Is same-sex marriage really worth a federal election?
There's no doubt same-sex marriage is a controversial issue in Canada.
Opinions are divided across the board on the matter, and not just because of religious affiliation or sexual orientation.
But is the issue worth calling an election, or even threatening to do so?rnPaul Martin didn't expect same-sex marriage to be an issue he'd have to tackle when he travelled to South Asia and onward to China. Disaster relief and trade with Asia's rising economic superpower were probably the two things dominating his agenda.
But a remark from Conservative leader Stephen Harper about how approving same sex marriage might lead to polygamy certainly got a quick response from the Prime Minister, who more or less threatened to take the country to another election over the issue of same sex marriage.
Harper's remarks may have been extreme, or meant to inflame public opinion. It remains to be seen if he was successful. But what they certainly did do was inflame Paul Martin's anger. Martin should have known better than to take the bait, and steered clear of any more controversy.
The last thing most Canadians want is another election, no matter what the issue on the table. A divisive issue like same-sex marriage, no matter what side of the argument a voter is on, is likely to make for another ugly campaign full of mud-slinging by the three major parties.
And unlike the United States, where a clear majority of the populace are adamantly against the concept or practice of same-sex marriage, to the point where they are even considering amending their constitution to ban gay marriage, the situation in Canada isn't as cut and dried.
But politically, another election would probably mean yet another minority government with little real power. Regardless of one's opinion on same-sex marriage, many other completely unrelated issues would be affected by such a result. No matter who won, we would all lose.
