Ottawa will not appeal Ontario same-sex ruling
CTV.ca News Staff
June 17, 2003 – Toronto, Canada
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced that Ottawa will move toward legalizing same-sex marriages.
"We will not be appealing the recent decision on the definition of marriage. Rather we will be proposing legislation that will protect the right of churches and religious organizations to sanctify marriage as they define it."
"At same time we'll ensure that our legislation includes a legally recognized same-sex couple. As soon as the legislation is drafted it will be referred to the Supreme Court. After that it will be put to a free vote in the House of Commons."
Last week, an Ontario Court of Appeal declared the current definition of marriage -- "one man and one woman" -- in violation of the Charter and ordered the City of Toronto to issue marriage licenses immediately to the same-sex couples involved in the case. Under the ruling, Ottawa has two years to change the legal definition of marriage to a union between "two persons."
Referring to Canadian law in 1905 which made it illegal for a woman to marry her dead husband's brother, Chrétien said Canada has undergone a societal change.
"There is an evolution, but what is important for me is the freedom of the churches to interpret it according to their faith."
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister John Manley told reporters that the government saw the issue of same-sex marriages as inevitable.
Last Thursday, an all-party Commons justice committee voted 9-8 in favour of letting the decision stand rather than appealing it in the Supreme Court. The motion is not binding. Courts in British Columbia and Quebec have also ruled that banning same-sex marriages is unconstitutional.
In May, the B.C. Court of Appeal overturned a B.C. Supreme Court ruling that said marriage is only for heterosexuals. It gave Parliament until July 12, 2004 to change the law. If Ottawa recognizes same-sex marriages, Canada would become only the third country in the world to do so. The others are Belgium and the Netherlands.
