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Quebec Opposes Federal Same-Sex "Marriage" Bill

Wants authority to decide which churches to authorize, which to exempt

OTTAWA, September 21, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Quebec government has said it will oppose Ottawa's bid to decide who marries whom in Canada. Pending a Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, expected in two weeks, the new same-sex "marriage" bill would authorize the federal government to determine which churches will be required to perform same-sex "marriage" ceremonies, and which will be exempt.

Quebec argues that, because the job of solemnizing marriages -- the issuing of marriage licenses, the ceremony, and the registration, is within the purview of the province, the decision to determine which churches will be required to carry out the ceremonies and which will be exempt should also be left to the individual provinces.

The federal bill states that churches will be exempt from solemnizing same-sex "marriage" if they choose not to do them. Quebec officials say the determination of religious freedom is a provincial matter.

"Provinces have exclusive competence to determine the conditions surrounding the celebration and solemnization of marriage and the capacity of officials celebrating it both in civil and religious terms," lawyer Alain Gingras wrote in Quebec's legal brief, as reported by the CanWest News Service.

Alberta is the only other province to oppose the federal government's move to legalize same-sex "marriage." In the face of the increasing likelihood that the courts would mandate the Alberta government to legalize same-sex "marriage," Alberta Premier Ralph Klein said last year, "If there is any move to sanctify and legalize same-sex marriages, we will use the notwithstanding clause, period. End of story."

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Province of Alberta Ready to Fight Court Imposed Homosexual 'Marriage'
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/jun/03061801.html

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