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LIBERAL GOVERNMENT LYING TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL
One expects that there will always be exaggeration
and misrepresentation by politicians in order to make their
decisions more palatable to the public. However, in regard
to the same-sex marriage issue, the misrepresentation and
outright lies by the Martin government have been so outrageous
that they have crossed the line from mere misrepresentation
to dishonesty and contempt for the public. For example:
- Anti-Marriage Bill C-38
The Liberal Government is lying to Canadians
in regard to the effect of its same-sex marriage Bill
C-38. This is based on the fact that the preamble of the
bill, as well as S.3, provide that officials of religious
groups are protected from performing same-sex marriages,
if they are contrary to their beliefs. This is an absolutely
meaningless provision. Religious groups are not protected
by Bill C-38 at all. To say that they are, is a deliberate
distortion of the truth.
The federal government knows that the
Supreme Court of Canada, in the same-sex marriage reference
case, specifically stated that religious rights are matters
of provincial jurisdiction only and that the federal government
has no authority over them.
Marriage commissioners in some Canadian
provinces have already been ordered to perform marriage
ceremonies regardless of their religious beliefs. Despite
its statement, in the preamble, that "everyone"
has freedom of conscience and religion, which will not
be affected by this same-sex legislation, the federal
government can do nothing to halt the denial of the protection
of the religious beliefs of these commissioners.
In addition, the federal government knows
that in every case where religious rights have competed
with homosexual rights, the latter have trumped these
rights over religious rights every time. The parade of
cases to diminish religious rights on same-sex marriage
issues has already commenced with a lesbian couple claiming
discrimination in a complaint to the B.C. Human Rights
Tribunal because a lay Catholic men's organization, the
Knights of Columbus, has refused to rent their hall for
their marriage celebration.
The preamble of Bill C-38 also claims
that same-sex marriage respects the "right"
of same-sex couples to equality without discrimination.
Again the federal government is fully aware that the Supreme
Court of Canada did not state in the reference case that
opposite-sex marriage was discriminatory against same-sex
couples. The Court merely stated that the government may,
as a matter of policy, extend marriage to same-sex couples.
It did not require the government to do so, on the basis
that it was an equality or human rights issue.
It is obvious that, in its effort to push
through this unpopular legislation and make it more palatable,
the government has deliberately written into the legislation
provisions that are completely without substance and meaning,
with the obvious intent of misleading the public on its
implications.
- Polygamy as a Result of Legalizing Same-Sex
Relationships
The federal Status of Women released,
in January, a request for research proposals on the issue
of polygamy. The Status of Women proposed to make $150,000
available in grants for the project. Half of the money
is to be provided by the Department of Justice. This research
proposal by the Status of Women caused a storm in the
media since it profiled one of the major concerns about
extending marriage to same-sex couples - namely, that
it would lead to demands for polygamous marriages once
the walls protecting the definition of marriage as being
a union of a man and woman were removed. That is, the
definition of marriage would then be open to include polygamy
as well as other relationships, such as brother and sister
and uncle and niece.
Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler hotly denied that the
research project was an indication of his government's
concerns about the possibility that the same-sex marriage
legislation would open up other definitions. When conservative
leader Stephen Harper repeated the concern that changes
in marriage definition over same-sex marriage may lead
to polygamy, Liberal party members and the media heaped
ridicule on him.
The truth, however, came out by way of a request under
the Access to Information Act by the Canadian Press, from
which it obtained a Status of Women document, which stated:
Concerns have been raised by some
that in changing one aspect of the legal capacity to
marry to allow equal access to civil marriage for same-sex
couples, all of the other aspects of legal capacity
may also be vulnerable to attack under the Charter,
including the ban on the practice of polygamy.
The government will likely be called
upon to reassure Canadians that it is possible to hold
the line on civil marriage, by retaining the requirement
for monogamy and other restrictions on minimum age and
marriage between close relatives.
Mr. Cotler's lie was exposed to all.
The Charter Makes Them (the Liberals) Do
It
When debate on Bill C-38 opened on February
16, 2005, Prime Minister Paul Martin stated that the Charter
of Rights required the extension of marriage to same-sex couples.
He stated:
My responsibility as Prime Minister,
my duty to Canada and to Canadians, is to defend the Charter
in its entirety, not to pick and choose the rights that
our laws will protect and those that are to be ignored,
not to declare those who shall be equal and those who shall
not be equal. My duty is to protect the Charter as some
in this House will not.
Where does that leave us? I believe it leaves us staring
in the face of the Charter of Rights with but a single decision
to make. Do we abide by the Charter of Rights and protect
minority rights or do we not?
A result of the "Charter makes us do
it" argument, was that Young Liberals of Canada then
came up with buttons and badges for distribution at the Liberal
National Policy Convention held in Ottawa March 3-6, 2005.
The button stated: "It's the Charter, Stupid". The
buttons were approved by the Liberal party. Just who's being
stupid? Not those supporting the traditional definition of
marriage. We at least are aware that the Supreme Court of
Canada in its response to the reference question handed down
on December 9, 2004, did not state that the Liberal Government
must pass same-sex marriage legislation, based on it being
a human right under the Charter. Rather, it stated that the
government could, if it so wished, extend marriage to include
same-sex couples. There, was no requirement to do so, i.e.
it was a matter of social policy only.
The Defend Marriage Coalition (of which REAL Women is a member)
distributed a press release on this insulting Liberal campaign.
The press release stated:
We acknowledge and respect the fact that
some of our fellow Canadians, Mr. Martin included, don't
share our view that marriage should not be redefined. However
66 per cent of Canadians do. Disagreeing with Mr. Martin
does not make us 'stupid' and it is adolescent to say it
does. Where is this country headed when the Prime Minister's
team marginalizes and demonizes citizens who disagree with
him?
The Defend Marriage Coalition has taken
great pains to ensure that this debate is respectful and
non-partisan, and we will continue to do so. Nevertheless,
we believe that it's time for real Liberals to wake up to
what their party is becoming under the direction of 'Team
Martin' - a party that relies increasingly on intimidation
and condescending rhetoric to stifle intelligent debate,
and that is alarmingly disrespectful of, and even hostile
to Canadians whose views differ from their own, particularly
those views that reflect the thoughtful opinion of Canadians
of faith.
Ironically, when the debate on same-sex marriage
began in February 2005, three openly homosexual MPs, Bloc
Quebecois, MP Real Menard, (Hochelaga), NDP Bill Siksay, (Burnaby-Douglas),
and NDP Libby Davies (Vancouver East) appealed for a "respectful"
debate about same-sex marriage. Apparently, to call those
who oppose same-sex marriage "stupid" is not considered
disrespectful.
The slogan is not only wrong in fact: it's
wrong in integrity.
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