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Members of the 39th Canadian Parliament and same-sex marriage

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This article lists the members of the 39th Parliament of Canada and their voting records in regards to the Civil Marriage Act, which amended the Marriage Act of Canada to recognize same-sex marriage. The 39th Parliament was elected at the federal election of January 23, 2006. The Conservative leader, Stephen Harper, who was then leader of the opposition campaigned on holding another free vote on the issue, after one was held in the 38th Parliament to approve the Act.

The Conservatives won enough seats to form a government following the election but Harper, who became Prime Minister, only had enough seats to form a minority government meaning the opposition parties had enough seats to defeat a government motion on same-sex marriage. However, a motion could pass if it could attract enough support from individual opposition MPs in a free vote. The government announced that it would introduce a motion before the end of 2006.

On 7 December 2006, the House of Commons of Canada voted on a motion that read as follows: "That this House call on the government to introduce legislation to restore the traditional definition of marriage without affecting civil unions and while respecting existing same-sex marriages." The motion was defeated by a vote of 123 to 175.[1] Liberal and Conservative parties gave their members permission to vote freely. Thirteen Conservatives voted against the motion, and the same number of Liberals voted in favour. The Bloc Québécois and NDP caucuses were expected to oppose the motion, all NDP MPs did so as did all BQ MPs except for two who were paired and two who were absent.

Following the vote, Harper announced that the issue was now settled and that his government would not revisit the matter even if it won a majority government in the next election, held October 14, 2008.

Votes

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House of Commons Vote, December 7, 2006

Group For Against Absent Total
  Conservative Cabinet 19 6 0 25
  Conservative Backbench 91 7 1 99
  Liberal 13 85 3 101
Bloc Québécois 0 47 4 51
  NDP 0 29 0 29
  Independents 0 1 1 2
Totals 123 175 9 307
House Speaker 1 1

A majority of votes 154 were needed to ensure the motion passed, although the only formal requirement for passing one is the assent of a majority of members in attendance for the vote.

Note: The Speaker of the House of Commons, Peter Milliken, a Liberal, could only vote in the unlikely event of a tie.

Background

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Same-sex marriage became legal in Canada in 2003 when a series of court decisions declared that denying the privilege to homosexuals was unconstitutional. The Civil Marriage Act was approved by the Canadian House of Commons on June 28, 2005, by a margin of 158 to 133 and was subsequently passed by the Senate of Canada on July 19, 2005, before being given Royal Assent on July 20, 2005. This law brought the two provinces where such court challenges had not been resolved, Alberta and Prince Edward Island, in line with the rest of the country. The issue remained controversial and Conservative leader Stephen Harper pledged to revisit the issue with a free vote should the Conservatives form a government. Harper's party won the greatest number of seats in the 2006 federal election. Harper said that he would address this issue by means of a simple motion to the House as to whether or not the matter should be revisited. If the motion were to pass his government would introduce legislation to change the legal definition of marriage to two opposite sex people, while creating civil unions for same-sex couples; should the motion be defeated, the government will take no further action.

House of Commons

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Conservative Cabinet

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Name 2003 Alliance motion Bill C-38 (2005) Dec 2006 motion to restore Riding
Rona Ambrose No Yes Edmonton—Spruce Grove, AB
John Baird No Ottawa West—Nepean, ON
Maxime Bernier Yes Beauce, QC
Jean-Pierre Blackburn Yes Jonquière—Alma, QC
Lawrence Cannon No Pontiac, QC
Tony Clement Yes Parry Sound-Muskoka, ON
Stockwell Day Yes No Yes Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC
David Emerson Yes No Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Diane Finley No Yes Haldimand—Norfolk, ON
Jim Flaherty Yes Whitby-Oshawa, ON
Stephen Harper Yes No Yes Calgary Southwest, AB
Loyola Hearn Absent No Yes St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
Gary Lunn Yes No Yes Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Peter MacKay Yes No No Central Nova, NS
Rob Nicholson No Yes Niagara Falls, ON
Gordon O'Connor No Yes Carleton—Mississippi Mills, ON
Bev Oda No Yes Durham, ON
Jim Prentice Yes No Calgary Centre-North, AB
Carol Skelton Yes No Yes Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK
Monte Solberg Yes No Yes Medicine Hat, AB
Chuck Strahl Yes No Yes Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon, BC
Greg Thompson Yes No Yes New Brunswick Southwest, NB
Vic Toews Yes No Yes Provencher, MB
Peter Van Loan No Yes York—Simcoe, ON
Josée Verner No Louis-St-Laurent, QC

Conservative backbench

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Name 2003 Alliance motion Bill C-38 (2005) Dec 2006 motion to restore Riding
Jim Abbott Yes No Yes Kootenay—Columbia, BC
Diane Ablonczy Yes No Yes Calgary—Nose Hill, AB
Harold Albrecht Yes Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Michael Allen Yes Tobique—Mactaquac, NB
Dean Allison No Yes Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON
Rob Anders Yes No Yes Calgary West, AB
David L. Anderson Yes No Yes Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK
Dave Batters No Yes Palliser, SK
Leon Benoit Yes No Yes Vegreville—Wainwright, AB
James Bezan No Yes Selkirk—Interlake, MB
Steven Blaney Yes Lévis—Bellechasse, QC
Sylvie Boucher Yes Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Garry Breitkreuz Yes No Yes Yorkton—Melville, SK
Gord Brown No Yes Leeds—Grenville, ON
Patrick Brown Yes Barrie, ON
Rod Bruinooge Yes Winnipeg South, MB
Blaine Calkins Yes Wetaskiwin, AB
Ron Cannan Yes Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Colin Carrie No Yes Oshawa, ON
Bill Casey Yes No No Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, NS
Rick Casson Yes No Yes Lethbridge, AB
Michael Chong No No Wellington—Halton Hills, ON
John Cummins Yes No Yes Delta—Richmond East, BC
Pat Davidson Yes Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Dean Del Mastro Yes Peterborough, ON
Barry Devolin No Yes Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON
Norman Doyle Yes No Yes St. John's East, NL
Rick Dykstra Yes St. Catharines, ON
Ken Epp Yes No Yes Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB
Edward Fast Yes Abbotsford, BC
Brian Fitzpatrick Yes No Yes Prince Albert, SK
Steven Fletcher No Yes Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB
Royal Galipeau Absent Ottawa—Orléans, ON
Cheryl Gallant Yes No Yes (federal electoral district)|Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Peter Goldring Yes No Yes Edmonton East, AB
Gary Goodyear No Yes Cambridge, ON
Jacques Gourde Yes Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC
Nina Grewal No Yes Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Helena Guergis No Yes Simcoe—Grey, ON
Art Hanger Yes No Yes Calgary Northeast, AB
Richard Harris Yes No Yes Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Luc Harvey Yes Louis-Hébert, QC
Laurie Hawn Yes Edmonton Centre, AB
Russ Hiebert No Yes South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, BC
Jay Hill Yes No Yes Prince George—Peace River, BC
Betty Hinton Yes No Yes Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Rahim Jaffer Yes No Yes Edmonton—Strathcona, AB
Brian Jean No Yes Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Randy Kamp No Yes Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC
Gerald Keddy Yes Yes No South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS
Jason Kenney Yes No Yes Calgary Southeast, AB
Ed Komarnicki No Yes Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Daryl Kramp No Yes Prince Edward—Hastings, ON
Michael Lake Yes Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, AB
Guy Lauzon No Yes Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON
Pierre Lemieux Yes Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Tom Lukiwski No Yes Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK
James Lunney Yes No Yes Nanaimo—Alberni, BC
Dave MacKenzie No Yes Oxford, ON
Fabian Manning No Avalon, NL
Inky Mark Yes No Yes Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB
Colin Mayes Yes Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Ted Menzies No Yes Macleod, AB
Rob Merrifield Yes No Yes Yellowhead, AB
Larry Miller No Yes Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON
Bob Mills Yes No Yes Red Deer, AB
James Moore Yes Yes No Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC
Rob Moore No Yes Fundy Royal, NB
Rick Norlock Yes Northumberland—Quinte West, ON
Deepak Obhrai Yes No Yes Calgary East, AB
Brian Pallister Yes No Yes Portage—Lisgar, MB
Christian Paradis No Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
Daniel Petit Yes Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Pierre Poilievre No Yes Nepean—Carleton, ON
Joe Preston No Yes Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON
James Rajotte Yes No Yes Edmonton—Leduc, AB
Scott Reid Yes No Yes Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON
Lee Richardson No No Calgary Centre, AB
Gerry Ritz Yes No Yes Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK
Andrew Scheer No Yes Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK
Gary Schellenberger Yes No Yes Perth Wellington, ON
Bev Shipley Yes Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Joy Smith No Yes Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
Kevin Sorenson Yes No Yes Crowfoot, AB
Bruce Stanton Yes Simcoe North, ON
Brian Storseth Yes Westlock—St. Paul, AB
David Sweet Yes Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
Myron Thompson Yes No Yes Wild Rose, AB
David Tilson No Yes Dufferin—Caledon, ON
Bradley Trost No Yes Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK
Merv Tweed No Yes Brandon—Souris, MB
Dave Van Kesteren Yes Chatham-Kent—Essex, ON
Maurice Vellacott Yes No Yes Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK
Mike Wallace Yes Burlington, ON
Mark Warawa No Yes Langley, BC
Chris Warkentin Yes Peace River, AB
Jeff Watson No Yes Essex, ON
John G. Williams Yes No Yes Edmonton—St. Albert, AB
Lynne Yelich Yes No Yes Blackstrap, SK

Liberal Party

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Name 2003 Alliance motion Bill C-38 (2005) Dec 2006 motion to restore Riding
Omar Alghabra No Mississauga—Erindale, ON
Larry Bagnell No Yes No Yukon, YT
Navdeep Bains Yes No Mississauga—Brampton South, ON
Sue Barnes No Yes Absent London West, ON
Colleen Beaumier No Yes No Brampton West, ON
Mauril Bélanger No Yes No Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Don Bell Yes No North Vancouver, BC
Carolyn Bennett No Yes No St. Paul's, ON
Maurizio Bevilacqua No Yes No Vaughan, ON
Ray Bonin Yes No Yes Nickel Belt, ON
Ken Boshcoff No No Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
Scott Brison No Yes No Kings—Hants, NS
Bonnie Brown No Yes No Oakville, ON
Gerry Byrne No Absent Yes Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL
John Cannis Yes No Absent Scarborough Centre, ON
Brenda Chamberlain Yes No No Guelph, ON
Raymond Chan Yes No Richmond, BC
Denis Coderre No Yes No Bourassa, QC
Joe Comuzzi Absent No No Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Irwin Cotler Absent Yes No Mount Royal, QC
Roy Cullen No Paired Yes Etobicoke North, ON
Rodger Cuzner No No No Cape Breton—Canso, NS
Jean-Claude D'Amours Yes No Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Ruby Dhalla Yes No Brampton—Springdale, ON
Sukh Dhaliwal No Newton—North Delta, BC
Stéphane Dion No Yes No Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
Ujjal Dosanjh Yes No Vancouver South, BC
Ken Dryden Yes No York Centre, ON
Wayne Easter No Yes No Malpeque, PE
Mark Eyking Yes Yes No Sydney—Victoria, NS
Raymonde Folco No Yes Absent Laval—Les Îles, QC
Hedy Fry No Yes No Vancouver Centre, BC
John Godfrey No Yes No Don Valley West, ON
Ralph Goodale No Yes No Wascana, SK
Bill Graham No Yes No Toronto Centre, ON
Albina Guarnieri Yes Yes No Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON
Mark Holland Yes No Ajax—Pickering, ON
Charles Hubbard Yes No No Miramichi, NB
Michael Ignatieff No Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Marlene Jennings No Yes No Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
Susan Kadis Yes No Thornhill, ON
Nancy Karetak-Lindell No Yes No Nunavut, NU
Jim Karygiannis Yes No Yes Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Tina Keeper No Churchill, MB
Wajid Khan No Yes Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Jean Lapierre Yes No Outremont, QC
Dominic LeBlanc No Yes No Beauséjour, NB
Derek Lee Yes No Yes Scarborough—Rouge River, ON
Lawrence MacAulay Absent No No Cardigan, PE
Gurbax Malhi Yes No Yes Bramalea—Gore—Malton, ON
John Maloney Yes No No Welland, ON
Diane Marleau No Yes No Sudbury, ON
Keith Martin Yes Yes No Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC
Paul Martin No Yes No LaSalle—Émard, QC
Bill Matthews Absent No No Random—Burin—St. George's, NL
John McCallum No Yes No Markham—Unionville, ON
David McGuinty Yes No Ottawa South, ON
Joe McGuire Yes Yes No Egmont, PE
John McKay Yes No Yes Scarborough-Guildwood, ON
Dan McTeague Yes No Yes Pickering—Scarborough East, ON
Gary Merasty No Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK
Maria Minna No Yes No Beaches—East York, ON
Brian Murphy No Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB
Shawn Murphy Yes Yes No Charlottetown, PE
Anita Neville No Yes No Winnipeg South Centre, MB
Stephen Owen Absent Yes No Vancouver Quadra, BC
Massimo Pacetti Absent No No Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
Bernard Patry No Paired No Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
Glen Pearson No London North Centre, ON
Jim Peterson No Yes No Willowdale, ON
Marcel Proulx No Yes No Hull—Aylmer, QC
Yasmin Ratansi Yes No Don Valley East, ON
Karen Redman No Yes No Kitchener Centre, ON
Geoff Regan No Yes No Halifax West, NS
Lucienne Robillard No Yes No Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC
Pablo Rodriguez Yes No Honoré—Mercier, QC
Anthony Rota Yes No Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON
Todd Russell Yes No Labrador, NL
Michael Savage Yes No Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Francis Scarpaleggia No Yes Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Andy Scott No Yes No Fredericton, NB
Judy Sgro Yes Yes No York West, ON
Mario Silva Yes No Davenport, ON
Raymond Simard No No No Saint Boniface, MB
Scott Simms No No Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
Lloyd St. Amand Yes No Brant, ON
Brent St. Denis No Yes No Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Paul Steckle Yes No Yes Huron—Bruce, ON
Belinda Stronach Yes No Newmarket—Aurora, ON
Paul Szabo Yes No No Mississauga South, ON
Andrew Telegdi No Yes No Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
Lui Temelkovski Yes No Oak Ridges—Markham, ON
Robert G. Thibault No Yes No West Nova, NS
Alan Tonks Yes No Yes York South—Weston, ON
Roger Valley Yes No Kenora, ON
Joe Volpe Yes Yes No Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
Tom Wappel Yes No Yes Scarborough Southwest, ON
Blair Wilson No West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Bryon Wilfert Yes No No Richmond Hill, ON
Borys Wrzesnewskyj Yes No Etobicoke Centre, ON
Paul Zed No No Saint John, NB

Bloc Québécois

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Leader Gilles Duceppe announced on February 10, 2006, that he would force the caucus to vote against Harper's motion.

Name 2003 Alliance motion Bill C-38 (2005) Dec 2006 motion to restore Riding
Guy André Yes No Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
Gérard Asselin Yes Absent No Manicouagan, QC
Claude Bachand No Yes No Saint-Jean QC
Vivian Barbot No Papineau, QC
André Bellavance Yes No Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Bernard Bigras No Yes No Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Raynald Blais Yes No Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC
France Bonsant Yes No Compton—Stanstead, QC
Robert Bouchard No No Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC
Diane Bourgeois No Yes No Terrebonne—Blainville, QC
Paule Brunelle Yes No Trois-Rivières, QC
Serge Cardin Absent No Absent Sherbrooke, QC
Robert Carrier Yes No Alfred-Pellan, QC
Paul Crête No Yes No Montmagny—L'Islet— Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Claude Debellefeuille No Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Nicole Demers Yes No Laval, QC
Johanne Deschamps Yes No Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Gilles Duceppe No Yes No Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Meili Faille Yes No Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
Carole Freeman No Châteauguay, QC
Christiane Gagnon No Yes No Québec, QC
Roger Gaudet Yes No No Montcalm, QC
Michel Gauthier No Yes No Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Raymond Gravel Absent Repentigny, QC
Monique Guay No Yes No Rivière-du-Nord, QC
Michel Guimond No Yes No Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC
Maka Kotto Absent No Saint-Lambert, QC
Jean-Yves Laforest No Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC
Mario Laframboise Absent Yes No Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC
Francine Lalonde No Yes No Mercier, QC
Carole Lavallée Yes No Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC
Marc Lemay Yes No Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Yves Lessard Yes No Chambly—Borduas, QC
Yvon Lévesque Yes No Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
Yvan Loubier No Yes Absent (Paired) Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Marcel Lussier No Brossard—La Prairie, QC
Luc Malo No Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
Réal Ménard No Yes No Hochelaga, QC
Serge Ménard Yes No Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC
Maria Mourani No Ahuntsic, QC
Richard Nadeau No Gatineau, QC
Christian Ouellet No Brome—Missisquoi, QC
Pierre Paquette No Paired No Joliette, QC
Gilles-A. Perron Absent No No Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Pauline Picard No Yes No Drummond, QC
Louis Plamondon No Yes No Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour, QC
Jean-Yves Roy No Yes No Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC
Thierry St-Cyr No Jeanne-Le Ber, QC
Caroline St-Hilaire No Absent No Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC
Louise Thibault No Absent (Paired) Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Robert Vincent Yes No Shefford, QC

New Democratic Party

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The NDP caucus did not allow a free vote so MPs were obliged to vote against the Conservative motion.

Name 2003 Alliance motion Bill C-38 (2005) Dec 2006 motion to restore Riding
Charlie Angus Yes No Timmins-James Bay, ON
Alex Atamanenko No British Columbia Southern Interior, BC
Catherine J. Bell No Vancouver Island North, BC
Dennis Bevington No Western Arctic
Dawn Black No New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
Bill Blaikie No Yes No Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Chris Charlton No Hamilton Mountain, ON
Olivia Chow No Trinity—Spadina, ON
David Christopherson Yes No Hamilton Centre, ON
Joe Comartin No Yes No Windsor—Tecumseh, ON
Jean Crowder Yes No Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC
Nathan Cullen Yes No Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Libby Davies No Yes No Vancouver East, BC
Paul Dewar No Ottawa Centre, ON
Yvon Godin No Yes No Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Peter Julian Yes No Burnaby—New Westminster, BC
Jack Layton Yes No Toronto—Danforth, ON
Wayne Marston No Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON
Pat Martin No Yes No Winnipeg Centre, MB
Tony Martin Yes No Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Brian Masse No Yes No Windsor West, ON
Irene Mathyssen No London—Fanshawe, ON
Alexa McDonough No Yes No Halifax, NS
Peggy Nash No Parkdale-High Park, ON
Penny Priddy No Surrey North, BC
Denise Savoie No Victoria, BC
Bill Siksay Yes No Burnaby—Douglas, BC
Peter Stoffer Absent Yes No Sackville——Eastern Shore, NS
Judy Wasylycia-Leis No Absent No Winnipeg North, MB

Independents

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Name 2003 Alliance motion Bill C-38 (2005) Dec 2006 motion to restore Riding
André Arthur Absent Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, Quebec
Garth Turner No Halton, ON

Speaker

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The Speaker of the House of Commons did not vote.

References

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