Same Sex Marriage in Canada

Running head: SAME SEX MARRIAGE IN CANADA
Same Sex Marriage in Canada
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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LGBTQ rights as guaranteed by the Canadian Constitution and the Canadian legal
system in general is considered to be highly advanced, more advanced than similar rights
guaranteed by other legal systems worldwide. The country has been tolerant of same sex
activities including same sex sexual behavior since the year of 1969, with the latter behavior
being considered as entirely lawful in the context of Canada.1 The Criminal Law Amendment
Act which was implemented in 1969 upon 1969 legalized same sex sexual behavior, giving
lesbian and gay couples in the country complete freedom to express their love for one
another. The largest cities of Canada, such as Toronto and Ottawa among others, are known
to feature gay communities as well as gay neighborhoods of their own. Since the year of
1982, fundamental rights have been guaranteed for gay and lesbian people in the country by
the Canadian Constitution, under the provisions of the famous Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms, a charter that applies to all legal frameworks and instruments implemented in
Canada. In the summer months of every year, the LGBTQ community in Canadian cities and
towns are seen to celebrate Gay Pride, a festival that marks the emancipation of same sex
couples, and which is attended in large numbers, not only by members of the LGBTQ
community, but by general people as well, including politicians and those working in the
administrative divisions of different Canadian municipalities.2 While Canada is a country that
has been accepting and tolerating of same sex behavior for a long time, it was not until the
year of 2005 that same sex marriage was legalized.3 I am going to argue in this paper, that the
process of same sex marriage legalization in Canada was one that followed a remarkable
trajectory, setting an example for other countries of the world including the neighboring
1 Bernstein, Mary, and Brenna Harvey. "17 The movement towards marriage equality in advanced industrialized
countries." Handbook on Gender and Social Policy (2018): 307
2 "Activists Says A Still-Active Human Rights Case In N.L. Speaks To The Lasting Homophobia In Canada".
2019. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/4970558/human-rights-case-homophobia/.
3 Bernstein, Mary, Brenna Harvey, and Nancy A. Naples. "Marriage, the Final Frontier? Same‐Sex Marriage and
the Future of the Lesbian and Gay Movement." In Sociological Forum, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 30-52. 2018

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country, USA. This will be done by discussing the different court decisions that ultimately
led to the legalization of same sex marriage in Canada, giving lesbian and gay couples the
legal sanction that they needed in order to exchange vows before God and commit to each
other, in the same way that conventional married couples do.4
In the year of 1993, lesbian and gay marriage was rejected by a Canadian court. A gay
couple issued a law suit against the government of Canada in that year for this purpose. This
couple had been denied the license to get married in the city of Ottawa in Ontario, with one
of them being American citizen and the other one being Canadian. The lawsuit was not
successful in the least and the American citizen was compelled to leave Canada and go back
to the USA.5 The introduction of a private member’s bill took place in the federal parliament
in Canada in the year of 1996, April, a bill that would not only have recognized the existence
of same sex partnerships in the country but which would also have guaranteed to such
partnerships the same rights as those involved in a heterosexual romantic partnership. It of
course historically well known that private member bills tend to be rejected for the most part,
and have seldom ever been approved of or passed by the Canadian federal parliament. This
particular bill died a slow death, not having been voted for even once. In the month of May in
the same year, a federal law that encouraged anti-discriminatory behavior towards same sex
couples, was passed. It had been promised by the liberal party that was currently in power at
that time, that the Human Rights Act of Canada would be amended in order to reduce the
discriminatory behavior that was being meted out to minorities in the country, including
sexual minorities6. Such a promise had been made by the Liberal Party for several years now,
4 Bosley-Smith, Emma R., and Corinne Reczek. "Before and After “I Do”: Marriage Processes for Mid-Life Gay
and Lesbian Married Couples." Journal of homosexuality 65, no. 14 (2018): 1985-2004
5 "Bernie Sanders Says All His 'Radical' 2016 Ideas Are Now Mainstream". 2019. Mail Online.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6796357/Bernie-Sanders-says-radical-2016-ideas-mainstream.html
6 "LGBT Catholics Get Scholarship Fund From Louisville Couple". 2019. Courier-Journal.
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2019/03/07/new-university-louisville-scholarship-helps-
catholic-lgbt-students/3084281002/.

3SAME SEX MARRIAGE IN CANADA
and their inaction on this matter had begun to cause them much embarrassment. A free vote
in May 1996 with 76 people voting against the law and 153 voting for it, led to the Human
Rights Act finally being amended in Canada. It is important to note in this respect, that the
amendment was supported by two large protestant outfits in Canada, namely, the Anglican
Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada. The law in Canada covers
approximately one million employees of regulated business and the federal government.7
With the exception of Canadian states such as Alberta, Prince Edward Island, North West
Territories and Newfoundland, a similar legislation had been already passed by most of the
other provinces. While same sex marriage was still not legal anywhere in Canada at that point
of time, the amendment of the Human Rights Act of Canada appeared to be a move that
served as an important precursor for the legalization of same sex marriage in Canada.8
The NDP or Socialist government in the Canadian state of British Columbia passed
two laws in the month of July in 1997 that assured spousal benefits in a new form. According
to these laws, the definition of a spouse would be one that would extend to those involved in
same sex relationships as well. Bills 32 and 31 recognize what is often termed as a marriage
like relationship that is entered into by people who belong to the same gender as per the
Family Maintenance Enforcement Act and the Family Relations Act of Canada. For the first
time now, lesbian and gay couples in Canada were guaranteed the same rights pertaining to
child custody, child maintenance and access to their children, in the exact same way that such
rights were accorded to heterosexual couples under common law as well. It now became
possible for gay and lesbian couples in the country of Canada not only to be able to love one
another and live together but to also have children and enjoy custody of their children even
7 "Pair In Same-Sex SCOTUS Ruling Start Fund For LGBT Catholics". 2019. LEX18.Com.
https://lex18.com/news/2019/03/08/pair-in-same-sex-scotus-ruling-start-fund-for-lgbt-catholics/
8 Bosley-Smith, Emma R., and Corinne Reczek. "Before and After “I Do”: Marriage Processes for Mid-Life
Gay and Lesbian Married Couples." Journal of homosexuality 65, no. 14 (2018): 1985-2004