He Made An Election Promise. He Kept That Promise.

And while it can be argued that Harper has much more important things on his plate it is the principle of walking the talk that is important. We didn't get much of this during the 13 years of liberal arrogance and corruption.

Minority rights ugly subtext in same-sex debate
Dec. 8, 2006. 01:00 AM
CHANTAL HÉBERT

Ottawa

With Charter rights in the balance this week, the Prime Minister and the brand new leader of the official opposition took the easy way out.

Stephen Harper and Stéphane Dion both got themselves off the hook of the same-sex marriage issue with minimal political fallout yesterday. But neither man can claim to have taken the high road to get there.

The decisive defeat of a Conservative motion to reopen the debate on the legal definition of civil marriage — 175 to 123 — should bring an end to parliamentary efforts to turn the clock back on the marriage rights of same-sex couples.

If the fate of other morally divisive issues such as abortion and the death penalty is any indication, the outcome of yesterday's vote is unlikely to be reversed or even revisited by another Parliament.

That has to be a relief for Dion. To say that the Liberal party has consistently not practised what it preaches over the lengthy course of the same-sex marriage saga is an understatement.

Under Dion's two predecessors, a federal party that takes pride of ownership of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has treated it like a pull-down menu, allowing its MPs to pick and choose where they stood on gay rights.

One from column A, one from column B.........