Chalk one up for the maritimes!
4:20 p.m.
In other news, here's another reason I am glad to be Canadian. Don�t you wish you were?
Canada - Canadian PressNova Scotia becomes sixth province, territory to allow same-sex marriages
Fri Sep 24, 7:37 PM ET
KEITH BONNELLHALIFAX (CP) - After waiting 20 years for the right to get married, Bryan and Ron Garnett-Doucette wasted little time Friday after Nova Scotia joined a growing list of provinces to recognize same-sex unions. The two men walked hand in hand to a municipal office to apply for a marriage licence just 90 minutes after a Nova Scotia Supreme Court justice ruled the couple, who have been partners for the last two decades, could legally wed. �It's time,� said Ron Garnett-Doucette, 42. �We waited 20 years for it. I knew it was eventually going to come�. I�m ecstatic it's today.�
In August, the Garnett-Doucettes were among three couples who asked Justice Heather Robertson to rule on the contentious issue of same-sex unions. On Friday, Robertson ruled the definition of marriage in the province for civil purposes will now be �the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others.� She also ruled that the marriages of same-sex couples who wed outside Nova Scotia would be recognized in the province. The couples� application wasn�t opposed by the federal or Nova Scotia governments. Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, the Yukon, and Manitoba also allow same-sex marriages.
�This is, I feel, the end of a long battle, and I hope it stays the end of the battle,� said Kim Vance of Musquodoboit Harbour, N.S., whose Ontario marriage to female partner Sam Meehan will now be recognized in their home province. �The trend is clear, and other provinces need to respect that and stop getting in the way.�
The Garnett-Doucettes already had their tri-gold wedding bands when they showed up for a news conference after the judge's decision. �We were quite confident it was happening today,� Bryan Garnett-Doucette said with a laugh. The Nova Scotia government has said it will abide by the court's ruling.
The province had previously given gay and lesbian couples some of the rights of marriage through a domestic partnership registry since 2001, a move considered ground-breaking at the time. Justice Minister Michael Baker said Friday it would be a waste of taxpayers' money to fight the same-sex challenge. In Halifax for a provincial NDP policy workshop, federal New Democratic Leader Jack Layton applauded the decision but scolded the federal government for not taking charge of the issue itself.
�It�s a very good day for equality in Nova Scotia,� he said. �It should send a message to our federal government to have a vote on the issue. Right now it�s languishing in the Supreme Court (of Canada) in what could be a long, tortuous process. Why don�t we just simply follow the direction that�s been established in so many courts?�
Just before leaving office last year, former prime minister Jean Chretien referred the question of the constitutionality of same-sex marriage to the high court for an opinion.
Halifax's Roman Catholic archbishop said it�s now up to religious communities to try to safeguard the traditional definition of marriage. �We must recognize this decision as the end of state support for marriage as we have always known it,� Archbishop Terrence Prendergast said in a release. News of another province giving same-sex couples permission to wed upset Brian Rushfeldt, executive director of the Canada Family Action Coalition, a group working to restore �Judeo-Christian moral principles� in the country.
�We�ve got more fools on the bench than we thought we had in this country, obviously,� Rushfeldt said from his Calgary office. �Marriage is not a provincial issue.� He said he believes there will be a price to pay for allowing same-sex marriages in Canada. �We�re going to have a next generation of children growing up being taught in public schools things that their parents don�t approve.�
The federal government does have jurisdiction over the definition of marriage and the next legal foray over the issue will take place in two weeks. The Supreme Court of Canada is set to begin a hearing to decide whether or not it is unconstitutional to keep gays and lesbians from marrying. If the court supports same-sex unions, it will then be up to the federal government to implement legislation.
Laurie Arron, a spokesman for EGALE Canada, a national gay rights advocacy group, said there�s growing optimism in the gay, lesbian and transgendered community. He said his group has been hearing from more couples intent on launching a legal challenge in their own provinces. �We can�t tell people to wait for equality,� Arron said. �They don�t want to put their lives on hold while they wait for the government to act.�
Well, it would seem we have our share of religious/right-wing bigots like any other country where things are run predominantly by white, heterosexual, homophobic males, but at least we are moving in the right direction. That in itself is grounds for celebration.
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