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Canadian Homosexual Hate Crimes Bill Successfully Delayed Until at Least April 20

Bill will die if federal election is called in the meantime

OTTAWA, April 1, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A very exhausted Senator Ann Cools told LifeSiteNews.com Thursday evening that pro-family forces carried the day in the Senate on Bill C-250. The pro-family Senators' speeches and voting on their amendments prevented a final vote by using up all the time available before the Senate Easter recess which has now begun.

The bill, which would add 'sexual orientation' to Canada's hate crimes law, is delayed now until the Senate's scheduled return on April 20. C-250 could be permanently dead if the government calls an election in the meantime, which appears quite possible.

The small group of pro-family Senators, led especially by the fearless Liberal Senator Cools, worked intensely this week, using every tactic available to them, to delay a vote on C-250 with the hope that the Easter recess and an election call would cause the bill to die.

Asked if the public lobbying against the bill was a big factor in the government's inability to pass the measure this week, Cools responded, "I have no doubt." The pro-family Senator also emphasized that one very welcome development was that Conservative Senators unexpectedly came on side as a group Thursday and opposed the bill. Up to that time Cools and company had little support from most Conservative Senators.

One political analyst suggested the Liberal government, which strongly supports the demands of gay activists, may have had second thoughts about passing the bill just before an election call, considering the strong, on-going public opposition to the legislation. As well, the last minute move by the Conservative Senators to oppose the bill would have made the Liberals completely responsible for the unpopular bill's passage. This could have been seen to risk losing critical votes in what is expected to be a close election.

A call to LifeSiteNews.com today from Joanne Carroll of Thunder Bay gave an insight into the pressure the Senators were under from the public this week. Mrs. Carroll called the office of Senator Jerahmiel S. Grafstein of Ontario on Tuesday to urge the Senator to oppose C-250. Carroll got an earful from the Senator's unhappy assistant who complained that the phone had been ringing all day, that she couldn't get her work done and couldn't keep up with writing all the letters responding to opponents of the bill. She had sent over a thousand letters so far. The assistant also made it plain, said Carroll, that she was very annoyed with the bill's opponents. She told Carroll that the passages on homosexuality in the old testament are outdated and that Christians, who preach love and compassion, are forcing homosexuals to commit suicide. After more statements to, as Mrs. Carroll said, "put more guilt on Christians" for opposing C-250, the assistant hung up on her.

Pro-family, religious and free speech groups are breathing a huge sigh of relief for the moment. The totalitarian type amendment to Canada's criminal law was perceived as a serious threat to free speech and freedom of religion.

To see all previous LifeSiteNews.com stories on C-250 enter C-250 into the lifesite search window at
http://www.lifesite.net/

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