All kinds of contentious issues have passed through the House of Commons over the years.
Battles and elections have both been fought over free trade, the G.S.T., multiculturalism, Quebec separation and even the adoption of a new Canadian flag.
But few fights have ever been this divisive. By a vote of 158-133, Parliament officially approved Bill C-38 Tuesday night, the law that makes same sex marriage in Canada legal.
Prime Minister Paul Martin promised a free vote on the issue, and with the exception of his cabinet ministers, Liberals were allowed to cast their ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ for their own conscience.
And nearly three dozen Grits did just that, siding with the Conservatives on the issue.
It wasn’t enough to stop passage, but it will allow them to face their constituents in the next election clearly showing which side they took on the issue.
The outcome wasn’t a surprise, even though the Liberals, backed by the N.D.P. and the Bloc, moved to limit debate on the law earlier this week.
But the reaction was divided more down philosophical than party lines.
Alberta Conservative MP David Chatters lamented Canada’s descent into a “moral decay” and Liberal Joe Commuzi – who resigned his cabinet post earlier in the day to vote against the bill – admitted he simply had no choice.
"This is a personal decision," he explained. "In 2004 during the election, I promised faithfully to the people of Thunder Bay-Superior North that I would defend the traditional definition of marriage."
But many Grits referenced Pierre Trudeau and his 1960s promise of a “just society”, and his pledge that governments don’t belong in the bedrooms of the nations.
Nova Scotia MP Mike Savage was one of them. "I have not compromised my faith in supporting this legislation. I have embraced it," he proclaimed. "The fact that we (in Canada) are among the first is not something we should hide. It's something we should celebrate ...
"(We are) a nation of equality. A nation of strength. A nation of compassion. A nation that believes we're stronger together than we are apart. And a nation where we celebrate equality ...
"We will send a statement to the world that in Canada gays and lesbians will not be considered second-class citizens."
Only one N.D.P. member opposed the idea. Bev Desjarlais voted against the law, and was immediately stripped of her two critics' portfolios and banished to a back-row seat in the Commons by party leader Jack Layton.
The bill now goes to the Senate for approval before officially becoming the law of the land. That’s expected before the end of July.
The new rules extend the right for gays to marry across the country, even though courts in all provinces and territories but P.E.I., the Northwest Territories, and Alberta had already ruled that barring same-sex unions was unconstitutional.
But it mandates that religious institutions don’t have to perform the ceremonies.
With its passage, Canada becomes only the third country in the world to recognize the gay and lesbian unions. Belgium and the Netherlands are the only other nations to permit same-sex weddings.
