LANDMARK COURT RULING MEANS ALL PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES MUST ISSUE MARRIAGE LICENCES TO SAME-SEX COUPLES

Whitehorse, July 30, 2004. The Yukon Supreme Court just released its written reasons for the order it made on July 14 that gay couple Rob Edge and Stephen Dunbar be issued a marriage licence.

“The reasoning of the Court makes this a landmark ruling. The decision means that provinces and territories that refuse to issue marriage licences to qualified same-sex couples are breaking the law,” said Laurie Arron, Director of Advocacy of Egale Canada. “It says that the opposite-sex restriction is no longer good law anywhere in Canada, and has not been since the federal government accepted the rulings in Ontario, B.C. and Quebec. Provinces and territories that refuse to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples are defying the law and can expect to be challenged in court. “

“The Court said that if a province or territory refuses to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples, there is a cost associated with that, a cost that the Yukon government was ordered to pay,” added Mr. Arron. “Surely there is a better use for taxpayers' money than for governments to squander it in court defending discriminatory actions which they themselves know to be unconstitutional.”

“Provinces and territories representing 75% of Canada’s population currently issue marriage licences to same-sex couples. This ruling underscores the need for the federal government to advise the rest of the provinces and territories that they must comply with law, namely the Charter-compliant definition of marriage,” said Alex Munter, National Co-Chair of Canadians for Equal Marriage. “The Prime Minister spoke eloquently during the election campaign about the importance of the Charter, and Canadians clearly agreed. Mr. Martin has a mandate to move forward and an excellent opportunity to take action to back up his eloquent words.”

A survey released July 1 by the Centre for Research and Information on Canada and Environics found that the number of Canadians agreeing that gays and lesbians should be allowed to get married has increased. Currently, 57% agree, the highest level since CRIC first asked the question two years ago, and up from 48% in September 2003. The number disagreeing currently stands at 38%, down from 47% in September 2003. (see New Canada survey at http://www.cric.ca/en_html/index.html)

- 30 -

Excerpts from the judgment:

“I do not consider it open to the Attorney General of Canada to ask this Court to defer to the Reference and to Parliament. The Attorney General of Canada is not divisible by province. The office of the Attorney General of Canada is responsible for federal law. The capacity to marry is a federal issue. To paraphrase paragraph 28 of Hendricks, it is legally unacceptable in a federal constitution area involving the Attorney General of Canada for a provision to be inapplicable in one province and in force in all others.”
Page 13 [note – Hendricks is the Quebec Court of Appeal decision]

“To fail to act now in the face of an acknowledged constitutional violation will result in an unequal application of the law.”
Page 13

“In my view, with respect to the Attorney General of Canada, the approach it has taken is so fundamentally inconsistent with the approach it took in the other provinces and, indeed, with the approach that is acknowledges to be correct in the Supreme Court of Canada, that solicitor client costs should be awarded against the Attorney General of Canada.”
Page 19

“With respect to the Yukon Territorial Government, it is true, I acknowledge what counsel says on behalf of the Government, that it has not opposed the declaration; but it did not grant the request by the applicants, a request that I now say should have been granted; and it had a choice. It could allow the request or wait for a decision of the Court. It decided to await the decision of the Court, and it now has such a decision, but there is a cost associated with that. It is a litigant that lost, in my view, by not acting prior to this decision. Thus, I am going to order that costs on a solicitor client basis be shared by both the Attorney General of Canada and the Yukon Territorial Government.”
Pages 19-20 [note – the ‘request’ is the couple’s request for a marriage licence]

The full 20-page judgment is available at www.egale.ca/yukon.pdf.

For more info:
Alex Munter, Canadians for Equal Marriage, 613-236-5492
Laurie Arron, Egale Canada, 416-928-1238
Gilles Marchildon, Egale Canada, 613-230-1043
Jim Tucker, counsel for Rob Edge and Stephen Dunbar, 867-667-7885
Martha McCarthy, co-counsel for Rob Edge and Stephen Dunbar, 705 765-6055