---

Senator Lowell Murray to Move Closure on Homosexual Hate Crimes Bill C-250

Bill will now likely receive final vote early next week unless government calls election

Ottawa, April 21, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Senator David Angus of Quebec told LifeSiteNews.com this evening that Senator Lowell Murray (PC) today gave notice of his motion of closure to debate on Bill C-250. The debate on Svend Robinson's Bill C-250 which adds 'sexual orientation' as a broad new category of person's protected under Canada's hate crimes law, had resumed again on Tuesday.

Senator Murray's notice is a major disappointment to Senators opposed to the bill. Senator Angus explained that Murray, "is on his own" and "is one of (Joe) Clark's boys". Former PC leader Clark is a strong social liberal and has consistently supported the advancement of homosexual legal protection and privileges. Murray has rejected the PC/Alliance merger and is therefore rejecting any direction on C-250 that might come from the current Conservative Party leadership.

According to Senator Angus, the closure motion will likely be dealt with at around 2 p.m. Thursday and if passed will limit the time left to debate the bill. If the closure motion passes Angus says C-250 will likely "be put to bed", that is receive final passage, on Monday or Tuesday of next week. However, the bill will die if the on and off federal election is called in the meantime.

Other than the notice of closure, Wednesday's debate on C-250 was limited to a vote on a sub-amendment by Senator Angus to add the category 'pardoned convict' before the words 'ethnic origin' to the main amendment to change the words 'sexual orientation' to the word 'sex', as in gender. The sub-amendment was defeated.

An assistant to Senator Cools told LifeSiteNews.com that the Senators are still encountering strong opposition to the bill from the public.

Selected excerpts from Tuesday's debate:

Senator David Angus: "In my view, there are ample and effective provisions in existing Canadian law to protect all individuals on an equal level. This bill strikes me as unnecessary and one that has the potential to lead our justice system down a path that we do not necessarily wish it to follow. The bill could possibly open the floodgates to unintended and undesirable consequences. Indeed, it makes me think of the old maxim of inclusio unius est exclusio alterius, as well as the old adage that two wrongs do not make a right."

Senator Anne Cools: "I believe this particular bill will be used for political reasons, one of which will be to cleanse Canadians of moral opinions. I am of the opinion that this bill will engage many innocent Canadians in a prosecutorial process simply because some of them may happen to express views about certain homosexual sexual practices."

"For example, if they wish to express moral views about certain homosexual or sexual practices, or if religious people wish to express the view that it is not only immoral but sinful, or if medical personnel wish to express the view that it is unhealthy, it would be very wrong to expose so many Canadians to vexatious and menacing prosecutions."

See the complete Hansard text of Tuesday's Senate debate on C-250 at
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/apr/040421a.html

See: EGALE Canada very concerned about effectiveness of organized opposition to C-250
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/apr/040413a.html

 Back to Top

---

MORE NEWS: LifeSiteNews.com Home Page  Last 10 Days   Archives   Special Reports

Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.