On Thursday, an article in the Globe and Mail declared that Stephen Harper’s Conservatives had annulled over five thousand Canadian same-sex marriages issued to non-residents since 2005. Worldwide panic and probably cannibalism ensued, with the government rapidly trying to diffuse the situation, and the media using a mixture of government-fed information and political spin to make things supremely confusing for anyone hoping to understand exactly what happened in the first place.

So, what did happen?

Depending on which articles you read, the situation has been described as anything from a sneaky reversal of marriage policy followed by intense backpedaling (I’m looking at you, Globe and Mail), to a heroic government announcement granting foreign same-sex couples legal recognition for the first time (That’s you, National Post). The truth is a third option entirely, and is every bit as boring as you’d expect the details of international law to be.

To spare you an unwanted nap, here’s what I understand in the utmost of brevity: A couple from the UK got married in Canada and then later decided they wanted a divorce. When it comes to divorce and other matters of legal consequence, though, it turns out that Canadian law requires that the couple’s marriage be recognized in their country of citizenship. A lawyer with the Department of Justice, arguing on behalf of the government, thus declared that the couple’s same-sex marriage is not legally recognizable in this case, and was therefore never valid in the first place. This, he extended, means that virtually all other same-sex marriages issued to foreigners are likewise invalid.

A poo tempest followed.

Now, I’m not at all fond of being in the position of defending Stephen Harper’s Conservatives (I find most of their policies indefensible and the others generally pretty sucky), but I truly think this whole interpretation caught them off guard. I don’t believe that the Department of Justice lawyer was arguing based on explicit instruction from the PMO, nor do I think Harper is actively seeking to end same-sex marriage in Canada. (He still does his best to prevent other advances in equality and protection; equalizing the age of consent and adding protections for trans Canadians comes to mind, but I sincerely don’t think he wants to take away our right to marry.)

At any rate, despite what you may read, there was no policy change here—just a lawyer making a foolish argument. Rather than side with the lawyer’s interpretation, the government has stated that they will remedy the situation the same way I would: Explicitly clarify the law to recognize marriages in legal matters, no matter what the legality of those marriages are in the couple’s home country.

What I wouldn’t do, though, is then try to score extra political points by blaming this debacle on the previous Liberal government, which is exactly what the Conservative Justice Minister Rob Nicholson did in front of the media: “This is a legislative gap left by the Liberal government of the day when the law was changed in 2005,” he said. “The confusion and pain resulting from this gap is completely unfair to those who are affected.”

This legislative gap—which I doubt can accurately be described as such—existed long before same-sex marriage was even a reality in Canada. If the Tories had been in power in 2005 we simply wouldn’t have noticed because gays would not be able to marry—and since virtually all opposite-sex marriages are recognized abroad, no case to highlight this “gap” would ever have been brought forward. (Once Mr. Nicholson renounces the injustice demonstrated by the Tories in their previous attempts to prevent and then strip away our marriage rights, he may then comment on the unfairness of those affected by the government’s own lawyer’s interpretation.)

So, what should we take away from all this?

Something very encouraging, indeed.

Attempts to strip rights away from gay people will result in a demonstrated public outrage capable of severely threatening the government’s popularity. Despite some very loud voices of bigotry out there, support for equal rights and acceptance of gay people is the mainstream view in Canada. And that’s worth celebrating.

• Despite legal about-face, Harper has ‘no intention’ of reopening gay marriage [Globe and Mail]
• Ottawa moves to defuse same-sex controversy [Globe and Mail]
• All same-sex marriages declared legal and valid by justice minister Rob Nicholson [National Post]
• Conservatives to change civil marriage law [CBC News]

Canadian Internet sensation and all around sweetheart, Maria Aragon, was paid a visit by Stephen Harper last week to help kick start his election campaign for the Conservative party.

Surrounded by the media, the 10 year old sat beside the Prime Minister and performed Lady Gaga’s “Born this way,” the song that made her a viral hit online after it caught the attention of Gaga herself. Even with the added pressure of performing before reporters and cameras, Maria played magnificently. I particularly like the confidence with which she sung this verse:

No matter gay, straight or bi
lesbian, transgendered life
I’m on the right track baby
I was born to survive

Such a nice affirmation that GLBT people, despite facing discrimination simply for how they were born, have worth and value.

It reminds me of something Stephen Harper once said in the House of Commons:

Sexual orientation or, more accurately, what we are really talking about here, sexual behaviour [...] was not included in the Charter of Rights when it was passed by parliament in 1982. It was not included, not because of some kind of accident or oversight, but deliberately and explicitly.
–Stephen Harper

Wait, sorry—what I meant to say was that it reminds me of the opposite of something Stephen Harper said in the House of Commons. How silly of me.

You see, from listening to what Harper has had to say about GLBT Canadians over the years, I’d say that he doesn’t think gay people are “born this way” at all—and his actions are even worse than his words. In late 2006, for example, Harper attempted to revoke the rights of same-sex couples to marry equally in Canada. And in February of this year, he voted against a bill that would have protected transgendered Canadians from discrimination in employment, housing, and public services.

But, yet, here he is—sitting beside Maria and smiling at the cameras while she so wonderfully affirms the inherent worth of GLBT citizens. Yes, clearly, the adorable Maria has changed Harper’s mind.

A quick tap, followed by a booming sound and some metallic, resonating clatter!

…

Uh, that was supposed to be a rim-shot. They don’t come across very well in writing, do they?

(A very special hat tip to Montreal Simon for the story)

• PM Stephen Harper tinkles ivories with YouTube sensation Maria Aragon [Vancouver Sun]

Canada’s historic trans rights bill, C-389, passed its third and final reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

The bill, sponsored by NDP MP Bill Siksay, explicitly adds gender identity to the list of identifiable groups protected against discrimination in housing, employment, and services in the Canadian Human Rights Act. While that’s excellent news, what’s not so excellent was the bill’s narrow vote margin: 143 to 135 against.

So, which party had the most Nay votes, I ask uselessly?

Why, it’s the Conservatives. In fact, only six Tory MPs present on Wednesday voted in favour of the bill, with the rest voting against it (either explicitly or through pairing). The Nay votes included Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who until Wednesday hadn’t previously voted on the bill.

I guess that means we shouldn’t be holding our breath for his It Gets Better video.

The bill now moves on to the Conservative-controlled senate, where it’s future is a tad uncertain. Nonetheless, trans Canadians have a reason to celebrate this week. Enjoy the victory; finally the missing T is well on its way to be added to the existing equal rights protections for GLB Canadians!

• Trans rights bill heads to the Senate [Xtra]

Last Sunday was Montréal’s 18^th annual Pride parade, and it was fantastic! Organizations, businesses, churches, sports groups, hobby groups, and tons of other equal-rights supporters marched down a brand new parade route in view of over 100,000 spectators. The parade even included politicians from every party—except one.

As in previous years, politicians of all stripes were invited by Pride organizers to come and join in the celebrations, and—like the years before it—the Conservative invitees ignored it entirely. Their absence didn’t go unnoticed, either. Speaking to the media in French, author and television personality, Jasmin Roy, was particularly succinct: “I don’t think we could speak of this as indifference; it’s clear the Harper government doesn’t like gay people.”

Indeed, Stephen Harper’s Tories have fought against equal rights for gay people at every conceivable step, opposing everything from marriage equality (even after it had become law) and protection from hate crimes, to smaller offensive gestures like removing all references to homosexuality from their new immigrant guides.

Given their behavioural history, I never really expected to see Tory party representation in the parade. Actually, I would have been shocked to see it and probably would have joined in a chorus of boos—an appropriate gesture of no where near the level of disrespect and consequence that this government has already displayed toward us gays.

Still, this is a very public example of what our government doesn’t represent, and that’s all Canadians. Whether Tories like it or not, the government is here to represent everybody—not just those that voted for them. And while Harper’s Tories may have a profound lack of sensitivity and understanding toward gay people, we’re still a large and vibrant community whose contributions to the country should have been acknowledged with representation at our biggest and most important cultural event. Honte à vous, Monsieur ‘Arper!

• L’absence des conservateurs au Défilé de la Fierté est décriée [Métro Montréal]
• Montreal fetes Gay Pride [CBC News]

One of the hardest things about the whole same-sex marriage debate back in 2005/2006 was simply picking up the newspaper or turning on the television and feeling attacked and maligned every day. It was relentless: The gays are destroying this, the gays will undermine that, they’re worse than X, they have no right to Y… Unless you’re LGBT, I think it’s hard to understand exactly how that affects human spirit.

At the time, I was living in Calgary—home of Stephen Harper’s own riding and the heartland of Canada’s social conservatism. If you asked me to make a list of all the crazies in the media that irked me the most, there’s a columnist that would be near the top. Now, I didn’t exactly frame Nigel Hannaford’s delightfully panicked columns for posterity, but Xtra found some typical examples of his, uh, scribery:

Leave gays alone? Fair enough. But, let ‘em be Boy Scout leaders? Have each other’s benefits? Adopt kids? Marry each other? Ridiculous. Anybody seeking political office who suggested it would have been laughed off the hustings. Yet, the Liberals are ready to legalize gay marriage. How did we get to this point?

Well, guess who’s been hired as Stephen Harper’s new speech writer?

You know my email address, right? I’ll wait here for your guesses.

(So… Chilly weather we’ve been having, eh? That reminds me, I ought to buy a pumpkin for Halloween before it’s too late and all the good ones are taken. There’ll only be ones with squished sides totally caked in dried soil, I just know it.)

OK, I’ll just say it: It’s Nigel Hannaford!

He’s not the first anti-gay extremist to be given a top PMO gig, and won’t be the last. Still, this is an unusually visible position to give a writer whose opinion is held only by a small and shrinking minority of Canadians—and particularly from within a party that desperately needs to paint itself as moderate in order to win majority support.

If Hannaford’s speeches are any bit as unmeasured as his columns, well, we’ll see what Canadians think. He won’t just be speaking to the Conservative heartland anymore, after all; it’s the whole country.

(A big hat tip goes to Montreal Simon for alerting me to the story!)

• Harper’s new speechwriter is a gay rights opponent [Xtra]

The Prime Minister’s office has shuffled some top positions this week, and the appointments are raising some eyebrows.

Darrel Reid, the former head of Canada’s largest anti-gay lobby group, Focus on the Family Canada, has been promoted to the Prime Minister’s Deputy Chief of Staff. While working for Focus, Reid lobbied against same-sex marriage, the adding of sexual orientation to the list of minorities protected from hate crimes, and has actively promoted the harmful and discredited practise of conversion therapy for gays.  He was initially awarded a government job by Harper in 2006, and has since been promoted several times across  unrelated departments.

Reid’s old job, Director of Policy, has now been assigned to Paul Wilson, the former executive director of Trinity Western who coordinated government internships for the Christian university’s students.

Well, I’m shocked—shocked!—that Stephen Harper, of all people, would be in such tight circles with the religious right. Imagine!

• Harper shuffles PMO deck, has ‘grip on caucus’ [Hill Times]
• PMO shuffle puts evangelical Christians in top political jobs [Xtra!]