According to the CBC website, Conservative justice critic Vic Toews thinks that “Forcing Manitoba’s marriage commissioners to perform same-sex weddings is against the law” because it forces them to choose between their jobs and their faith. Hence, he thinks it is discriminatory, and — get this — he thinks that forcing commissioners to resign if they have a problem performing same-sex services violates the Charter of Rights.
Right. Put another way, what Toews is saying is that public servants should be allowed to decide, based on their private views, whether or not to provide a public service to people who are legally entitled to it.
Where do the Conservatives dig up these fossils? In Canada, you aren’t allowed to do this even if you are a private business owner. That’s why we don’t have signs in front of stores saying “no dogs, no jews.” It is why there aren’t lanes for negros and lanes for whites at the local swimming pool. That’s why your local busdriver can’t refuse to pick up gays. And so on.
If the Conservatives want to know why they remain stuck in opposition, and will be there for the foreseeable future, look no further than this sentence:
Vic Toews, Minister of Justice.
That is, if you have managed to choke your way past:
Stockwell Day, Minister for Foreign Affairs.