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Canada Pulls Gay Marriage Bill by Ben Thompson, 365Gay.com January 28, 2004 Ottawa -- The Canadian government Wednesday announced it will rewrite its constitutional questions for the Supreme Court regarding gay marriage. In announcing the decision, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said the question will be framed to ask the court whether the traditional definition of marriage violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canada's bill of rights. Cotler said the government remains "committed to same-sex marriage" but wants a broader hearing because the "country is divided on this issue". He said that his ministry will argue in favor of civil marriage before the court but believes the court needs a broader "scope" to consider. The move means the issue of civil unions instead of marriage could now be raised. Cotler said it would not be the government's position, but could be argued by any of the dozen intervenors given status at the high court. The change also is expected to delay any action by the court until fall at the earliest, although some legal experts doubt the court will be able to make room on its docket until next year. The high court was to have heard arguments on the bill, prepared by the former government of Prime Minister Jean Chretien, on April 16. That is the month the new government of Paul Martin is expected to hold an election. For months sources within the government have been suggesting to 365Gay.com that the Martin cabinet is divided on the marriage issue, and Liberal Party backbenchers are fearful of a voter backlash over support for same-sex marriage. Gay activists call the recall of the bill, and the addition of additional questions, a smokescreen to avoid dealing with marriage until after an election. "It means a delay on democracy," Gilles Marcheldon the executive director of national gay rights group Egale told 365Gay.com. "We are confident the Supreme Court will confirm that excluding gay and lesbian people from marriage violates the Charter," said Laurie Arron, Political Coordinator for Canadians for Equal Marriage. "However, the Prime Minister must clearly state that his government not only intends to pass equal marriage legislation, but that it will pass that legislation, no ifs ands or buts," Arron added. When courts in British Columbia and Ontario last year struck down the definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman justices on both courts said that civil unions amounted to "separate but equal" and that would be unconstitutional. Both courts ruled that same-sex couples could begin marrying immediately. Since then nearly 2,000 couples have married in the two provinces. "We need reassurance that the government will ensure that our marriages will always be legally valid," said Lisa Lachance, Co-Chair of Canadians for Equal Marriage. "Can the Prime Minister guarantee this?" Earlier this week the Quebec Court of Appeals heard arguments seeking to have the ban on gay marriage nullified in that province. If the court agrees with the Ontario and BC decisions and allows same-sex marriage to begin immediately in Quebec, the federal definition of marriage will have been voided in the country's three largest provinces with more than 60 percent of the population of Canada.
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