If we do not step forward, then we step back. If we do not protect a right, then we deny it.

Have you ever, on a cloudless night, looked down from a passing aircraft flying over Canada? Endless, glowing strings of cities, towns, and homesteads. Stretching on and on, one province to the next. With only the stars in the distance.

Since one never knows what will be the line of advance, it is always most rash to condemn what is not quite in the fashion of the moment.

The facts are plain: Religious leaders who preside over marriage ceremonies must and will be guided by what they believe. If they do not wish to celebrate marriages for same-sex couples, that is their right. The Supreme Court says so. And the Charter says so.

The fact is the statements are perfectly consistent, but more importantly, I don't have all the facts.

The main goal in any criminal statute is to produce what's best for the victim. And sometimes, a mandatory minimum doesn't accomplish that.

Canada is our country. It belongs to us and we belong to it. Let us join together, in our time, and make history once again.