With respect, Mr. Cooper, I will have to disagree with you on that. I think the record is quite clear that, with the exception of the hate crimes changes, all of the actions that have been taken with respect to sexual orientation have been in response to court rulings.
The first legal marriage in Canada took place at the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, a church that I attend, and I know at least one member of your committee has attended on occasion. On January 14, 2001, that marriage was legally recognized by the Ontario Court of Appeal in its ruling in the Halpern case on June 10, 2003. By the time Parliament passed the Civil Marriage Act, the courts had already spoken in virtually every province. You will recall that it was the decision of then-attorney general Martin Cauchon to not appeal to the Halpern ruling that led ultimately to the Civil Marriage Act, and then the reference to the Supreme Court of Canada, where I appeared for the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto. By the time Parliament acted in 2005, in fact we had equal marriage in virtually the entire country as a result of the court.
It was an important step, and I will say that I was heartened that there was all-party support for that measure. Some of the finest speeches I've heard in Parliament were made in connection with that act. It was definitely, I will concede, not in compliance with the court ruling but it was catching up with the courts, in my view.