Wading into a controversy that has quickly blown into an international cause célèbre, Mr. Nicholson made assurances the government “has no intention of reopening the debate on the definition of marriage.”
He said that under the current laws, the marriage in the case at the centre of the controversy cannot be dissolved in Canada in spite of the fact that the couple was wed in Toronto in 2005.
“I will be looking at options to clarify the law so that marriages performed in Canada can be undone in Canada,” Mr. Nicholson said.
Mr. Nicholson's statement gave immediate hope to married same-sex couples who are seeking a divorce but appeared to have no prospect of obtaining a one in Canada. However, it left one central question unanswered: Does the government consider their marriages to be legal, or not?
Despite efforts by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to quell the controversy, opposition had grown swiftly Thursday to the Justice Department’s position that thousands of same-sex couples who married in Canada were not legally wed.
Former Toronto mayor David Miller said the Harper government had embarrassed Canada in front of the world by upsetting the lives of same-sex couples who flocked to the city for marriages they were denied in their home countries.
“I'm shocked,” Mr. Miller said in an interview. “I'm saddened and, as a Canadian who does a lot of work abroad, I'm very embarrassed.”
Mr. Miller, a lawyer at the Toronto firm of Aird Berliss who is concurrently teaching law at New York University, said it was “sneaky and underhanded” of the federal government to say foreigners who married in same sex ceremonies in Canada are not legally married.
“I was so proud to be the mayor of a city that had the first same sex marriages,” Mr. Miller said. “It made a strong statement that everybody is welcome in our country.”
Speaking to reporters in Halifax, however, Mr. Harper attempted to put a lid on the controversy by saying the issue is not on the agenda for his majority Conservatives. “We have no intention of further re-opening or opening this issue,” the Prime Minister told reporters when asked about The Globe and Mail’s report.
The reversal of federal policy was revealed in a document filed in a Toronto test case launched recently by a lesbian couple seeking a divorce. Wed in Toronto in 2005, the couple have been told they cannot divorce because they were never really married – a Department of Justice lawyer says their marriage is not legal in Canada since they could not have lawfully wed in Florida or England, where the two partners reside.
“In terms of the specifics of the story this morning, I will admit to you that I am not aware of the details,” Mr. Harper said. “This I gather is a case before the courts where Canadian lawyers have taken a particular position based on the law and I will be asking officials to provide me more details”
Mr. Miller scoffed at any notion the federal position could be a “technicality” devised by a particular federal prosecutor. He said it is inconceivable the federal move was not made with the full knowledge of the Prime Minister.
“I ran a major government – the sixth largest government in Canada – and I can tell you that this kind of decision would not happen without the Prime Minister being briefed,” Mr. Miller said.
He said that, in conjunction with the government pulling Canada out of the Kyoto Accord and its recent denunciation of environmentalists who oppose an Alberta oil-sands pipeline project, the rescinding of same sex marriages has given the country an international black eye.
“Environmentalists are not welcome,” Mr. Miller said. “Now gays and lesbians are not welcome. Who else isn't welcome? It reflects intolerance.”
The Ontario government, meanwhile, laid the blame squarely at the foot of the Harper government, saying the ability to marry and divorce is a matter of federal jurisdiction.
However, it was the Ontario Superior Court that effectively redefined marriage in the province in 2002. In a landmark decision, the court said there is no statutory impediment to issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples or to having their unions registered.
Ontario has issued licenses for same-sex marriage since 2003, following a Court of Appeal decision, a spokesman in the Ministry of the Attorney-General said. “Our government supports equal rights for all citizens and is committed to ensuring that same-sex couples are treated with the same respect and dignity as opposite sex couples,” Brendan Crawley said.
As news of the federal about-face spread, same-sex couples reacted angrily to what many perceived as a betrayal.
“I'm pretty mad at Canada and at Mr. Harper,” said Kathy Heggemeier, a retiree in Portsmouth, Va., who came to Toronto in July 2003 to marry Elaine, her partner of 28 years.
Ms. Heggemeier said she turned to her spouse this morning and saying: “Well honey, I guess we may not be married after all.”
While same-sex marriages are not legal in Virginia or in North Carolina, where the couple lived previously, Ms. Heggemeier said they have been able nonetheless to use their Canadian marriage certificate to obtain spousal benefits from employers and be recognized as a couple by their doctor.
“I'm angry but more than anything I'm sad because what I see is another craven politician going after a minority,” she said.
Kevin Bourassa, a Toronto resident whose legal battle to wed Joe Varnell was instrumental in legalizing gay marriages in Canada, cautioned that the federal government's argument remains at this point a legal opinion.
“Sanity will prevail,” he said.
At the same time, Mr. Bourassa expressed dismay at the latest development. He recalled Americans gay couples singing O Canada when they came to Toronto to get married, starting in June 2003.
“They were so proud of this country. I wonder what they feel now,” Mr. Bourassa said.
Same-sex marriage was effectively legalized by the courts in 2004. A year later, the Liberal government of then-prime-minister Paul Martin passed a bill enshrining it in law. More than 5,000 of the approximately 15,000 same-sex marriages that have taken place since then involved couples from the United States or other countries.
Original Article
Source: Globe
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