Civil Marriage Act
Encyclopedia
The Civil Marriage Act was legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...

 legalizing same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage in Canada
On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition...

 across Canada. At the time the bill became law, same-sex marriage had already been legalized by court decisions in all Canadian provinces except Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 and Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

, as well as in the Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....

 Territory.

It was introduced as Bill C-38 in the first session of the 38th Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 Parliament
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...

 on February 1, 2005. It passed the House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 on June 28, 2005, and the Senate
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...

 on July 19, 2005. The Act became law when it received Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...

 on July 20, 2005.

As with all federal legislation in Canada, the Act is written in both French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 and English, with equal force. The French title is , or in full, .

The Act

This is the Act's official legislative summary:
This enactment
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 extends the legal capacity for marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 for civil
Civil law (common law)
Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...

 purposes to same-sex couples in order to reflect values of tolerance, respect and equality
Social equality
Social equality is a social state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in a certain respect. At the very least, social equality includes equal rights under the law, such as security, voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, and the...

, consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982...

. It also makes consequential amendment
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

s to other Acts to ensure equal access for same-sex couples to the civil effects of marriage and divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

.


The short title
Short title
The short title is the formal name by which a piece of primary legislation may by law be cited in the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions , as well as the United States. It contrasts with the long title which, while usually being more fully descriptive of the...

 of the act (Civil Marriage Act) is defined in Section 1. Sections 2 through 4 form the substance of the Act, and were the key points of contention during its debate in the House of Commons and the Senate. Section 3.1 was added with an amendment during the committee stage, and was subsequently adopted by the House of Commons.
Marriage - certain aspects of capacity

2. Marriage, for civil purposes, is the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others.

Religious officials

3. It is recognized that officials of religious groups are free to refuse to perform marriages that are not in accordance with their religious beliefs.

Freedom of conscience and religion and expression of beliefs

3.1 For greater certainty, no person or organization shall be deprived of any benefit, or be subject to any obligation or sanction, under any law of the Parliament of Canada solely by reason of their exercise, in respect of marriage between persons of the same sex, of the freedom of conscience and religion guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982...

or the expression of their beliefs in respect of marriage as the union of a man and woman to the exclusion of all others based on that guaranteed freedom.

Marriage not void or voidable

4. For greater certainty, a marriage is not void or voidable by reason only that the spouses are of the same sex.


The remaining sections are "consequential amendments" that simply adjust the wording of existing acts to conform to this one.

Politics

As a government bill, C-38 represented the official position of Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....

's Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 government, and the cabinet
Cabinet of Canada
The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada...

 were thus bound to vote in its favour. Liberal backbencher
Backbencher
In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...

s and members of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

 and Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...

had a free vote. In accordance with its party policy on LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 rights, the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

 (NDP) whipped
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...

 its members in favour. Bev Desjarlais
Bev Desjarlais
Bev Desjarlais is a retired Canadian politician. She represented Churchill in the Canadian House of Commons from 1997 to 2006, initially as a New Democrat and later as an Independent after losing her party nomination in late 2005...

 defied the whip and was removed from her critic position. (She was not nominated for the next election by her riding association
Riding association
In Canadian politics a riding association , officially called an electoral district association is the basic unit of a political party, that is it is the party's organization at the level of the electoral district, or "riding"...

, and subsequently chose to sit as an independent for the remainder of the session.) Conservatives tended to vote against the Act, while Bloquistes tended to vote in favour. At least two cabinet ministers stepped down to vote against the bill. Joe Comuzzi
Joe Comuzzi
Joseph Robert "Joe" Comuzzi, PC is a former Canadian politician.Comuzzi was born in Fort William, Ontario. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Windsor in 1954. In 1966, Comuzzi received the University of Windsor Alumni Award of Merit, the Alumni Association's most...

 resigned just hours before the final vote on the Act, and Martin lamented his leaving. As expected, Comuzzi voted against the Act.

The composition of Parliament was such that the prevailing opinion among political commentators indicated the bill
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....

 would likely pass the House (see a detailed analysis at members of the 38th Canadian Parliament and same-sex marriage
Members of the 38th Canadian Parliament and same-sex marriage
This article lists the members of the 38th Parliament of Canada and how they voted on Bill C-38, now known as the Civil Marriage Act. Bill C-38 amended the Marriage Act of Canada to recognize same-sex marriage . The 38th Parliament began with the federal election of June 28, 2004, and was dissolved...

). Although there was some challenge to it, this opinion was verified with a 158-133 vote at third reading in the House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 on June 28. The bill passed in the Senate
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...

 on July 19, with a 47-21 vote, with 3 abstentions.

The legislative process

The bill was given its first reading on February 1, 2005 after its introduction by Justice minister
Minister of Justice (Canada)
The Minister of Justice is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Department of Justice and is also Attorney General of Canada .This cabinet position is usually reserved for someone with formal legal training...

 Irwin Cotler
Irwin Cotler
Irwin Cotler, PC, OC, MP was Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 2003 until the Liberal government of Paul Martin lost power following the 2006 federal election. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the constituency of Mount Royal in a by-election...

. C-38 was written on the basis of a draft bill produced by then-Justice minister Martin Cauchon
Martin Cauchon
Martin Cauchon, PC is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He is a former Liberal Cabinet Minister.Cauchon was born in La Malbaie, Quebec and studied law at the University of Ottawa and the University of Exeter...

 in 2003, which had been submitted to the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...

 in December 2004 as the reference question
Reference question
In Canadian law, a Reference Question is a submission by the federal or a provincial government to the courts asking for an advisory opinion on a major legal issue. Typically the question concerns the constitutionality of legislation....

 Re: Same-Sex Marriage.

Due to the government's tenuous minority position, there was a strong possibility that the government could have fallen on a motion of confidence through the budget bills, causing the bill to die on the order paper. It would then have been up to a new post-election government to re-introduce the bill affirming same-sex marriage (or to introduce a bill, of uncertain constitutionality, defining marriage as one man and one woman). However, the government survived the last of the budget votes on June 23, 2005, and successfully passed a motion to extend the current sitting of Parliament. In order to pass the motion extending the session, the Liberals provided a written promise to the Bloc Québécois that they would bring C-38 to a vote before the end of the current session.

Finally, on June 28, the Act was passed on third reading by the House of Commons; 158 voting in favour, 133 voting against. On July 19, it passed the Senate by a 47-21 vote with 3 abstentions, and received Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...

 (thereby becoming law) on July 20.

A summary of the legislation's progress is given below.
Stage House of Commons Senate
Introduction and First Reading 1 February 2005 June 29
Second Reading Debate February 16 to May 4 July 4 to 6
Second Reading May 4 July 6
Committee Name Special Committee on Bill C-38 Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Committee Stage May 5 to June 15 July 11 to 14
Committee Report June 16 July 18
Debates at Report Stage June 27 -
Report Stage Vote June 28 -
Third Reading Debate June 28 July 19
Third Reading and Passage June 28 July 19
Royal Assent July 20

House of Commons

  • February 1, 2005 - Cotler introduces the bill and the House grants first reading. Accordingly, it is designated Bill C-38 and published.
  • February 2, 2005 - Conservative support for the bill doubles to four MPs as former Progressive Conservatives
    Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
    The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

     Jim Prentice
    Jim Prentice
    James "Jim" Prentice, PC, QC is a Canadian lawyer, and politician. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a candidate of the Conservative Party of Canada...

     and Gerald Keddy
    Gerald Keddy
    Gerald Gordon Keddy is a Canadian politician. Keddy is a former Christmas tree grower, and offshore drill operator. He is currently serving as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade Canada. His wife, Judy Streatch, is a former Nova Scotia MLA and cabinet minister.-Life...

     announce they will vote in favour. Belinda Stronach
    Belinda Stronach
    Belinda Caroline Stronach, PC is a Canadian businessperson, philanthropist and former politician. She was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons from 2004 to 2008. Originally elected as a Conservative, she later crossed the floor to join the Liberals...

     (who later became a Liberal cabinet minister) and James Moore
    James Moore (Canadian politician)
    James Moore, PC, MP is the Canadian Member of Parliament for Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam. He is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada...

     were already on record as being in favour.
  • February 8, 2005 - The Calgary
    Calgary
    Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

    -based Canada Family Action Coalition seeks to boycott Famous Players Theatres because of a ten-second ad that urged moviegoers to contact their MP
    Member of Parliament
    A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

    s to say they support same-sex marriage. They refused to buy an ad when they learn it was paid for by Salah Bachir
    Salah Bachir
    Salah Bachir is a Canadian philanthropist, patron of the arts, entrepreneur, magazine publisher and the President of Cineplex Media, which represents 95% of cinema advertising in Canada...

     on behalf of Canadians for Equal Marriage
    Canadians for Equal Marriage
    Canadians for Equal Marriage is a Canadian public interest group representing Egale Canada, PFLAG Canada, the Canadian Federation of Students, the Canadian Labour Congress, the Canadian Psychological Association, the Canadian Association of University Teachers, and the Canadian Association of...

    .
  • February 16, 2005 - Second reading begins on the bill with speeches by Prime Minister
    Prime Minister of Canada
    The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

     Paul Martin
    Paul Martin
    Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....

    ; Opposition Leader
    Leader of the Opposition (Canada)
    The Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , or simply the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of Canada's Official Opposition, the party with the most seats in the House of Commons that is not a member of the government...

     Stephen Harper
    Stephen Harper
    Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

    ; Bloc Québécois
    Bloc Québécois
    The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...

    leader Gilles Duceppe
    Gilles Duceppe
    Gilles Duceppe is a Canadian politician, and proponent of the Québec sovereignty movement. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for almost 15 years. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean...

    ; and NDP
    New Democratic Party
    The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

     human rights critic
    New Democratic Party Shadow Cabinet
    This is a list of members of the New Democratic Party Shadow Cabinet of the 40th Canadian parliament. Positions in the shadow cabinet were announced on November 17, 2008, and include all 37 members of the New Democratic Party caucus in the Canadian House of Commons except Joe Comartin who was...

     Bill Siksay
    Bill Siksay
    William Livingstone Siksay, former MP is a Canadian politician, and was the Member of Parliament who represented the British Columbia riding of Burnaby—Douglas for the New Democratic Party from 2004 to 2011.Receiving his high school diploma from McLaughlin Collegiate and Vocational Institute in...

    .
  • April 12, 2005 - The Conservative Party
    Conservative Party of Canada
    The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

    's motion
    Motion (democracy)
    A motion is a formal step to introduce a matter for consideration by a group. It is a common concept in the procedure of trade unions, students' unions, corporations, and other deliberative assemblies...

     against the bill is defeated 164-132 against.
  • May 4, 2005 - Bill C-38 passes second reading in the House of Commons with a final vote of 164-137 for.
  • May 5, 2005 - Bill C-38 has its 1st special legislative committee meeting to study the bill, to listen from witnesses both against and for the bill, as well as propose amendments.
  • May 19, 2005 - Paul Martin's minority government
    Minority government
    A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...

     survives a close (153-152) motion of confidence; with the Liberals still in power and Stephen Harper's Conservatives hinting that they'll back off future votes of non-confidence. Bill C-38 showed a strong promise of being made law (after a 3rd reading and vote) sometime before Parliament
    Parliament of Canada
    The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...

     adjourns for the summer as the Prime Minister indicated MPs may sit in the summer, and the Senate would deal with the bill in July.
  • June 15, 2005 - Paul Martin's minority government
    Minority government
    A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...

     survives no fewer than 16 confidence votes in the House of Commons. A defeat on any of them would have forced an election. But in the end, there was no repeat of the single-vote squeaker win of May 19. The closest vote passed 153 to 149; Gurmant Grewal
    Gurmant Grewal
    Gurmant Singh Grewal, is a Canadian politician and former Conservative Party of Canada Member of Parliament. Gurmant and his wife, Nina Grewal, were the first married couple to serve in the Canadian House of Commons at the same time...

     is on stress leave over the tape scandal, two other conservative MPs are sick with cancer, and Thibault from the BQ is away due to the passing away of her father. As well, a series of public opinion polls released just days earlier all showed the Liberals in the lead, one of them released just a week ago showing the Liberals have a 14% lead over the Tories. The Tories seem themselves to not be wanting an election now, either.
  • June 15, 2005 - It is appearing less likely the bill will be out of 3rd reading stage by the time MPs recess from the summer on June 23 (unless sittings area extended) due to Conservatives stalling the budget bill (C-48), and the Government wants to deal with C-48 before C-38. The Government can invoke closure and force a vote on C-38 immediately, but it seems unlikely to happen since even the Liberal Government has disgruntled MPs against C-38 that want more debate now that the committee has reported. Weeks ago, Pat O'Brien left the Liberal caucus over the same-sex marriage legislation, that he felt was being rushed through the Commons. Cotler says the Government is where they expected to be which is now at Report Stage and that although he wants to see the legislation passed by the summer, he's only the Minister of Justice.
  • June 16, 2005 - The special legislative committee studying C-38 reported back to the House of Commons, with an amendment designed to help further protect religious officials who are against performing a same-sex marriage, and that those opposed to same-sex marriage should be able to speak their mind. Another amendment will be finalized soon that protects religious officials from losing their charitable tax status.
  • June 23, 2005 - Traditionally, it is around this date that the House of Commons closes. But with Bill C-38 in the process, MPs of the Liberal, Bloc and NDP parties vote to extend the sitting time through the following week to pass Bill C-38 in third and final reading. The same night, the budget bill (Bill C-48) passes after a late night snap vote is called, ending the threat by Bill C-38 opponents to derail the bill by defeating the budget thereby bringing down the government
    Loss of Supply
    Loss of supply occurs where a government in a parliamentary democracy using the Westminster System or a system derived from it is denied a supply of treasury or exchequer funds, by whichever house or houses of parliament or head of state is constitutionally entitled to grant and deny supply. A...

     and forcing a general election.
  • June 27, 2005 - A late night motion for time allocation
    Cloture
    In parliamentary procedure, cloture is a motion or process aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. It is also called closure or, informally, a guillotine. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. Clôture is French for "ending" or "conclusion"...

     is passed 163 to 106 limiting further debate on Bill C-38 to nine hours: one before concurrence on the report and eight thereafter. The sitting, which extended until the early morning hours of the next day, ends with a series of votes on proposed amendments in which nine amendments proposed by same-sex marriage opponents are defeated. The report is then concurred in. This closes the amendment stage and frees the House to begin final debate on third reading.
  • June 28, 2005 - Bill C-38 passes its final reading a few minutes after 21:00 EST, 158-133, through the House of Commons. Liberal cabinet ministers were ordered by Prime Minister Paul Martin
    Paul Martin
    Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....

     to vote for the legislation, while it remained a free vote for Liberal backbench MPs. Joe Comuzzi
    Joe Comuzzi
    Joseph Robert "Joe" Comuzzi, PC is a former Canadian politician.Comuzzi was born in Fort William, Ontario. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Windsor in 1954. In 1966, Comuzzi received the University of Windsor Alumni Award of Merit, the Alumni Association's most...

    , a traditional opponent of same-sex marriage, resigned from Cabinet and voted against the bill. Almost all New Democrat
    New Democratic Party
    The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

     and Bloc Québécois
    Bloc Québécois
    The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...

    MPs voted in favour of the bill, while the Conservative MPs were virtually unanimous in voting against it. Stephen Harper
    Stephen Harper
    Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

     made a controversial claim that "the law lacks legitimacy because it passed [only] with the support of the separatist Bloc party", and a majority of the federalist side was against. NDP MP Bev Desjarlais
    Bev Desjarlais
    Bev Desjarlais is a retired Canadian politician. She represented Churchill in the Canadian House of Commons from 1997 to 2006, initially as a New Democrat and later as an Independent after losing her party nomination in late 2005...

     is stripped of her position in the NDP's shadow cabinet
    Shadow Cabinet
    The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...

     as Transport and the Canadian Wheat Board
    Canadian Wheat Board
    The Canadian Wheat Board was established by the Parliament of Canada on 5 July 1935 as a mandatory producer marketing system for wheat and barley in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and a small part of British Columbia...

    . She later lost her riding association
    Riding association
    In Canadian politics a riding association , officially called an electoral district association is the basic unit of a political party, that is it is the party's organization at the level of the electoral district, or "riding"...

    's nomination for the riding of Churchill
    Churchill (electoral district)
    Churchill is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1935. It covers northern Manitoba, a vast wilderness area dotted with small municipalities and First Nations reserves...

    . The Bloc and the Conservatives declared C-38 a free vote.

Senate

  • June 29, 2005 - First reading of Bill C-38 occurred in the Senate
    Canadian Senate
    The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...

    . Debate on second reading was then scheduled for July 4 and the forthcoming days.
  • July 4, 2005 - The debate on second reading begins with Senator Serge Joyal
    Serge Joyal
    Serge Joyal, PC, OC, OQ is a Canadian Senator. A lawyer by profession, Joyal served as vice-president of the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party of Canada...

     as mover of the bill. Senator Gerry St. Germain
    Gerry St. Germain
    Gerry St. Germain, PC is a Canadian politician.St. Germain had various jobs prior to entering politics, working variously as a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, police officer , building contractor, businessman and poultry farmer. Born in Manitoba, he moved to British Columbia.A strong Tory...

     argues against the bill and Senator Jack Austin
    Jack Austin
    Jacob "Jack" Austin, PC, OBC is a Canadian former politician and former member of the Canadian Senate. He was appointed to the upper house by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau on August 8, 1975 and represented British Columbia. At the time of his retirement he was the longest serving Senator.-Life...

     concludes the first day of debate arguing for the bill's adoption. The government introduces a notice of motion for time allocation
    Cloture
    In parliamentary procedure, cloture is a motion or process aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. It is also called closure or, informally, a guillotine. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. Clôture is French for "ending" or "conclusion"...

     that would restrict debate on the bill to six hours. Debate on second reading is to continue the next day.
  • July 5, 2005 - Debate on second reading continued, although the actual debate occurred only for a few minues. This was then followed by a long and heated debate on whether to invoke closure
    Closure
    Closure may refer to:* Closure used to seal a bottle, jug, jar, can, or other container** Closure , a stopper* Closure , the process by which an organization ceases operations...

     (rather than on the main bill). Closure was invoked by a margin of 40 to 17 with 2 abstentions.
  • July 6, 2005 - The Senate passed Bill C-38 on second reading by a margin of 43 to 12. The Bill went to the Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs.
  • July 14, 2005 - The Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs finished seeing witnesses, and performed a clause-by-clause consideration
    Clause-by-clause consideration
    Clause-by-clause consideration is the consideration of a bill on an in-depth basis, considering each clause in a separate division of debate...

    .
  • July 18, 2005 - The Committee reported back to the Senate without amendment, and the final debate was then scheduled to start the next day. Unanimous consent required to proceed directly to a vote on third reading was denied.
  • July 19, 2005 - Debate on third reading of Bill C-38 began in the Senate. An attempt to delay third reading of the bill by six months was defeated 19 to 52, and an amendment to the bill that would have declared "traditional marriage" as being between a man and a woman and "civil marriage" as between two persons failed, 24 to 46, with 4 abstentions. Shortly after 11 p.m., the Senate passed Bill C-38 on third and final reading by a margin of 47 to 21, with 3 abstentions.

Royal Assent

  • July 20, 2005 - At 4:56 p.m., Bill C-38 receives Royal Assent
    Royal Assent
    The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...

     from Chief Justice
    Chief Justice of Canada
    The Chief Justice of Canada, like the eight puisne Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, is appointed by the Governor-in-Council . All nine are chosen from either sitting judges or barristers who have at least ten years' standing at the bar of a province or territory...

     Beverley McLachlin
    Beverley McLachlin
    Beverley McLachlin, PC is the Chief Justice of Canada, the first woman to hold this position. She also serves as a Deputy of the Governor General of Canada.-Early life:...

     (in her capacity as a Deputy of the Governor General of Canada) acting on behalf of convalescing Governor General
    Governor General of Canada
    The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...

     Adrienne Clarkson
    Adrienne Clarkson
    Adrienne Louise Clarkson is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 26th since Canadian Confederation....

     and is proclaimed into law.

See also

  • 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 . The 39th Parliament was elected at the federal election of January 23, 2006...

     - tracking current MPs
  • Bill C-250 - a 2003 bill criminalizing hate propaganda based on sexual orientation
  • Civil marriage
    Civil marriage
    Civil marriage is marriage performed by a government official and not a religious organization.-History:Every country maintaining a population registry of its residents keeps track of marital status, and most countries believe that it is their responsibility to register married couples. Most...

  • Marriage Act
    Marriage Act
    -Australia:-Canada:-New ZealandSouth Africa:-Australia::The Marriage Act 1961, Australia's law that governs legal marriage.-Canada::The Civil Marriage Act passed in Canada explicitly permitting same-sex marriages.-New Zealand:...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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