OTTAWA - The Liberal government will introduce legislation to legalize same-sex marriage when Parliament resumes sitting in January, Prime Minister Paul Martin said Thursday.
In an opinion released earlier in the day, nine Supreme Court judges asked to review draft legislation extending marriage rights to gays and lesbians said such a move would be constitutional.
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Liberal MPs will be free to vote their conscience on the bill, but cabinet ministers will be required to vote in favour of it, said Martin.
The prime minister urged members of all parties to carefully consider the issue before voting, saying the proposed legislation will ensure the "equal treatment of all Canadians."
He acknowledged the issue is divisive, but said Canadians can handle the debate.
"I think this will engender a debate across the country," said Martin. "We are a very mature nation and can undertake the debate."
Canada is the "world's most post-modern country" and can take the lead in this issue, he said.
Martin's Liberal minority government holds 134 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons, but should have the support of most of the 19 New Democrat MPs and 54 Bloc Québécois MPs.
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Justice Minister Irwin Cotler says he expects a "significant majority" of members will support the bill because it backs two key points of the Charter, equality rights and freedom of religion.
As part of Thursday's decision, the court said religious groups opposed to same-sex marriages won't be compelled to perform them.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, who called the court's opinion a "victory for Canadian democracy," says he's pleased the court "punted this issue back to Parliament."
Harper said the Supreme Court supports his party's policy because it also declined to express an opinion on whether the traditional definition of marriage is unconstitutional.
The Conservative leader says he'd like the government to introduce a compromise bill to Parliament that would preserve the traditional definition of marriage in law and include stronger protections of religious freedoms.
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