Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of a number of Canadians, over 10,000 now, including a number from my own riding of Mississauga South, on the subject matter of marriage.
The petitioners want to make three observations. First, they believe that the fundamental matter of social policies should be decided by elected members of Parliament and not by the unelected judiciary. Second, the majority of Canadians support the current legal definition of marriage; and third, it is the duty of Parliament to define marriage.
They therefore call upon Parliament to use all legislative and administrative measures possible including the invocation of section 33 of the charter, commonly known as the notwithstanding clause, to preserve and protect the current definition of marriage as being the legal union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.