March 31, 2005 | le 31 mars 2005 Volume 1, No. 9
VOTE ON EQUAL MARRIAGE BILL NOW EXPECTED APRIL 19 Canadians believe opposition to bill fuels anti-gay discrimination    VOTE PORTANT SUR LE DROIT ÉGAL AU MARIAGE PRÉVU POUR LE 19 AVRIL Les Canadiens et les canadiennes croient que l'opposition au projet de loi devient la force de discrimination anti-gai   The first do-or-die vote on the equal marriage bill is expected in the House of Commons on April 19.    The second-reading vote determines whether the bill is approved in principle. If passed, the bill then goes to a legislative committee which will hold public hearings, discuss amendments to the legislation and then return it to the Commons for the final vote there. The same steps must then be repeated in the Senate before the bill becomes law. A second-reading vote had originally been expected April 12. Instead, there will likely be a vote that day simply on Conservative leader Stephen Harper's unconstitutional proposal for "civil unions". Using procedural tactics, the Conservatives are then triggering a second debate on the issue, delaying the vote by one more week. Debate resumes in the Commons on Monday. You can watch the debate live on CPAC or read the verbatim transcript at www.equal-marriage.ca.	Canadiens et canadiennes pour le droit égal au mariage a besoin de votre aide!  Canadiens et canadiennes pour le droit égal au mariage a besoin de votre aide! Le Canada se trouve à un moment historique. Avec votre aide, le Canada deviendra un leader mondial dans le domaine de la protection des droits humains en légalisant le mariage des couples de même sexe partout dans le pays.   Quatre étapes pour assure le droit égal au mariage : 1.    ACTION AUX DÉPUTÉS 2.    SIGNER NOTRE PÉTITION 3.    FAIRE UN DON 4.    INFORMER VOS AMIS Canadians for Equal Marriage Needs Your Help! Canada is at an historic moment. With your help, Canada could soon become a leader in human rights, internationally by legalising same sex marriage across the country.   Four steps to ensure equal marriage: 1.    MP ACTION 2.    SIGN THE PETITION 3.    DONATE TO CAMPAIGN 4.    INVITE YOUR FRIEND
Equality opponents have a deliberate strategy of using their deep pockets to try to drag out the debate as long as possible. They hope the minority Liberal government will fall in the Commons before the legislation is passed. If you have not yet had a chance to contribute to Canadians For Equal Marriage, to help our grassroots campaign to match the efforts of our well-funded adversaries, please go to www.equal-marriage.ca/donate.php right now.   Meanwhile, CTV News reported earlier this month that vigorous opposition to the equal-marriage bill has led many Canadians to conclude that anti-gay discrimination is on the rise. According to a the Ipsos-Reid survey, conducted for CTV News, 39 per cent of Canadians believe the recent debate has made the situation worse for gays and lesbians. In contrast, fewer than one in 10 believe the discourse has decreased prejudice. Comparing the findings from province to province, those living in the Prairies were more likely to believe the debate had increased discrimination. In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, for example, 58 per cent believe discrimination has increased as a result. In Alberta, the figure is 52 per cent. Quebec is at the other end of the spectrum, with only 28 per cent agreeing that the debate has increased intolerance.   IN THE NEWS :: DANS LES MANCHETTES Sikh leader's advice to MPs dismissed Faith officially impartial to gay unions, Vedanti has `no understanding' of issue The Toronto Star - Mar. 29, 2005 - A top Sikh leader in India who admonished Sikh Canadian MPs to not support same-sex marriage legislation has no authority to do so and, moreover, shows a remarkable lack of understanding of the issue, say some observers here. Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti — acting as the Jathedar Akal Takht, the highest Sikh authority in Amritsar — told the Toronto Star's Martin Regg Cohn this week that he warned six Sikh Canadian MPs visiting India that they would be ostracized from the community if they supported Bill C-38. "With the utmost respect, Mr. Vedanti and the Akhal Takht have no understanding of the Canadian context on this issue and have no jurisdiction to tell Canadians how to deal with it," T. Sher Singh, a Guelph lawyer and trustee of the Sikh Foundation International, said. "He's no more a priest or high priest than I am the Queen of England," Singh added. He noted that Sikhdom does not have a religious hierarchy. The Akhal Takht, whose office is across from the Golden Temple, has no authority on spiritual issues, but rather, rules on administrative and political matters facing the Sikh community in India, said Singh. Same-sex union is not an issue the Sikh religion has an official stance on, so it's up to individual MPs to follow their own conscience, Singh said. ‘Show your faces,’ MP Holland tells bigot group Ottawa - March 22, 2005 - An anonymous group circulating flyers across Canada attacking MPs who support same-sex marriage should come out of hiding and show their faces, Ajax-Pickering MP Mark Holland demands. à The group, Concerned Canadian Parents, operates from a post office box in a 7-Eleven store on Weston Road in Toronto, and provides no information about who is behind its expensive campaign. “Who is behind this group, and what are they hiding?” asks Holland. “Where is their money coming from? Is foreign money involved? Is a political party involved? We don’t know.” The group has run expensive newspaper ads in major newspapers, but a search of editorial content of daily newspapers over the last three months found no news stories about the group. “I call upon the media, who have been accepting their advertising dollars, to tell Canadians who is behind Concerned Canadian Parents,” said Holland. The flyer alleges that “anti-marriage legislation” (Bill C-38 to allow same-sex marriage) is not about minority rights, but is “the thin edge of a wedge that will destroy our Canadian way of life and damage our families.” It is headed “Urgent! A message to all Ajax-Pickering families” and it mentions Holland by name as a supporter of the bill. Similar leaflets have appeared in other Liberal ridings across Canada. “I strongly disagree with this group’s message of intolerance, but I respect their right to free speech,” Holland says. “What I object to is that a cowardly, anonymous group can launch an expensive campaign to attack Parliamentarians without showing their faces.”   Tories tangled up in Marriage Act Promised bill against same-sex unions has yet to be seen The Edmonton Journal - It's been a week since Premier Ralph Klein bowed to pressure from social conservatives and announced that his government would, in fact, renew the notwithstanding clause in an attempt to protect the traditional definition of marriage in Alberta. Use of the clause is so extraordinary a power, its invocation lasts only five years, so civil rights aren't suspended indefinitely without review. Of course, renewing the clause would be a mean, empty gesture. As the Supreme Court unanimously confirmed in December, the definition of marriage in Canada is the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government. This has nothing to do with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It goes all the way back to the BNA Act of 1867, when the provinces and the federal government divvied up their political powers. Whether the Marriage Act contains the notwithstanding clause or not, it is still unconstitutional, because it trespasses on federal turf. Alberta can invoke the notwithstanding clause all it likes. It might as well invoke the notwithstanding clause against snow in March or mosquitoes in July. Appeal courts across Canada have already acknowledged a right to same-sex marriage under the charter and the federal government has introduced legislation to recognize that fact. UPCOMING EVENTS :: ÉVÉNEMENTS À VENIR The Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto is organizing a petition of religious leaders across Canada who support Bill C-38.  The petition will be presented to Parliament prior to the second reading. The petition reads… We support Bill C-38, the Civil Marriage Act, which brings Canada's civil marriage law into conformity with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We support Bill C-38, the Civil Marriage Act, which brings Canada's civil marriage law into conformity with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Some of us have religious beliefs that support marriage for same-sex couples. Others of us do not. However, we all support the right of same-sex couples to marry in a civil ceremony. We support Freedom of Religion for those institutions who do not want to perform same-sex marriages, while also supporting Freedom of Religion for those institutions that do.    For more information, visit www.mcctoronto.com.
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