‘Didn’t we do this in 2005?’
Once again, Parliament affirms its commitment to same-sex marriage
Gilles Marchildon

If one believes Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the book on equal marriage for same-sex couples in Canada was closed on Dec. 7, 2006.

A week prior to that date, the Conservative government had finally introduced a motion to reopen the issue.

No one really thought a majority of MPs would vote to reopen the equal-marriage debate. After all, Parliament had adopted same-sex-marriage legislation in 2005, and courts across Canada had ruled it was unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples equal access to civil marriage. Over 12,000 same-sex couples had wed and the sky hadn’t fallen. Public approval was growing, and Canadians wanted MPs to move on.

On Dec. 7 the motion to reopen was defeated 175-123 — a margin of victory almost twice that which the original bill saw during its readings in Parliament. MPs have now firmly told the Harper government that equal marriage is here to stay, and Harper finally seems to have heard the message.

“I don’t see reopening this question in the future,” he told reporters after the vote.

Harper further indicated that the current government has no plans for a “defence of religions” act that would seek to protect public officials who don’t want to perform same-sex marriages.

It’s possible Harper or a future Conservative Party leader could reverse this decision because leaders of the religious right are angry and will continue pushing socially conservative legislation.

Joseph Ben Ami, executive director of the Institute for Canadian Values, warned the right-wing party not to take social conservatives for granted. He told the Globe and Mail: “Mr. Harper and the Conservatives are going to have to explain... what people in our constituency are going to perceive as a certain lack of leadership surrounding this question.”

In the same article, former Liberal MP Pat O’Brien confirmed the religious right’s intent to elect people who hold their views because marriage “is far too serious an issue to give up so lightly.”

Harper’s Conservatives knew there would be fallout from their unsuccessful attempts to overturn equal marriage, but they can at least tell their supporters they tried. The party can also place a figurative check mark next to another electoral promise, as Harper had vowed to introduce a motion to reopen equal marriage if elected back in January 2006.

On Dec. 7, 13 Conservative MPs voted against the government motion and joined 162 others in standing up for equality, but 13 Liberals actually voted with the government.

Putting aside all superstition related to the number 13, we can say it was nevertheless a rather lucky day for equality and justice in Canada.

Gilles Marchildon is the former executive director of Egale Canada, a national advocacy group for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community. He is also the founding director of the Reel Pride festival in Winnipeg and past editor of Swerve.