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Canada: Conservative Edits Gay References Out of New Immigration Manual

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Tory Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney should be ashamed of himself for editing out references to gay and lesbian rights in a government manual, critics say. Kenney, who represents a riding in Calgary, last June ordered references to historical achievements in gay rights edited from a manual for immigrants applying for citizenship, according to news reports from Ottawa.

A senior bureaucrat made a last-ditch effort to have the references reinserted into the new manual before it went to press in November, but Kenney refused to budge. The news report said Kenney ensured that two paragraphs from an earlier draft were not included in the new 63-page manual, which replaces a 1995 edition of the manual.

According to the Canadian Press, the draft included this paragraph under a section titled Towards a Modern Canada: “Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1969 and more recently, civil marriage rights to same-sex couples was legalized nationwide in 2005.” Under the section on citizenship rights, the earlier draft said: “Equality Rights — Canadians are protected against discrimination based on race, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or age.”

Full Story from The Province
Click here for gay marriage resources.
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Posted in canada, conservative, gay, Gay Marriage, homosexual, immigration manual, marriage equality, same sex marriage, Tory | No Responses »

Russia: Judge Dismisses Lesbian Couple's Canadian Marriage

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

Two Russian lesbians on Thursday lost their bid to have their marriage in Canada recognized by a Moscow court, after a judge dismissed their argument that Russian law recognizes foreign marriages. Public relations worker Irina Fyet, 30, and beauty parlor owner Irina Shepitko, 32, married in Toronto in October after an application for a marriage license in Moscow was rejected on the grounds that such a union must be between a man and a woman.

The couple are the first gay pair to attempt to get a marriage license in Russia.

“I will have to uphold the decision made by the registry office in May. Foreign marriages accepted in Russia must involve a couple of opposite sex,” judge Boris Gerbekov ruled.

Full Story from Reuters

Click here for gay marriage resources.

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Posted in canada, canadian wedding, Gay Marriage, lesbian couple, marriage equality, russia, same sex marriage | No Responses »

Canada: Prince Edward Island Changes Laws to Reflect Gay Marriage Legality

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Same-sex couples have been able to get married in Prince Edward Island since June 2006, but the CBC reports that it was only this weekend that the province’s laws were changed to fully reflect that.

The Domestic Relations Act was proclaimed over the weekend, after receiving royal assent earlier this year. The act changes 29 pieces of provincial legislation to replace references to “man and woman” and “husband and wife” with gender-neutral terms.

The CBC reports:

Now that the legislation has been proclaimed, the government can get on with processing a backlog of requests, said Jessie Frost-Wicks, a departmental solicitor with the Office the Attorney General…

Full Story from Xtra.ca: http://www.xtra.ca/blog/national/post/2009/12/21/Days-before-2010-PEI-proclaims-gay-marriage-amendments.aspx

Click here for gay marriage resources in Canada.

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Posted in canada, Gay Marriage, law, PEI, prince edward island | No Responses »

Canada: Inside the "God Squad" in the Prime Minister's Office

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

Darrel Reid used to shoot from the lip. Few Canadian evangelists can match his record for the controversial quote, whether accusing single moms of using welfare to have babies or likening hate crime laws protecting gays and lesbians to Nazi tyranny. Nowadays, not so much.

In 2006, with the advent of a Conservative minority, Reid, once a catalyst for the evangelical movement in Canada, began to go stealth. He became chief of staff to former environment minister Rona Ambrose, then moved to the Prime Minister’s Office as an adviser.

Last February, he dove further below the radar, apparently gaining more influence with Stephen Harper. He’s not up there with Laureen, mind you, but arguably more important than many warm bodies around the cabinet table.

Full Story from The Star: http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/740337–boom-times-for-pmo-s-god-squad

Click here for gay marriage resources in Canada.

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Posted in canada, darrel reid, gay rights, god squad, prime minister's office | No Responses »

Canada: Financial Planning Different for Gay/Lesbian Couples

Friday, December 18th, 2009

Over the past decade, major inroads have been made into broadening the rights of same-sex couples in Canada, but when it comes down to financial planning some advisers say important differences remain. Often it comes down to how same-sex couples manage their long-term financial goals and whether they have really addressed what would happen if one partner was to die without the proper estate documents in place.

Those potential pitfalls can usually be avoided if they’re anticipated and a financial plan is etched out, but sometimes that’s the hardest part, said Julia Chung, a branch manager at the Bank of Montreal in downtown Toronto.

Some lesbian, gay, transgendered or bisexual individuals – and even long-term couples – don’t like to discuss their personal lives with outsiders, or they omit crucial details that could impact their financial futures. Examples range from children borne from a previous relationship to the hopes of having children in their current one.

Full Story from the Winnipeg Free Press: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/finance/79550127.html

Click here for gay marriage resources in Canada.

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Posted in canada, financial planning, gay couples, lesbian couples, retirement | No Responses »

Gay/Lesbian Couples Married in Canada Tripped Up By 1 Year Residency Requirement for Divorce

Monday, November 9th, 2009

The phrase “till death do us part” has taken on a very literal meaning for same-sex couples seeking to end their marriage. Many same-sex couples from the U.S. travel to Canada to get married, but what happens when the honeymoon’s over and forever is just too long? Couples who live in states that do not recognize same-sex marriage are also living in states that do not recognize same-sex divorce.

“It would be a nullity in law, because they don’t recognize [same-sex couples] to be married — so of course they won’t divorce them,” says barbara findlay, a B.C. lawyer whose practice focuses on human rights and family law. “In other words, if [the state] recognizes them [as married] for the purpose of divorce, they’d have to recognize them for the purpose of everything else and they don’t want to do that.”

But heading back to Canada to obtain a divorce is not as simple as it sounds. In Canada, the Divorce Act states that one of the spouses must have been “ordinarily resident in the province for at least one year immediately preceding the commencement of the proceeding.”

Full Story from Lawyers Weekly: http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&volume=29&number=26&article=2

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in canada, gay divorce, Gay Marriage, residency requirement | No Responses »

Saskatchewan Debating Bill to Exempt Religious Officiants from Gay Weddings

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeals is seeking interveners in a case that will rule on proposed legislation that would let religious marriage commissioners refuse to marry gay couples.

In June the Saskatchewan Party government asked the court to rule on the constitutionality of two proposed changes to the province’s Marriage Act. The amendments would exempt marriage commissioners from performing a same-sex marriage “if to do so would be contrary to the marriage commissioner’s religious beliefs.”

One amendment would exempt those marriage commissioners appointed before gay marriage was legalized in the province in 2004. The other would exempt any marriage commissioner, no matter when they received their appointment from the province.

Full Story from Xtra.ca: http://www.xtra.ca/public/National/Saskatchewan_samesex_marriage_case_heats_up-7744.aspx

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Canada.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in canada, Gay Marriage, marriage commissioners, religious exemption, saskatchewan, sk | No Responses »

Russian Lesbian Couple to Marry in Toronto Today

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

Two lesbians denied the right to marry in their native Russia were set to circumvent national laws Friday by getting married in Toronto.

Irina Shipitko, 32, and Irina Fedotova-Fet, 30, told the Toronto Star through an interpreter two requests for a marriage license in Moscow were denied in May.

Russia’s Family Code only allows for male-female marriages, so the pair decided to have a city hall wedding in Toronto and then use other Russian laws to validate their union, the report said.

Full Story from UPI: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/International/2009/10/23/Russian-lesbians-travel-to-Toronto-to-wed/UPI-38211256309256/

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in canada, lesbian couple, marriage, married, ontario, russia, russian, toronto, wedding | No Responses »

Some Gay/Lesbian Couples Married in Canada Finding it Hard to Divorce

Saturday, September 26th, 2009

Gay and lesbian couples coming from the U.S. and other parts of the world to marry in B.C. are finding the old “’’til death do us part” piece of the wedding service isn’t to be trifled with.

It’s easy to get married in B.C., but there’s no such thing as a quickie divorce, as a growing number of foreign same-sex couples who came here to be married — but now want a divorce — are finding out.

Vancouver lawyer barbara findlay gets about three inquiries a month from same-sex couples who were married in B.C. but now want a divorce.

Full Story from the Vancouver Sun: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/marriages+easy+divorces+aren/2035627/story.html

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Canada.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com with “subscribe blog” as the subject. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in canada, divorce, Gay Marriage | No Responses »