The Canadian government will rewrite the traditional definition
of marriage to allow for same-sex matrimony, Prime Minister
Jean Chretien said Tuesday after a daylong cabinet retreat during
which the issue was discussed. As a result, Canada will become
the third country in
the world, after Belgium and the Netherlands, to grant full
equal marriage rights to same-sex couples, the Canadian Press
reports. Some other European countries recognize civil unions
and domestic partnerships but not full marriage rights for same-sex
couples.
The Canadian government was forced to act after a series
of court rulings across the country struck down opposite-sex-only
marriage laws. The most recent, a high court decision in Ontario
last week, called on the province to begin issuing marriage
licenses to gay couples immediately. The federal government
had 30 days to appeal the decision to the Canadian
supreme court. But after much contentious debate, Chretien
said the government will allow the ruling to stand and the
federal law will be changed to allow for same-sex marriage.
Chretien will apparently try to appease some outraged members
of his own caucus by allowing religious institutions to decide
which marriages they will sanctify. "We'll be proposing
legislation that will protect the right of churches and religious
organizations to sanctify marriage as they define it,"
Chretien said. "At the same time, we will ensure that
our legislation includes and legally recognizes the union
of same-sex marriage. As soon as the legislation is drafted,
it will be referred to the supreme court. After that, it will
be put to a free vote in the House of Commons."
By allowing the supreme court to review the legislation,
Chretien hopes to preempt legal challenges by the provinces,
some of which have said they would oppose any efforts to allow
same-sex marriage. The legislation will be drafted within
weeks, Chretien said, and MPs will be free to vote their conscience
when the bill is introduced.
|
News