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 | 2003-JUN: The definition of marriage in Ontario was widened by the Ontario Court of Appeal. They ruled unanimously that same-sex couples can obtain marriage licenses and register their marriages. |
| 2003-JUL: The province of British Columbia followed suit. |
| 2003-AUG: The deputy Prime Minister, John Manley, commented to the media that the Quebec government will soon start to register SSMs. 1 He was wrong. |
| 2003-JUL: The federal government submitted draft legislation in the form of a "reference" to the Supreme Court of Canada which would redefine marriage to include same-sex couples. The Court is ruled that the proposed laws were constitutional in late 2004. |
| 2003-DEC: Prime Minister Paul Martin asked the Supreme Court whether the addition of a Vermont-style civil union structure to the marriage act would be good enough to make it constitutional. |
| 2004-MAR: The Quebec Court of Appeal ruled that same-sex marriages are legal in the province. SSM became available to about 80% of Canada's population without the spouses having to leave their province of residency. |
| 2004-JUL: Against the wishes of the federal Attorney General, the Yukon Supreme Court ordered the territory to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and register their subsequent marriages. Yukon is a territory of Canada, north of the province of British Columbia. |
| 2004-SEP-14: Justice Ruth Mesbur of the Ontario Superior Court issued the first divorce to a married same-sex couple in Canada. Theirs may have been the first same-sex divorce in the world. |
| 2004-SEP-16: A court in Manitoba authorized same-sex marriages in the province. |
| 2004-SEP-24: A court in Nova Scotia authorized same-sex marriages in the province. |
| 2004-OCT-06 & 07: The Supreme Court of Canada conducted hearings lasting a day and a half on the federal government's SSM reference. |
| 2004-OCT: Two same-sex couples were raising money to launch a SSM lawsuit in New Brunswick. A lesbian couple has allegedly launched a similar lawsuit in Saskatchewan. |
| 2004-NOV: A court in Saskatchewan authorized same-sex marriages in the province. Among the ten provinces in Canada, only Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island still refused to allow same-sex couples to marry. Two same-sex couples have launched a lawsuit in Newfoundland. |
| 2004-NOV-19: Justice Ruth Mesbur of the Ontario Superior Court handed down her ruling in the SEP-14 same-sex divorce case. She determined that the federal Divorce Act was unconstitutional. In effect, rewrote the law by declaring that "spouse" is to be replaced by the phrase "two persons" married to each other. This ruling applies to a federal statute, passed by Parliament." It therefore redefined the word "spouse" across Canada. Few people noticed. |
| 2004-NOV-26: Many gays and lesbian widows and widowers were retroactively granted survivor pensions from Canada Pension Plan (CPP). |
| 2004-DEC-08: The Supreme Court of Canada released its ruling on the Federal Government's reference questions. They advised that the government has the right to define who can marry, that the government's proposed legislation is constitutional, and that clergy can legally continue to discriminate in selecting which engaged couples they will marry. The court sidestepped a ruling on whether the constitution actually requires SSM, thus guaranteeing a much higher level of debate in the country. |
| 2004-DEC-21: A court in Newfoundland/Labrador ruled that the province must marry same-sex couples. |
| 2005-FEB-01: The Federal Government introduced Bill C-38 to make SSM available across Canada. The bill involves a simple statement that marriage is a union between "two persons." It also makes minor amendments to eight other existing federal laws. Justices of the highest courts in British Columbia, Ontario and Québec have unanimously ruled that SSM is required by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. By not appealing the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada, those rulings have become binding on the federal government. Still, a sizeable minority of Members of Parliament are expected to violate their oath of office -- which requires them to uphold the Constitution -- by voting against the bill. |
| 2005-FEB-24: The Ontario Legislature easily passed an omnibus bill which made minor modifications to 73 existing provincial laws. This brings them into alignment with the 2003-JUN-10 decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal which legalized same-sex marriage. |
| 2005-APR-12: A Conservative party amendment to C-38 which would have banned SSM and substituted a system of civil unions for same-sex couples was defeated by a vote of 164 to 132. This was a wider margin than was expected by most commentators. A second-reading vote is expected by mid-April. If C-38 passes, it would be referred to an all-party committee for study. |
| 2005-MAY-03: The first same-sex wedding of a military couple was celebrated at airbase Greenwood in Nova Scotia by a United Church of Canada minister from a nearby town. A second same-sex marriage is expected in Canadian Forces Base Valcartier in Quebec. |
| 2005-JUN-23: A court in New Brunswick ruled that the province must marry same-sex couples, effective JUL-04. |
| 2005-JUN-28: Bill C-38 was passed in the House of Commons by a vote of 158 to 133. It passed to the Senate for consideration. |
| 2005-JUL-07: The Prince Edward Island's government announced that it would legalize SSM in the province. This is a unique decision, because the territory of Yukon and the eight provinces which currently allow SSM all refused to conduct SSMs until ordered to do so by the courts. |
| 2005-JUL-19: Bill C-38 was passed by the Senate by a vote of 47 to 21 with three abstentions. |
| 2005-JUL-20: Bill C-38 was proclaimed on DEC-20 by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. The Governor General, who usually proclaims legislation, was incapacitated for medical reasons. This law makes same-sex marriages theoretically available in every province and territory of Canada. |
| 2005-AUG-19: Dr. Chris Zarow and Constance Majeau, a same-sex couple from California, pressured the provincial government into letting them marry during a family reunion on Prince Edward Island. Chris Zarow said she is pleased that: "From now on any couple can walk into the Vital Statistics office and simply fill out the paperwork as simple as anyone else. No one else will have to fight this battle." This wedding is symbolic for all of Canada. For the first time, any couple, opposite-sex or same-sex, can obtain a marriage license anywhere in Canada and have their marriage registered by the province or territory. 3,4 More info. |
Current status of SSM in Canada:
With the capitulation of Prince Edward Island, SSM is now available in every province and territory across Canada. They have become a routine event.
The country remains deeply divided on SSM. Most adults are in favor. Young adults are very strongly for SSM; the elderly are overwhelmingly opposed. Religious conservatives are almost completely opposed; religious liberals and secularists are strongly in favor.
In 2006-JAN, a new government was elected, headed by the Conservative Party of Canada. Their leader, Stephen Harper, promised to introduce legislation in Parliament as soon as possible which would prevent any additional same-sex couples from marrying. However, polls indicated that the majority of Members of Parliament would reject such a bill. Harper reneged on his province. The bill will be delayed until at least 2006-Fall.
References used:
- "Thousands rally in defence of marriage," Today's Family News, Focus on the Family, Canada, 2003-AUG-26.
- "Population, provinces and territories," Statistics Canada, 2003 estimates. See: http://www.statcan.ca/
- Wayne Thibodeau, "Lesbian couple make mark with vows," The Guardian, 2005-AUG-20. Online at: http://www.gaypei.com/
- "First same-sex wedding performed on PEI," at: http://www.gaypei.com/
"SSM" means "same-sex marriage"
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Copyright © 1998 to 2006 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2006-FEB-16
Author: B.A. Robinson
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