Enlightened Developments in Canada<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

At the request of Canadian Humanists, the Mayor of the City of Ottawa, Bob Chiarelli, issued the following proclamation recognizing 12 February 2003 as Darwin Day: WHEREAS, Charles Darwin was born on February 12,1809; and WHEREAS, from 1831–1836, he travelled in the southern hemisphere on the “HMS Beagle,” officially as the captain’s companion; and WHEREAS, his observations in natural history and on the adaptations of animals to their environments eventually led him to formulate his theory of evolution; and WHEREAS, he hypothesized that living things change over time, or evolve, in response to the selective pressures of their environment; and WHEREAS, the concept of evolution remains the unifying theory of biology.

THEREFORE, I, Bob Chiarelli, Mayor of the City of Ottawa, do hereby proclaim February 12, 2003 as Darwin Day in the City of Ottawa.

Bob Chiarelli

Mayor

 

In another encouraging move, on Tuesday, 10 June 2003, the three-judge panel of an Ontario Court of Appeal declared that gay couples have the legal right to marry in that province. The federal government of Canada considered appealing the Ontario decision before the Supreme Court. However, the Commons Justice Committee narrowly voted 9–8 against filing an appeal. In Canada, the federal government has the jurisdiction to make laws pertaining to marriages, while the provinces have the responsibility of administrating these laws. Lower courts in other regions of the country have agreed with the Ontario court that refusing to allow gays and lesbians to marry violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Since the federal government’s decision not to contest the court’s ruling, at least two dozen same-sex couples have taken advantage of the decision to become legally married, many by Humanist officiants.

 

Sheila Ayala

Senior Administrator, Humanist Association of Canada