EDMONTON, December 13, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Alberta’s Justice Minister, Ron Stevens, responding to the Supreme Court decision paving the way for legalization of same-sex “marriage” in Canada, said that Alberta doesn’t have legal grounds for using the notwithstanding clause to overrule the decision.
Stevens said that only the federal government can decide the legal definition of marriage; provinces only enforce those laws and grant marriage licenses. “Since the court ruled the authority over same-sex marriage falls to the federal government, it is only the federal government who can invoke the notwithstanding clause to maintain the traditional definition of marriage,” Stevens said in a press release Thursday.
“The court clearly said that provinces could not refuse to issue licences or register same-sex marriages,” he added. In August, an Alberta government press release said that the marriage question would justify use of the notwithstanding clause.
Alberta Premier Ralph Klein has called on the federal Liberals to hold a plebiscite on the issue.
Despite the backing of the Conservative caucus on the idea of a referendum, Conservative leader Stephen Harper said he is not in favour of a referendum. “That’s not what we’re asking for,” Harper said, as reported by CTV.ca news. “We are asking simply that parliament get the vote on this.” Conservative Senator Anne Cools, however, said a plebiscite on the same-sex “marriage” issue is just what the country needs. “This entire debate has been conducted by elites,” Cools said. “I believe it’s time to go to the people of Canada to inquire what they really want.” Canada Family Action Coalition Executive Director Brian Rushfeldt said he was going to encourage Premier Klein to reconsider the decision to not use the notwithstanding clause. The ruling of the high court was “only an opinion,” Rushfeldt said. Compared with “the opinions of the remaining 33 million Canadians, [the Supreme Court’s opinion] shouldn’t change the legal definition of the notwithstanding clause.” Read Alberta Justice Minister Stevens’ release: http://www.gov.ab.ca/acn/200412/173566FF2E11D-6F76-40BA-88FBFDCA26CE3B9F.html See LifeSiteNews.com’s report on the response of Canada’s major pro-family groups to the Supreme Court decision http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/dec/04120902.html Tv