Alliance Justice Critic Joins Effort To Appeal Homosexual ‘Marriage’ Ruling

OTTAWA, August 26, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – At the request of The Interfaith Coalition On Marriage And The Family, Provencher MP and Canadian Alliance Justice Critic Vic Toews has filed an affidavit with the Supreme Court of Canada in support of an application to appeal the Ontario Court of Appeal decision ordering Parliament to change the definition of marriage to include homosexual couples.  “As a result of the failure of the Liberals to appeal the decision, Canadians don’t know whether the Supreme Court of Canada agrees with this radical alteration of the institution of marriage,” stated Toews. “In light of the disappointing absence of federal Liberal leadership on this issue, the application by the Interfaith Coalition is a welcome attempt to have this important question dealt with by our highest court.”  Toews noted that the document filed with the Supreme Court sets out how as a member of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights he participated in cross-country public hearings and Committee deliberations, in order to draft recommendations for Parliament as to whether it should recognize same-sex unions.  “The decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal ended the efforts of the Justice Committee and the failure of the Liberals to appeal that decision effectively silenced the voice of thousands of Canadians who made presentations or submitted written briefs. Despite the Liberals reluctance to appeal it is clear that the Court of Appeals decision needs to be corrected by the Supreme Court so that this important social policy issue can be determined by Parliament rather than un-elected judges,” Toews said.  Toews stated that the decision on whether to allow the Coalition to appeal is one that will be made by the Supreme Court of Canada after it considers all of the documentation filed by the parties to the original case.