On September 27, 2004, Saskatchewan Justice Minister Frank Quennell told CBC News that neither he nor the province will take a stand on the issue of same-sex marriage.
Two same-sex couples appeared before Justice Donna Wilson on 3 November, 2004, asking for a judgment requiring the provincial government to issue marriage licences. Neither the federal nor provincial government challenged the suit.
"Greg Walen, lawyer for one of the couples, had filed a statement of claim seeking a declaratory judgment that the common-law definition of marriage be changed to include the wording 'two people to the exclusion of others,' rather than 'two people of the opposite sex.'" [1] (http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2004/11/03/699159-cp.html)
On 5 November, she ruled that the common-law opposite-sex definition of marriage violates the Charter rights of same-sex couples, and that "the common-law definition of marriage for civil purposes is declared to be 'the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others.' "
External links
Same sex marriage in Canada (http://www.samesexmarriage.ca/)
CBC Saskatchewan - Province shies away from same-sex marriage (September 27) (http://sask.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=gay_marriages040927)
CBC Saskatchewan - Decision coming soon on same-sex marriages in Sask. (November 3) (http://sask.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=same_sex_marriage041103)
Marriage could remain an opposite sex institution, either by legislating an opposite sex requirement for marriage, or by restating the opposite sex meaning of marriage in the preamble of a new piece of legislation that would create an equivalent to marriage for federal purposes (either civil union or domestic partnership) for other conjugal relationships; or
Marriage could be changed to also include samesex couples by legislating to give samesex couples the legal capacity to marry; or
Some opponents of equal access to civil marriage for samesex couples argue that religious freedom will be restricted and that the government could dictate to churches that they must perform marriage ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples.
Same-sex marriage was originally legalized as a result of court cases in which provincial or territorial justices ruled existing bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.
According to the Constitution of Canada, the definition of marriage is the exclusive responsibility of the federal government—this interpretation was upheld by a December 9, 2004 opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada (Re Same-Sex Marriage).
(CBC Saskatchewan) On 5 November2004, the judge ruled that a Charter right to same-sex marriage existed and that the common-law definition was discriminatory, thereby bringing same-sex marriage to Saskatchewan.
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