Religious leaders sign declaration on marriage.

Ottawa -- Demonstrating that marriage is far from a dead issue, as proponents of same-sex 'marriage' have been claiming, a contingent of 43 Canadian religious leaders in November signed a joint Declaration on Marriage on November 9, 2006.

"Our appeal today is that law and public policy recognize the essential and unique importance of marriage as the union of one man and one woman For the security, well-being and nurturing of children," said Catholic Church spokesman Archbishop Marcel Gervais of Ottawa. "As religious leaders from diverse Faith communities, we find common ground in affirming that the best interests of the child must prevail over adults' exercise of their liberty."

The groups pointed to the French National Assembly, which rejected 'gay marriage,' saying that the rights of children must prevail. Archbishop Gervais joined Rev. Ken Bellous of the Baptist Convention and Bruce Clemenger of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada in releasing the statement on Parliament Hill.

With the spectre of a vote in Parliament on whether to revisit the marriage issue, in the wake of the June 2005 legalization of same-sex 'marriage,' Canadian homosexual leaders are attempting to suppress debate. They claim "the same-sex 'marriage' ship has sailed" and have accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of appeasing his political support base (Reuters, Nov. 21, 2006).

A COMPAS Inc. poll conducted for the National Post and the Institute for Canadian Values revealed that a majority of Canadians want Parliament to act to protect freedom of religion and speech from the attacks of same-sex supporters. The survey, conducted October 18-27, showed 64% of Canadians think Parliament should review existing legislation to ensure freedom of religion is protected, while 24 percent opposed such an initiative (CCRL, Oct. 30, 2006).

A paper released by the Institute for Canadian Values, Canada's Same-Sex Marriage Law--The Case for Review (available online at http://www.canadianvalues.ca/documents/ Same-Sex_Marriage_Case_for Review.pdf), raises a number of reasons why the same-sex 'marriage' law needs re-examination. It points out that there was inadequate study of the bill; there was no free vote of parliamentarians; it will pose undesired legal consequences; it will lead church and state on a collision course; and it will impact children whose rights are pandered away.

Supporters of traditional marriage realize the importance of the parliamentary vote and that another opportunity to overturn the same-sex 'marriage' legislation may not present itself in the near future. On the other hand, as Canada Family Action Coalition executive director Brian Rushfeldt vowed at the National Marriage Caucus in Ottawa, even if supporters of traditional marriage lose this vote in Parliament, it will only embolden pro-family Canadians to intensify their efforts to remove from office anti-family MPs so as to ensure a pro-family Parliament overturns the legislation later in time.

Missing from the list of signatories to the declaration were the United, Anglican, Presbyterian and Lutheran communities, who have long since adopted an anti-family stance.