Gay marriage could be political gift for PM Martin, highlight Canada's diff w/ US Options

[PaineInTheArse]

Source: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...tacodalogin=yes

SUSAN DELACOURT
OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF

OTTAWA—The same-sex marriage debate could turn out to be a political gift for Prime Minister Paul Martin if he uses it to highlight Canada's differences with the United States, according to EKOS pollster Frank Graves.

In fact, there are signs that Martin and his government could turn the looming same-sex marriage legislation into an advantage in the next election, provided the Liberals are willing to plunge into the debate with some passion and conviction — and not avoid it as they have to date.

This is not conventional wisdom. But EKOS has been polling Canadians in the wake of the U.S. election in November, which saw conservative forces on the rise south of the border and the return of same-sex-marriage opponent President George W. Bush to a second term in office.

Though Graves can't disclose exact figures in this recent wave of polling, he says there was an "overwhelming" desire expressed by respondents to see Canada accentuating its differences, rather than trying to become more in sync with conservative-leaning Americans. It's an ideal time, in other words, to find a liberal issue and run with it.

"It's a perfect lob ball for the Liberal government," Graves said yesterday.

And contrary to some socially progressive steps Canada could take that might inflame tensions with the United States, such as marijuana decriminalization, he argues, no one is going to close the border because same-sex marriage is recognized here.

"This would be an issue where I'd say, `Get all over it,'" Graves said.

Same-sex marriage has generally been treated like a political hot potato over the past few years, with most parties reluctant to whip up highly sensitive arguments touching on religion and deeply rooted social values. The Liberal caucus contains a significant number of MPs from rural and traditional small-town Canada, who have long argued they could lose their seats if their government leans too far to the left on any social issue.

But Graves says that in polling terms the momentum is all with the forces of same-sex marriage advocates, and Liberals have little to lose. Less than 10 per cent of voters would see this as a ballot-box issue, Graves has found. Moreover, the hard core of Conservatives opposed to same-sex marriage would probably not be tempted to vote for the Liberals anyway. The battle in the last election was for the middle ground between the two parties, where the same-sex debate does not generally take place.

Surveys over the years have shown a steady increase in support with people's increased exposure to the debate, Graves says. Canadians' acceptance of equality rights for gays is up well around two-thirds of the population now, according to the EKOS president.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
`Canadians are proud of what a distinctive society we have created here ... '

Scott Brison, Public Works Minister

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ipsos-Reid also released a poll yesterday, showing 71 per cent of Canadians support the concept of same-sex marriage, but only a little more than half that number, 39 per cent, would like to see those marriages treated as equal to heterosexual marriage.

In that gap lies a communication challenge for the Liberal government when it introduces the bill early next year. Somehow, it must find a way to harness that 71 per cent embrace of same-sex marriage and put it behind a piece of legislation that makes it a reality. Passionate Liberal defenders of equality have to persuade Canadians that this is a forward-looking step, in keeping with cherished values.

Public Works Minister Scott Brison, Canada's first openly gay cabinet minister, says his experience is a testament to the value of using this issue to educate the public and raise the tone and values of political debate. He hails from a very conservative part of Nova Scotia and has openly championed more marriage-equality rights for gays since 1999. That would normally be seen as political suicide in a traditional Canadian heartland. Yet he's been re-elected twice and his constituents even remained loyal to him when he switched from the Conservatives to the Liberals a year ago.

"I've been open and direct," Brison said yesterday. "If you give people the opportunity to make decisions based on Canadian values like human rights and equality, I think Canadians will choose to support those values and principles. I think sometimes politicians ... do not give their constituents enough credit on some of these important issues."

Brison agrees Liberals should not be afraid of framing the same-sex marriage legislation as a distinctly Canadian advantage.

"Canadians are proud of what a distinctive society we have created here in Canada and they're proud of Canadian values like human rights and equality."

But there are a significant number of Liberal MPs and even some ministers who do not see their role as to lead debate or shape opinion, especially on this issue. These were the politicians talking yesterday about the need to simply poll their constituents and reflect their sentiments. Joe Comuzzi, (Thunder Bay-Superior North), minister of state for Northern Ontario economic development, said he believed he had been elected largely on the strength of his constituents' opposition to same-sex marriage. John Cannis, a Liberal MP from Scarborough Centre, said he polled during the election and more than 94 per cent of his constituents were opposed as well.

Martin, to date, has tried to straddle the divide, saying he personally struggled with the issue but he decided that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms had to weigh more heavily than his Roman Catholic convictions. He has not so far mounted any passionate defence of the equality rights of gay couples who want to marry, choosing instead to argue for the more abstract Charter.

Graves said he would advise Martin that his caution is unnecessary.

Age, not political affiliation, is the great divider in this debate. Most polls in the last election showed that the group for all parties to covet were voters under 40, where there is widespread acceptance of same-sex marriage. It's yet another reason Martin wants to stake out as progressive a turf as he can, Graves said, because it was the Conservatives' perceived lack in this area of values that may have cost them seats in Ontario and among young people.

What Graves did find odd about yesterday's ruling was the manner in which the Supreme Court of Canada urged that the same-sex marriage debate be resolved.

When EKOS asked in polling about a year ago about how Canadians would like to see this issue settled, about 40 per cent said they would like to see it decided by national referendum, another 30 per cent said they'd like to see it settled by the courts, and only about 15 per cent said it should be decided by Parliament. But the Supreme Court yesterday threw it to the MPs.

====================================

Sidebar: White House reaction to Canada's Supreme Court approving gay marriage.

Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/20...0041209-13.html

Press Briefing by Scott McClellan, December 9, 2004

Q The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that parliament can now go ahead and legalize same-sex marriage. What is your reaction?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the President's views are very clear about the sanctity of marriage. In terms of actions other countries take, those are internal matters for those countries and questions are best directed to those countries.

Q What do you think about the possibility of Americans going up to Canada to get married, as opposed to doing it here?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the President, again, made his views very clear when it comes to protecting the sanctity of marriage here in the United States of America, and his position has not changed.

He he he ... not when two countries have reciprocal legal agreements

[gmanders777]

If I had a significant other and wanted to be legally married

I think I would move to Canada until this country can get its act together