Ottawa — The Liberal government is taking a few more steps down the aisle of the politically charged issue of allowing same-sex marriage. Sources say Justice Minister Martin Cauchon will urge his colleagues not to appeal rulings in Ontario, B.C. and Quebec that banning same-sex marriages is unconstitutional. Instead, he will say legislation is needed that sanctions gay marriage.
He is expected to give cabinet two options. One is for the government to draw up legislation on its own. The other is to ask the Supreme Court of Canada for "guidance" on how to redefine marriage legally based on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
An Ontario Court of Appeal ruling last week ordered the legal definition of marriage to be changed to a union between "two persons" instead of "one man and one woman."
Mr. Cauchon is under growing pressure to make a decision about whether to appeal the Ontario ruling in favour of same-sex marriages. Gay couples have been lining up for marriage certificates in the province since the decision. He has until only June 30 to decide whether to appeal a B.C. court ruling on the issue.
Legalizing same-sex marriage has wide support in the Liberal cabinet, including Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and the three Liberal leadership candidates, John Manley, Sheila Copps and Paul Martin.
But the issue has divided Liberal backbenchers while most Alliance and Conservative MPs oppose same-sex marriage.
"There's no strong opponents in cabinet," said John Fisher, of the Ottawa-based gay rights organization Egale Canada. "We believe based on the vote by the justice committee on this issue that the writing is on the wall."
Last week, a parliamentary justice committee voted narrowly in favour of asking the government to accept an Ontario Appeal Court decision allowing same-sex marriages. It was a signal the government is in no rush to shut the door on gay weddings already being performed in Ontario.
That could give the government political protection when it introduces new legislation and would also mean same-sex marriages would remain legal in Ontario until the top court rules.
If Canada does make same-sex marriages legal, it would be the third country in the world to do so. The Netherlands and Belgium are the only two countries that currently extend full marriage rights to same-sex couples. France, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland allow gays and lesbians to enter into legal partnerships. And last week Chile introduced legislation to grant legal status to same-sex couples.
