Same-sex marriage in New Brunswick

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Same-sex marriage has been legal in New Brunswick since June 23, 2005 in accordance with a ruling from the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick. [1] This decision followed similar cases in eight other provinces and territories, and pre-dated by only one month the federal Civil Marriage Act of 2005, which legalised same-sex marriage throughout Canada. New Brunswick was the ninth jurisdiction in Canada and the twelfth in the world to recognise same-sex marriage.

Contents

Background

Following a number of court rulings in other provinces and territories recognizing the right of same-sex couples to marry, Attorney General Brad Green announced in September 2004 that New Brunswick would not follow in the footsteps of Nova Scotia in issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples. He argued that the definition was a federal matter and that the province would recognize only marriages between "a man and a woman" until the Government of Canada came up with a new definition, which it eventually did with the Civil Marriage Act in 2005. In December 2004, Premier Bernard Lord indicated that if and when the federal government passes such legislation, his government would comply with it. He also indicated he would comply with a court ruling, even though he was personally opposed to same-sex marriage, and promised to push for the passage of a provincial law protecting religious groups from being sued if they refuse to marry same-sex couples. The leader of the New Brunswick New Democratic Party, Elizabeth Weir, welcomed the Supreme Court's findings in Reference Re Same-Sex Marriage . [1]

Court ruling

In April 2005, four same-sex couples filed a court challenge, Harrison v. AG of Canada, against the government's policy of denying marriage licences to same-sex couples. The couples included prominent New Brunswick gay rights advocate Art Vautour-Toole and his husband Wayne Toole (who had married in Ontario), as well as Catherine Sidney and Bridget McGale, who were denied a licence in Saint John, Wayne Harrison and Ross Leavitt, and James Crooks and Carl Trickey. [2] Their lawyer, Allison Menard, agreed to represent the couples in court free of charge. The case named both the provincial and federal attorneys general as defendants, Brad Green and Irwin Cotler. Menard told The Globe and Mail : "Because Parliament is not doing its job, these couples are being forced to make their challenge in court." A spokesman for Canadians for Equal Marriage confirmed that the couples were "frustrated" with the parliamentary delay in passing the Civil Marriage Act, "It is clear that this court action is a last resort taken by gay and lesbian couples in New Brunswick who want to join the other nearly 90 percent of Canadians who live in jurisdictions where same-sex couples have the right to marry, They don't have that right in New Brunswick, even though they are Canadian citizens, taxpayers and contributing members of their community." [1]

On June 23 of that year, Judge Judith Clendening of the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick in Moncton ruled that the province's failure to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples was a violation of their Charter rights, in accordance with court rulings in other provinces. [3] She allowed a ten-day grace period to the government to make the necessary administrative adjustments, after which it had to begin issuing marriage licences. This was less than a month before the Parliament of Canada made same-sex marriage legal throughout the country. The new licences became available on July 4. [4] This decision meant that about 90% of the Canadian population were living in provinces and territories where same-sex marriage is legal. The federal Civil Marriage Act which received royal assent on July 20, 2005, expanded this number to cover the entire country.

Provincial legislation

In March 2007, the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick amended the provincial Family Services Act (French : Loi sur les services à la famille) to allow same-sex couples to adopt. [5] The amendments took effect on 1 February 2008. [6] In December 2008, the Assembly made numerous amendments to the Marriage Act (French : Loi sur le mariage) and other acts regarding family law, replacing references to "husband and wife" with the gender-neutral term "spouses". [7] The legislation received royal assent by Lieutenant Governor Herménégilde Chiasson on 19 December 2008.

New Brunswick legislation recognises cohabitation agreements (French : convention de vie comune) which can be entered into by unmarried couples living together. These written agreements, recognized by the provincial Family Services Act, outline the rights and responsibilities of common-law partners. The agreement provides partners with several, but not all, of the rights and benefits of marriage. Common-law partners are allowed to make medical decisions for each other in the case one partner is unable to (e.g. accident), enjoy the same tax benefits as married spouses, are required to support one another, and may be entitled to share pension credits if the partners have lived together continuously for two years. However, common-law partners lack some of the rights and benefits afforded to married couples, particularly regarding property and inheritance rights in the event of a breakdown of the relationship or the death of a partner. Goods that were purposely intended and acquired for common use by the couple will generally be divided upon separation, but goods acquired by one partner only will generally not be divided and only the partner that purchased the goods will be entitled to them. This is not the case for married couples as the Marital Property Act provides an equal division of marital property to married spouses. A common-law partner is also not recognised as an heir upon the death of the partner and may not inherit the partner's property, unless explicitly mentioned in a will. However, the Provision for Dependants Act allows a surviving common-law partner to ask a court to order the deceased partner's estate to provide support based on a "dependant" status if the deceased partner did not provide for the surviving partner through a will. [8]

Marriage statistics

The 2016 Canadian census showed that there were 1,435 same-sex couples living in New Brunswick. [9]

Religious performance

Bishop David Edwards of the Diocese of Fredericton voted against a motion to authorise same-sex marriage in the Anglican Church of Canada in July 2019. The motion to permit same-sex marriage was narrowed rejected, [10] and instead the church synod passed a resolution known as "A Word to the Church", allowing its dioceses to choose whether to bless and perform same-sex marriages. Edwards supported the resolution, later saying that "during the Fall, discussions will take place in dioceses across the country, including ours, as to how to respond to the outcome of General Synod". [11]

The Unitarian Fellowship of Fredericton, a congregation of the Canadian Unitarian Council, has been performing same-sex marriage ceremonies since the 1960s. [12] Some other religious organisations also perform same-sex marriages in their places of worship, including the United Church of Canada, [13] Quakers, [14] and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. [15] In 1996, Jim Crooks and Carl Trickey were married at the Centenary Queen Square United Church in Saint John, marking the first same-sex wedding in a United church in the Maritime provinces. The church was later vandalized by opponents of same-sex marriage. [16]

Public opinion

A 2017 CROP poll showed that 78% of respondents in Atlantic Canada supported same-sex marriage, but did not give a figure for each Atlantic province individually. Nationwide, 74% of Canadians were of the same view, while 26% disagreed. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

Common-law marriage, also known as non-ceremonial marriage, sui iuris marriage, informal marriage, de facto marriage, more uxorio or marriage by habit and repute, is a marriage that results from the parties' agreement to consider themselves married, followed by cohabitation, rather than through a statutorily defined process. Not all jurisdictions permit common law marriage, but will typically respect the validity of such a marriage lawfully entered in another state or country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Same-sex marriage in Canada</span>

Same-sex marriage was progressively introduced in several provinces and territories of Canada by court decisions beginning in 2003 before being legally recognized nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act on July 20, 2005. On June 10, 2003, the Court of Appeal for Ontario issued a decision immediately legalizing same-sex marriage in Ontario, thereby becoming the first province where it was legal. The introduction of a federal gender-neutral marriage definition made Canada the fourth country in the world, and the first country outside Europe, to legally recognize same-sex marriage throughout its borders. Before the federal recognition of same-sex marriage, court decisions had already introduced it in eight out of ten provinces and one of three territories, whose residents collectively made up about 90 percent of Canada's population. More than 3,000 same-sex couples had already married in those areas before the Civil Marriage Act was passed. In 2023, polling by Pew Research suggested that more than three-quarters of Canadian residents supported the legal recognition of same-sex marriage. Most legal benefits commonly associated with marriage had been extended to cohabiting same-sex couples since 1999.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBTQ rights that took place in the year 2004.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Same-sex marriage in Yukon</span>

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Yukon since July 14, 2004, immediately following a ruling from the Supreme Court of Yukon. This made the territory the fourth jurisdiction in Canada, and the seventh in the world after the Netherlands, Belgium, Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and Massachusetts, to legalise same-sex marriage. Yukon was the first of Canada's three territories to legalise same-sex marriage, and the only one to do so before the federal legalisation of same-sex marriage in July 2005 by the Parliament of Canada.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Same-sex marriage in Quebec</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Same-sex marriage in British Columbia</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Same-sex marriage in Manitoba</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Same-sex marriage in Nova Scotia</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Same-sex marriage in Nunavut</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Same-sex marriage in Saskatchewan</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Same-sex marriage in Newfoundland and Labrador</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Same-sex marriage in the New Brunswick, Canada". Kingston: Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 29 April 2005. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  2. ↑ "N.B. same-sex couples seek right to marry". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 April 2005. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  3. ↑ "Court legalizes gay marriage in New Brunswick". CTV. 24 June 2005. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  4. ↑ "All systems go for same-sex marriage in New Brunswick". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 July 2005. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  5. ↑ Sexual Orientation and Legal Rights
  6. ↑ Family Services Act, SNB 1980, c F-2.2
  7. ↑ "Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act" (PDF). Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Living Common-Law: Rights and Responsibilities". Public Legal Education and Information Service of New Brunswick. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  9. ↑ "Families, households and marital status: New Brunswick". www12.statcan.gc.ca. 8 February 2017.
  10. ↑ Zeidler, Maryse (13 July 2019). "Anglican Church rejects same-sex marriage approvals in vote". CBC News.
  11. ↑ "Statement from the Bishop of Fredericton, The Rt Rev. David Edwards". Diocese of Fredericton. July 16, 2019.
  12. ↑ "All systems go for same-sex marriage in New Brunswick". CBC News. 4 July 2005.
  13. ↑ "Beliefs: Overview of Beliefs". The United Church of Canada. May 25, 2009. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Submission to the Legislative Committee on Bill C-38 (CC38)" (PDF). Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers). April 10, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 22, 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Evangelical Lutherans back same-sex marriage". www.winnipegfreepress.com. 23 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2016-04-28. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  16. ↑ "First same-sex couple married inside Maritime church look back on 21 years". CTV News. 12 August 2017.
  17. ↑ I find it great that in our society, two people of the same sex can get married, CROP Panorama
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