Andrew Scheer's personal view on same-sex marriage not important, says gay supporter
Fred Litwin says it's clear that his party supports LGBTQ people in Canada and internationally
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer's personal opinion about same-sex marriage doesn't matter as long as the party supports LGBTQ rights in Canada and abroad, says Fred Litwin.
Scheer on Thursday addressed the controversy over remarks he made denouncing gay marriage in a 2005 speech that was recently released by the Liberals.
"My personal views are that LGBT Canadians have the same inherent self-worth and dignity as every other Canadian and I will always uphold the law and always ensure that they have equal access to the institution of marriage as it exists under the law," Scheer said.
But while he vowed not to re-open the debate over same-sex marriage, he would not clarify whether he personally supports it.
Litwin — a former Conservative Party campaigner and organizer of the "fabulous blue tent" gay Conservative event — spoke to As It Happens guest host Helen Mann about Scheer's remarks. Here is part of their conversation.
Do you think Andrew Scheer cleared the air [Thursday] on his position around same-sex marriage?
I think he did. I think he was very, very clear that he supports the rights of LGBT Canadians and that the issue of same-sex marriage is settled.
At the same time, Mr. Scheer declined to provide his personal position on same-sex marriage and also to denounce the comments he made back in 2005 during the House debate on the Civil Marriage Act. Would you have liked to hear his personal position?
Not really. I think a lot of people have personal positions on a whole variety of different issues. The most important thing for me as a gay Canadian is that the issue is settled. As LGBT Canadians, we have our rights, and that will not be a matter of concern for the next Parliament.
This is a man, though, who is hoping to be prime minister. Why shouldn't Canadians know his personal views on a subject that's so fundamental?
Because I don't think it's relevant to what's going to happen in Parliament. We know it's settled. The Conservatives aren't going to bring it up. It's a matter of law. We're not moving backwards. We need to move forward and move on with far more important things.
This video that was being referenced re-emerged last week after Ralph Goodale, the Liberal minister, posted it. ... What were your thoughts when you saw the video come up again after all this time?
I think it's really completely unnecessary. We do have to move forward. We don't need to go back to 2005. I don't really ask all my friends and people I know and family: What was your position back in 2005? I just ask that I be treated with dignity and respect today.
I think it's important to note that there are people like [Alberta Premier] Jason Kenney or [former foreign affairs minister] John Baird who may not march in gay Pride and may have made statements in the past that I disagree with, but when they were in power [then-immigration minister] Jason Kenney let in thousands of immigrants, refugees on the basis of same-sex orientation, and John Baird was the strongest foreign minister we ever had battling for gay rights internationally.
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It's interesting when you see the words Mr. Scheer chose to use at the time. In that video, he explained how gay couples cannot be allowed to marry, in his mind, because they cannot "commit to the natural procreation of children." And after all this time, how do those words sit with you?
You know, it was a time when everybody was saying many very similar things. Barack Obama was saying something very similar.
Remember in 1999, there was a resolution that passed the House of Commons saying that marriage was an act between one man and one woman, and Liberals voted for that. All the members of the Cabinet voted for that.
Times have changed and we have to move forward.
But Mr. Obama and Mr. Goodale, who was one of the Liberals you're talking about, have since spoken out and said that they have changed their position. They've made clear that they have evolved in their views as well. We didn't get that from Andrew Scheer.
But do we need to?
The question I would ask Mr. Scheer and [Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau and [NDP Leader Jagmeet] Singh is: Will you fight for gay rights internationally?
We have all of our rights in Canada. There's no more to be done for gay rights. We're done. But my brothers and sisters are actually being murdered in different countries and are losing jobs and being mistreated in countries all around the world.
And as prime minister, will you stand up for those rights, for those people who actually need our support right now? That's the question I would ask.
When you hear the comments that he made [Thursday], they were very carefully expressed. He repeated the same statement over and over again without specifically acknowledging those comments we referenced. There's some people who are suggesting that he's got to be very careful here that he does not alienate more conservative supporters of the party. Is there politics here keeping him from saying more?
I don't think so. I mean, look at ... the [2016] Conservative convention in Vancouver. We changed the definition of marriage within the Conservative Party. Conservatives march in gay Pride all across the country. Lisa Raitt marched in Toronto Pride. Doug Ford marched in one of the gay Pride marches this year.
It's happening all across the country that Conservatives have embraced the LGBT community. And so I think that this is really a bit of a red herring. I do think it's time for us to move on to something far more important.
The Liberals clearly want to make Andrew Scheer's unwillingness to express his personal views on gay marriage an election issue. Do you think that will have any impact on voters?
I don't think so at all.
We're in an era where we see Hong Kongers fighting for their rights every day in the streets of Hong Kong, when we see Canadians being held hostage in China.
There are far more important issues for this country than whether Andrew Scheer said something in 2005 or whether he'll march in gay Pride. Let's go on to some important important issues.
Written by Sheena Goodyear. Interview with Fred Litwin produced by Jeanne Armstrong. Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.