some day,” it said. His final statement to the constituents of Langley-Aldergrove read: “It’s been an incredible honour to have served my community since being elected federally in 2004.”

At the time Mr. Warawa was undergoing tests in April, he took to Facebook to say he has left all in the hands of God.

“We have our total trust in God,” he wrote. “Yes there has been a lot of tears, but the God who created us has healed me and saved my life before. Most important is I know God loves me and wants me to trust Him. I do!”

In his final Facebook post, Mr. Warawa quoted his favourite biblical verse, John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Mr. Warawa is best known for sponsoring the Gendercide Motion 407 in 2012 that asked the House of Commons to condemn the “discrimination against females through sex-selective pregnancy termination.” The motion was deemed non-votable by a House committee. He also tabled a private member’s bill on conscience rights as Parliament debated the euthanasia law passed in 2016.

Mr. Warawa reintroduced a similar gendercide Motion 77 in October 2016. He did not pursue it further however.

In an emotional farewell address in the House of Commons in May, Mr. Warawa called for greater access to palliative care.

“We’re trying to fix the body, but in some cases it’s better not to do the heroic things,” he said. “Science has shown us that you can live longer and (have) a better quality of life, in some cases, if you’re given palliative care. But that was not provided to me, those options. Why is that? The system’s broken and needs to be fixed.”