By Canadian Press

Liberals dig up video of Scheer speaking against same-sex marriage

Aug 22, 2019 | 12:18 PM

OTTAWA — The federal Liberals are urging Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer to attend the Ottawa Pride parade after circulating a video of him speaking out against same-sex marriage during a debate in the House of Commons 15 years ago.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale tweeted a video of Scheer’s April 2005 speech opposing the Civil Marriage Act, which legalized same-sex marriage in Canada later that year.

In the speech, Scheer says that while same-sex partners can live together and love each other in lifelong, monogamous relationships, they could not really be considered married because they cannot have children in a “natural” way.

The majority of Conservative MPs voted against the bill, as did a number of Liberal MPs.

Scheer has softened his stance on same-sex marriage since then, supporting a move to erase the traditional definition of marriage from the Conservative Party of Canada’s policy book at its 2016 convention.

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But the Conservative leader, whose office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has declined to march in Pride parades.

The Canadian Press