''Halpern v Canada (AG)'',

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: *003, fictional British 00 Agent *003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) *1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway *''O03 (O2)'' and other related ...

O.J. No. 2268 is a June 10, 2003 decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario in which the Court found that the common law definition of marriage, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman, violated section 15 of the

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...

Background

The roots of the case began in December 2000 at the

Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto The Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto is a congregation of the worldwide Metropolitan Community Church movement located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is a welcoming congregation openly affirming lesbian, gay, bisexual, heterosexual and ...

, when pastor

Brent Hawkes Brent Hawkes, (born June 2, 1950) is a Canadian clergyman and gay rights activist. Early life and education Hawkes was born in Bath, New Brunswick to a Baptist family."Gay rights leader cherishes his New Brunswick roots". '' The Telegraph-Journal ...

began issuing

banns of marriage The banns of marriage, commonly known simply as the "banns" or "bans" (from a Middle English word meaning "proclamation", rooted in Frankish and thence in Old French), are the public announcement in a Christian parish church, or in the town ...

in advance of performing wedding ceremonies for two same-sex couples—Kevin Bourassa and Joe Varnell, and Anne and Elaine Vautour—on January 14, 2001."Same-sex couples preparing to tie knot: Weddings tomorrow". '' National Post'', January 13, 2001. Because banns of marriage are accepted as a fully legal way to perform a marriage without the need for a city-issued

marriage license A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdiction ...

, but marriages performed under either process require certification by the provincial registrar, the banns created a legal vacuum that would force a court case. Over the course of the year several other same-sex couples, among them Hedy Halpern and Colleen Rogers, and

Michael Leshner and Michael Stark Michael Leshner (born April 8, 1948) and Michael Stark, also known as The Michaels, were the men who in 2003 entered into the first legal same-sex marriage in Canada. They were consequently named the Canadian Newsmakers of the Year by ''Time'' ma ...

, joined the court challenge, which began hearings at the

Ontario Superior Court The Superior Court of Justice (French: ''Cour supérieure de justice'') is a superior court in Ontario. The Court sits in 52 locations across the province, including 17 Family Court locations, and consists of over 300 federally appointed judges. ...

in November 2001.

Superior Court ruling

On July 12, 2002, the Superior Court ruled that marriage rights must be extended to same-sex couples, but it suspended the ruling for a period of two years to permit the Legislative Assembly of Ontario time to comply with the ruling through the legislative process. However, as the

Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...

provides that the definition of marriage is under federal jurisdiction while only the implementation is left to the provinces, the decision left the situation unclear until the government of

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

announced on July 29 that they would appeal.

Court of Appeal

The Ontario Court of Appeal handed down its ruling on June 10, 2003."Appeals court declares same-sex marriage protected: Two Ontario men become legally married". '' Sudbury Star'', June 11, 2003. The unanimous Court found that the exclusion of same-sex couples was a clear violation of the ''Charter'' and moreover did not constitute a "reasonable infringement" under section 1. In this respect the judgment followed much of what had been ruled elsewhere. The court also held that there was to be no suspension of the remedy as it applied to the general population, and that the new definition allowing same-sex couples to marry would take effect immediately.

Results

Leshner and Stark became the first gay couple to be issued a marriage license after the decision, while Bourassa and Varnell and the Vautours became the first legally recognized same-sex marriages overall since their marriages were deemed legal as of the date of the original ceremonies. A few months later, however, Bourassa and Varnell were denied entry to the United States when travelling to attend a human rights conference, because the

United States Customs United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...

agent refused to accept the validity of their marriage. In the next two years following the decision, courts in seven of Canada's other nine provinces and one of its three territories also legalized same-sex marriage in their jurisdictions before the Parliament of Canada passed the ''

Civil Marriage Act The ''Civil Marriage Act'' is a federal statute legalizing same-sex marriage across Canada. At the time it became law, same-sex marriage had already been legalized by court decisions in all Canadian jurisdictions except Alberta, Prince Edward ...

'' in 2005. '' The Globe and Mail'', in choosing the "Nation Builders of the year," selected the judges involved in the case, namely Chief Justice

Roy McMurtry Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise t ...

, Eileen Gillese and James MacPherson, while the Canadian edition of '' Time'' selected Stark and Leshner as its Canadian newsmakers of the year."Gay couple named newsmaker". '' The Western Star'', December 22, 2003.

References

External links