Canadian House of Commons Vote on Same-Sex Marriage Tuesday Night

[kbm8795]

The Canadian House of Commons is expected to vote for the final time on the Civil Marriage Act tonight. . .shortly after 8 p.m. EDT. in Ottawa.

For those of you who may opt out of listening or watching President Bush grandstand in front of our troops, you may download a live broadcast from any number of Canadian internet radio or television stations at:

http://www.tvradioworld.com

While Canadian radio reports indicate the bill is expected to pass, this could be a close call - so if this passes, this is something worth congratulating our much more intelligent neighbors for recognizing the inherent discrimination in civil rights.

[applegrove]

1. The government has been promising the legislation for years. It

has much support in Canada. The neocon Harperites have tried to bring down he government over a previous governments spending scandal and failed. Now they plan on getting the ethnic vote by using the same sex issue as a wedge.

The government shoots back by extending the House of Commons into July and putting the bill up for a vote this session - before the last session which will be next fall (when they likely have to go to general election because they are a minority). Great move.

The bill will be a fait accomplit. And if the neocons think they can get the immigrant vote by appealing to muslims, etc.. They will at once be slurring and besmirching the charter of rights and freedoms which gives the immigrant communities such protections that they can move here and immediately get into any sort of business or religiousness that they can dream up or afford. Why there is talk of using sharia law (if both parties agree) for civil issues and other religions the same way - including aboriginal sentencing which already involves 'getting to know mother earth' intimately as a jail sentence for youth.

Immigrants are not stupid. Nobody is saying their church has to marry anybody. It is just that legally gays & lesbians should be entitled to marry. And many marriages have taken place and these communities know that it has not affected them one little bit.

But passing the law will make the christian right demand a big piece of Harper's voice. And that will sink him. Because he has already figured out he cannot possibly win on the issues he means to make policy. And Canadians know he is lying when he suddenly parrots Liberal policy (he loves medicare - he really loves it). So what is the weasel going to do? Slam the human rights of a good portion of the population (gays & lesbians & the people who know them) or not (and show himself to be a big fat liar again). All the while proving to the minority groups that he wants to control the lives of people in a purely 'christian' way when they benefit from multi-culturalism and protection for their institutions.

[iverglas]

2. no close calls -- and the debate is on now and worth hearing

as I offered, in the second of these 3 threads today ;)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=221x13342

Click here, and you'll be watching and listening as it happens:

http://www.cpac.ca/forms/index.asp?dsp=template&act=view3&template_id=22&lang=e

[kbm8795]

3. Wow...was that 158 in favor and 133 against?

If so. . .major congratulations!