# Same-Sex Wedding bells in Canada! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 10, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957 "2003-06-10T20:33:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/41 "2003-06-12T14:08:33Z")
Well we’ve had a few in Toronto and Ottawa that I’ve heard reported. ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/42 "2003-06-12T14:59:22Z")
That’s great news! Go Canada! ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/43 "2003-06-12T15:21:27Z")
**Nichol\_storm** : yep. You’d go to City Hall to get the “licence” which is what has stymied SS couples in the past. Then you’d go get someone to marry you. Jubilance in the office … my normally boring, conservative office is full of joy at the news that one of our former co-workers is getting married today !! It’s just fucking great every time you hear it ! And the 6:00 news last night was fantastic - with all the shit we’ve been hearing lately (SARS, child abductions, Iraq, Israel, failing beef industry, civil war in Africa etc) it’s so wonderful to see such happy, happy people ! They’ve worked hard, and prayed hard, and finally … Wow ! So very proud to be Canadian ! See y’all at the Pride Parade ! ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/44 "2003-06-12T15:24:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nichol\_storm \* > \*\*Does this mean that gay marriage is legal now in Canada? I mean, if I were a Canadian lesbian, could I waltz into the Justice of the Peace’s office (or the Canadian equivalent) with my girlfriend tomorrow and get legally hitched? > > .:Nichol:. \*\* Actually it seems to mean that even if you _are not_ a Canadian lesbian you can come on up, get married and go home. ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/45 "2003-06-12T20:37:42Z")
This is a tremendous leap forward for gay Canadians, and a testament to the maturity and beneficence of the Canadian government. It looks like civilization is finally coming to North America. I wonder what the US will do to try and hold it back? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/46 "2003-06-12T20:46:42Z")
Great news. I hope this is a priming of the pump for other countries. Does this allow adoption too? ---
**Author:** ![hampster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/53a042/32.png) [@hampster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hampster)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/47 "2003-06-12T21:50:12Z")
The Ontario ruling dictates that same sex married couples are now supposed to be treated exactly the same as heterosexual married couples. It looks like when it comes to step parenting and adoption everybody’s under the same law now. So it’s not like Belgium which specifically restricts adoption. Now the thing is the justice commitee just passed Svend Robinson’s motion that the committee recommend parliament [para]accept the spirit of the Ontario ruling and not appeal to the Supreme Court [/para]. Now if they do this and give up on any appeals to the SC, Ontario will stand and everyone will have to kill time until July 2004 when the decisions in BC and Quebec come into effect- But the old definition of marriage will still apply everywhere else. The PM has talked about creating a national solution to this issue, but parliament is notoriously gutless and slow when it comes to this kind of thing and having to wait until Paul Martin is retiring and wants to build a legacy for things to start to get done doesn’t suit. Might not an appeal to the SCC get everything done with sooner? As it stands right now the justice minister isn’t going to make a statement on the govt’s course of action until after a cabinet retreat next Tuesday IIRC, and by then the House won’t be sitting. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/48 "2003-06-12T23:53:55Z")
Does Canada have an equivalent to the US Constitution’s “full faith and credit” clause? The argument in the US is that should any state recognize SSM, all the other states would have to recognize it because of this clause, which requires each state to recognize the “public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings” of the other states. Is there a similar provision in Canadian law? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/49 "2003-06-13T01:36:02Z")
> [@](#): > > if I were a Canadian lesbian, could I waltz into the Justice of the Peace’s office (or the Canadian equivalent) with my girlfriend tomorrow and get legally hitched? In Ontario, yes. As I understand it, the provincial court has declared the federal law unconstitutional; this decision seems to be limited in jurisdiction to Ontario (provinces _register_ marriages) but presumably it would make things much easier for the court or legislature in any other province/territory to correct things. Alberta’s premier has indicated, as mentioned, that he’ll rebuff any attempt to enforce this in Alberta. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/50 "2003-06-17T01:14:26Z")
I’m resurrecting this thread to post a link to [a rather good column](http://newsobserver.com/news/columnists/story/2616852p-2427708c.html) by longtime _Raleigh News & Observer_ columnist Dennis Rogers. Excerpts: > [@](#): > > Canada is still there. Imagine that. No fiery thunderbolts hurled by an angry God. No brimstone, no plague of locusts. Canadians are still doing what they’ve always done: work, school, knock back Molsons, run into the occasional moose and tell the government to butt out of their private lives. > > * * * > > I respect the state as much as anybody. I pay my taxes, and I know the official State Toast by heart. But as much as I admire the government, I don’t want it sticking its nose into my bedroom. Or anyone else’s either. > > Yet that is the situation gay people find themselves facing. In a state where we pride ourselves on being free to live as we see fit, some people don’t want homosexuals to share that freedom. > > * * * > > Let’s keep a sharp eye on Canada. If it isn’t wiped out by a flaming meteor, perhaps we can start treating all North Carolina residents equally, too. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/51 "2003-06-17T07:21:30Z")
[http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030616.wgayy616/BNStory/National/](http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030616.wgayy616/BNStory/National/) It looks like federal Justice Minister Martin Cauchon is not into appealing this one (for once). Woo! ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/52 "2003-06-17T07:34:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Is there a similar provision in Canadian law? I can’t say. I’ve heard it suggested that the aforementioned use of the Notwithstanding Clause by Alberta might be able to stop the province from _registering_ any same-sex marriages, but they wouldn’t be able to get out of _recognizing_ ones contracted in other countries. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/53 "2003-06-17T13:05:50Z")
I don’t think “full faith” would apply, since we have _provinces_, and not states. IANA poli sci prof, but there are prolly fundamental differences that make interprovincial relations unparallel to interstate ones. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/54 "2003-06-18T04:26:41Z")
It’s official: the Feds are not appealing the court decision. Gay marriage is here to stay in Ontario! > [@](#): > > OTTAWA - Ottawa will introduce legislation to make same-sex marriages legal, while at the same time permitting churches and other religious groups to “sanctify marriage as they see it,” the prime minister said Tuesday. [http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/06/17/gaymarriage\_cab030617](http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/06/17/gaymarriage_cab030617) ---
**Author:** ![tarnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tarnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarnik)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/55 "2003-06-18T05:25:00Z")
Ooooo please please please can we be next? It’s a done deal with this administration. hehe. ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/56 "2003-06-18T06:19:36Z")
I want to move to Canada now. I mean it. Right now. How you folks coexist with us yokels down here I’ll never know. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/57 "2003-06-18T07:22:12Z")
Well, we don’t call it a green card, we call it Family Class Immigration. Find a Canadian boy (the Québécois are the best lovers and will teach you French to boot) and go for it. ---
**Author:** ![Feynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@Feynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feynn)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/58 "2003-06-18T07:33:36Z")
Ralph Klein is a total asshat (can I say that here?) and as an Albertan I wil say that he does not speak for me or many other Albertans. The whole “Alberta is the Texas of Canada” idea really chaps my butt too. Anyways… I have heard that people from as far away as Asia are travelling to Canada to be married… this is too cool. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/59 "2003-06-18T11:18:38Z")
Yes, I highly recommend that all matrimonially-inclined same-sex couples the world over come to tie the knot here in Ontario. I suggest having the ceremony in Toronto then driving down the QEW to Niagara Falls, Honeymoon Capital of the World[sup]TM[/sup], to celebrate. And don’t forget to tour some of our world-class wineries while you’re here! [sub]Note: The above post was entirely self-serving as the tourist economies of this region have been devastated by overblown SARS fears. Besides, Clifton Hill could use a touch of fabulousness. Just remember not to get married in any hospitals or old-age homes and you’ll have nothing to worry about.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957/60 "2003-06-18T12:50:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hodge \* > (snip) > \*\*Niagara Falls, Honeymoon Capital of the World[sup]TM[/sup], to celebrate. \*\* As a resident of the Niagara Falls area and speaking as someone who went on honeymoon to “the NF” himself, I wholeheartedly endorse this plan. We need all the fabulousness we can get around here! And as [we’re not exactly bursting at the seams with heterosexual married couples](http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/croisdale113.html), there’ll be lots of rooms available this summer! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-wedding-bells-in-canada/180957.md?page=4)