There was a great article in the Toronto Star on Thursday that dealt with the issue of same sex marriage. Its point was this: if the conservative win the election, even with only a minority, equal marriage laws will be lost. How could this happen? Like this:
Okay, so Stephen Harper promised to put the issue up for a vote in the house (where all the MP’s are). So, let’s say he gets elected, and does this. What happens? Well, about 80% of the Conservatives votes against equal marriage, about 40% or so of Liberals also vote against it, and the NDP and Bloc all vote in favour for it (these numbers came from how the MP's felt about this issue about a year or two ago. They're what TorStar gave). How does it add up? Well, the motion would most likely be defeated, as more people in the house have voted against it. So, then the Supreme Court would have to have its say on the issue, as they help protect people’s rights, and all that stuff. They would say again (like they did in years previous) that denying non-heterosexuals the right to marry is against the constitution. ie- it is a violation against their rights as Canadians.
So then what could Stephen Harper do? Well, he doesn’t necessarily have to listen to the Supreme Court, and he could go with the Not Withstanding clause. This allows him to override laws protecting the rights of people. A more detail definition for the government website reads that using the notwithstanding clause allows government to...
“override section 2 of the Charter (containing such fundamental rights as freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, freedom of association and freedom of assembly) and sections 7-15 of the Charter (containing the right to life, liberty and security of the person, freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention, a number of other legal rights, and the right to equality).
source:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/bp194-e.htm
He could then move to change the constitutional definition of marriage back to being “between a man and a women”. He would them allow for “civil unions” as they just did in Britain.
Now, Stephen Harper has said repeatedly that we would NOT use the notwithstanding clause in this issue. But, the question is this: can we believe him. Many Conservative are dying for him to change the definition of marriage, and will push him to do so.
What do I think will happen? Well, I don’t see them taking away the right to equal marriage. Maybe I’m just being naive here, but I can’t see it happening. It’s something that makes Canada seem so good to the rest of the world. In Vegas, everyone knew about Canada’s equal marriage laws, and viewed it as part of an overall accepting, people-friendly image of the country. As a Canadian, I pride myself on being accepting to all different types of people, and also being treated equally by my country.
Just something to think about when researching who to vote for.
Oh, and I want to make something clear: not every member of a party supports the overall position of the party. With this issue for example, not all Liberals support equal marriage, and not all Conservatives are against it. Find out who you will be voting for in YOUR riding, it makes a huge difference on some issues (ie- abortion rights, equal marriage).
What do you think?
