Same-sex marriages

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Same-sex marriages (SSM) in Canada

Two opposing sound bytes about the federal Bill C-38 which legalized same-sex marriage in Canada during mid-2005:

	"Since the beginning of history marriage has changed very little." Focus on the Family Canada. 1
	"There are eight different family/marriage structures in the Bible. Consider the legalization of same-sex marriages in Canada in 2003 onwards; same-sex marriages in Massachusetts in 2004;  inter-racial marriages in 1967 and marriage by African Americans in the 19th century." From an Email by a person who prefers to remain anonymous.

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Brief summary of SSM in Canada:

Holland and Belgium were the first political jurisdictions in the world to allow same-sex couples to marry. In mid-2003, the province of Ontario became the third. Subsequent lawsuits in other provinces forced other reluctant provincial governments to legalize SSM.

On 2005-FEB-01, the Canadian federal government, under the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, introduced bill C-38 to legalize SSM in all ten provinces and three territories.

By 2005-JUL-19, courts had ruled that same-sex couples could marry in eight out of the ten provinces of Canada, and in one out of the three territories. A court case was active at the time in the Northwest Territories. The two provinces that had traditionally been the slowest to grant lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender persons equal rights are also the most religiously conservative: Alberta and Prince Edward Island. They remained intransigent on the matter of marriage equality.

Bill C-38 passed its final vote in the House of Commons during the evening of 2005-JUN-28. The vote was close: 158 to 133. The bill passed its final vote in the Senate by a vote of 47 to 21 with three abstentions on 2005-JUL-19. It was signed into law on 2005-JUL-20 by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. The Governor General, who usually proclaims legislation, was incapacitated at the time for medical reasons.

The main result of the bill was symbolic: same-sex couples could marry anywhere in Canada for the first time. The government considered their relationships equal to those of opposite-sex couples. Previous to this date, about 10% of Canadian same-sex couples lived in provinces and territories where they could not marry. After this date, they were able to do it more conveniently. They could marry within their province or territory without the nuisance of having to go elsewhere in Canada to marry.

Four and a half years later, during 2006-DEC, the Conservative Party under Prime Minister Stephen Harper mounted an attack on SSM by attempting to reopen debate on bill C-38. His motion was defeated in the House of Commons.

The federal Conservative Party, still under Prime Minister Harper, resumed the attack during 2012-JAN, in the court. This time, they attempted to forcibly terminate marriages that had been solemnized by visitors to Canada. This provoked instantaneous and strong opposition. The Government quickly retreated.

Starting on 2013-OCT-24 and continuing at least until 2014-FEB, "ISideWith.com" conducted a poll of Canadians, asking the question: "Should the government allow same sex marriage?." Over 95,000 Canadians had voted by 2014-FEB-20:

• 86% Yes
• 10% No
• 4% uncertain, refused to answer, or expressed a different point of view. ₃

It is important to remember that for this poll, and all other polls taken over the Internet, the vote is not based on a random selection of persons. Only individuals who have Internet access, who come to the ISideWith web site, and who were motivated to respond to the poll were counted. If a truly random selection had been made, one could expect a slightly different result.

During a Conservative Party convention during 2016-MAY, the delegates voted 1036 to 462 to delete the party's traditional opposition to marriage equality from their policy book. There is some speculation that the Conservative Party may lose members and votes in future elections because of their decision in favor of marriage equality.

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Topics covered in this section:

	Background material: Brief overview of SSM in Canada Introduction to SSM <<< Americans in particular should read this first Major events and current status of SSM in Canada Part 1: 2001 to 2005-MAY; Part 2: 2005-JUN to now. <<< This is also important Marriage laws in Canada   Timeline of the granting of LGBT rights in Canada 1965 to 1999 2000 to now   Timeline of recent SSM court decisions, government actions, etc Predictions of long term effects of same-sex marriage in Canada Do you want to get married in Canada? Text of court decisions, documents, research papers, etc. Positions taken towards SSM by various groups in Canada
	Reactions by conservative Christians: Focus on the Family's "Mom & Dad" ads Bishop Henry's pastoral letter and resultant human rights commission complaints Religious pressure on MPs by the Roman Catholic Church
	Public opinion: Polling data from: 1996 to 2002;  2003-JAN to AUG; 2003-SEP to DEC; 2004; 2005; 2006 and later Anecdotal comments about SSM
	SSM activity at the provincial / territorial level: The following essays discuss the process by which SSM was legalized one province and territory at a time across Canada. This material is primarily of historical interest at this time, because a federal law made SSM available everywhere in Canada -- except for Prince Edward Island (PEI). On 2005-JUL-20. PEI capitulated when faced with a lawsuit. Alberta: Forced to recognize SSM by federal legislation. British Columbia: Forced by court order. Manitoba: Forced by court order. New Brunswick: Forced by court order. Ontario: Forced by court order. Part 1 From the reading of the banns to the Ontario Divisional Court decision. Part 2 Reactions to the decision; Parliamentary commission. Part 3 Appeal to, and decision of, the Ontario Court of Appeals. Part 4 Initial reactions to the court decision. Part 5 Later reactions. Part 6: Attempts by religious and social conservatives to appeal the ruling. Part 7: Housekeeping amendments by the legislature One child with three legal parents: Ontario court decision Newfoundland / Labrador: Forced by court order North West Territories: Forced by federal legislation Nova Scotia: Forced by court order. Nunavut: Forced by federal legislation Prince Edward Island: Forced by federal legislation Quebec: Forced by court order. Saskatchewan: Forced by court order. Yukon: Forced by court order.

SSM activity at the national level: The following essays discuss the process by which a federal law was developed which enlarged the definition of marriage in Canada to include all loving committed couples -- both opposite sex and same-sex. Federal parliamentary commission on SSM & discussion paper Federal government decision to legalize SSM. Initial reactions to the government decision Timeline of subsequent developments: 2003-JUN-25 to AUG-11 Draft marriage act; Supreme Court reference 2003-AUG-12 to AUG-21 Civil union option; Alliance Party motion 2003-AUG-22 to SEP-7 Various rallies & attacks on government 2003-SEP & OCT Motion shelved; attempts to appeal lower court decision 2003-NOV to 2004-SEP-15 4th reference added; First SSM divorce. SSM in Quebec 2004-SEP-16 to OCT-04 SSM in Manitoba & Nova Scotia. 2004-OCT-04 to OCT-07 The hearing before the Supreme Court. 2004-OCT-08 to NOV-26 Private member bill; "spouse" redefined; survivor pensions. 2004-DEC-01 to DEC-11 Supreme Court of Canada decision; interpretations. 2004-DEC-12 to 2005-JAN-20 Posturing prior to the recall of Parliament. 2005-JAN-21 to JAN-31: More posturing. 2005-FEB-01 to FEB-02: Bill C-38 "Civil Marriage Act" is introduced to Parliament. 2005-FEB-03 to FEB-15: Debate continues. 2005-FEB-16 to FEB-18: Debate continues. 2005-FEB-19 to MAR-29: Debate continues. Conservative amendment fails. 2005-MAR-30 to JUN-14: Bill's second reading, committee review. 2005-JUN-15 to JUN-28: Bill is passed by the House of Commons. Reactions to the passage of C-38 in the House. 2005-JUN-29 to JUL-17: Bill is considered by the Senate and committee. Three selected speeches for and against C-38 in the Senate. 2005-JUL-18 and 19:  Bill is debated by the Senate. 2005-JUL-19:  Senate debate continues. 2005-JUL-19 and 20: Debate concludes. Bill is passed by the Senate and signed into law. Positive reactions to the SSM law. Negative reactions to the SSM law.  Subsequent development during 2005 2006-JAN to JUN activity SSM to be revisited? 2006-JUL to NOV activity More speculation on the future of SSM 2006-DEC:  Federal Conservative party attacks SSM by attempting to reopen debate on SSM Is the matter settled?   Part 1   Part 2 The Federal Government's "Reference" to the Supreme Court The path forward; predicted future timeline Same-sex parenting: a massive study commissioned by Liberals, suppressed by Conservatives Potential roadblocks to implement SSM across Canada Will provincial governments be able to opt out of registering SSM? The answer is no The rights of clergy and others to refuse services to same-sex engaged couples

Briefs submitted to the government by various groups: Analysis of a brief submitted by the Interfaith Coalition on Marriage and Family United Church of Canada submission Evangelical Fellowship of Canada submission

Developments after 2006: 2011: Saskatchewan: conflict with marriage commissioners 2012-JAN to now: Federal Conservatives reopen attack on SSM. Census data. Other topics:  Part 1  2102-JAN: Federal Conservatives attack SSM, then stage a speedy retreat. Part 2  2012-JAN: Attack and retreat (Continued) Part 3  2012-JAN to SEP: Problem surfaces over visitors who married in Canada and find that they cannot obtain a divorce. Part 4  2013-MAY to JUN: Bill C-32 to fix the divorce problem finally solved. Part 5  2016: The Conservative Party of Canada modifies its platform to take neutral position on gay marriage.

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. "Redefinition of Marriage: A Focus on the Family Q&A," FamilyFacts.ca, undated, at: http://www.fotf.ca/
2. The red and white banner is is a custom graphic copied from Tania's site at: http://www3.sympatico.ca/
3. "Should the government allow same sex marriage?," ISideWith, as of 2014-FEB-20. at: http://canada.isidewith.com/

Copyright © 1998 to 2015 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2015-JUL-21
Author: B.A. Robinson

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