Alberta's opposition parties made good on a promise Monday to delay debate on a Tory private member's bill that would have allowed commissioners to refuse to perform same-sex marriages.

Speaker Ken Kowalski chastised opposition members for eating up the time allotted for debate with procedural matters, killing backbencher Ted Morton's controversial Bill 208.

"I know what's transpired today," Kowalski told the assembly.

"There's no hope in hell this afternoon that any private member's bill is coming up."

The bill sought to protect marriage commissioners who refused to conduct same-sex marriages because of their moral or religious beliefs, and would have made it necessary for parents to give permission before any aspect of same-sex relationships is discussed in the classroom.

Morton, MLA for Foothills-Rocky View said the bill was intended to protect freedom of speech for everybody, including those who publicly oppose same-sex marriage, from being sued or fired — something he said happens in other provinces.

Opposition party members and gay-rights advocates had charged the bill was a politically motivated tactic for Morton's upcoming Tory leadership bid to succeed Premier Ralph Klein.

Morton vowed to reintroduce the bill next spring, and said what transpired Monday would be remembered the next time a private member's bill originated from across the aisle.

"What goes around comes around," he said.

"The Liberals not only were irresponsible in blocking debate today, they were stupid, too."

Liberal house leader Laurie Blakeman denied the charges of stalling, saying the day's agenda shouldn't have been altered according to Morton's wishes.

"I'm not going to accept arguments from Dr. Morton that he deserves special treatment to get his bill up and I'm frankly not going to accept that from the Speaker either."

Opposition politicians and same-sex rights advocates called the bill discriminatory.

Gay rights lawyer Julie Lloyd said the fact that even though most predicted that the bill wouldn't pass a third reading, the fact that it progressed this far was disturbing.

With files from Canadian Press