Since June 4, 2001, the Canadian province of Nova Scotia has offered Domestic partnership registration to unmarried couples, both same-sex and different-sex, thereby entitling them to some, but not all, of the rights and benefits of
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
.
Legislation
In the previous year, the General Assembly passed the Law Reform (2000) Act, the full title of which is "An Act to Comply with Certain Court Decisions and to Modernize and Reform Laws in the Province." The act was passed in the wake of the landmark decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of
M. v. H.
''M v H'' 999 999 or triple nine most often refers to:
* 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries
* 999 (number), an integer
* AD 999, a year
* 999 BC, a year
Books
* ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: ...
2 S.C.R. 3, is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on the rights of same-sex couples to equal treatment under the Constitution of Canada.
Background
''M v H'' was on the appeal of a case originally brought by a ...
on May 19, 1999.
In the first six months after the law came into effect, only 94 domestic partnerships were registered, in contrast to about 5500 marriages per year in the province. Of the 94 partnerships, 83 (88%) were same-sex couples.
Rights and Benefits
At the time the 2000 act was passed, domestic partners who registered with the provincial authorities were entitled to the same rights and obligations as spouses under the following laws:
*the Fatal Injuries Act
*the Health Act
*the Hospitals Act
*the Insurance Act
*the Intestate Succession Act
*the Maintenance and Custody Act
*the Matrimonial Property Act
*the Members' Retiring Allowances Act
*the Pension Benefits Act
*the Probate Act
*the Provincial Court Act
*or as a widow or widower under the Testators' Family Maintenance Act
Registration
Unmarried adults over age 19 in a conjugal relationship, not party to another domestic partnership, who live in Nova Scotia or own property there may file a declaration of domestic partnership with the Nova Scotia Vital Statistics Agency. By registering, the couple immediately gains the family court legal recognition, rights and benefits available to common law spouses under provincial law.
Termination
Domestic partnerships in Nova Scotia may be terminated in one of the following ways:
*both parties jointly file a Statement of Termination with Vital Statistics
*one party files an affidavit with Vital Statistics that the couple have lived separate and apart for more than a year
*the parties enter into a separation agreement pursuant to the Maintenance and Custody Act and file proof of such an agreement with Vital Statistics
*one of the parties files with Vital Statistics proof of marriage to a third party, which automatically ends the domestic partnership
See also
*
Same-sex marriage in Nova Scotia
Same-sex marriage in Nova Scotia has been legal since September 24, 2004 when the province began issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples immediately following a court ruling from the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. Nova Scotia became the sixth ju ...
*
Same-sex marriage in Canada
References
External links
Domestic Partnerships, Vital Statistics Agency, Nova Scotia
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015185455/http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/legc/bills/58th_1st/1st_read/b075.htm#n35 , date=2007-10-15
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071123035155/http://justice.gc.ca/en/dept/pub/mar/3.html Marriage and Legal Recognition of Same-sex Unions, A Discussion Paper, Department of Justice, Canada, November 2002]
Sexual Orientation and Legal Rights, a review paper by the Library of Parliament, Ottawa, revised 28 July 2005
Marriage, unions and partnerships in Canada
Nova Scotia provincial legislation
Family law in Canada