Canadian marriage policy

A tragedy for children

May 31, 2006 | by Seana Sugrue, D.C.L. , (McGill University), Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Politics, Ave Maria University
PDF:  Canadian marriage policy

Endnotes

  1. “Marriage, from the point of view of the secular state authority,” opined the Law Commission of Canada, “is a means of facilitating in an orderly fashion the voluntary assumption of mutual rights and obligations by adults committed to each other’s well-being.” See Law Commission of Canada. (2001). The Legal Organization of Personal Relationships [Electronic version]. Beyond Conjugality: Recognizing and Supporting Close Personal Relationships. Retrieved from http://www.lcc.gc.ca/about/conjugality_toc-en.asp.
  2. The explicit change in the parent-child relationship is found in the “consequential amendments” portion of Bill C-38 that was passed on July 29, 2005. It makes “legal parent” status relevant under the Income Tax Act for child support payment purposes. Bill C-38, s. 10-12. The new law also implicitly changes the parent-child relationship by its very definition of marriage, which is simply “the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others.” Bill C-38, s. 2.