Edalgiere
New member
By David Ljunggren
Wed Jun 29, 1:44 PM ET
The Canadian Parliament has approved legislation to allow same sex marriages, helping cement Canada's image as one of most socially liberal nations in the world.
"We are affirming once again our world-wide reputation as a country that is open, inclusive and welcoming," Alex Munter, a spokesman for Canadians for Equal Marriage, said after Parliament voted late on Tuesday to make gay marriages legal across the country.
Canada is only the third country after Belgium and the Netherlands to permit such unions.
Canada generally leans more to the left on social issues than the United States, where President Bush wants Congress to pass an amendment to the constitution banning gay marriages.
Canadians are proud of their state-funded health care system, while aware that it is tarnished by long waiting lines and a shortage of doctors in some parts of the country.
The government is considering decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, although the legislation is stalled in parliament, and gun control is much tougher than in the United States.
"Congratulate yourself. You are part of the most diverse, tolerant and open-minded place on earth. And yesterday proved the thesis once again," wrote John Ibbitson, columnist for the Globe and Mail newspaper, which traditionally backs the ruling Liberal party.
But the gay marriage debate is likely to rumble on, and Canada's opposition Conservatives expect to make the issue a key one in the next election campaign, likely early next year.
Conservative critics complain that the Liberals are using the Charter of Rights and Freedoms -- designed to prevent discrimination against minorities -- to impose minority beliefs on the majority, and say the document gives too much power to the courts rather than to Parliament.
"We don't believe this is a good law or a just law for the nation of Canada. It's a law that was imposed on a majority of Canadians," said Reverend Tristan Emmanuel of the Equipping Christians for the Public Square Center.
"Now we have to focus on the federal election. We need to engage that same base we've been mobilizing, we need to add to it ... this certainly is a very important issue for a significant body of Canadians," he told CBC television.
Wed Jun 29, 1:44 PM ET
The Canadian Parliament has approved legislation to allow same sex marriages, helping cement Canada's image as one of most socially liberal nations in the world.
"We are affirming once again our world-wide reputation as a country that is open, inclusive and welcoming," Alex Munter, a spokesman for Canadians for Equal Marriage, said after Parliament voted late on Tuesday to make gay marriages legal across the country.
Canada is only the third country after Belgium and the Netherlands to permit such unions.
Canada generally leans more to the left on social issues than the United States, where President Bush wants Congress to pass an amendment to the constitution banning gay marriages.
Canadians are proud of their state-funded health care system, while aware that it is tarnished by long waiting lines and a shortage of doctors in some parts of the country.
The government is considering decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, although the legislation is stalled in parliament, and gun control is much tougher than in the United States.
"Congratulate yourself. You are part of the most diverse, tolerant and open-minded place on earth. And yesterday proved the thesis once again," wrote John Ibbitson, columnist for the Globe and Mail newspaper, which traditionally backs the ruling Liberal party.
But the gay marriage debate is likely to rumble on, and Canada's opposition Conservatives expect to make the issue a key one in the next election campaign, likely early next year.
Conservative critics complain that the Liberals are using the Charter of Rights and Freedoms -- designed to prevent discrimination against minorities -- to impose minority beliefs on the majority, and say the document gives too much power to the courts rather than to Parliament.
"We don't believe this is a good law or a just law for the nation of Canada. It's a law that was imposed on a majority of Canadians," said Reverend Tristan Emmanuel of the Equipping Christians for the Public Square Center.
"Now we have to focus on the federal election. We need to engage that same base we've been mobilizing, we need to add to it ... this certainly is a very important issue for a significant body of Canadians," he told CBC television.
