Elsie speaks out, draws ire from NS colleague

New Brunswick MP Elsie Wayne says she's not for sorry her comments Thursday about gay and lesbian people. Fellow Conservative MP Scott Brison, a Nova Scotian, says he is furious with his colleague.

In the House of Commons Thursday, Wayne made several inflammatory remarks in a debate about same-sex rights.

"Why are they in parades? Why are they dressed up as women in floats?" Wayne said.

"You don't see us getting up on floats, for heaven's sake, to say we're husband and wife. We don't do that. So why do you have to go around getting a whole lot of publicity? For heaven's sake. If they're going to live together, go live together and shut up about it."

Wayne, the deputy leader of the federal conservatives, said gay people don't deserve the right to get married.

This is not the first time the Saint John MP has spoken out about her views on gay people, but Thursday's exchange pushed Scott Brison to take Wayne to task.

Brison, who is gay and is running for the leadership of the federal Progressive Conservatives, is calling for Wayne's resignation as Deputy Party leader.

"Elsie's comments have brought such shame to the House of Commons and to the PC party," Brison said, "and I just hope that Elsie recognizes that this time. She's gone too far Elsie's comments are very personal, very unprofessional and very hateful."

Brison says it's now up to Wayne to step down as deputy party leader, but Wayne says she won't.

Party leader, Joe Clark, said Friday he conferred the title of deputy leader on Wayne to mark her service as a former interim leader before Clark's election.

"As my deputy, therefore, her term will end with mine on May 31, 2003," Clark said in a news release issued Friday.