Timeline same sex in Canada

Globe and Mail

September 12, 2007

In a decisive 8-1 judgment, the Supreme Court of Canada says that gay couples are no different than heterosexual couples in their ability to share loving unions and suffer relationship breakdowns. The landmark decision upholds lower court rulings that found the definition of spouse as a “man and woman” under Ontario’s Family Law Act was unconstitutional.

The case involved M and H, a lesbian couple that split up after years of living together. M sought support payments from H but was refused. Although the couple later settled their differences, the Ontario government appealed the lower court ruling.

Writing for the majority, Mr. Justice Peter Cory and Mr. Justice Frank Iacobucci said the law demeaned the human dignity of gays by implying they are “less worthy of recognition and protections” than other citizens. “Their exclusion perpetuates the disadvantages suffered by individuals in same-sex relationships, and contributes to the erasure of their existence,” the majority said.

May-June, 1999

Provincial and federal governments grapple with the ruling’s implications. Ontario Premier Mike Harris says the province will comply. “It is not my definition of family, but it is [the definition] of others. And the courts have ruled that it is constitutional,” Mr. Harris says. Alberta Premier Ralph Klein suggests his province might use the Constitution’s notwithstanding clause.

On June 8, the Liberal government under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien backs an Opposition motion asserting Parliament’s view that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. The vote passes 216-55.

“The definition of marriage is already clear in law,” says Justice Minister Anne McLellan. “This government has no intention of changing the definition of marriage or legislating same-sex marriage.”

Feb. 11, 2000

In response to the Supreme Court decision, the Liberal government introduces Bill C-23, which guarantees a host of rights and benefits for gay partners, including child-care tax benefits, pension benefits for widowed spouses, tax breaks on retirement savings plans, even conjugal prison visits.

“Most Canadians have decided that they want people in equal or the same circumstances to be treated fairly,” Justice Minister Anne McLellan says. “I think Canadians are probably way ahead of legislators in that regard.”

A month later, in a bid to appease opposition from its own backbench, the government alters the bill to define in it the definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others. The amendment unleashes a torrent of criticism from gay-rights groups. Parliament passes the bill in April with a vote of 174-72.

July 20, 2000

The British Columbia government announces it will go to court to win legal sanction for same-sex marriages after the provincial director of vital statistics defers granting a marriage licence to a lesbian couple.

“We intend to argue strongly in favour of legalized, same-sex marriages, and we hope we are joined by others,” says B.C. Attorney-General Andrew Petter.

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