Prime Minister Paul Martin kicked off a historic debate on same-sex marriage in the House of Commons with a speech on protecting minority rights.
"Our deliberations will not be merely about a piece of legislation," Martin told the House of Commons Wednesday. "More deeply, it will be about the kind of nation we are today and the nation we want to be."
"This bill protects minority rights. This bill affirms the Charter guarantee of religious freedom. It's that straightforward and it's that important."
Martin affirmed that the controversial bill to legalize same-sex marriage, Bill C-38, will not impede religious freedom and will not force religious groups to perform unions against their beliefs.
"The facts are plain: Religious leaders who preside over marriage ceremonies must and will be guided by what they believe. If they do not wish to celebrate marriages for same-sex couples, that is their right. The Supreme Court says so and the Charter says so," Martin said.
The prime minister reiterated that his government is not interested in what some have called "the third option," i.e. civil unions for gays and lesbians.
"This would give same-sex couples many of the rights of a wedded couple, but their relationships would not legally be considered marriage. In other words, they would be equal, but not quite as equal as the rest of Canadians," Martin explained.
He added that his government will not hold a national referendum on this issue, "not out of a disregard for the view of the people, but because it offends the very purpose of the Charter."
"The Charter was enshrined to ensure that the rights of minorities are not subjected, are never subjected, to the will of the majority," Martin said.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper then rose in the House and said he does not believe that the legislation will adequately protect religious groups from having to marry gay couples against their will.
He accused the Liberal government of trying to abolish the traditional definition of marriage through what he called "intellectual dishonesty."
"I fundamentally do not believe that it is necessary to change the definition of marriage in order to accomodate the equality issues around same sex partners which now face us as Canadians," Harper said.
He said the prime minister was trying to paint those who don't agree with the Liberal position as people who aren't truly Canadian.
Harper added that he does not believe the Supreme Court said that traditional marriage is unconstitutional. His said his party believes civil unions would guarantee gays the same rights as marriage without redefining marriage.
Debate to take weeks
MPs supporting and opposing the proposed legislation will voice their opinions in the House during a debate that is expected to be spirited and lengthy.
The Globe and Mail has reported the debate could take weeks as Conservatives have indicated most of their MPs want to speak on the bill. Conservative Leader Stephen Harper opposes the legislation and wants to keep the traditional definition of marriage intact.
The NDP told The Globe it also expects to have several MPs speak on the legislation.
The majority of NDP and Bloc Quebecois MPs are expected to vote in support of the bill.
Once the debate is completed, the bill will then be sent to committee, which could also take weeks, meaning it could take until summer before the bill could come to a vote in the Commons.
The bill will need 154 votes to pass in the 308-seat Commons.
The minority Liberal government controls just 135 seats but all 38 members of Martin's cabinet are required to support the legislation.
As the MPs prepared to debate the bill, pressure from outside groups increased in a last-minute effort to sway the politicians. The Canadian Labour Congress released a statement on Wednesday urging MPs to "adopt the bill without delay."
"Canadian unionized workers have a long and proud history of standing up for same-sex relationships," Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress says in a statement.
"For us, it has always been a simple question about basic equality among workers and human rights under the law."
He called a delay on the passing of the bill "a gift to those who don't want Parliament to debate the relief from poverty, reform of Employment Insurance, a national child care program, the security of retirement income or a country-wide strategy to create sustainable family-supporting jobs."
On the other end of the spectrum on Tuesday, the Catholic Bishops of Canada demanded that Martin allow his cabinet ministers to participate in a free vote.
"Why rush into radically new legislation when there are such important long-term consequences for all society, and significant risk of dividing our country over freedom of conscience and religion?" says the letter from the group, signed by Rev. Brendan O'Brien.
Courts in seven provinces and one territory have found it unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the right to marry.
With files from The Canadian Press
