It is rare that one hopes to see their own organization disbanded. However in the case of Canadians for Equal Marriage, there will be no better feeling than the day their existence is no longer necessary. It will mean a long, hard battle has come to an end, and Gay Marriage is legal.

"We can’t wait to close shop," Laurie Arron told GayCalgary.com hours before Bill C-38 was tabled in Parliament.  Laurie is the Political Coordinator for Canadians for Equal Marriage and Director of Advocacy for EGALE.  The group formed as an offshoot of EGALE Canada’s Equal Marriage committee in the summer of 2003.

"After the Ontario court decision in the summer of 2003, our opponents really came on strong with huge resources against equal marriage. EGALE and other supporters of the legislation decided we needed to have a single purpose group who could focus on the legislation and devote significant resources to it. In August of 2003 we had a meeting [with] the United Church, PFLAG Canada (Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays), and others to form Canadians for Equal Marriage. The campaign is a coalition of groups focusing purely on passing the legislation, and fold after it is passed."

Since then, other groups and unions have joined in. Canadians for Equal Marriage has been active on many fronts.

"One has been at the grassroots level, mobilizing supporters to contact their MP’s and using our website to make it easy to do that. We went out and found other supportive organizations who would join in the fight, such as the Canadian Federation of Students, the Canadian Labour Congress, the Canadian Psychological Association, the Canadian Association of University Teachers, and the Canadian Association of Social Workers, among others. Some have officially joined us while others just work informally. We have also met with MP’s to provide them with as much information as possible to understand the issue and why Equal Marriage is the right thing to do. We were active in the Federal Election in trying to get candidates who were pro-marriage [elected]."

While the organization is based in Ontario, recently moving its office from Toronto to Ottawa, it has worked across Canada to get its message out. This has allowed them to truly grasp some of the differences among the provinces.

"The...country is split in a number of ways, such as religion, but it is a very urban vs. rural divide. There will be MP’s from Alberta who will vote for the legislation, they will be from Edmonton and Calgary. There will be Ontario MP’s who vote against, none from Downtown Toronto or Ottawa. Some provinces are more supportive, Quebec and the West Coast especially, but Saskatchewan, Alberta and Newfoundland are the least. In terms of our focus, it is now on the key ridings, and [we] have had a lot of activity in Edmonton and Calgary."

On December 9, 2004 the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its decision, making clear that Parliament can pass a law extending equal marriage across the country, and that doing so will not violate anyone’s freedom of religion or any other Charter right. It explicitly said religious officials cannot be compelled to perform civil or religious same-sex marriages that go against their religious beliefs. It also said that the Charter protects against "the compulsory use of sacred places for the celebration of such marriages" or being "compelled to otherwise assist in the celebration of same-sex marriages." Charitable tax status is clearly protected. It was a great moment for the organization, although they knew the battle was far from over.

"That was a green light for the equal marriage legislation. The Supreme Court affirmed that Parliament can pass this legislation, that religious freedom is not impacted, and the charter of values and how equal marriage flows from it. They confirmed that the lower court rulings are the law in BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and the Yukon..." Canadians for Equal Marriage hasn’t been involved in the Provincial battles. "Those challenges have been EGALE. Canadians for Equal Marriage doesn’t get involved in legal challenges. EGALE has played a large role in those decisions. "

Although at times it may seem that Canadians do not want gay marriages, Arron says the organization’s experience has been a positive one.

"The majority of Canadians support the legislation and we have heard a lot of positive feedback. However there is a very loud and strong minority out there, backed largely by the religious right wing. It is a last ditch attempt on their part to take away our right to marry. For them this is about maintaining a stigma about homosexuality. You heard Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic say that the bill passing ‘will be teaching that homosexual activity and heterosexual activity are morally equivalent’. In Calgary, Bishop Fred Henry has said ‘an evil act remains an evil act whether it is performed in public or private,’ compared homosexuality to adultery, prostitution and pornography, ...undermining the foundations of the family, and expressed the need to suppress homosexual behavior. It is quite clear that this fight isn’t just about marriage but our place in society. This is by far the biggest fight that the LGBT community has ever encountered, but we all expected that."

Other opponents have argued that by changing the definition of marriage from "a man and a woman" to "two persons" could lead to polygamy and incestuous marriages. Arron disagrees.

"Those are simply red herrings. In the Ontario decision, the Metropolitan Church of Toronto, which is primarily LGBT, argued that their freedom of religion was violated because Gays and Lesbian’s could not marry in a civil ceremony, and the court said ‘The two are different things and your freedom of religion is not violated by that.’ So even though the court agreed with the equality claim they disagreed on that claim. The argument for Polygamy is based on freedom of Religion and that some religions support it. The idea...that civil marriage could infringe on that was rejected by the courts. Also there are problems with polygamy, namely that it suppresses women which goes against the charter, whereas equal marriage for same sex couples enhances qualities between the sexes, and the courts have found that there were no detrimental effects on anybody by allowing us to marry. They are very different cases."

There is a very real possibility when Parliament votes on this legislation that it could be defeated. The Globe and Mail recently surveyed Members of Parliament. 139 MPs said they would vote in favour of legislation, 118 MPs said they would vote against the legislation, and 49 are undecided, or would not state a position. To pass into law, the bill needs the support of 154 MPs.

"If the bill is defeated we are going to see many years of fighting. The opponents of equal marriage will be emboldened and will not stop at the defeat of the legislation, they will seek to roll back our right to marry, invoke the notwithstanding clause, constitutional amendments and referendums. Groups have already been set up to pursue these.  If the legislation passes this will be over, if it doesn’t we will be fighting for a long time."

However, despite that possibility, Arron and the organization are confident that the bill will pass, and will be another step further towards equality.

"Our vision is a world where there is no stigma to being LGBT. Marriage being exclusively heterosexual is a huge barrier to eliminating that stigma. I think once we have that right, the stigma will not be completely eliminated, but you will see a significant increase in acceptance of homosexuality, bisexuals and trans-identified people. It won’t happen instantly but it will be a major watershed in our acceptance by society, and life will improve for us."

Now is the time to root for the LGBT community and their friends, families and supporters, to step up to the plate and ensure that Canadian MP’s, especially those who have not yet decided, hear from them. Information on contacting MP’s is on Canadians for Equal Marriages website www.equal-marriage.ca.

"I would say that the vote count is very close, and it is really important that we make our voices heard because our opponents are. We need to contact, phone and meet with our MP’s and respectfully tell them this is the right thing to do."

Canadian’s For Equal Marriage

233 Gilmour Street, Ground Floor

Ottawa, ON  K2P 0P1

(613) 560-2600

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