Posted on 06/28/2005 7:19:43 PM PDT by Heartofsong83
Same-sex marriage bill passes in Commons CTV.ca News Staff
Canada will become the third country in the world to officially sanction same-sex marriage.
In a 158 to 133 vote, the House of Commons adopted Bill C-38 -- the controversial legislation legalizing same-sex marriage from coast to coast -- on its third and final reading Tuesday night.
The Liberals had the support of almost all New Democrat and Bloc Quebecois MPs for the vote.
The bill will become official once it receives approval in the Senate. An earlier Conservative motion to send the bill back to committee was voted down 158 to 127.
The decision marks the end of a long and divisive debate, with fierce opposition coming from Conservative members, religious groups, and even members of the Liberal Party. Opponents are vowing to keep up the fight against the C-38, which changes the traditional definition of marriage to one that includes same-sex couples.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is promising that he won't let the issue rest; he says he'll revisit the new law if he becomes the next prime minister. He also repeated Tuesday his claim that the law lacks legitimacy because it passed with the support of the separatist Bloc party.
"I don't think Canadians are going to accept as a final word a decision taken by only a minority of federalist MPs," he said. But Harper didn't specify how he would address the issue if the Tories were to form the next government.
Liberal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said Harper is going to have to come clean and acknowledge that he would have to invoke the Constitution's notwithstanding clause to override the new law.
"They're going to have to acknowledge that they want to override the (Charter of Rights), override constitutional-law decisions in nine jurisdictions in this country; override a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court of Canada; override the rule of law in this country," Cotler said.
The clause is available to provinces to override federal laws that intrude on provincial jurisdiction.
But almost every provincial and territorial government has already legalized same-sex marriage; and the new legislation will ensure that the four "hold-out" jurisdictions that yet haven't -- Alberta, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories -- now must.
"It's an historic moment, it's about equality for gays and lesbians," said NDP MP Libby Davies.
Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, who is "strongly opposed" to the bill on moral grounds, acknowledged Tuesday that little can be done to stop same-sex marriages in his province.
"Since this is federal legislation, to use the notwithstanding clause as contained in our own Marriage Act would be frivolous," Klein told reporters in Calgary. "It wouldn't stand up in any court of law. So there are some other options that we would have to consider."
Klein said although some members of his caucus are threatening to use every legal weapon at their disposal to get around the legislation, "there are no legal weapons; there's nothing left in the arsenal."
As expected, about 30 Liberal MPs voted against the measure tonight. Martin declared it a free vote for backbench MPs, but cabinet ministers were under orders to vote in favour of the bill.
On Tuesday, a junior cabinet minister chose to resign and return to the backbenches rather than vote in favour of same sex marriage.
Joe Comuzzi, the minister of state for economic development in northern Ontario, informed the prime minister of his decision in the early morning.
"I promised faithfully to the people of Thunder Bay-Superior North that I would defend the traditional definition of marriage," he explained to reporters on Parliament Hill.
With a report from CTV News
Gee..... wouldn't it be grand if the gays in the lower 48 streamed north like draft dodgers in the 60s and early 70s?
to what end? no offense, is this a done deal?
it seems liberal canada surrendered and nobody cared.
What are those four holdouts going to do? seceed? I doubt very much they have the will.
The west in this case = everything west/northwest of Toronto.
The only areas with some support for gay marriage are Quebec (by far the strongest support), the Greater Toronto Area, around Vancouver and (to the lowest extent) parts of Atlantic Canada, where it is fairly split.
4 holdouts?
Sad country indeed. I awoke one day and found my country no more. It is a barren wasteland. A sad day indeed!
I've got plenty more pictures - I live in SF and can get more tomorrow.... ;-)
Hot damn. Maybe the queer activists will swim over the northern border now. Right.
Whatever it takes ...
Join the U.S.? I thought they hated us.
How utterly sad.
Once again, I am completely ashamed of this country.
I fly the Canadian flag AND Old Glory....guess which one
I will be taking down.
The article mentions the four conservative provinces.
Alberta has toyed with the concept of joining the USA.
http://www.unitednorthamerica.org
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