5.31.2005

Toews gets one week

Social Conservative MP Vic Toews gets one more week in committee for the the Civil Marriage Bill. Toews who was using every delay tactic possible, wrangled one more week of discussion before the committee.

Toews said in a press release earlier today...
"The Liberal plan - backed by the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois - to invoke closure on the committee hearings would have brought Bill C-38 back to the House of Commons by June 9th. Under the extended plan, that won't happen until June 16th, and an extra 20 witnesses will be heard by the committee. These witnesses include legal experts, civil marriage officials, religious organizations, and other interest groups who have unique perspectives on the issue of marriage."


Toews is being deceitful when he says Canadians have not been heard on the issue of same-sex or gay marriage. This is a matter that has been before the Canadian people for over three years. Ontario residents have had same sex marriage for over two years now.

Despite continued warnings that religious organizations would be forced to perform gay marriages against their will, not one case of this has occurred in Ontario or for that matter anywhere else in this country.

The Ontario government has already passed laws conveying all rights of married persons to married same-sex couples. BC has been doing this with respect to gay rights since 1992.

The Defend marriage coalition has been trying to defeat this bill from the beginning and upon seeing that the bill likely has enough support to pass, the coalition has turned to other tactics. They have supported voting non-confidence on the Liberal budget and Conservative efforts to bring the government down any way they can do it, this despite the majority of Canadians being opposed to an election now and supportive of same-sex marriage.

The coalition along with the very large and well-funded American Christian activist organization, Focus on the Family have been working hard to elect social conservatives as Conservative candidates. This move won't affect the current situation, though it could have an effect if Stephen Harper and his Conservatives ever form government. They want to ensure they have the people to repeal any law conveying marriage rights to same-sex couples.

Some of you will be saying once it is law no one will change it. That may be true on many things with respect to rights, its not true this time. As long as the Conservative Party is opposed to same-sex marriage, those supportive will need to ensure the party is never elected to government.

The new overt American style Christian activism within the Conservative party is coming on the heels of the movement's recent successes in the United States in repealing anti-discrimination laws that protected gays, banning gay marriage, ending gay benefit packages from employers and making it against the law to provide family employment benefits to gay families in some States.

For more information on same-sex, equal or gay marriage, gay rights, evangelical and Christian opposition, Conservatives, Stephen Harper, Belinda Stronach, Bishop Henry, James Dobson, Supreme Court of Canada, Civil Marriage Bill (C38) use the Technorati Search Box in the side bar.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

My answer's bring it on!

Let them take the Conservative to the extreme right. We will expose
this and Canadians will vote NO to this type of Deep South bigotry, they always have.

I say they will be down to 20% before this is over. Their banking on the assumption that Canadians are as uneducated as many in the south and that it will be as easy to mislead us as it is to mislead the poor and oppressed in the US. But, this is Canada!

WE are smarter than that!

Re-awakened Shaman said...

I agree with anonymous. Let them try...Canada is a much different culture than the U.S.

And if the conservatives want to import U.S. Style muck raking, ie Grewal and hire republican advisors (read news Gay 365.com), then they will get a chilly reception by most Canadians when it comes to voting!

ricky said...

Lets hope so. I want to believe Canadians would not accept this American Christian run nation idea.

If Harper says one more time "God Bless Canada" I may have to get mean.

Re-awakened Shaman said...

Yes, I know what you mean!

As a radical faerie, I was thinking of creating a "curmudgeon circle" for times like that!

Hehehe...

ricky said...

"curmudgeon circle" may be required. Stand by radial faerie