Speech (House debate)

{
    "time": "2006-12-06 18:30:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Hon. Stockwell Day (Minister of Public Safety, CPC)",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"336044\" data-originallang=\"en\">First, Mr. Speaker, I would amend that last proposition; I do not think it is even a corollary. I have seen cases where two people have thought the same way on one issue and they have both been wrong, so neither of them were thinking. That can happen also.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"336045\" data-originallang=\"en\">I am talking about this particular motion before us. I am talking about the definition of marriage. I am talking about the fact that I think all of us would agree that in terms of a cultural and social change this is the most significant one we have ever seen in our lifetime.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"336046\" data-originallang=\"en\"> On a matter of such great import, the <a data-HoCid=\"78738\" href=\"/politicians/stephen-harper/\" title=\"Stephen Harper\">Prime Minister</a> quite rightly recognized that this is an area that can affect people's consciences and religious beliefs and can affect people who do not claim to be people of faith but who still have some very strongly held views about this. It is such a huge change, with implications which we cannot even fully comprehend yet, that it should be a free vote. That is what I am talking about, not a host of other votes on other issues. I am talking about this key issue.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"336047\" data-originallang=\"en\">As for the fact that a former federal leader would have kicked somebody out of his cabinet on that particular issue when the man just wanted to say that he believed in defining marriage as between a man and a woman, we have people in our cabinet who have taken a different view from the <a data-HoCid=\"78738\" href=\"/politicians/stephen-harper/\" title=\"Stephen Harper\">Prime Minister</a> on this. We will see that manifested, I am sure, when the vote comes.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"336048\" data-originallang=\"en\">The fact of the matter is that our Prime Minister believes in democracy and is allowing a free vote on this. The new leader of the Liberals came out very strongly and said he was not going to allow a free vote. He appears to be a man who is able to listen to reason. He changed his mind on that just recently and I am pleased at that.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"336049\" data-originallang=\"en\">As I have already said, the leader of the NDP stripped a caucus member of her responsibilities. He said that he was glad she was staying silent when she wanted to speak. As well, the leader of the Bloc is not letting people vote freely on this.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"336050\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Those are just the facts of the matter. I think it is a travesty of democracy on such an important issue. It should be noted that on this particular issue there is no monolithic view in any one particular community. In the heterosexual community, there are those who think the definition of marriage should be retained as between a man and a woman, but there are also others in the heterosexual community who do not think that. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"336051\" data-originallang=\"en\">In the homosexual community, there are those who think the marriage definition should be changed, but there are others, some of whom have lobbied me, who say that we should not change the definition of marriage--</p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"336044\" data-originallang=\"en\">D\u2019abord, monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident, je voudrais nuancer cette derni\u00e8re affirmation; je ne pense pas qu\u2019il s\u2019agisse m\u00eame d\u2019un corollaire. J\u2019ai vu des cas o\u00f9 deux personnes pensaient la m\u00eame chose sur une question et o\u00f9 elles avaient toutes les deux tort. Donc, ni l\u2019une ni l\u2019autre n\u2019avait r\u00e9fl\u00e9chi. Cela peut arriver aussi.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"336045\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Ce dont je veux parler, c\u2019est express\u00e9ment de la motion dont nous sommes saisis. Je veux parler de la d\u00e9finition du mariage. Je veux parler du fait que ce changement culturel et social est le plus important, nous en conviendrons tous, que nous ayons connu de toute notre vie.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"336046\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Sur une question qui rev\u00eat une aussi grande importance, le <a data-HoCid=\"78738\" href=\"/politicians/stephen-harper/\" title=\"Stephen Harper\">premier ministre</a> a reconnu \u00e0 tr\u00e8s juste titre qu\u2019il s\u2019agit d\u2019un changement susceptible de toucher la conscience et les croyances religieuses des gens, qui peut \u00e9galement toucher les personnes qui ne se disent pas croyants, mais qui n\u2019en ont pas moins des opinions solidement arr\u00eat\u00e9es \u00e0 ce sujet. C\u2019est un changement tellement \u00e9norme -- dont il ne nous est encore m\u00eame pas possible de saisir toutes les implications -- qu\u2019il devrait faire l\u2019objet d\u2019un vote libre. Voil\u00e0 ce dont je veux parler, pas d\u2019une foule d\u2019autres votes qui ont \u00e9t\u00e9 tenus sur d\u2019autres questions. Je veux parler de cette question d\u2019importance capitale.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"336047\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Quant au fait qu\u2019un ancien chef f\u00e9d\u00e9ral ait vir\u00e9 quelqu\u2019un de son Cabinet sur cette question pr\u00e9cise, alors que cet homme voulait simplement dire qu\u2019il croyait que le mariage devrait \u00eatre d\u00e9fini comme une union entre un homme et une femme, il se trouve que nous avons des gens dans notre Cabinet qui ne sont pas du m\u00eame avis que le premier ministre sur cette question. Nous le verrons bien, j\u2019en suis s\u00fbr, quand viendra le moment de voter.<a class=\"related_link politician\" data-HoCid=\"78738\" href=\"http://www.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=78738&amp;Language=F\"></a></p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"336048\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Le fait est que notre premier ministre croit en la d\u00e9mocratie et qu\u2019il permet un vote libre sur cette question. Le nouveau chef des lib\u00e9raux a d\u2019abord pris fermement position et d\u00e9clar\u00e9 qu\u2019il ne permettrait pas un vote libre. Il semble \u00eatre un homme capable d\u2019entendre raison. Il a chang\u00e9 d\u2019id\u00e9e \u00e0 ce propos tout r\u00e9cemment, et j\u2019en suis ravi.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"336049\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Comme je l\u2019ai d\u00e9j\u00e0 dit, le chef du NPD a emp\u00each\u00e9 une d\u00e9put\u00e9e de son caucus d\u2019assumer ses responsabilit\u00e9s. Il a dit qu\u2019il \u00e9tait heureux qu\u2019elle se taise, alors qu\u2019elle aurait bien voulu intervenir. De m\u00eame, le chef du Bloc ne laisse pas ses d\u00e9put\u00e9s voter librement sur cette question. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"336050\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Voil\u00e0 ce \u00e0 quoi nous assistons. Je crois que, sur une question aussi importante, nous avons l\u00e0 un accroc \u00e0 la d\u00e9mocratie. On notera que, sur cette question, il n\u2019y a pas d\u2019opinion monolithique o\u00f9 que ce soit dans la soci\u00e9t\u00e9. Dans la communaut\u00e9 h\u00e9t\u00e9rosexuelle, il y a ceux qui pensent que la d\u00e9finition du mariage devrait \u00eatre maintenue comme \u00e9tant l\u2019union entre un homme et une femme, mais il y en a aussi d\u2019autres qui pensent autrement. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"336051\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Dans la communaut\u00e9 homosexuelle, il y a ceux qui pensent que la d\u00e9finition du mariage devrait \u00eatre modifi\u00e9e, mais il y en a d\u2019autres, dont certains ont exerc\u00e9 des pressions sur moi, qui disent que nous ne devrions pas changer la d\u00e9finition du mariage\u2026</p>"
    },
    "url": "/debates/2006/12/6/stockwell-day-16/",
    "politician_url": "/politicians/stockwell-day/",
    "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/1282/",
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "1823539",
    "h1": {
        "en": "Government Orders",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "h2": {
        "en": "Marriage",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "document_url": "/debates/2006/12/6/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2006%2F12%2F6%2F"
    }
}