PROFILE OF LAWYER WHO'S BRINGING SSM CASE TO CANADIAN SUPREME COURT: From the Toronto Globe and Mail

...The Supreme Court will sit down on Wednesday to hear a historic reference case precipitated by the string of provincial rulings. It has been asked by Ottawa to review a draft bill proposed to amend the legal definition of marriage to include gay and lesbian couples. ...

Prof. Cameron said the judges may mildly resent being again placed on the social firing line by the government, but they will probably warm to the opportunity to influence public opinion and political events. Such judicial receptivity provides a lesson in how litigation can be used to further social goals, she added. Aided by a sympathetic press, she said, the gay-rights movement has followed a steady path to changing the law.

"If you push too far, too fast, you can ruin your chances for a generation," Prof. Cameron said. "It wouldn't have been very smart to start out with gay marriage. Whether they consciously adopted a litigation strategy or it just evolved that way, it has produced good results for them." ...

In legal briefs filed with the Supreme Court, the federal government now argues that it is time to complete the long march to gay equality. It flatly rejects arguments from some religious groups and the Alberta government that allowing same-sex marriage would open the door to polygamy, or might compel unwilling religious groups to perform marriages for same-sex couples.

Federal lawyers also dismiss the notion that marriage is all about heterosexual procreation, or that opening the institution to same-sex partners will dilute its cultural significance. "Marriage is widely understood as an institution that is monogamous in nature, based on intimacy, companionship, recognition, economic benefits and obligations," the federal brief states. "It also has the goal of being permanent and providing a stable foundation for the raising of children.

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