It is the core principle of today's Conservatism that government should stay out of the lives of individuals unless there is some overriding public good to be served by its intervention in our lives. Despite that, a raft of Conservative candidates proclaimed their desire to have the government interfere in the lives of Canadians while providing no evidence to suggest that their proposed interference served an overriding public good.

If two people of the same gender want to stand up in front of their friends, express their love and make a life-long commitment to each other, what overriding public good is affected by recognizing that commitment in law? It offends some religious values and makes some people uncomfortable, but there is no overriding public good that is restricted, changed or impinged.

The moral absolutism of those who compare abortion to the beheading of a hostage by terrorists is similar. What overriding public good is served by forcing a woman to carry child to term if doing so carries a significant risk to that woman's life and who are we as Conservatives to make that decision for her?

This is not to say that those who hold these beliefs are inherently bad people (and I am certainly not arrogant enough to suggest that I know best on these issues), just that I believe their views are intellectually inconsistent with modern Conservatism.

As the Conservative Party approaches its first policy conference, it will choose from two possible directions. It can embrace moderate, open and modern views consistent with its core ideology. In so doing, it can broaden its base of support and position itself to win the next election. On the other hand, it can choose to reflect the views of the so-called "social conservatives" and continue to be on the outside looking in.

While I do not believe that social conservative values motivate the new Conservative Party, its inability to demonstrate that fact in the face of repeated examples of extreme social conservatism brought up by the media and the Liberals. In the absence of any kind of defence against the charges leveled against the party, Ontarians had no choice but to judge us by the company we keep. They made a simple calculation: "It looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck. It's probably a duck."

The moderate Ontarians we need to win the next election will not vote Conservative as long as the so-cons and their values appear to play a prominent role in the party. That is the crux of the problem. So to the angry Albertans, I say this:

The problem is not in Ontario, but within the party we support. You can work with us to fix the problem or you can stay home and be "alienated."