Drafts and other internal documents related to the guide were obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
"Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1969 and more recently, civil marriage rights to same-sex couples was legalized nationwide in 2005," the earliest draft of the guide says under the section Towards a Modern Canada.
And in the section on citizenship rights, the early draft said: "Equality Rights — Canadians are protected against discrimination based on race, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or age."
Neither sentence survived the minister's red marker.
Kenney has steadfastly opposed same-sex marriage since his time as an opposition MP in the House of Commons.
In the larger picture of our country, this particular act is small potatoes ... or is it?
More realistically, along with Harper's recent refusal to include contraception and abortion in his world stage 'Maternal Health' initiative, Kenney's actions are another political dog whistle aimed squarely at the TheoCon base that is at the core of the old reform party movement.
Make no mistake about it - there are major elements within the CPoC that would quite happily roll back both gender and sexual equality rights to the era when being gay was a criminal offense ... not unlike what Uganda is trying to do right now, and where both contraception and abortion were either illegal, or nearly impossible to acquire.
When Harper and his ministers feel they have to play so blatantly to these attitudes, it's not hard to imagine just what might happen should Canadians ever grant this bunch a majority.
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