Madam Speaker, there is an old saying back on the ranch, “If it ain't broke, don't fix it”. I do not believe it is broken. I do not believe this social institution that has stood the test of time or, as the Supreme Court has said, from time immemorial, is broken.
All types of academics and people recognize that the marriage issue is not something that is broken. Certainly there are times when it may appear that it is hurting. Even with some of the easy divorce laws that were pushed through, we have hurt the institution of marriage, but I do not believe for a moment that this sacred institution, which we have all recognized in many different cultures and countries, specifically in Canada, is broken. So we should not try to fix something that is not broken.
I fear that we are sowing to the wind in this piece of legislation. We are saying we are going to appease every group with some of the most traditional types of definitions of the institutions we have. We are sowing to the wind, and I believe we will reap the whirlwind.
We will not know in a year whether this has been a good experiment or a bad one. We are only now seeing the harvest when it comes to what we have done with the Divorce Act, which has allowed easy divorce. Some of the ideas we have had traditionally, that marriage is a lifelong institution, stand well for our country; they stand well for society.
I also want to say this to the hon. member. He has asked specifically about the provincial and federal jurisdictions. I had the opportunity to sit on the justice committee when it toured the country. I served on the justice committee when it brought in hundreds of witnesses speaking on both sides of the issue. Usually parliamentarians do not talk about the amount of money that is spent for travel, but it was a high cost to Canadian taxpayers.
When it came time for the vote, I can recall the government pulling two members from the committee and replacing them with members who had not heard even one minute of testimony, members of the committee who I believe would have called on the government to stand up and appeal the decision of the lower courts, to appeal what the lower courts were saying. The government pulled two people out. We came to a vote that day, and the two individuals the government whip brought in voted not to appeal. In other words, they voted for the definition of same sex marriage. The committee was tied. There was a deadlock; I believe it was eight to eight. The chairman of the committee cast his vote for not appealing the definition of marriage. Within a few minutes of the vote taking place, the Minister of Justice was standing before the cameras saying to the media and Canadians, “The committee has made a decision and I will honour the wishes of that committee”. Talk about a kangaroo court; talk about injustice.
I want to say one other thing while I am here. The member from the Liberal Party who spoke prior to me kept making reference to the former Prime Minister and the former justice minister, and how back in 1999 or 2000 they voted to preserve the definition of marriage. Let me say this. The current Prime Minister and the current justice minister--but the current Prime Minister specifically--voted to support and defend the traditional definition of marriage. He has failed and failed miserably.