And there was much rejoicing.
What are the implications of this? Is this the end of human society as we know it? Will this actually mean that homosexual marriage will be allowed (in Canada, at least), for real?
“What?” I thought. “There’s no way Johnny Hart would ever agree to that …”
Oh.
Cowgirl: I don’t know you at all so I can’t tell if your being facetious or not. So I’ll take your question at face value…
This court decision follows in the wake of a similar decision by the Ontario Superior Court. Both decisions give the Federal Government until (about) next summer to change the current heterosexist definition of marriage or face the possibility of having a whole slew of laws struck down as unconstitutional.
The Federal government did not immediately decide to appeal either decision, and instead set up a Federal Commission which has heard from representatives from numerous communities across the country. They will review the results of the commission before deciding whether or not to appeal.
If they do not decide to appeal and chose instead to rewrite the laws, then gays in every province (I’m not sure about Quebec) will share all of the same rights and responsibilities heterosexual couples now enjoy. I’ll reiterate: It will not be a province by province thing. Marriage is governed under the Family Law Act which is a piece of federal legislation.
My prediction: the Liberals will not appeal, substantially contributing to what is shaping up to be an amazingly progressive legacy for Mr. Chrétien.
Actually, the feds did appeal the Ontario ruling to the Ontario Court of Appeal, which heard the appeal last month and reserved their decision.
Also, what’s at issue is the common law definition of marriage. There is no federal “Family Law Act.”
As near as I can tell this paragraph is almost totally fictional. There’s no federal act that resembles this. I’ve tried pretty hard to find it without any success.
There is a federal Divorce Act, IIRC.
Well, one of the reasons Cauchon has given in the past for appealing the Ontario ruling is that provincial courts were headed in different directions on this issue and he wanted the Supreme Court to weigh in to settle things - this latest BC ruling overturns a prior ruling upholding the common law definition of marriage. So now we have the courts in three provinces ruling in unison, and no conflicting rulings anywhere else. I think it’s extremely unlikely that the Supreme Court would overturn the provincial courts on this matter, given its history of reading the Charter fairly broadly.
So, I’d say it’s pretty much irrelevant whether the federal appeal goes ahead - either way, there’ll be same-sex marriage in Canada within a couple years. The only thing to be decided is the details of how it’s done.
Cute Chick and Fat Broad. Oh yeah.