Church in the World

Canada gay marriage bill ?unjust?

Americas

A SPECIAL legislative committee studying the bill to legalise same-sex marriage was set to report back to Canada?s House of Commons this week amid furious speculation that the government may try to expedite the bill?s passage before Parliament recesses on 23 June.

Earlier this month, in response to reports that the Liberal Government intended to ?fast-track? the legislation, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) wrote to Prime Minister Paul Martin to ?deplore this move? and to plead for ?continued reflection, research, study and discussion? prior to a final vote.

In an open letter issued on 6 June, the CCCB?s president, Archbishop Brendan O?Brien of St John?s, Newfoundland, emphasised that ?Canadians remain deeply divided? on redefining marriage and argued that ?this is not the moment to rush into legislation which has such enormous social and legal consequences?. He also asked Mr Martin to offer to him and his fellow bishops ?an explanation about why your government is determined to rush such legislation?.

The same day, MP Pat O?Brien quit the Liberal caucus to sit as an Independent, claiming that his former colleagues ?are determined? and ?in a rush? to pass the bill without a proper review or adequate public consultation. ?My objective is not to defeat the government but to slow down and ultimately defeat [the] bill,? said Mr O?Brien. However, he refused to rule out voting with opposition parties in order to trigger a federal election that would automatically wipe out the bill as a piece of unfinalised legislation.

Reportedly, other Liberal MPs were also considering similar leveraging tactics to press the minority government ? which avoided the defeat of its budget on 19 May by a single vote ? to ease up on its push to pass the bill. But following discussions between Mr Martin and the disgruntled Liberal MPs, it now appears that the passage of the budget may take priority over the contentious same-sex marriage legislation and that the government may be willing to consider adding a broader range of provisions to protect religious freedom. These include exemptions on religious grounds for Justices of the Peace who object to officiating over same-sex unions, allowing religiously affiliated organisations to decline renting out their facilities for same-sex weddings and receptions, and guarantees that religious institutions will not lose their charitable tax status because of the stance they maintain on marriage.

The amendments being proposed reflect many of the concerns raised by religious groups at the month-long hearings held by the committee scrutinising the bill. In a brief submitted on 18 May, the CCCB warned that the bill could end up fostering new forms of injustice in the name of banishing inequity against lesbians and gays, and wondered whether ?those who believe in the historical definition of marriage [will] henceforth be victims of discrimination?.
Sabitri Ghosh, Ottawa