GAYS, POTHEADS OFF AGENDA

The UA Has Said No To Potheads And To Gays And Lesbians.

Delegates attending the movement's founding convention tore up a family
values resolution that would have allowed a free vote in the Commons to
extend benefits to gay and lesbian couples.

They were just as quick to burn a resolution that called for the
decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana -- a move sought by police
chiefs across the country.

As for extending benefits, Reform MPs downplayed suggestions the UA has
shot itself in the foot and will hurt its chances of attracting key support
in Ontario.

INTOLERANT PERCEPTION

Many feel one of the reasons Reform can't crack the Ontario-Manitoba border
is its perceived intolerance to same-sex relationships.

Critics have suggested this weekend's stage-managed convention is nothing
more than a vehicle for Preston Manning and his key advisers to shed
Reform's extremist image to placate Ontario.

Reform MP Keith Martin urged delegates the perception could follow them
into the UA.

"I don't think they are trying to be exclusionary," a guarded Martin said
after the vote.

Martin pointed to a previous UA gathering last January when Alberta Premier
Ralph Klein urged delegates to focus on the big issues like health and
steer away from social conservative value issues.