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The 2005 Canadian Same-Sex Marriage Debate: a Case Study Examining How the Press Presented the Parliamentary Debate on Bill C-38

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The 2005 Canadian Same-Sex Marriage Debate: a Case Study Examining How the Press Presented the Parliamentary Debate on Bill C-38 The 2005 Canadian Same-Sex Marriage Debate: A Case Study Examining How the Press Presented the Parliamentary Debate on Bill C-38 by Rhonda Dene Walker-Sisttie A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in Communication Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2012, Rhonda Dene Walker-Sisttie Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du 1+1 Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-94235-2 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-94235-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. Canada Abstract This dissertation presents an empirical study of how the Canadian media covered the Parliamentary debate over same-sex marriage in 2005. While marriage as an issue had been debated in Parliament for many years, the introduction of government legislation on this issue presented a significant new frame for analysis. The research questions how newspapers presented that debate and uses a multi- step methodological approach that is informed by agenda-setting and framing theories and utilizes a content analysis and a discourse analysis. Three separate discourses are analyzed: the Parliamentary debate on Bill C-38, the press coverage of Bill C-38, and editorial coverage of same-sex marriage at the time of the debate. The analysis of a selection of speeches delivered on Bill C-38 identified key attributes to contrast to the media coverage. The findings reveal what information was present, or not, and what choices were made by the media in their presentation of that debate. The findings demonstrate that the media coverage was neutral in tone, that issues were not presented in a substantive manner, and that a significant number of the sources presented, supported same-sex marriage, (the latter of which was unexpected). A survey of the literature on the contemporary debate on same-sex marriage was undertaken alongside a review of other research approaches used to measure and analyze discourse to identify frames, any gaps related to understanding the issue of same-sex marriage, and shortcomings related to the study of political communication. This dissertation supports Soroka’s (2002) argument that media agenda is a factor in how issues are covered, and that the role played by the media, on policy issues, will vary depending on the nature of an issue. Further, the findings support political communication research by Miljan and Cooper (2003) and Soroka who argue that there is a pan-Canadian media agenda, with little demonstrable variance across ownership organizations, and that the press is neither a watchdog nor does it provide a forum for debate. The case study contributes to a better understanding of when, and how, the media will cover a policy issue, and when media agenda is likely to be a factor. Acknowledgements There are four very important committees to which I owe heartfelt appreciation. The first two are: my thesis advisory committee, chaired by Dr. Michele Martin along with Doctors Josh Greenberg and Andre Turcotte, who guided me, challenged and supported me, and most critically, inspired me to write; and my thesis defence committee, with additional members, Dr. Luc Bonneville and Dr. Pauline Rankin, who together supplied the critical thinking and generative discussion that helped me to make further important linkages and articulate them to develop the final narrative of this research. Thank you, Michele, for building both rich and dedicated committees and for believing this outcome was possible. You know almost better than anyone what it took to get here. My third committee was made up of those I met through work who became more important to me than just colleagues. Janelle and Katarina, you both have given so much of yourselves to me over the years and constantly cheered me on in my academic pursuit. And Senator Dave Tkachuk, thank you truly for always supporting my personal goals and providing me the time I needed to follow these dreams. You also showed me how perseverance works when your heart is in the right place. How lucky am I to have worked with all of you. Finally, and closest to my heart are the members of my fourth committee, made up of my close friends and family, who supported me beyond what seems reasonable and generously listened and cared when I needed them. The C7 own a piece of this as well as Blair, and some of my fellow academic peers, in particular Dragana and Paula, who all have inspired me with their different passions, ideas, intelligence and ability to overcome life’s challenges in their own scholarly and life pursuits. Susan, your insight during the last months of writing was deeply appreciated and helped me defend what I was trying to say even if I still don’t see why semi-colons aren’t used with ever-greater frequency. In the end, however, my own personal goals have been achievable because of the love and steadfast support provided by my parents, Jim and Gladys Walker and my parents-in-law, Dorothy and Jim Sisttie. I have been a needy, self-focused, and driven family member for too long but thank you for loving me anyway and seeing me through this goal. When I think about how much my husband Rob has supported me in this endeavor, the irony is not lost on me, that as I studied the literature on same-sex couples and society’s grapple with rights and institutional change, how much he had to grapple with over the last few years in our own family institution. I am truly aware and appreciative of how fortunate I am in our partnership, that I have never had to fight for what I wanted, because of your commitment to me and my choices. Thank you for your support, love, and sense of humour, especially for making me realize that for you, same- sex means something different. Finally, to Sofia, Gemma and James, I didn’t know when I started on this path that you would be here, but I realize now that it was always for you, because of you. Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements....................................................................................................................iv Table of Contents....................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables................................................................................................................................x List of Figures..............................................................................................................................xi List of Appendices.....................................................................................................................xii 1 Chapter: The Revealing Case of Same-Sex Marriage .....................................................1 1.1 Introduction: Same-Sex Marriage, the Press and Political Discourse .................................... 1 1.1.1 Problematique.....................................................................................................................................7 1.1.2 Timeline of the Parliamentary debate on the issue of SSM ............................................... 15 1.2 Framing the Contemporary SSM Debate ......................................................................................20 2 Chapter: Marriage Means So Much to So Many .......................................................25 2.1 Introduction: A Brief Overview of the History of Marriage...................................................25 2.2 Key Issues and How They Have Been Presented ......................................................................28 2.3 Scope of the Field and Contested Issues......................................................................................31
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