Madam Speaker, I have two petitions to present to the House.
The first one is on the notwithstanding clause. The petitioners want to point out that the majority of Canadians believe that the fundamental matters of social policy should be decided by elected members of Parliament and not by the unelected judiciary. They also point out that it is the duty of Parliament to ensure that marriage is defined.
They therefore call on Parliament to use all possible legislative and administrative measures, including the invocation of section 33 of the charter, commonly referred to as the notwithstanding clause, to preserve and protect the current definition of marriage as between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.
The second petition also has to do with the subject matter of marriage. The petitioners wanted to point out to Parliament that marriage is the best foundation for families and for raising children, and that the institution of marriage as the union of a man and a woman is being challenged.
The petitioners therefore also point out that marriage is the exclusive jurisdiction of Parliament and therefore call upon Parliament to recognize the institution of marriage in federal law as being the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.