Merle Terlesky
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Merle Terlesky (born in 1965 in Kamloops, British Columbia) is a former communist, atheist and pro-choice activist. He was diagnosed with leukemia in July of 1998, received a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy, and survived. He soon after changed his politics and now holds right-wing views, is pro-life and practices Christianity.
He was a main organizer for the Young Communist League (YCL), a member of the Communist Party of Canada (CPC), and was a high profile activist with the group Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics (OCAC) in Toronto, during much of the 1980s and 1990s. He was also involved with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), Anti-Racist Action (ARA) and Queer Nation in Toronto.
He is now involved with the Campaign Life Coalition (a pro-life organization in Canada) and is a member of the board of the Kamloops Pro Life Society . He ran for the Alberta Alliance Party in 2004, but is no longer a member of the party.
Terlesky is the author of his autobiography From Pro-Choice To Pro-Life: The true story of a former communist, and currently resides in Calgary, Alberta.
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[edit] Communist activity
He was raised in an evangelical home. In 1984 he quit high school and moved to Alberta, where he first encountered the socialist movement. At some point he joined the Young Communist League (YCL) and wrote articles for their publication New Horizons which later became Rebel Youth Magazine.
Terlesky "claims" that he first started his pro-choice activism by paint bombing pro-life billboards around Edmonton with other youth. He moved to Toronto, Ontario in 1988 and wrote articles for the Canadian Tribune, many of which argued in favour of pro-choice and against pro-life.
At some point, Terlesky became a well known and main organizer for the YCL, and also became a Communist Party of Canada member. He traveled to the USSR twice where he attended "party school", studied Marxism-Leninism and the history of the Russian Revolution. He also visited Cuba and Nicaragua.
Although already pro-choice, Terlesky didn't become involved with any pro-choice specific group until an incident in Toronto while living near the Morgentaler Clinic. Several pro-life protestors had set up a barricade outside of the clinic, and were singing "Amazing Grace". Terlesky immediately started helping women who came to visit the clinic get through the barricades.
Terlesky became active with the Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics, and acted as a "clinic escort", helping women safely arrive and leave abortion clinics; and on some occasions even used his near-by apartment as a "safe house", letting women stay until anti-abortion protests died down. He went to Refuse and Resist counter-demonstrations against Operation Rescue rallies that were held in Buffalo, New York and went to disrupt Parliament on various occasions when the Brian Mulroney government was looking at changing Abortion laws in Canada. He also appeared on the front page of the Toronto Sun and Toronto Star after disrupting a speech by then Prime Minister Mulroney, during a posh dinner at a hotel in downtown Toronto. Terlesky got into the conference by dressing up as a cook and sneaking through the kitchen. As Mulroney began to speak, Terlesky shouted slogans and questions at him, until he was removed by security.
When the CPC had a major split after the collapse of the Soviet Union and debates over whether or not to support Mikhail Gorbachev in the early 1990s, Terlesky left the party and briefly joined Socialist Challenge. He represented OCAP at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on several occasions alongside John Clarke. In 1993 Terlesky moved to Vancouver after his arrest in Toronto for soliciting a prostitute damaged his reputation.
[edit] Born-again Christian
Terlesky was diagnosed with leukemia in July of 1998, and was given a ten percent chance of surviving two months. He claims to have had a "Saul of Tarsus experience" after finding out he had cancer and began to have second thoughts about all the things he had done in his life, and questioned his political views.
Terlesky received a bone marrow transplant, his brother the donor, and underwent chemotherapy. His cancer did not relapse and he was given a "clean bill of health" by doctors.
Some time before his diagnoses, Terlesky lost a friend who overdosed on cocaine, and he began to think about his own struggle with addiction.
Already rethinking his views, Terlesky made up his mind to change his life. He later took a course on Christianity and studied the teachings of Jesus with an evangelical congregation.
Terlesky later appeared as a guest on the television shows 100 Huntley Street and The Michael Coren Show; and also spoke at various pro-life conferences. He is now involved with the Campaign Life Coalition, a pro-life organization in Canada, and a member of the board of the Kamloops Pro Life Society.
Although Terlesky became pro-life, he has spoken out against violence in the movement, and condemned the bombing of the Morgentaler clinic and attacks on abortion doctors in Vancouver and New York. On the other hand, during a presentation he made to the B.C. budget committee (date unknown), he called "bubble zones" - a law that restricts protestors from rallying too close to abortion clinics and prohibits blockades near clinics - unconstitutional.
On September 21, 2000 Terlesky attempted to hand deliver a letter to Morgentaler asking him to stop performing abortions. He claims that he was confronted by a "Wall of Police" and "There were riot police, two huge private security guards, lawyers, and security guards across the street in unmarked black cars". On October 25, 2000 Terlesky claims that he was assaulted by a staff member of the Cabbage Town Women's Clinic. He alleged that she tried to kick him in the head when he placed a pamphlet at her feet. However, the clinic denied that a woman fitting the description Terlesky gave was employed there. In September of 2002, Terlesky was sentenced to one year of probation for violating the "bubble zone" outside Everywoman's Health Centre in Vancouver in January 2001. Other Charges of uttering threats were dropped and he was issued a recognizance order to stay out of Everywoman's access zone for one year.
Terlesky claims to be against racism and discrimination and that he tolerates other's religious beliefs. However he abhors Astrology, Channeling, Black Magic, White Magic, Witchcraft, Palm Reading, Numerology, Tarot Cards, Water Witching, Silva Mind Control, New Age, Hypnosis, Goddess Worship, Wicca, Eckankar, Clairvoyance, Buddhism, the Bahá'í Faith, Bestiality, Yoga, and Blood Covenants claiming that they are "not in accordance with the Holy Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ".
Terlesky also allegedly sent several letters to the Kamloops Women's Resource Centre threatening to sue the Centre if it didn’t remove a link to an unflattering article about a right-wing men's group Promise Keepers from its website, and later tried to get the Centre’s funding removed because it provides support for gays and lesbians. Allegedly Terslesky attended CBC's counterSpin program, but before taping began, he screamed at Native people in attendance to "Go to Afghanistan and join the Taliban." He also posted on the CounterSpin website discussion area, saying "The US helped get rid of the Taliban and will now rid us of the despot in Iraq and I say Praise God." After a gay man was brutally beaten to death in Vancouver's Stanley Park, Terlesky told a B.C. newspaper that the man was "engaging in inappropriate behaviour."
He has also been outspoken in favour of Israel and against the idea of a two-state solution, saying "Palestinians as a whole see no problem with suicide killers" and "I don't recall any Jews walking into German cafes and killing all the civilians there in occupied Poland? Not that I am comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, not at all." Further still, when voicing his support for the United States attack on Iraq Terlesky said "Iraq is not applicable because in itself it was a nation of terror".
At the 2001 Legislative Session: 2nd Session, 37th Parliament of the Select Standing Committee On Aboriginal Affairs, which took place on October 25, 2001 at 1 p.m. in the Colonnade Room of the Coast Canadian Inn in Kamloops, B.C., Terlesky said that the Native Youth Movement "is waging economic and political terrorism", and that under "the definition of terrorist activities... They fit the bill" and that the "federal government's new anti-terrorism bill could come into play" in dealing with the movements militant actions stemming from a land dispute. In regard to Native Sovereignty and rights, he said that he is "...tired of the granting of special rights. Either you are Canadian or you are not. If you decide not to be, you cease to receive the benefits of citizenship of this country — no more status cards, no more cheap gas and no more financial handouts." Terlesky also stated "We cannot allow threats of roadblocks, rail disruption, etc" and that to end the dispute "bring in the army if necessary."
Terlesky also supports the idea of a referendum on British Columbia's treaty settling the Nisga'a people's land claims , telling The Vancouver Sun "There's got to be a just and final settlement to this crisis we call native negotiations". However, other critics have pointed out the fact that a referendum is hardly fair, considering that Natives are such a small minority.
Terlesky has recently spent much of his time trying to contact youth involved on the left via the internet and e-mail, especially those involved with the Canadian YCL and the CPC, and preaches his beliefs to them in an effort to convince them to leave the communist movement. He also tries to associate himself with leaders on the right, and often shows a picture of himself with Preston Manning.
Terlesky was seen in the Calgary Herald after he was detained by police for disobeying an ordinance regarding noise during the 2006 NHL playoffs. Terlesky proceeded to write a letter to the editor of the Herald.
Terlesky ran unsuccessfully for city council in the City of Kamloops municipal election of 2002.
He also ran as a candidate for the Alberta Alliance in the riding of Lethbridge West in the 2004 Alberta provincial election. He came in fourth out of six place, receiving 949 votes.
