HARPER TO EXPLAIN TO TORY CAUCUS HIS “SELECTIVE RIGHTS PLAN”: NEEDS TO COME CLEAN

Victoria - January 25, 2005 – Stephen Harper, meeting his party caucus in Victoria, needs to come clean about whether or not he is willing to use the Notwithstanding Clause and suspend the Charter of Rights for lesbian and gay people.

Others – like Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic and Premier Ralph Klein – have urged the federal government to set aside the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Mr. Harper has been coy about the issue.

A letter to Stephen Harper signed by over 100 law professors from across Canada states that the consensus of constitutional law experts is that the Charter requires same-sex couples to be permitted access to civil marriage. It calls on Mr. Harper to be honest about the need to invoke the notwithstanding clause to take away that Charter right. It states:

“You must explain to Canadians how your plan to entrench the traditional definition of marriage will pass constitutional muster. The truth is, there is only one way to accomplish your goal: invoke the notwithstanding clause…

You should either invoke the use of the notwithstanding clause, and justify this decision to Canadians, or concede that same-sex marriage is now part of Canada's legal landscape. If you intend to override Canadians' constitutional rights, you at least owe it to them to say this openly and directly. Canadians deserve better.”

(click here for full letter and signatories)

“The Charter protects all Canadians,” said Robin Roberts. “It protects freedom of religion and it protects against discrimination. Our Charter rights and freedoms must not be applied selectively. It is offensive to Canadian values to pass discriminatory laws ‘notwithstanding’ the Charter.”

“What Tories need to know is that they are, in the way they vote, deciding between rights for all or selective rights for some. I would not want to be a politician that decides who is covered by the Charter of Rights and who isn’t,” said Alex Munter, spokesperson for Canadians for Equal Marriage. “We know where Mr. Harper intends to place his vote, but where is the conscience of the Conservative Caucus going to place theirs?”

Canadians for Equal Marriage is a national coalition of organizations whose memberships comprise millions of Canadians, including the Canadian Association of Social Workers, Canadian Labour Congress, EGALE and the Canadian Federation of Students.


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Information:

Gillian Calder, law professor, University of Victoria
(250) 472-5247

Benjamin Berger, law professor, University of Victoria
(250) 721-8163

Marie-Josée Lapointe
Canadians For Equal Marriage
(613) 244-5777 (G-4 Strategic Communications)