Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 04/05) - Senator Nick Sibbeston calls homosexual lifestyles "unnatural" and says he will vote against the same-sex marriage bill when it goes through the Senate later this month.

The Western Arctic senator outlined his opposition to the bill in a letter published in today's News/North.

In the letter, Sibbeston writes that same-sex lifestyles "are not common in the North and our ancestors would frown on such activities and would view it as unnatural."

Bill C-38, the proposed same-sex marriage law, passed third reading in the House of Commons 158-133, June 28.

The bill is expected to pass easily through the Senate when it goes there for final review in late July. After that, it will become the law.

In an interview last Thursday, Sibbeston expanded on his views, saying the same-sex marriage bill is typical of legislation emanating from social values prevalent in the South but foreign up here.

"In the North we always seem to be subject to laws that are made in the South," said Sibbeston.

"It's like the gun control bill. Those laws have the southern people as their interest."

Sibbeston conceded that he likely won't get far trying to get senate colleagues to vote against the bill because most of them, including himself, are Liberal appointees.

Still, he plans to continue lobbying.

As for speaking to residents in the territory, Sibbeston said he hasn't spoken to many of them about his views, but with those he did, many expressed their disapproval about same-sex marriage.

"For the most part people agree with me, that marriage should be a man and women thing," said Sibbeston.

"They don't understand this new phenomenon."

He suggested the country should adopt a law similar to the proposal put forward by the Conservative party that would allow same-sex relationships to be recognized as "civil unions" with similar privileges provided to married couples.

Only couples of men and women should be recognized using the word "married," he said.

Don Babey, the NWT representative for Canadians for Equal Marriage, chuckled when he heard of Sibbeston's reasons for opposing the bill.

"What a progressive guy that Nick is," Babey said.

He said in all seriousness however, that contrary to Sibbeston's beliefs, homosexuality exists in aboriginal communities but many are afraid to express themselves out of fear of being ostracized.

"In many of the smaller communities, there just isn't tolerance for it," said Babey.

"It doesn't mean that it's not there, it just means people have to leave their communities and go to places like Vancouver or Toronto so they can live a life without being harassed, beat up or belittled."