Canada's
Liberal government survived another round of confidence
votes on Tuesday, bolstering the party's
chances of staying in power long enough to pass the
country's same-sex marriage legislation.
Parliament passed a key budget bill Tuesday
night by a vote of 249-53. Several more budget-related
votes passed by similar margins. With that,
Canada's minority Liberal Party can expect to hold on
to power at least until the fall, which could give it
enough time to pass the same-sex marriage bill
that's currently before a committee.
The victory for the Liberals comes despite the
protests of antigay MP Pat O'Brian, who quit
the party last week and then voted to oust the
government in an effort to kill the legislation. But that
said, the Liberal victory also appears to have come at
the expense of the bill's speedy passage.
Laurie Aaron of Canadians for Equal Marriage says the
government made a deal with the opposition Conservatives to
pass the budget bill in exchange for delaying the
same-sex marriage vote until the fall. And by then, an
election could be just around the corner. Gilles
Marchildon of the gay lobby group EGALE says it's impossible
to speculate what will become of the bill now but that
the organization remains committed to working for its
passage. (Heather Kitchin/Sirius OutQ News)