OTTAWA, August 9, 2002 (LSN.ca) - Newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Marie Deschamps has revealed she is in favour of special rights for homosexuals. The news comes as a serious blow to pro-family groups who note that the issue of homosexual marriage will undoubtedly reach the courts in the very near future. CBC reports that Deschamps said she’s looking forward to dealing with the country’s most important issues, including homosexuality. “This is a good example where society has evolved a lot,” she said. “Ten years ago, many provinces did not have any law that would (have) recognized the equality of gays.”
Deschamps, a 49-year-old, Quebec judge, is rumoured to have been granted the prestigious appointment by Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien due to her husband’s close ties to the Quebec Liberal party. The Toronto Star reports that Deschamp’s husband Paul Gobeil was a cabinet minister in the government of Robert Bourassa and was also instrumental in Jean Charest’s coronation as leader of the Quebec Liberal party in 1998. Currently Gobeil is the head of the Export Development Corporation, a federal crown agency. Canadian Alliance justice critic Vic Toews (Provencher) criticized the autocratic appointment of Supreme Court Justices by the Prime Minister. “I wish her (Deschamps) all the best in a difficult situation, but the danger of a closed process is that people will think she got the job because her husband is a prominent Liberal,” he said. So far Chrétien has appointed five judges to the Supreme Court. See the coverage from CBC and the Toronto Star: http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2002/08/09/supreme_crt020809 http://www.thestar.ca/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1026144069444&call_page=TS_Canada&call_pageid=968332188774&call_pagepath=News/Canada&pubid=968163964505&StarSource=email