THE IMPORTANCE OF MARRIAGE Barry Bussey, Legal Counsel SDACC
Background
Over the last several years the courts in Ontario,
British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec,
Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and the Yukon, have
held that the traditional definition of marriage,
(one man and one woman to the exclusion of all
others), is unconstitutional and is redefined
as “any two persons.”
Facing pressure from both sides of the issue,
former Prime Minister Jean Chretien drafted
legislation to redefine marriage in accordance
with the court decisions and included a provision
protecting clergy from having to perform marriages
contrary to their beliefs.
Instead of introducing the legislation to be
debated in Parliament he then asked the Supreme
Court of Canada a series of three questions
through a legal procedure known as a “Reference”.
A decision of the court on a reference is not
legally binding – it is simply a stated
opinion of the law by the court. While that
having been said, a reference has tremendous
“persuasive” force....
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