When Stephen Harper and the Conservatives won the election, one of the items on the agenda was a vote on whether to revisit Bill-C38.

Then Justice Minister Vic Toew told media they were drafting legislation in the event the motion was passed. The House motion read:

“That this house call on the government to introduce legislation to restore the traditional definition of marriage without affecting civil unions, and while respecting existing same sex marriages.”

It was defeated by 175-123 December 7, 2006.

The Globe and Mail put in a Freedom of Information request to the Justice Department.

Internal documents obtained by The Globe and Mail confirm that the Conservative government was preparing an amendment to the Criminal Code last fall dealing with same-sex marriage under the heading of “Freedom of Religion.”

The Department of Justice released 1,200 pages of government records in response to a request under access to information law. The records are almost entirely edited.

The Globe requested all documents relating to policy options aimed at protecting religious rights and freedom of speech in relation to the same-sex marriage debate.

But the few phrases that were not blacked out reveal Department of Justice officials were drafting new legislation dealing with religious rights and gay marriage.

October 4th, 2006 the Justice Department told the newspaper The Justice Department was preparing options. The primary concerns were Justices of the Peace, and fear that religious leaders would not be free to speak against homosexuality.

When the vote concluded in December Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, “”I don’t see reopening this question in the future.” A justice department official told The Globe and Mail they don’t think a Conservative majority government will introduce the draft obtained by the paper.

The response to The Globe’s request was delivered to the newspaper’s Ottawa office on Friday afternoon as MPs were leaving town for a two-week recess.

The documents show Lisa Hitch, the Justice Department’s senior counsel, held a meeting last September to discuss the existing protections for religious freedoms contained in the Civil Marriage Act passed in 2005 under the Liberals.

She also sent e-mails to her colleagues titled “Possible amendment to the Criminal Code.”

Ms. Hitch’s reference materials included a private member’s bill on religious freedom, since defeated in the Alberta legislature, from Conservative MPP Ted Morton, with links to socially conservative websites such as campaignlifecoalition.com; lifesite.net; evangelicalfellowship.com and a website that does not currently work called thescaryliberals.com/blog

Senior Justice officials also traded e-mails under the heading “Binder of Freedom of Religion Material.”

Mr. Toews was personally involved, sending e-mails to his deputy minister and top political aides on the issue. The e-mails are mostly blacked out.

On Oct. 13, 2006, he received a briefing note titled “Freedom of Religion final” but its contents are entirely blacked out on the grounds that it contains advice to the minister and is protected by privilege.

Canadian Glenn Penner of Voice of the Martyrs, appeared on a US religious podcast show with Stacey Harp of Active Christian Media on March 1, 2007, to talk about “the homosexual agenda and the persecution of Canadian Justices of the Peace.” He told Harp VOtM Canada was monitoring marriage commissioners appearing before Human Rights Tribunals in provinces that had not updated their laws to accomodate commisioners religious convictions.