At the p
olitical level, the federal Conservative Party of Canada initially expressed an intention to amend the
bill to restore the traditional common-law definition of marriage and establish a parallel regime for gay and lesbian co
uples (28) In their view, such a scheme would withstand Charter scrutiny,(29) despite broad legal opinion to the contrary (30) Following passage of Bill C-38 by the Commons, Conservative s
pokesperso ...[+++]ns voiced doubt about the bill’s effectiveness in protecting religious freedoms, and indicated the same-sex marriage issue could be revisited as an election issue or by a future Parliament (31) Immediate provincial response to Bill C-38 emanated largely from Alberta, with reports of the government’s political determination to defend the traditional definition of marriage, and its intention to weigh options toward that end.
Sur le plan politique, le Parti conservateur du Canada avait initialement fait part de son intention de modifier le projet de loi pour rétablir la définition traditionnelle du mariage contenue dans la common law et mettre en place un régime parallèle pour les couples de gais et lesbienne(28). Il estime que cette façon de faire résisterait à un examen fondé sur la Charte(29), même si dans les milieux juridiques on a récemment soutenu le contraire(30).