On December 7, Canada's Parliament formally voted not to reopen the debate over the question of marriage. The vote closed a judicial and legislative process that may be said to have begun with the release in 2001 of the federally funded Law Commission of Canada report, Beyond Conjugality, which backed same-sex 'marriage.'

The 175-123 vote came on a poorly worded motion that confused some MPs and left others ambivalent about which way to vote. A number of legislators who took a position against same-sex 'marriage' when Bill C-38 was passed in June 2005, chose not to re-examine the same-sex 'marriage' issue any further.

Is the issue closed?

Mainstream media and the pro-homosexual lobby say the debate over marriage is now closed and settled. But for practising Catholics and other active Christians, this cannot possibly be the case. They will never come to terms with illegitimate forms of marriage. Why not?

The principal point is that such measures insult and disobey God. A second point - an immediately practical and physical one - is that Canada will not survive as a wholesome community if it continues on the path it has trodden over the past few decades, with the acceptance by this country's ruling classes and institutions of abortion, divorce, pornography, prostitution, homosexual activity, sexual indoctrination of the young, in-vitro fertilization, stem cell experimentation on embryos, euthanasia of the sick, disabled and elderly, immoral media programming and more. The contraceptive society is bound to implode.

Implosion

            Canadian society's implosion will be ensured by the secular, relativistic, amoral and multi-cultural philosophy that is at the source of the above-mentioned evils. The gravest weakness is that it no longer recognizes the existence of objective truth.

Politically, Canada is headed for tyrannical government disguised as democracy. Economically, the country will stagger from crisis to crisis, precisely because of the three million lives snuffed out by surgical abortion since 1969 and the contraceptive revolution that has plunged Canada's birthrate to an unrecoverable decline in population. Massive, non-Christian immigration will not bring a solution; rather, it will further divide and shatter the unity of the country.

 Divine versus Canadian law

          When considering our future options, let us first compare divine and Canadian law, and separate truth from falsehood:

• Every single abortion is a crime, but Canada refuses to treat it as such.
• Divorce is contrary to the will of God, but Canada says, "Go right ahead."
• Pornography is a drug that pollutes mind and body, but Canada has given it carte blanche.
• Contraception is the soil from which other vices grow, but Canada insists it must be allowed and indeed, promoted.
• Prostitution is a form of slavery, demeaning to both women and men, but liberal Canadians want it made legal.
• Homosexuality flourishes in the soil of pornography, but Canada has declared same-sex 'marriage' a right that may not be contradicted.
• 'Pro-choice' is a brutal assault on the dignity of every person. It means the extinction of life for one particular human being. But Canada has designated abortion a moral choice, while protecting and encouraging those who carry it out. 

          These evil practices, developed from the mid-1960s to today, form a road to death and decay. The individual Canadian has his mind and soul polluted, and Canadian society has its foundations in law, politics and education warped and deformed.

The Catholic position

For faithful Catholics, there is no room for vacillation over issues that affect the physical and spiritual good of human beings. Our marching orders in this regard are found in the Word of God, made clear by the Church time and time again.

Once again, in December 2006, Pope Benedict XVI spoke to cardinals, archbishops, bishops and members of the Roman curia at the Vatican, in an important address largely ignored by the world's media. Speaking about homosexuals, he declared that they end up destroying themselves:

"In seeking to emancipate himself from his body, (man) ends up by destroying himself. Against those who say that 'the Church should not involve herself in these matters,' we can only respond: does man not concern us, too? The Church and believers must raise their voices to defend man, the creature who, in the inseparable unity of body and spirit, is the image of God" (WorldNetDaily, Dec. 30, 2006).

In his New Year's Day address, the Pope sent a message to politicians who support immoral causes on the basis of "human rights" by noting that while there is currently much talk about such rights, "it is forgotten that they need a stable - not relative or debatable - foundation" (Zenit, Jan. 1, 2007).

Elections

When it comes to elections, it is now an obligation of Christians to find out the voting records of candidates for public office. All the way back in 1978, the then Bishop of Saskatoon, James Mahoney, made his own the conviction of the pro-life movement that to be in favour of abortion disqualifies a candidate from public office (Pastoral Letter, 1978). He was immediately joined in this conviction by the Bishop of Kamloops, B.C., Adam Exner, who later became Archbishop of Winnipeg and then Archbishop of Vancouver. What was true in 1978 is still true 30 years later.

Where to find the voting record?

The most relevant vote for today is the parliamentary vote on December 7, 2006 on the motion to re-examine the disastrous same-sex 'marriage' legislation of 2005. An MP's vote on SSM closely parallels his or her views on abortion, with the exception of a small group of Liberal MPs who voted against the December 7 motion - in protest of its wording - after having opposed SSM in 2005.

The marriage vote by party

Liberals: 13 in favour of re-examination

          After Liberal leader Stephane Dion decided not to coerce his MPs, only 13 Liberals - all but two from Ontario - voted in support of the Conservative government's motion. (This motion read: "To call on government to introduce legislation to restore the traditional definition of marriage without affecting civil unions and while respecting existing same-sex 'marriages.'") These Liberal MPs were:

• Ray Bonin (Nickel Belt, ON)
• Gerry Byrne (Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte, NL)
• Roy Cullen (Etobicoke North, ON)
• Jim Karygiannis (Scarborough-Agincourt, ON)
• Walid Khan (Mississauga-Streetsville, ON)
• Derek Lee (Scarborough-Rouge River, ON)
• Gurbax Malhi (Bramalea-Gore-Malton)
• John McKay (Scarborough-Guildwood, ON)
• Dan McTeague (Pickering-Scarborough East, ON)
• Francis Scarpaleggia (Lac Saint Louis, QC)
• Paul Steckle (Huron-Bruce, ON)
• Alan Tonks (York South-Weston, ON)
• Tom Wappel (Scarborough Southwest, ON).

           All other Liberal MPs voted against the motion. Sue Barnes (London West, ON), John Cannis (Scarborough Centre, ON) and Raymonde Folco (Laval-Les Isles, QC) were absent. Whajid Khan has now joined the Conservatives.

Why so few?

          The number opposed to same-sex 'marriage' was down from the 36 who voted against Bill C-38 in 2005. Some retired or were defeated in the January 2006 federal election. But fourteen Liberals switched their votes from opposition in 2005 to refusal to examine SSM again:

• Ken Boschoff (Thunder Bay-Rainy River, ON)
• Brenda Chamberlain (Guelph, ON)
• Joe Comuzzi (Thunder Bay-Superior North, ON)
• Rodger Cuzner (Cape Breton-Canso, NS)
• Charles Hubbard (Miramichi, NB)
• Lawrence MacAuley (Cardigan, PE)
• John Maloney (Welland, ON)
• Bill Matthews (Random-Burin-St. George's, NL)
• Massimo Pachetti (Saint Leonard-Saint Michel, QC)
• Raymond Simard (Saint Boniface, MB)
• Scott Simms (Bonavista-Gander-Grand Falls-Windsor, NL)
• Paul Szabo (Mississauga South, ON)
• Bryon Wilfert (Richmond Hill, ON)
• Paul Zed (Saint John, NB).

          These 14 should not be automatically classified as pro-abortion. In the past, some have indicated their opposition to abortion. A few MPs like Szabo and Zed truly worried about the text of the motion as duplicitous. (Note: Liberal leader Stephane Dion is not pro-life. See C.I., Jan. 2007, p. 35. According to the late, former head of Campaign Life Coalition Quebec, Dion exhibited "no sign of sympathy for the pro-life cause.")

Conservatives

Conservatives were the main supporters of the re-examination motion. However, 13 of them voted against it. They were:

• John Baird (Ottawa West-Nepean, ON)
• Lawrence Cannon (Pontiac, QC)
• Bill Casey (Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit, NS)
• Michael Chong (Wellington-Halton Hills, ON)
• David Emerson (Vancouver Kingsway, BC)
• Gerald Keddy (South Shore-St. Margaret's, NS)
• Peter MacKay (Central Nova, NS)
• Fabian Manning (Avalon, NL)
• James Moore (Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, BC)
• Christian Paradis (Megantic-Erable, QC)
• Jim Prentice (Calgary Centre-North, AB)
• Lee Richardson (Calgary Centre, AB)
• Josee Verner (Louis Saint Laurent, QC).

           Six of the 13 Tory "No" voters - Baird, Cannon, Emerson, MacKay, Prentice and Verner - were cabinet ministers at the time of the vote. They are leaders in the Conservative party.

Some political observers blame the greater support among Conservatives for same-sex 'marriage' in the latest vote either on the wording of the motion or on a growing social liberal sentiment in a Conservative party that has moved further away from its Reform and Alliance roots (LifeSiteNews, Dec. 8, 2006). This needs to be counteracted.

NDP and Bloc Québécois

REGIONAL BREAKDOWN

OF THE MARRIAGE VOTE

The Maritimes

The Maritimes are proving to be a major liability for pro-traditional marriage forces, as all but six MPs, out of 32 from those four provinces, refused to re-open debate. Among Liberals, only one Maritime MP voted to re-open debate, while the other 19 voted against. Our magazine draws special attention to the anti-life MPs who are Catholic. From time to time they can be seen going to Church. Voters should learn to see through this façade.

Legend

Ö - Voted in favour of December 7, 2006 re-examination motion

X - Voted against December 7, 2006 re-examination motion

C - Catholic MP

X - Voted against Bill C-38 in 2005, but also against re-examination on December 7, 2006

Newfoundland and Labrador

Nova Scotia

 Prince Edward Island

New Brunswick

Quebec

A sliver of good news was provided by the fact that, although Quebec is generally regarded as a socially liberal area, seven of the 10 Conservative MPs from that province voted in favour of reopening the marriage issue.

Bloc Québécois MPs were all ordered by party leader Gilles Duceppe to vote against the government motion and all did. Their names are not shown here. Dissenting Catholic priest and MP for the riding of Repentigny, Father Raymond Gravel, abstained.

Liberals and Conservatives only:

Ontario

In Ontario, the vote was more evenly divided among Liberal and Conservative MPs as compared with other regions of the country, save for B.C.

The Prairies

This region was the stronghold for pro-traditional marriage forces, as all but 10 MPs from the three provinces voted to re-open debate (including all but two MPs in each of Saskatchewan and Alberta).

 Manitoba

Saskatchewan

 Alberta

British Columbia

As in Ontario, the vote in B.C. was more evenly divided among the Liberal and Conservative MPs. A slight advantage was provided to the pro-same sex 'marriage' side by the number of NDP MPs who uniformly voted against reopening the debate on marriage.

Territories

Abstentions, Absences, Independents and Speaker

• Arthur, Andre (Independent - Portneuf-Jacques Cartier, QC)
• Folco, Raymonde (Liberal - Laval-Les Isles, QC)
• Barnes, Sue (Liberal - London West, ON) (pro-SSM)
• Cannis, John (Liberal - Scarborough Centre, ON)
• Galipeau, Royal (Conservative - Ottawa-Orleans, ON)
• Milliken, Peter (Liberal - Kingston and the Islands, ON) (pro-SSM; pro-'gay').

Green for danger

Do not vote for a Green party candidate. The party is full of people who believe the world has too many people. Thus, they support abortion and contraception as ways to reduce population. In 1972, its members declared Canada - which even now, has a population density of just 3.3 people per square kilometer - to be overpopulated. Associated groups, such as the Sierra Club and other environmentalists, hold the philosophy that human beings are first and foremost polluters. The fewer of them, the better.

The Canadian Green party supports abortion as well as gay and lesbian 'rights.' On January 11, 2007, it elected as its president Mr. Laurie Arron, president of the Campaign for Equal Marriage and a regular spokesman for the 'gay activist' group Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere (ÉGALE).

The Moral of the Story

            Active, faithful Christians should get out and vote. They should vote against anti-life, anti-family, sitting (incumbent) MPs; they should help nominate pro-life candidates; they should vote and support the pro-life candidates.

A phoney faith and justice group

In an apparent attempt to counter a strengthening social conservative movement in Canada, which advanced especially through the same-sex 'marriage' issue, seven New Democratic Party MPs have formed what they call a "Faith and Justice Caucus."         

Members include Tony Martin, Bill Siksay, Charlie Angus, Joe Comartin, Bill Blaikie, Olivia Chow and Paul Dewar (Cath. Register, Nov. 12, 2006). Martin, Angus, Comartin and Dewar are Catholics.

            The first three were rebuked by the Church (see C.I., Sept. 2005, "The Catholic rebellion: politicians and communion," esp. pp. 18-19). Dewar was only elected an MP in the January 2006 election.

            Inspired by a "progressive and religious" (that is, leftist) political view, the group says it intends to focus on "justice, mercy, compassion and building a society where people are not left behind." However, they do not extend those values to the unborn, or to the natural family structure.

The NDP is officially pro-abortion and ordered its MPs to vote in favour of 'marriage' rights for homosexuals or in favour of legislation that might impede women's access to abortions. In 2005, Manitoba NDP MP Bev Desjarlais, for example, was expelled from the party after she voted against same-sex 'marriage.' MP Tony Martin (Sault Ste. Marie, ON) says that while his party welcomes a wide spectrum of opinion, party members must toe the line when voting, or else face sanctions.

            MP Bill Siksay (Burnaby-Douglas, BC) claims the "religious left" has "a long and positive tradition" in Canada, stretching back to "social Gospel" believers such as Methodist J.S. Woodworth, United Church minister Stanley Knowles, and Baptist minister Tommy Douglas. The three founded the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, the forerunner of the NDP, and helped establish this country's social safety net. There is no evidence that they would share today's extremism of the left.

            Siksay, a United Church member, is a 'gay activist' and the NDP's critic for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender human rights." Last September, he trumpeted his party's formal adoption of the Declaration of Montreal on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Human Rights, as the NDP became the world's first political party to do so. The declaration calls for full worldwide recognition of a wide variety of political, legal, and social rights, including the end of all laws "criminalizing" homosexual sex, worldwide recognition of the right of 'LGBT' people to equal marriage, and complete social integration of equality for such people throughout the world (Bill Siksay press release, Sept. 11, 2006).

            The listing of Catholics is, to the best of our knowledge, accurate.

            Next month: "Elections - Part 2: Who is Stephen Harper?"