Defending Marriage in Canada
As astonishing as it may sound, leading members of the governing Liberal Party of Canada openly opposed same sex marriages prior to, and during the election of 2004, only to change their minds once they had won, and now intend to make it the law of the land (it is perhaps unheard of in other countries for politicians to say one thing during an election, and do the opposite after it is won, but here in Canada we have quite a tradition for it). The web site DefendMarriage.ca has taken to exposing this double standard, broadcasting actual speeches from two of the biggest Liberal cabinet members. One is Joseph Volpe, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. His campaign speech in front of a church congregation was taped, and can be viewed here. Likewise, Anne McLellan, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (our equivalent of Homeland Security) spoke out not only in defence of marriage, but actually berated the opposition parties for suggesting that the government was going to change the laws simply because courts had ruled the traditional definition as un-Constitutional. Her speech to the House of Commons in 1999 (when the House first debated, and voted to defend the traditional definition of marriage) can be viewed here.
On June 8, 1999 the House voted on the following motion:
That in the opinion of this House it is necessary in light of public debate around recent court decisions, to reaffirm that marriage is and should remain the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, and that Parliament take all necessary steps within the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada to preserve this definition.
The vote was 216-55 in favour of the motion, with Volpe and McLellan voting with the overwhelming majority (as did most of the Liberal caucus, then Prime Minister Chretian, and future Prime Minister Paul Martin).
The hypocracy, back tracking, and open lying is, if nothing else, bold. But that these individuals could not only do exactly what they promised never to do in so short a period boggles the mind. And now, they have begun labelling those that oppose them as bigots, homophobes, and out of step with Canadian values.
How pathetic.
Nomad
As astonishing as it may sound, leading members of the governing Liberal Party of Canada openly opposed same sex marriages prior to, and during the election of 2004, only to change their minds once they had won, and now intend to make it the law of the land (it is perhaps unheard of in other countries for politicians to say one thing during an election, and do the opposite after it is won, but here in Canada we have quite a tradition for it). The web site DefendMarriage.ca has taken to exposing this double standard, broadcasting actual speeches from two of the biggest Liberal cabinet members. One is Joseph Volpe, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. His campaign speech in front of a church congregation was taped, and can be viewed here. Likewise, Anne McLellan, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (our equivalent of Homeland Security) spoke out not only in defence of marriage, but actually berated the opposition parties for suggesting that the government was going to change the laws simply because courts had ruled the traditional definition as un-Constitutional. Her speech to the House of Commons in 1999 (when the House first debated, and voted to defend the traditional definition of marriage) can be viewed here.
On June 8, 1999 the House voted on the following motion:
That in the opinion of this House it is necessary in light of public debate around recent court decisions, to reaffirm that marriage is and should remain the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, and that Parliament take all necessary steps within the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada to preserve this definition.
The vote was 216-55 in favour of the motion, with Volpe and McLellan voting with the overwhelming majority (as did most of the Liberal caucus, then Prime Minister Chretian, and future Prime Minister Paul Martin).
The hypocracy, back tracking, and open lying is, if nothing else, bold. But that these individuals could not only do exactly what they promised never to do in so short a period boggles the mind. And now, they have begun labelling those that oppose them as bigots, homophobes, and out of step with Canadian values.
How pathetic.
Nomad
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