Same-sex storm for Canada PM

Same-sex marriage has become a highly explosive issue, writes Gurmukh Singh.

The questioning of Paul Martin in New Delhi about Akal Takht head priest Joginder Singh Vedanti's remarks that Canada's proposed same-sex marriage legislation was the "idea that originated from sick minds'' and that Sikhs should oppose it, has caught national attention and touched off a storm for the Prime Minister even before he returns from his foreign jamboree.

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The same-sex marriage has become a highly divisive and explosive issue in this liberal-minded nation, with religious and ethnic leaders joining the debate even though the proposed law will not force them to perform gay marriages.

The issue is all over the media. It is being discussed at every forum. The Opposition Conservative Party has launched an ad blitz in the ethnic media to woo tradition-minded immigrants. Its leader, Stephen Harper, wants to safeguard the "traditional definition" of marriage.

The Bill is being introduced in parliament within two weeks.

As if on cue from the top priest of the Sikhs, who constitute a big chunk of the Canadian population, Catholics and right-wing conservatives have mounted pressure on the prime minister and his Liberal Party not to go ahead with the legislation.

In an open letter to Martin, Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Toronto, has urged him to delay any decision on the same-sex law for five years to ``allow this national discussion sufficient time ...to ripen into a sober and careful decision. We would all do well to pause reflectively before we alter social structures like marriage... that reflect the accumulated wisdom and experience of the ages. Tampering with marriage and the family poses significant social risks.''

Bishop Frederick Henry of Calgary in Alberta province, who is known for his hardliner views, says, "Since homosexuality, adultery, prostitution and pornography undermine the foundations of the family, the basis of society, then the state must use its coercive power to proscribe or curtail them in the interests of the common good... an evil act remains an evil act whether it is performed in public or in private."

The media has sprung to the help of the prime minister.

Rebutting the Toronto bishop's arguments in his letter to the prime minister, the respected Globe and Mail said, "If society has in past decades grown more accepting of this fact of life, and if the church is uneasy with this increasing acceptance, perhaps it is the church that should work on changing its views. Sexual orientation is not an option children pick up in school as they might an academic course. What the (proposed) law would signal is that those whose sexual orientation is gay have less to fear and more of a chance to fit into the mainstream.''

The Vancouver Sun said the bishop may have expertise in Catholic affairs but not constitutional matters. In this secular country, the bishop's suggestion should carry no more weight than the opinion of any other Canadian.

Taking a dig at the Akal Takht Jathedar for using ``indelicate'' and ``insulting'' language towards the Canadian prime minister, the Sun wrote that the Sikh leader should mind his own religious affairs and not meddle in a sovereign country's domestic affairs.

The Toronto Star hit out at the Calgary bishop, saying, "Weighing in on the specific issue of legalizing same-sex marriage, which the federal government proposes to do, is one thing. Urging Ottawa to "coercively" target homosexuality is another. This can only inflame prejudice, encourage hatemongering and undermine the church's pastoral mission to reach out to every community. Henry seems to court controversy. During last year's federal election campaign, he cast doubt on the depth of Prime Minister Paul Martin's Catholicism over the PM's positions on same-sex marriage and abortion. This latest outburst once again crosses the line.''

Opposition Conservative Party sees a big opportunity for votes in this highly divisive issue. Traditionally, Asian immigrants, who make up the bulk of the yearly intake of about 250,000 foreigners each year, favour the ruling Liberal Party.
Appealing to their traditional values, the Conervative Party has launched a nationwide advertisement campaign to woo - actually to identify itself with them - on the same-sex marriage legislation.

The message of the ad campaign asks ethnic minorities to choose between Liberals who support same-sex marriage and Conservatives who believe in ``traditional'' marriage.

Printed in Punjabi, Italian, Chinese, Greek, and Korean, the ads will run indefinitely in ethnic newspapers in areas where Conservatives don't have much support base.

Stephen Harper, Conservative leader, says the same-sex law will open a Pandora's box, and may lead to constitutional challenge for legalizing polygamy. His supporters say if you change the definition of marriage from ``one man and one woman'' to ``two persons'', why not to ``three persons'', why not ``many persons''.

This has brought the issue of polygamy into focus. And the government has commissioned a study to know whether the same-sex marriage law would lead to demands for legalizing polygamy. Though it is now outlawed, polygamy is practiced as a religious right by minorities such as the Bountiful community in British Columbia.

However, supporters of the legislation say these misgivings have basis. "What has sparked the concern over same-sex marriage is a series of Canadian Charter decisions holding that opposite-sex marriage discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation and you can't make arguments of that sort with respect to polygamy," says lawyer Peter Hogg who represented the government in this case before the Supreme Court which cleared the decks for this Bill in December by ruling that extending civil marriage to gays was constitutional.

Whether the legislation will actually be enacted is anybody's guess because MPs, except ministers, are free to vote according to their conscience. The ruling Liberals have 133 MPs in the 308-member House of Commons. And 54 MPs of the Québécois and 19 of the New Democratic Party are also likely to vote for it. The Opposition Conservative Party has 99 MPs who will vote against the Bill, except an odd MP or two.

While Muslims in this country have, by and large, kept quiet on the issue, many Sikh leaders have come out with their views. Most oppose same-sex marriages. But not all agree with the edict of the Akal Takht jathedar. Few are liberal enough, saying same-sex marriages are only the recognition of minority (gays) rights like their a few decades ago.

Interestingly, the Christian Protestant United Church, which is the second largest denomination in Canada, are not opposed to same-sex marriages.

On a final note, this whole ruckus sounds amusing when you consider that seven out ten provinces and three territories in this country already allow same-sex marriages.

Many say liberal Canada has caught the right-wing virus from Bush's America.