Bill S-9

If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.

First Reading

Complete Document XML PDF

1st Session, 37th Parliament,

49 Elizabeth II, 2001

senate of canada

BILL S-9

An Act to remove certain doubts regarding the meaning of marriage

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and the House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Preamble

WHEREAS the institution of marriage has been firmly grounded in Canada’s social and legal tradition and reflects the biological reality uniquely characteristic of the sexual union of a man and a woman who, by their ability to procreate, are able to give birth to children;

AND WHEREAS Parliament has historically provided a measure of support to married couples and to the obligations that flow from entering into a marriage because of the importance of marriage as the widely accepted institution for the raising and development of children;

AND WHEREAS the meaning of marriage was so well known and understood historically that it had not been necessary to define it in statute law until now that certain decisions of the courts have created some doubts with respect to the meaning of marriage;

AND WHEREAS, because of these court decisions, it has now become necessary to remove such doubts and to clarify the meaning of marriage;

AND WHEREAS it is expedient that the meaning of marriage as public policy be determined by the Parliament of Canada because marriage is a matter and a cause that is cognizable only by the High Court of Parliament;

AND WHEREAS the recently enacted Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act sets out the meaning of marriage as an interpretation tool for the purposes of that Act and it is consistent and appropriate that that very same meaning of marriage also be set out in an enactment specific to marriage;

AND WHEREAS Parliament has an obligation to protect and promote the institution of marriage;

NOW, THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and the House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Act

1990, c. 46

1. The long title of the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Act is replaced by the following:

An Act respecting marriage

2. Section 1 of the Act is replaced by the following:

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Marriage Act.

3. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 1:

Meaning of marriage

1.1 Marriage has the meaning declared in the 1866 decision of Hyde v. Hyde in the Courts of Probate and Divorce in the United Kingdom, and as understood in sections 91 and 92 of the Constitution Act, 1867, being a voluntary union of one man and one woman as husband and wife to the exclusion of all others,

(a) solemnized under the laws of the province in which the union takes place; or

(b) valid by the law of a foreign country in which the marriage takes place if the marriage is also recognized as valid in Canada under the laws of Canada.

4. The Act is amended by adding the following heading before section 2:

Prohibited Degrees

Interpretation Act

R.S., c. I-21

5. (1) Subsection 35(1) of the Interpretation Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

“marriage”
« mariage »

“marriage” means a marriage within the meaning of the Marriage Act;

(2) The Act is amended by adding the following after subsection 35(1):

Form of marriage

(1.1) Where the term “form of marriage” is used in an enactment, the term refers to a form of marriage between a man and a woman.

Published under authority of the Senate of Canada