the daily snivel

Here is a snippet from Canada's national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, for Thursday, August 7, 2003.

"Liberals planning revolt on same-sex issue" by Jane Taber.

Ottawa — Some Liberal backbenchers are working on a plan to force Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and his cabinet to back down on same-sex marriage, at what is expected to be a bitter and emotional national caucus meeting later this month. "This [same-sex-marriage issue] is going to possess the caucus," Sarnia Liberal MP Roger Gallaway said yesterday.

Toronto Liberal MP Joe Volpe says he and his colleagues will be "compelled to come together" at the three-day caucus meeting "because our constituents are forcing us in that direction." "All of us are going to have to do that [come together with a strategy to confront the Prime Minister], all of us," he said.

...

Meanwhile, Mr. Gallaway says that at the coming caucus he wants to force the Prime Minister and the cabinet to reverse their position on the same-sex issue by either staying the Ontario court decision or withdrawing and restructuring the reference made to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Earlier this summer, Justice Minister Martin Cauchon referred to the top court draft legislation that redefined marriage to include same-sex couples.

Since then, Liberal members of Parliament have been inundated with phone calls, e-mails and letters from constituents, who are angry over the government's handling of the issue.

One MP received about 450 letters and another says there are "boxes" of mail from constituents that haven't been opened, sitting in the office.

Mr. Volpe, who has received more than 300 letters, phone calls and e-mails on the issue, said he hasn't had time yet to co-ordinate a formal strategy with his colleagues. But he figures it will happen soon.

...

Mr. Volpe says he plans to address the Prime Minister at the caucus, demanding to know why he and his cabinet are allowing three Ontario appeal court judges, rather than the elected legislators, to decide public policy.

Mr. Gallaway characterized the Ontario court decision in June that legalized same-sex marriages as "a terrible attack on the democratic principles in Ontario."

"Ontario members have been disenfranchised," he said. "When they are disenfranchised the people they represent have been disenfranchised, and they have been disenfranchised because the courts have made policy in law and the cabinet cares not to defend the institution of Parliament."

Mr. Gallaway even predicts some Ontario Liberal MPs will lose their seats in the next federal election as a result of the proposed legislation....

I couldn't be more upset about this.

A majority of Canadians support same-sex marriage. I am among them. I think that including same-sex couples strengthens the notion of marriage. We have, for too long, allowed ourselves to have circular stereotypes about gays and lesbians.

"Same-sex couples can't be considered families because they're unstable and can't get married" goes the battle cry, but as conservatives like to have their cake and eat it too, they say "Gays and lesbians can't get married because marriage is only for the sake of having a family."

Critics are attacking the Prime Minister and the Justice Minister for drafting legislation instead of appealing the recent decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal which makes same-sex marriage a reality in this province by declaring the old restrictions unconstitutional and unsupportable. But appealing the Ontario decision to the Supreme Court would most likely result in a further declaration that excluding same-sex couples from marriage is unconstitutional, except that it would be binding on the country and yet more conservatives would be lamenting the state of "judge-made law." The Liberal government knows this, and took remarkable initiative in bringing forth legislation to harmonize the state of family law across Canada. Rarely has a government taken such a hot-potato issue into its hands directly. Indeed, it's politically safer to let judges deal with a controversial issue and also take the blame for deciding in favour of human rights and the culturally diverse Canadian society we take such rightful pride in. That such action is taken is certainly a recognition of its inevitability, and (I think) its justness.

Politics can be short-sighted, however, and the letters are pouring in. The politically squeaky wheel often gets the most attention, and it's more common (and natural) for people who are vehemently against something to make their voices known than for the passive majority that supports it. Accordingly, it's time to let our politicians know that we're out there, too. I've set up this page which provides a form letter, in rich text format, that you can print and send to your MP. All you have to do is fill in the blanks, and I've also provided a link to the "look up your MP page" of the Parliamentary website to make it all the easier.

Now is the time to make your support for this remarkable development in equality known. Otherwise a good cause could be drowned in conservative backlash and political expediency. And you don't want to be a part of that.