Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Scarborough East. I rise to add my objections to the opposition motion.
I note that the motion on the floor cites three specific instances where the opposition party is concerned that the courts are threatening the will of Parliament. One of those is the recent court decisions that allegedly threaten the traditional definition of marriage.
With respect, I believe that this is an oversimplification of a far more complex issue. It is true, as we all know, that the question of the opposite sex requirement for marriage is before the appeal courts in three provinces, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
The B.C. Court of Appeal rendered its decision on Thursday, May 1. That court held unanimously that the opposite sex requirement for marriage violates the equality rights of gay and lesbian Canadians and that discrimination is not justified in a free and democratic country. It is important to note that the court also stayed the effect of its judgment until July 12 of next year, the same date chosen earlier by the Ontario Divisional Court. This decision is one of three Court of Appeal decisions we expect to be heard in the near future. The appeal in Ontario was heard at the end of April and that decision is pending.
The question of marriage and the legal recognition of same sex unions is also before the Quebec Court of Appeal and is expected to be set down for hearing shortly.
The court decisions are only one part of this complex issue. The Minister of Justice has already said that out government does not accept the premise that the roles of Parliament and the courts conflict. Rather, we strongly believe that those roles complement each other.
Some of those who disagree with the court decisions on the opposite sex requirement for marriage have expressed concerns, as does this motion, that the courts rather than elected members of Parliament are making decisions to change fundamental social institutions. Every court decision on this issue has specifically acknowledged the essential role that Parliament has to play in deciding important social questions such as these. The courts have done so by deliberately staying the effect of their decisions to give Parliament time to consider how to address the important equality concerns that they, the courts, have identified.
The Government of Canada recognizes that marriage is a complex question and that it is more than a legal issue. The government strongly believes that the best place to discuss how Canadians wish to address this important social issue is through Parliament. In fact the Minister of Justice has stated that in his opinion it is the responsibility of Parliament to take a leadership role in this area, which is precisely why he referred the question of marriage and the legal recognition of same sex unions to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights last November. The minister asked the committee to consider possible policy approaches, to hear from Canadians and to report back with recommendations on possible legislative reform.
I am a member of that committee. We recently finished our hearings on this issue and are considering our report and recommendations right now. We heard from a large number of organizations and individuals, received briefs from others who could not appear before us and visited some 10 communities across the country. We hope to report back to the minister shortly.
I want to point out that the very process we talked about just now belies the need for the motion brought here today. With respect, how can we consider this motion when the government has already given over to the standing committee of the House the very question cited as requiring measures to protect and reassert the will of Parliament?
The will of Parliament does not need protection. Parliament has shown leadership time and time again by acknowledging its responsibility to ensure equal treatment of gay and lesbian Canadians under federal law, beginning as far back as 1969 when then prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau amended the Criminal Code to remove homosexuality as a criminal act and I quote, “Take this thing on homosexuality. I think the view we take here is that there is no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation. I think that what is done in private between adults doesn't concern the Criminal Code. When it becomes public this is a different matter, or when it relates to minors this is a different matter”.
Changes in the Immigration Act in 1978 removed homosexuals from the inadmissibility list.
In 1996 the federal government added sexual orientation as a prohibited ground for discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act.
In 2000 the government passed the Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act giving same sex couples living together in a conjugal relationship the same benefits as heterosexual common law couples, affecting 68 federal statutes.
Now, with the question of marriage and the legal recognition of same sex unions before the courts, Parliament is being asked through its Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights to play its role in a proactive manner.
Throughout the changes to same sex legislation, as in the case of Mr. Trudeau's amendments, Parliament has taken the initiative. In others, the courts have asked Parliament to uphold its own laws and pointed out where it has not ensured the equal access to justice of its citizens and given it time to decide how to do so as it is currently doing by staying the effect of the decision in B.C.
This complementary relationship between Parliament and the courts is a dynamic one. What the opposition complains of here in this motion is no more than the court playing its constitutionally mandated role, a role that members of the House assigned to it when the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was added to our constitution in 1982. At that time Parliament and the legislatures decided to make explicit the right of Canadians to go to court and challenge laws.
The courts have not ignored our earlier 1999 motion on this subject, as some across the floor have alleged. Instead the courts have set out new interpretations on the scope of the charter equality guarantees and asked Parliament to review its 1999 approach to marriage in light of these decisions.
The standing committee is completing its work to do exactly that. This motion is premature and shows a sad lack of understanding of the complementary roles of Parliament and the courts as set out in the Constitution.