One year later, Canadians have moved on On June 28, 2005, the House of Commons passed Bill C-38 by a vote of 158 to 133, marking the end of one of the longest and most thorough debates MPs have ever had. The Senate passed the bill on July 19 and it became law on July 20, 2005.
One year later, Canadians have largely moved on. Canadians for Equal Marriage commissioned Environics Research to conduct a poll asking Canadians whether they support equal marriage and whether they wish to re-open the equal marriage debate. By a more than a 2 to 1 margin, Canadians who expressed an opinion consider this matter settled and are against having another vote.
Even a majority of Conservative voters (52%) are against re-opening, while only 38% want to re-open the issue and 10% did not express an opinion. The poll also asked whether “same-sex couples should have the same right to civil marriage as opposite-sex couples.” 59% of all respondents agreed, only 33% disagreed and 8% did not express an opinion. In response, a June 20 Globe and Mail editorial titled “Really, get past it” said of the CEM poll: “Fairly worded questions, and the answers were clear… Mr. Harper is raising an issue that most Canadians see no need to revisit. Take it off the agenda.” For more details, click here.
PREPARING FOR THE VOTE! Equal marriage opponents on the move “Preparing for the Vote!” That’s the title of the June 17 e-mail sent out by Vote Marriage Canada. It goes on to say their goal is that all MPs “return to Ottawa, in September, knowing that the “so called” gay marriage issue was of real concern to the voters in each and every Riding in Canada” and that “no MP could say that the topic had not been raised in the local Riding this summer.” Vote Marriage Canada is joined by many other groups who are focusing their messaging on “Our Children; Our Future.”
They haven’t been able to identify a single problem since Ontario began issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples over three years ago. So they’re trying to convince people that equal marriage hurts children. Well, we know better. We know that the children in question, children of same-sex couples, do better when their families are accorded the same legal status and respect as families with opposite-sex parents. We know the studies show that children of same-sex couples do every bit as well as other children.
Just ask the experts at the Canadian Psychological Association, which is a public supporter of Canadians for Equal Marriage. Fact is, this is a red herring. But it may be an effective red herring. That’s why we need to ensure that MPs hear from equality supporters too! They need to hear that this issue is settled, that 2/3 of Canadians don’t want the issue re-opened, and that after 3 years and more than 10,000 marriage licences issued, it’s time to move on!! Although we’re ahead in the vote count, and it seems likely Mr. Harper’s motion will be defeated, it’s still close and politics is unpredictable. It’s important to be vigilant in defending equality. We don’t want this debate to be re-opened and drag on for years to come. So please contact your MP. And, just as importantly, please donate to Canadians for Equal Marriage. We’re only as strong as you make us.
OVER 10,000 SAME-SEX COUPLES MARRIED SINCE JUNE 10, 2003 On June 10, 2003, the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered that marriage licences be immediately issued to same-sex couples in Canada’s largest province and paved the way for marriage equality from coast to coast to coast. Since then, over 10,000 same-sex couples have obtained marriage licences and been legally married. This number is based on research done by Canadians for Equal Marriage working with lawyers from across Canada. Here’s the regional breakdown:
NOTES: 1. Numbers are as of May or June 2006, except BC and much of Ontario are as of April 30, 2006 and Nfld and Labrador are as of December 31, 2005. 2. Numbers for NB, PEI, NWT and Nunavut are estimates. 3. In Ontario the province does not separately track marriage registrations for same-sex couples. Data was obtained municipality by municipality. The total is a combination of 4,771 known and 805 estimated. CEM announced these numbers to the media on June 9, at our 3rd anniversary of equal marriage celebrations in Toronto and Ottawa, which received excellent press coverage.
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