Same-Sex
Marriages
Last month two issues came before Parliament that could have
a huge impact on our culture and society. I
write this letter to make the constituents of Yorkton-Melville aware of this and
to urge them to write the Prime Minister a personal letter expressing their
views on these issues. Last fall, the House of Commons; Standing Committee on
Justice and Human Rights was asked by the Justice Minister Martin Cauchon to
travel across the country to hear representations from Canadians of all walks of
life on the topic of same-sex marriages. However,
just as the Committee was preparing to release its long-awaited report, its
efforts were rendered irrelevant by the Liberal government’s failure to appeal
the recent Ontario court ruling that legalizes same-sex marriages.
The three provincial courts - British Columbia, Ontario, and
Quebec - ignored an earlier Supreme Court of Canada decision, as well as a
decision by Parliamentary just four years earlier, to have legal marriages
defined as “the voluntary union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of
all others”. In the 1999 motion
brought forward by the Reform Party, now the Canadian Alliance, the Prime
Minister the Justice Minister and the future Prime Minister, Paul Martin, all
vote that marriage should remain the union of one man and one woman. Indeed,
this motion passed in Parliament by a margin of 216 to 55 votes! Now all three of these men have made a complete about-face
and now want same-sex marriages recognized.
The question is “Why?”
The official policy for the Canadian Alliance states: “The
marriage relationship will be defined as endorsed by Parliament (June 1999) as
the union of a man and a woman as recognized by the state.”
The Canadian Alliance is the only party with an official position in
support of the traditional definition of marriage and believes that the federal
Liberal government made a grave error in judgment by choosing not to appeal
recent court decisions that legalize same-sex marriages.
Legalizing same-sex marriages is not the only issue that we
should be paying attention to. NDP
Member of Parliament Svend Robinson is trying to get Parliament to pass Bill
C-250 that proposes to amend the hate propaganda section of the Criminal Code.
The current definition of protected groups now includes “colour, race,
religion or ethnic origin” but would be expanded to include “sexual
orientation”. The purpose of the bill is to prevent communication of hatred
against homosexuals. However, the
change this bill would bring will cause serious negative consequences for the
rights of Canadians to exercise free speech and to communicate essential matters
of faith.
No one should express hatred against homosexuals, but this
bill would make it an offence to criticize homosexual conduct.
Consequently, faith-based groups have significant problems with the bill.
The Bible, which has played an important role in shaping culture in
Canada and many other parts of the world, could potentially have parts in it
that could not be quoted. Also
Muslim texts contain statements that homosexual activity should not be
permitted. While the intent of Bill C-250 is to protect groups of people, it is
so poorly drafted that it will also take away the constitutional rights and
freedoms of other groups. Bill
C-250 fails to protect the freedom of expression and religion, and it does not
protect religious freedom nor does it protect scientific or educational texts.
I believe that in a democracy our government should listen to
Canadian Citizens and not allow the courts to make our laws.
Please send me a copy of any letters you write to the Prime
Minister.
Sincerely
Garry Breitkreuz M.P. Yorkton-Melville