Two solitudes
Two completely different news stories on same-sex marriage in my French- and English-language dailies this morning.
In the Montreal Gazette
(and also here): "Stephen Harper says he wants to move quickly as leader of a fractious new Parliament to reopen the same-sex marriage debate. The makeup of the new House of Commons suggests the prime minister-designate knows there's a good chance such a motion will be rejected.
"It would not be a total loss, however. In fact, an honourable defeat on equal marriage would satisfy obligations to Harper's most right-wing supporters while defusing a politically explosive issue."
Over in
La Presse, la Presse Canadienne has actually counted up the votes for and agin. On first blush, the tally is 151 to 144, in favour of queer nuptials. That leaves 13 unknown votes, belonging to pols who pointedly haven't spoken out publicly on the issue. Seven of those are Tories.