(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in Canada would have no problem attending a same-sex marriage ceremony, according to a poll by Leger Marketing. 63 per cent of respondents would show up for a gay wedding, while 28 per cent would refuse the invitation.
(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in Canada would have no problem attending a same-sex marriage ceremony, according to a poll by Leger Marketing. 63 per cent of respondents would show up for a gay wedding, while 28 per cent would refuse the invitation.
Over the past two years, the courts in eight Canadian provinces have permitted legal same-sex marriages. Last December, Canada’s Supreme Court ruled in favour of allowing the federal government to go ahead with a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage. The country’s foremost tribunal said the constitution protects the rights of homosexual partners to formalize their bonds.
In February, the federal government introduced legislation aimed at legalizing same-sex marriage in the entire country. Prime minister Paul Martin has guaranteed Liberal party members a “free vote” on the bill, saying he expects cabinet members and parliamentary secretaries to support it. The governing Liberals currently control 134 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons. If approved, the law would stipulate that no religious institutions would be forced to perform same-sex marriages.
Conservative party leader Stephen Harper and Giles Duceppe of the Bloc Québécois have guaranteed a “free vote” for a combined 152 lawmakers. The New Democratic Party’s Jack Layton said he expects his party’s 19 representatives to support the bill.
In April, the Conservative party introduced a motion to defeat the bill, claiming it fails to uphold the definition of marriage as the union between a man and a woman. The Tory challenge was unsuccessful after a 164-132 vote in the House of Commons.
Yesterday, Martin expressed his intention to fast-track the same-sex marriage bill, saying, “It’s legislation that must pass, and we want it to pass. And parliamentarians are here to do the job.”
Polling Data
If you were invited to a gay wedding, would you attend?
Yes | 63% |
No | 28% |
Source: Leger Marketing
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 1,507 Canadian adults, conducted from May 3 to May 11, 2005. Margin of error is 2.6 per cent.
