The contents of Bishop Henry's second letter

Bishop Henry's recommendation concerning SSM in Alberta:

Bishop Henry concludes his letter with a discussion of same-sex marriage in the province of Alberta. He wrote:

"We don't have to wait for the federal government to act. We should renew the notwithstanding provision of the Alberta Defence of Marriage Act and add an amendment to the existing Marriage Act stating that in order for a marriage to be solemnized in Alberta and a marriage licence issued, the couple needs to be a man and a woman. The issuing of marriage licences is a provincial right and this is where our power resides."

The "notwithstanding" clause of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms -- Canada's constitution -- allows a government to pass legislation that violates certain parts of the Charter. Laws that are clearly unconstitutional can be implemented for a five year period at a time. But a provincial government can only do this within the limits of its jurisdiction. Bishop Henry may not have been aware that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the federal government has sole responsibility to determine who is eligible to marry. Thus, only the federal government could invoke the notwithstanding clause to ban same-sex marriages. Provincial responsibility extends only to the mechanics of issuing licenses to couples, licensing persons who are allowed to perform marriages, and recording marriages. Only the federal government is capable of using the notwithstanding clause to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples.

Premier Klein of Alberta did not take Bishop Henry's advice. His government transmitted a fax to all of the marriage license issuing offices within hours of SSM being legalized in Canada. It instructed the office personnel to start issuing licenses to same-sex couples. ₄

References used:

1. F.B. Henry, "On Same-Sex Marriage," 2005-JAN, at: http://www.rcdiocese-calgary.ab.ca/
2. Fred Henry, "We should lead fight for marriage," Calgary Sun, 2005-MAY-01, at: http://www.defendmarriage.ca/
3. "Pastoral Letter of Calgary Bishop Fred Henry Released May 1. Submitted to LifeSiteNews.com by Bishop Henry," LifeSiteNews, 2005-MAY-02, at: http://www.lifesite.net/
4. "Edmonton men first gay couple in Alberta to get marriage license," CBC News, 2005-JUL-21, at: http://www.cbc.ca/

Copyright © 2005 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally posted: 2005-JUL-15
Latest update: 2005-NOV-03
Author: B.A. Robinson

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