The other day the page one headline in the Globe and Mail was "Public against judges making laws: poll". It was, to say the least, a misleading story.
The Globe had a polling company ask Canadians whether judges or Parliament should have ultimate authority to make laws in Canada. Not surprisingly, an overwhelming majority said Parliament.
But the very question was frivilous and misleading. The context was the two recent judiciary decisions that current laws that don't allow same-sex marriages violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This poll result can be challenged on many grounds, including the fact that the issue is too complex for such a simple question and that no context was given for the question.
The judges were not making policy in either of these decisions. They were trying to decide if one law passed by a legislature (regarding marriage) was in violation of a higher law passed by nine provincial legislatures and the Parliament of Canada, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In other words, our elected representatives were still the ones making the laws, not the judiciary.
August is traditionally supposed to be a month when news outlets report on silly stories because there isn't any real news happening. I guess this is an example. But shame on the Globe for running the story, especially as the hidden implication is that the judiciary in these cases went against the feelings of the majority of Canadians when they ruled that prohibitions against same-sex marriage violated the Charter. Such a story can only bolster those who oppose same-sex marriages.
Posted by wetcoast at August 13, 2003 08:09 AM