News

Ontario Marriage Bombshell Shocks Canada
— June 16, 2003

On Tuesday, June 10, Ontario's highest court shocked the world with a decision ordering the City of Toronto to immediately begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In reaching this result, the Court of Appeals rejected the historical definition of marriage in Canada, deleting reference to "one man and one woman" while unilaterally redefining marriage as "the voluntary union for life of two persons to the exclusion of all others."

The decision relies on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and holds that laws defining marriage as a male-female union violate the human dignity of lesbians and gay men. Specifically, the Court found that marriage laws discriminate against homosexuals on the basis of their sexual orientation, denying them "self-respect and self-worth." The Court rejected claims by the Attorney General of Canada that the longstanding definition of marriage is justified by the role marriage has played as a "core foundational unit [which] benefits society at large." The Court also went on to reject arguments related to marriage's function in uniting the sexes, encouraging procreation and childrearing within marriage, and companionship, concerned that marriage inappropriately suggests that same-sex unions are of lesser worth than opposite-sex unions. Rejecting the procreation argument, the Court noted that, while only opposite-sex couples can procreate naturally, the Attorney General had failed to prove an interest in "natural procreation" sufficient to justify discrimination against couples who obtain children by other means. Finally, the Court noted that same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples both seek companionship in marriage.

In the media uproar which has surrounded the decision in Ontario, backroom politics have also played a role, as the Justice Committee voted late Thursday to recommend against appeal of the Ontario decision. The recommendation came as the committee chairman broke an 8-8 tie after hurriedly calling the vote before a missing Conservative committee member could arrive to vote in favor of appeal. The committee's recommendation makes it unlikely that Justice Minister Martin Cauchon will appeal the politically sensitive case, though no decision has yet been announced. The Justice Minister has until June 30 to appeal a similar decision in British Columbia, though the British Columbia decision does not take effect until next year.

Already dozens of same-sex couples have obtained marriage licenses, which are available to couples regardless of residency. Tuesday's opinion was handed down just weeks before an anticipated Justice Commission report makes recommendations about the state of Canadian marriage law. Some observers have speculated that the immediate effect of the Ontario opinion was intended to pressure the Justice Commission into recommending full recognition of same-sex "marriage" throughout Canada.

Source: Halpern v. Attorney General of Canada, Docket # C39172 and C39174 (Court of Appeal for Ontario, June 10, 2003); "Canada Committee Backs Same-Sex Marriages," Associated Press, June 12, 2003.