Progress Pond

Pride Week – in Canada

1 million people are expected to attend Pride celebrations in Toronto this weekend – and there is much to celebrate…

A round-up of some great news from the last couple of days after the flip…
A recent court decision in New Brunswick has legalized same-sex marriage in that province. This most recent ruling has followed decisions in 7 other provinces, and 2 northern territories, leaving only Alberta, Prince Edward Island and the Northwest Territories as `traditional marriage’ hold-outs.

The justice minister is also ordering a review of the adoption laws to see if they are compatible with same-sex couples having the same rights as any other married couple.

What I found particularly amusing was the fact that the judge gave the province 10 days to comply with her ruling.

And on a national level, some positively baffling procedural manoeuvring over a budget vote (don’t ask me to explain it – I can’t) and a promise to bring the same-sex marriage legislation (Bill C-38) to a vote before the end of an extended session of Parliament has led to the rather sudden realization that very, very soon – marriage equality will be the law in Canada from coast to coast.

The vote could come as early as Monday, and is expected to pass easily. Any delay would cause the already extended session to cut into even more summer recess time, and thankfully, that seems to be quite unacceptable – even the most dire and critical attacks on the `sanctity of marriage’ don’t warrant anyone missing some vacation time. Thank God we sometimes have our priorities in order…

This latest parliamentary development makes the efforts of Canada’s largest union somewhat unnecessary, but it was heartening nonetheless to see that The Canadian Union of Public Employees has urged its 540,000 members to lobby their government representatives in favour of equal marriage.

Kudos to Paul Moist, CUPE national president…

It is time to end years of discrimination against gay and lesbian couples,”
“It is time to make equal marriage the law of the land. After all, eight Canadian courts have ruled that refusing gay and lesbian couples the right to marry is discriminatory under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Opponents of same-sex marriage have finally and reluctantly admitted defeat!

The last hurdle standing in the way of passage of the gay ‘marriage’ bill was swept away last night by political manipulations that make the Canadian Parliament an embarrassment to traditions of democratic process.  The vote on the budget Bill C-48 was the final opportunity to bring down the Liberal government and thus defeat the gay ‘marriage’ legislation.  Now, barring a miracle, Bill C-38 (same-sex marriage legislation) will pass next week.

And just as a bonus – a fabulous article by Wade Rowland in the Globe and Mail..
The sum of our debt to a gay man (link through google to avoid registration) about Alan Turing.

Gay Pride festivities this week and the unexpected happiness that has come to so many lives as a result of recent court rulings on gay marriage here in Canada has made me proud, proud to live in a country that seems finally to be growing up. Genuine moral progress, I’ve been thinking, is possible, and probably irreversible. Opponents of Ottawa’s current same-sex marriage legislation should take heed that they are swimming upstream, ethically speaking.

Update [2005-6-25 5:43:6 by zander]: From the Montreal Gazette

Conservatives fear the Liberal government intends to invoke closure to ensure the same-sex marriage bill passes through the House of Commons next week, ….

The civil marriage legislation is now the only government bill posted on the Commons order paper for Monday, the first day of extended sittings initally intended to deal with both the budget bill and the marriage legislation.

Despite daily sittings that will stretch until midnight, another Conservative, Manitoba MP Vic Toews, said the short Canada Day week won’t be enough to get the bill through the two remaining stages of debate.

“I quite frankly don’t know how they’re going to do that without closure,” said Toews, the party’s senior MP on a Commons committee that held a month of public hearings on the legislation.

Update [2005-6-25 11:27:48 by zander]: Official site of Pride Toronto – includes festival and parade info, history, a gallery and more.

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