Canadian Justice Minister Refuses Even Barest Minimum Defence of Marriage Laws

OTTAWA, August 18, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Justice Minister Irwin Cotler announced this week that the government would no longer oppose any court challenges to existing marriage laws.  Canada currently allows same-sex “marriage” in B.C., Ontario, Quebec, and the Yukon Territory. Until now, challenges to Canada’s marriage law had been opposed in provincial courts by the federal government which argued that the decisions should be deferred until after the Supreme Court rules in the reference case on the matter.  “We will not be opposing any of these,” Cotler said Monday at the Canadian Bar Association’s annual meeting in Winnipeg. “We will allow these proceedings as they arise.”“In cases that come up across the country, we won’t ask for adjournments for the Supreme Court reference to be heard,” Justice Department spokeswoman Renee Filiatrault told the Globe and Mail Tuesday. “Our position is the same as it has been in the past, and the subtle development at this point is that we won’t be seeking adjournments as we have.”  Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:  Canadian Government Funds Radical Homosexual Activist Organizations Through Court Challenges and Status of Women https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/jun/04061405.html   tv