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Canada
Family Action Coalition (CFAC) calls into question the
usefulness of the Justice Committee after they decided
to send Bill C-250 back to the House of Commons with no
amendments, despite widespread opposition from Canadians.
"We
are appalled that no vote occured on Bill C-250, (the
vote that occurred was on a procedural matter)" says
Brian Rushfeldt, CFAC Executive Director. "Those
MPs who vote to support this bill in Parliament will be
demonstrating an absolute disregard for democracy. Our
organization alone has received and forwarded over 60,000
letters calling for the defeat of this bill, and we know
of thousands of other Canadians that have also voiced
their disagreement."
CFAC
is calling upon the Committee to make public the numbers
of Canadians who opposed or supported this Bill. "We
want to know exactly how many thousands of calls, emails,
and letters the Justice Clerk or other members of the
Committee received about this Bill. We also want to know
what kind of responses the MPs have received on this Bill."
The
dangers of this Bill seem to be of no concern to the Liberals,
Progressive Conservatives, Bloc and NDs, says Rushfeldt.
"The application of hate crime laws to opposition
of certain sexual behaviors is absurd. When courts start
interpreting loose language like sexual orientation, propagation
of hate, promotion of hate and even the undefined term
'hate' itself to the issues of sexual behavior such as
sodomy, we will certainly anticipate bizarre rulings from
the courts. The loose language in this Bill creates a
danger for everyone, including educational institutions,
doctors, religious groups, media and every citizen who
holds to a moral standard on sexual behavior.”
CFAC Staff, family activist, pointed out "the practical
reality of 'human rights tribunals' and certain court
rulings to date is to interpret the expression of opinion
that homosexuality is immoral or wrong as 'hateful'. In
a world of judicial activism coming from the courts, it's
just a matter of time until the upholding or expressing
of an opinion or belief that homosexuality is wrong, immoral
or unhealthy will be considered hateful and thus a crime."
"Parliament
now will be held responsible as a whole for whether this
dangerous legislation is ever passed into law," says
Beyer. " I believe Canadian dissatisfaction will
surface on this issue and there will be a backlash over
a law that restricts freedom of speech and freedom of
religion and conscience. This Private Member Bill should
have been defeated before it ever got to this stage."
Beyer
adds, " I would hope that Parliamentarians in general
have the good sense to defeat this bill as it comes for
third and final reading, but given the pattern of undemocratic
processes routinely utilized by this government, we wouldn't
be surprised if this bill gets manipulated through Parliament
in the same way as has been done through the Justice Committee.
It is truly a sad day for democracy in Canada.”
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For more information, contact:
Brian Rushfeldt: (403) 519-1497
CFAC Staff: (780) 408-3072
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