Members of The 39th Canadian Parliament and Same-sex Marriage

Members Of The 39th Canadian Parliament And Same-sex Marriage

This article lists the members of the 39th Parliament of Canada and their voting records in regards to the Civil Marriage Act. Bill C-38 amended the Marriage Act of Canada to recognize same-sex marriage (SSM). The 39th Parliament was elected at the federal election of January 23, 2006. The Conservative leader, Stephen Harper, who was then leader of the opposition campaigned on holding another free vote on the issue, after one was held in the 38th Parliament to approve the Act. Although Harper expressed a hope to reinstate the opposite-sex only definition of marriage, he promised not to use the notwithstanding clause. A number of legal experts contend the clause would need to be invoked if parliament was to ban or restrict same-sex marriage in light of provincial court decisions on the matter, which have all handed down the same decision: barring same-sex marriage is inconsistent with the guarantees contained in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a part of the Constitution of Canada.

The Conservatives won enough seats to form a government following the election but Harper, who became Prime Minister, only had enough seats to form a minority government meaning the opposition parties had enough seats to defeat a government motion on same-sex marriage. However, a motion could pass if it could attract enough support from individual opposition MPs in a free vote. The government announced that it would introduce a motion before the end of 2006.

On 7 December 2006, the Canadian House of Commons voted on a motion that read as follows: "That this House call on the government to introduce legislation to restore the traditional definition of marriage without affecting civil unions and while respecting existing same-sex marriages." The motion was defeated by a vote of 123 to 175. Liberal and Conservative parties gave their members permission to vote freely. Thirteen Conservatives voted against the motion, and the same number of Liberals voted in favour. The Bloc Québécois and NDP caucuses were expected to oppose the motion, all NDP MPs did so as did all BQ MPs except for two who were paired and two who were absent.

Following the vote, Harper announced that the issue was now settled and that his government would not revisit the matter even if it won a majority government in the next election, held October 14, 2008.