Same-sex marriage in Manitoba

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Panda2018 0 (talk | contribs) at 19:25, 3 January 2020. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

  Same-sex marriage in Canada
Legal
Reference Re Same-Sex Marriage
Halpern v Canada (AG)
Civil Marriage Act
Parliament
38th House · 39th House
Same-sex marriage by province
Related
Civil unions in Quebec
Adult interdependent relationship in Alberta
Domestic partnership in Nova Scotia
Common-law relationships in Manitoba
Part of the LGBT rights series
Marriage

Recognized

Civil unions and
registered partnerships
Minimal recognition
See also
Notes
  1. KoN: Performed in the Netherlands proper, including the Caribbean Netherlands. Registered in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
  2. NZ: Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
  3. UK: Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
  4. US: Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
  5. Israel: Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
  6. EU: The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
  7. Cambodia: Recognition of a "declaration of family relationship", which may be useful in matters such as housing, but they are not legally binding.
  8. China: Guardianship agreements, conferring some limited legal benefits, including decisions about medical and personal care.
  9. HK: Inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
  10. India: Courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
  11. Japan: Some cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
  12. Namibia: Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse recognized for residency rights.
  13. Romania: Hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.
* Not yet in effect
LGBT portal

Same-sex marriage in Manitoba has been legal since September 16, 2004. In the case of Vogel v. Canada, Justice Douglas Yard of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench ruled that the policy of the Government of Manitoba was unconstitutional, and ordered the province to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.[1] This decision followed a suit brought by three couples in Manitoba who were denied marriage licences.[2] Both the provincial and federal governments had made it known that they would not oppose the court bid.

Manitoba became the fifth jurisdiction in Canada (and the eighth worldwide) to extend civil marriage to same-sex couples, after the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec, and the territory of Yukon.[2] Judge Yard said that his decision had been influenced by the previous decisions in B.C., Ontario and Quebec.

A June 2005 Winnipeg Free Press survey showed that of the 14 federal Manitoban MPs, eight were against same-sex marriages, five were for and one could not be reached.

Vogel v. Canada

In 1974, one of the couples, Chris Vogel and Richard North, had been married in the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Winnipeg,[3] but the Government of Manitoba refused to register this marriage.

On September 16, 2004, Justice Douglas Yard ordered the province to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, ruling that bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional.[1] Vogel and North did not remarry because they had been married 30 years earlier in the Unitarian Church.[4]

The other couples involved in this case were Stefphany Cholakis and Michelle Ritchot, and Laura Fouhse and Jordan Cantwell. Both of these couples were issued marriage licences following the court order, and were married in Manitoba. Both Laura Fouhse and Jordan Cantwell are ministers in the United Church of Canada, and in 2015 Jordan Cantwell was elected to lead the Church as Moderator.[5]

A controversy emerged shortly after the ruling, when the province's Vital Statistics Office sent letters to the province's government marriage commissioners (not clergy) asking them to return their certificates of registration if they refuse to perform same-sex marriages. The federal Conservative justice critic, Vic Toews, announced he would file a complaint with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission if this policy was not rescinded.[6]

In 2015, Richard North filed a complaint of discrimination with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission when the Government of Manitoba again refused to register his marriage to Chris Vogel in the Unitarian Church.[7] The Commission referred this case to an adjudicator who heard the complaint in November 2017. The adjudicator ruled against the couple in January 2018.[8] The marriage certificate issued to them by the Unitarian Church in 1974 is now on display at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.[9] A portrait of Vogel and North, by artist Rosey Goodman, is held by the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives in its National Portrait Collection.[10]

Provincial legislation

Common-law relationships

Main article: Common-law relationships in Manitoba

Since 2001, same-sex couples have had access to government-sanctioned relationships, providing them with some of the rights and benefits of marriage.

Marriage

In October 2008, the Marriage Act (French: Loi sur le mariage) was amended by replacing the words "husband and wife" with "spouses".[11] Manitoba became the fourth province, after Quebec, Ontario and Prince Edward Island, to add a gender-neutral definition of spouse in its marriage laws.

Marriage statistics

Approximately 900 same-sex couples had married in the twelve years following the court ruling. An average of 79 same-sex marriages were celebrated per year, with the peak being 2014 with 107 same-sex marriages.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Same-sex marriage in Manitoba, Canada". Kingston: Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 21 September 2004. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Same-sex marriage in Manitoba, Canada". www.religioustolerance.org. Retrieved 2019-10-14.
  3. ^ "First Unitarian Universalist Church of Winnipeg".
  4. ^ "40-year struggle to have groundbreaking same-sex marriage recognized still not over". Winnipeg Free Press. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Jordan Cantwell".
  6. ^ "Commissioners have right to refuse to wed gay couples: Toews". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 November 2004. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  7. ^ "Chris Vogel, Richard North fight for Manitoba to recognize 41-year same-sex marriage". CBC News, February 18, 2015.
  8. ^ Failing to register 1974 same-sex marriage not discriminatory: Manitoba human rights adjudicator
  9. ^ "Canadian Museum for Human Rights".
  10. ^ "Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives".
  11. ^ "The Statutes Correction and Minor Amendments Act, 2008". Government of Manitoba. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  12. ^ About 900 LGBT couples tied knot since same-sex marriage legalized in Manitoba

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Same-sex_marriage_in_Manitoba&oldid=933923459"