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Group Asks Minister of Justice To Re-Open Same-Sex Marriage Issue |
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Written by Wire Services
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Thursday, 09 February 2006 |
Enshrine Marriage Canada (EMC) called upon Justice Minister Vic Toews to re-open committee hearings on the issue of same-sex marriage.
"Voters in ridings across the country have told their newly-elected representatives that the debate over same-sex marriage is far from finished," said William Gairdner, chair of EMC. "Stephen Harper and his government owe it to the Canadian people to allow the Parliamentary hearings cutoff by then Prime Minister Chretien in 2003 to continue in order that Canadians can have an open and balanced discussion on the value of protecting the traditional definition of marriage in Canada."
In July of 2005, Bill C-38: The Civil Marriage Act, a bill to extend the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples, received Royal Assent and became law, despite the fact that a public debate was never concluded. During the most recent election campaign, Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised to re-open the issue of same-sex marriage for debate through a vote in the House of Commons. EMC believes that the new Parliament needs to be fully informed on the subject before it comes to a vote.
"While in Opposition, MP Vic Toews and his colleagues condemned the unbalanced and biased committee hearings on the marriage issue," said Gairdner. "They now have an opportunity to address that abuse of process by giving Canadians the proper debate that this issue deserves."
Enshrine Marriage Canada is a national, not-for-profit organization which recognizes the critical role of marriage in society and is coordinating a national campaign to enshrine the traditional legal definition of marriage in the Canadian constitution.
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