MARTIN INTENDS TO REVISE SAME-SEX LEGISLATION

Ottawa - Paul Martin intends to rework legislation on same-sex marriages if
he becomes prime minister, and will also consider changing some other
controversial pieces of Prime Minister Jean Chretien's recent agenda,
including a bill to decriminalize marijuana.

A senior aide to Mr. Martin said the former finance minister believes the
draft bill legalizing same-sex marriages should be "subject to amendment,
debate and improvement."

Just last month at the national Liberal caucus meeting in North Bay, Mr.
Martin opened the door to the idea of replacing civil marriages with civil
unions and leaving marriage up to churches.

A champion of giving back-bench MPs more clout, Mr. Martin could also take a
look at other controversial pieces of Chretien legislation such as the
decriminalization of marijuana, or the bill to tackle child pornography, the
aide said.

"As we come forward with pieces of legislation, whether it's
[decriminalization of marijuana] or whatever, they are all subject to
amendment and if people want to change clauses... and if people want to
propose comprehensive packages of amendments to the legislation, they will
have that right," said the aide, who asked not to be named.

Health Minister Anne McLellan, one of Mr. Martin's closest supporters, said
yesterday that it "is a given" that the Chretien draft bill will be changed
by a new cabinet and the new prime minister, whom she repeatedly referred to
as "he."

"... Unless this draft bill is presented to the House and voted on before
the change of leadership, I don't think anyone should assume that this draft
legislation is the legislation that will ultimately be presented to
Parliament," Ms. McLellan, a lawyer and former federal justice minister,
said outside of the weekly caucus meeting.

"That's not for any of us who are in this present government to speculate
on. That is about the future when we have a new leader and a new prime
minister. And I would presume that he would also have new cabinet ministers
and if this issue doesn't come before the House before that happens why
wouldn't he take another look at this with whoever is in his cabinet and
talk to Canadians about how he wants to move forward?" she said.

"For me that is a given."

Earlier this week, Ms. McLellan voted against the Canadian Alliance motion
affirming marriage as a union of a man and a woman. Mr. Chretien had put the
whip on his cabinet, and they stood as one to oppose the Alliance motion.

Mr. Martin also voted against the Alliance; the motion failed by the
narrowest of margins - 137 to 132 - and exposed the deep divisions within
the Liberal caucus.

Mr. Martin's senior strategist said that he wants a full legislative debate
on the issue, not one that is directed by the opposition, such as the motion
put forward by Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen Harper.

"And what has happened so far is that we have been restricted by the
Alliance debate to only debating what Mr. Harper put in front of the House,"
the Martin strategist said. "So there was no opportunity to amend that,
there was no opportunity to move counter motions . . . and that's the sort
of process that has to happen and there'll have to be an actual legislative
debate."

However, the strategist cautioned that any changes have to adhere to Mr.
Martin's three principles, which he laid out last month at the Liberal
national caucus meeting: The bill must respect the Charter; it cannot use
the notwithstanding clause and it must protect churches, temples, synagogues
and mosques from having to do anything against their will.

Mr. Martin is the front-runner in the race to replace Mr. Chretien. His only
competitor is Heritage Minister Sheila Copps, and it is widely expected that
Canadians will know whether he will be prime minister as early as this
weekend when Liberals elect delegates who will select the new leader at
their November convention.

Yesterday, Justice Minister Martin Cauchon defended his government's draft
bill, arguing it has chosen a "balanced approach."

Last June, Mr. Cauchon submitted the draft legislation to the Supreme Court
of Canada, asking the court to determine whether it is constitutional.

However, the bill is not expected to be tabled in the House for another
year, possibly months after a federal election. Expectations are that Mr.
Martin will call an election some time next spring, and some Liberal MPs are
concerned about same-sex marriages becoming a tricky election issue.

"We have the right course of action," Mr. Cauchon said. "The process will
give time to Canadians to talk about it, to have discussions on the subject.
We have a good process in place. We made up our minds last June.

"What is true today for this government will be true as well in the future
for another government... and I believe as well the next government will
keep going in the same direction."

Mr. Cauchon, who is also Mr. Chretien's Quebec political minister, is not
expected to serve in a Martin cabinet.

Meanwhile, Progressive Conservative Leader Peter MacKay said he believes the
Prime Minister "would be very content to leave this festering, to leave this
in Mr. Martin's lap to deal with either before or after an election.

"The Prime Minister is abdicating his responsibility to govern. This entire
system is going to be very dysfunctional and very difficult to manage and
not in the interest of Canadians to have this two-headed government."

With a report from Kim Lunman