Same-sex couples could hear 'no' from Sask. marriage officials
Last Updated: Friday, July 3, 2009 | 7:17 PM CT
CBC News
The Saskatchewan Party government is proposing legislation that would allow the province's marriage commissioners to refuse to perform same-sex marriages.
In a news release Friday, the government said the proposed law would ensure there are other marriage commissioners available to fill in if someone refused to perform the service because it violated his or her religious beliefs.
Provincial Justice Minister and Attorney General Don Morgan said he'll ask the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal for an opinion on whether the proposed legislation would conform with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Two legislative options will be put to the court, he said.
"One would grandfather the existing marriage commissioners that are reluctant or unwilling to perform a same-sex marriage and the second option would grant religious exemption for not only the existing ones, but for future marriage commissioners that would have the same concerns," he said.
Following a series of court decisions in favour of same-sex marriage, the previous NDP government told marriage commissioners that they had to marry gay and lesbian couples, regardless of their personal religious beliefs.
Currently, there is both a lawsuit and an appeal of a human rights tribunal ruling before the court of Queen's Bench, dealing with the issue of marriage commissioners and same-sex marriages.
Morgan said asking the appeal court to rule on the proposed legislation doesn't interfere with the cases that are before the court.
Last year, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal ordered marriage commissioner Orville Nichols to pay $2,500 in compensation after he refused to perform a ceremony for a gay couple.
Nichols said he refused because it was against his religious beliefs.
A spokesman for a Regina association that supports homosexual rights said the key issue isn't gay rights, but how far society can extend religious rights.
"Ultimately, what it comes down to is that we can't have government officials asking for the right not to enforce law," said Nathan Seckinger, spokesman for the GBLUR Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity. "I mean, where does that stop?"
Seckinger said while his organization opposes the legislation, getting legal clarity on it from the Appeal Court is a good idea.
