CANADIANS WANT REFERENDUM ON SSM: Press release

(Angus Reid Consultants - CPOD Global Scan) Many adults in Canada want to get directly involved in the decisions regarding same-sex marriage, according to a poll by Compas Inc. for the National Post and Global National. 67 per cent of respondents believe the issue should be settled in a national referendum among all Canadians.

Over the past two years, the courts in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Yukon, and Newfoundland and Labrador have ruled to permit legal same-sex marriages. On Dec. 9, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of allowing the federal government to go ahead with a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage. The country's foremost tribunal said the constitution protects the rights of homosexual partners to formalize their bonds. 66 per cent of respondents support keeping the definition of marriage as "a union of one woman and one man to the exclusion of all others."

On Feb. 1, the government introduced legislation aimed at legalizing same-sex marriage in the entire country. Prime minister Paul Martin has guaranteed Liberal party members a "free vote" on the bill. The governing Liberals currently control 134 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons.

Public opinion appears divided on how to grant legal status for gay and lesbian unions. 36 per cent of respondents believe lawmakers should keep the existing legal definition of marriage and set up a separate legal category that includes same-sex unions but would not be called marriage, 35 per cent believe the legal definition of marriage should be changed to include the union of any two persons, regardless of their gender, while 29 per cent are opposed to any law recognizing same-sex unions.

Yesterday, Conservative party leader Stephen Harper said the argument for a nationwide referendum surfaced because "Canadians sense that they are not being listened to by the government." Justice minister Irwin Cotler dismissed the idea, saying a plebiscite "is not the way to go to protect minority rights."

If approved, the law would stipulate that no religious institutions would be forced to perform same-sex marriages.

Polling Data

Should decisions about same-sex marriage be made by

A national referendum among all Canadians
67%

A free vote among all MPs including cabinet ministers
29%

A free vote among MPs, but no cabinet ministers
5%

Do you support strongly, support somewhat, oppose somewhat, or oppose strongly keeping the definition of marriage as a union of one woman and one man to the exclusion of all others?

Strongly support keeping
50%

Somewhat support
16%

Somewhat oppose
12%

Strongly oppose keeping
22%






Suppose you had the following three options. Which would you prefer?

Parliament should keep the existing definition of marriage as the union of one woman and one man and should not pass any law recognizing same sex unions
29%

Parliament should keep the existing legal definition of marriage as the union of one woman and one man and should set up a separate legal category that includes same-sex unions but would not be called marriage
36%

Parliament should change the legal definition of marriage to the union of any two persons, regardless of their gender
35%

Source: Compas Inc. / National Post / Global National
Methodology: Interviews to 885 Canadian adults, conducted from Jan. 28 to Jan. 31, 2005. Margin of error is 3.4 per cent.
posted by Eve at 4:40 PM | link

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