Mr. Speaker, first, why the government did not challenge the lower court ruling is the very question we asked. This is what this is all about. If the government had done the right thing and challenged those lower court rulings, this would have been put down as it was in other jurisdictions and in other countries. When a lower jurisdiction tried to illegally push through a marriage act that was beyond its jurisdiction, the higher jurisdiction ruled on it, whether we are talking about California overruling a mayor or what happened recently in France. I talked with the ambassador about this. A city mayor tried to deliver a marriage certificate to allow this to happen and the government, based on the will of the people, told the mayor that he could not do it.
The federal government wimped out. It gave a reference to the Supreme Court hoping and praying the Supreme Court would say that the definition of marriage was unconstitutional but the Supreme Court did not say that. It did not say that it was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court in that case said the right thing. It said that if anyone were going to decide or make a decision it would be Parliament.
The member also said that he did not feel any pressure. Why did he not feel any pressure? One only has to count how many rows back he is sitting. If he had been sitting in one of these first two row, the pressure would have been extreme.
I do not know how those members can live with themselves when they know what is right, and I do not even want to surmise their reasons. However the Prime Minister has forced all cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries to support the definition of marriage and has told all his members that if they do not support the definition of marriage they are not welcome in his cabinet. That is why he is not feeling any pressure.
Therefore, because the member supports the definition of marriage, the Prime Minister says that he is not welcome in cabinet. When it comes to marriage, the Prime Minister wants everyone to do as he says, not what their heart says nor what the people say. That is a travesty.