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Canadian Government to Close Marriage Recognition Loophole

Friday, February 17th, 2012

The federal government is expected to take steps today to close a legal loophole that could have undermined thousands of gay marriages around the world.

The governing Conservatives are expected to detail changes to the Civil Marriage Act to ensure the marriages are recognized.

The changes are being prompted by a divorce case in Ontario involving a gay couple. Legal documents filed by the federal government in the case had argued that even though the couple married in Canada, they couldn’t be considered legally married because it wasn’t recognized in their U.S. and United Kingdom homes.

Full Story from CBC News

Click here for gay wedding resources in Canada.

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Tags: canada, loophole, marriage equality, recognition

Manitoba: Conservative Jewish Synagogue Marries Gay Couple in Winnepeg

Sunday, January 22nd, 2012

A gay couple in Winnipeg ties the knot in what is believed to be a first in Canada: a same-sex marriage performed at a conservative synagogue. The Shaarey Zedek synagogue is one of the oldest in Western Canada and is known for its strong ties to tradition.

Arthur Blankstein told CBC News Friday, on the eve of his ceremony, that while the event will be historic it will also be like any other wedding ceremony.

“There’s nothing like being in a room full of family and friends and declaring to everybody that you love another person and that’s the person you want to live with,” Blankstein said.

Full Story from CBC

Click here for gay wedding resources in Manitoba.

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Tags: canada, gay wedding, jewish synagogue, manitoba, winnipeg

Canada: Law Professor Warns Conservatives Not to Mess With Marriage Equality Law

Friday, January 20th, 2012

The Conservatives are being warned to back off their plan to fix Canada’s same-sex marriage law or risk making it more discriminatory.

The admonition comes from Kathleen Lahey, a law professor at Queen’s University who was legal counsel in the same-sex marriage litigation that led to the existing Civil Marriage Act.

It follows a promise Justice Minister Rob Nicholson made to change the law after being lambasted when reports surfaced claiming the Conservatives were changing their position on gay marriage.

Full Story from Global News

Click here for gay wedding resources in Canada.

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Tags: canada, Gay Marriage, law professor, marriage equality

Inside the Controversy Over Canadian Marriage Law and Foreign Couples

Friday, January 13th, 2012

This week’s media meltdown over same-sex marriage for foreign tourists was one of the more disgraceful episodes in the long history of phoney controversies in this country: a toxic mix of shrewd lawyering, shoddy reporting and partisan opportunism, all without the slightest reference to the relevant, and easily obtainable, facts.

The debacle began with a front-page screamer in Thursday morning’s Globe and Mail. In a “reversal of policy,” it reported, the Harper government had indicated it would not recognize as lawful thousands of marriages solemnized in Canada between visiting gay and lesbian couples since the practice was formally legalized here in 2005. The story suggested the government’s “hard line” had “cast sudden doubt” on the legal status not only of these couples, most of whom stayed just long enough to pick up their licences, but of gay couples living in Canada as well.

The government’s “about-face” was “revealed” in legal papers filed in the case of a lesbian couple who, having married in Canada, now wished to divorce here, and for the same reason: as they could not legally marry in either of the jurisdictions where they happened to live, Florida or England, neither could they divorce there. Of course, by the same token divorce would hardly seem necessary. But, well, it was important to them emotionally.

Full Story from the National Post

Click here for gay wedding resources in Canada.

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Tags: canada, controversy, foreign couples, marriage equality

Canadian Government Backtracks on Invalidation of Foreign Same Sex Weddings

Friday, January 13th, 2012

The Canadian Minister Of Justice, Rob Nicholson, on Thursday afternoon announced that the Canadian government will re-work the current marriage law to allow non-resident couples married in Canada to obtain divorces, and in a statement said, “I want to be very clear that the government has no intention of reopening the debate on the definition of marriage.”

The statement comes in response to a controversy that erupted earlier in the day in what appeared to be a reversal of the Canadian marriage law, revealed in legal filing in a Ontario court brought by a lesbian couple seeking a divorce.

Legally wed in 2005 under the statue in Toronto, the couple were informed they cannot seek or obtain a divorce because an opinion by a Canadian Department of Justice lawyer stated their marriage is not legal under Canadian law since they could not have lawfully wed in Florida or England, where the two partners reside.

Full Story from LGBTQ Nation

Click here for gay wedding resources in Canada.

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Tags: canada, divorce, Gay Marriage, invalidation, lawsuit, marriage equality

Dan Savage Pissed About Being Divorced by Canada

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

When Guy Herrington and Jason Athen took their vows in Tofino five years ago, they had every intention of being married for life. Now the federal government is saying they may not be married at all.

…

Seattle-based relationship columnist Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller are one such couple. Savage and Miller were married in Vancouver in 2005. Same-sex marriage is not legal in Washington state, but the law there does recognize couples married in jurisdictions where it is legal as domestic partners. This status affords all the same rights, responsibilities and protections the state provides for married couples, Savage said.

“If we’re not legally married in Canada, we’re not domestic partners in Washington state, which means this memo from these lawyers potentially stripped Terry and I overnight of the protections and rights that we enjoyed for the last seven years,” he said. If the federal lawyer’s contention is, in fact, government policy, Savage noted that he and his partner would also not be considered married in Canada.

Full Story from Vancouver Sun

Click here for gay wedding resources.

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Tags: canada, dan savage, divorced

Featured Gay Friendly Wedding Vendor: Banff Gay Weddings, Alberta, Canada

Sunday, January 8th, 2012

Periodically we’ll feature one of our vendors here to let our readers know about some great people who can help you plan the perfect wedding.

Gay Friendly Wedding Vendors in Alberta, Canada

Experienced wedding coordinators in the Canadian Rockies we would be delighted to work with you for your legal gay or lesbian wedding in this magnificent area!

Choose from a lake-side or mountainside location for your intimate outdoor wedding ceremony followed by relaxed reception in a truly Canadian lodge or five star restaurant – the choices are endless.

Gay friendly suppliers make this the perfect destination for your wedding adventures.

See the Banff Gay Weddings Expanded Listing on Purple Unions Here

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Tags: Alberta, Banff Gay Weddings, canada

Featured Gay Friendly Wedding Vendor: Manhattan Livery Service, Toronto

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

Periodically we’ll feature one of our vendors here to let our readers know about some great people who can help you plan the perfect wedding.

Gay Friendly Wedding Vendors in Ontario

We are a gay friendly limousine company based in Toronto, Canada since 1985. With a great number of gay weddings under our belt, we are the best choice around.

From luxury sedans to 30 Pax. Limo-Buses, we can cater to most weddings in a professional manner. We’ll make your event a very memorable one! Our compettive rates and excellent service have made us a great success with our coeporate clients.

See the Manhattan Livery Service Expanded Listing on Purple Unions Here

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Tags: canada, gay weddings, lesbian weddings, Manhattan Livery Service, ontario, toronto

Canada: Liberals Warn of Danger to Marriage Equality

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Jean Chretien is warning Liberals that gun control and the Kyoto accord are dead because of Stephen Harper’s Tories, darkly noting that same-sex marriage and abortion rights could be next on the Conservative government’s chopping block. He even raises the return of the death penalty as a possibility.

=”Unless we are bold. Unless we seize the moment. Everything we built will start being chipped away,” the former prime minister writes in a toughly-worded fundraising letter. “The Conservatives have already ended gun control and Kyoto. Next may be a woman’s right to choose, or gay marriage. Then might come capital punishment. And one by one, the values we cherish as Canadians will be gone.”

This new Liberal fundraising effort hits some hot button issues – it doesn’t end there.

Full Story from The Globe and Mail

Click here for gay wedding resources in Canada.

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Tags: canada, liberals, marriage equality, threatened

New Map: Canadian Support for Marriage Equality

Monday, December 12th, 2011

The more yellow an area is, the greater the opposition to same-sex marriage. The reverse is true for gray areas. Keep in mind that some of the huge areas that appear to be largely anti-gay are virtually unpopulated.