A rchive Date
[ 22-09-2003 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Canada ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/jenkinson.html
Bow down before the Charter of Rights
By MICHAEL JENKINSON -- Edmonton Sun
September 22, 2003
Canada's Parliament has been hijacked by members of a fundamentalist religion that adheres to the strictest interpretation possible of its holy writings.
And no, I'm not talking about the Catholics, Protestants and other followers of the Christian faith who sit in the House of Commons. I'm referring to the Disciples of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a new sect that holds the charter to be sacred as it is interpreted exclusively by their perfect spiritual guides, the judges of Canada.
Almost without fail, the MPs who last week voted against the Canadian Alliance motion to uphold the traditional heterosexual definition of marriage said that Parliament must legalize same-sex marriage because the courts have decreed it to be so - thy will be done in Parliament as it is in chambers.
Much was made of the fact that in 1999, the same motion was overwhelmingly passed by the same government and that numerous Liberal MPs flip-flopped on their votes between then and now. Justice Minister Martin Cauchon, for instance, admitted that in 1999 he voted in favour of upholding heterosexual marriage, but last week voted against traditional marriage: "As for whether the current definition of marriage infringes on the charter guarantees of equality, the courts have been clear and consistent. It does."
And that alone explains the sudden change of heart in the attitudes of the many MPs who are Disciples of the Charter. Their spiritual guides told them that gay marriage was a human right as revealed in the holy Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Having had the word handed down from upon high, the only response of the Disciples is to bow down in worship, because like any good fundamentalist sect, independent thought and interpretation of the holy text is not permitted and obedience to the teachings of the spiritual leaders is prized above all.
That's hyperbole, but only barely. Indeed, it's startling to see just how many MPs seem unwilling to even entertain the thought that the courts have erred in legalizing gay marriage.
University of Calgary political scientist Ted Morton made a similar point in a recent National Post column. "The charter means what the judges say it means," he wrote. "But if this were the case, then our judges have ceased to be mere mortals and have achieved god-like infallibility."
Certainly, that's how those who voted against in the Alliance motion in Parliament are acting. Prime Minister Jean Chretien admits to being personally uncomfortable with gay marriage, but the courts have ruled and so he must obey. We will "never use the notwithstanding clause," he has decreed, to override a judicial edict regarding the charter.
Vancouver MP and charter disciple Hedy Fry even implied that it's necessary for judges to rule Canada via the charter because the public doesn't trust sinful parliamentarians. Citing a Globe and Mail series from earlier this summer, she said that "people under 34 have now come to believe that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the rule of law are of primary value for our country. They have said that they do not trust Parliament. We need to think about that. They trust the charter and the rule of law ahead of us in Parliament. We have made mistakes in the House. In this great House we have seen that we have created laws that were wrong and we sought to change them."
Bloc MP Richard Marceau also fell prostrate in obedience, though I doubt whether he realized the inherent contradiction in his own argument. "These same three courts also ruled that, in a free and democratic society, changes to this definition (of marriage) could not be prevented," he said, oblivious to how a free and democratic society could not possibly have a choice in the matter.
Of course, the thought that judges can never misinterpret the Constitution is absurd. That's why we have appeal courts, after all, because judges make mistakes. And Morton pointed out in his piece that American judges once ruled African slaves weren't human, and their counterparts in Canada once decreed that women weren't persons. Ah, but that was before the wisdom of the charter, the sacred text by which Canada is ruled.
All the Disciples of the Charter need now is a good-sized coliseum and a few lions in order to deal with the heathen unbelievers.
Michael Jenkinson can be reached by e-mail at mj@the-newsroom.com.
His homepage is at http://www.the-newsroom.com Letters to the editor should be sent to letters@edm.sunpub.com
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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