It looks like Martha will try to challenge the constitutionality of the one-year residency rule, Cossman says.
Cossman says McCarthy plans to challenge the one-year residency requirement for divorce in Canada, which would affect all couples straight or gay.
TheGlobe and Mailreports that Nicholson made the announcement in a speech at the Canadian Club on Jan 13.
Watch more fromCossman in a Jan 12 CTV interview here.
Prime Minister Stephen Harperassured reporters Jan 12that he has no plans to roll back same- marriage rights in Canada.
Our marriage cost money, time. Im a little pissed.
Washington State resident David Serkin-Poole, who married his husband, Michael, in Toronto in 2009, is now concerned his marriage is not valid.
In Washington State, where Serkin-Poole lives with his husband, Michael, and their three adopted children, same- marriage is not legal. The couple travelled to Toronto so they could wed legally.
Even former Toronto mayorDavid Miller weighed in, saying the Harper government is being sneaky and underhanded, embarrassing Canada in front of the world by upsetting the lives of same- couples.
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A Jan 12 reportdocumented the story of a lesbian couple from Florida and the United Kingdom who got marrietexas divorcelawsd in Canada in 2005. They have since been told they could not file for a divorce because they were never married in the first place. Their lawyer,Martha McCarthy, could not be reached for comment.
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We should support the intent and the effect of the Civil Marriage Act, which was to provide equal access to gays and lesbians to civil marriage, and this approach by the government of Canada in the manner of its intervention effectively undermines that, Cotler said at the time.
In 2006, lawmakers defeated an effort by the Harper government to reopen the same- marriage debate, leaving the law unchanged.
Jan 12:American David Serkin-Poole, who got married in Toronto in 2009, is worried he may no longer be legally married now that the federal government has declared thousands of same- marriages invalid.
So our marriage is no longer valid in Canada? It was never valid in Washington. But this news is disappointing. I figured Canada had this whole thing figured out, he says.
UPDATE: Minister to change law to allow foreign same- divorces texas divorcelaws,UPDATE JAN 13:Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has announced that all same- marriages performed in Canada, even those of non-residents whose Canadian marriage is not recognized at home, will be considered valid in Canada and that the government will introduce legislation to ensure clarity on that point. New legislation will also allow couples affected by the current legal ambiguity to attain divorces in Canada if they so choose.
Cossman agrees. This could affect our tourist industry. It will for sure affect Canadas image as an LGBT haven. Is that part of [Stephen] Harpers motivation, to tell the world to stop coming here to get married?
(Courtesy of Serkin-Poole)
As a result, the federal Conservative government has served notice to thousands of same- couples that had marriage ceremonies in Canada since 2004: they are not legally married.
I have been yelling about this since 2003 when Americans started to travel to Canada to get married. I remember thinking, Dont do it!, says Cossman. Really, those couples should have done their due diligence before they came here to get married. They should have asked if they can take their marriage over the border . . . Canada isnt changing anything. This has always been the legal risk.
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A CBC survey conducted three months before the law changed found that 52 percent of Canadians opposed the legislation. But one month after passage of the law, 55 percent voured keeping it.
Xtrafirst broke the storyin October after a Canadian gay couple was denied a divorce because they had been married in a civil union in the UK. The couple was informed that the civil partnership wasnt equivalent to a civil marriage under Canadian law.
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Liberal justice critic Irwin Cotler, who was justice minister when changes to the Civil Marriage Act were made to allow same- marriage across the country, [adult school] fremont adultschool Mountain View Online (0) 2011-12-26 9:2:49 toldXtrathe government should not be intervening in the case.
Canadian laws state that a marriage is considered legally valid depending on the law where the couple lives, not where they got married, she says. So if they are going back to Massachusetts, its fine. If its Texas, for example, its not fine, which is a big problem right now in the States. Its a mess.
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I love Canada, but this is concerning, he says. This is news to me. I am in the midst of applying for dual Canadian citizenship. Does that change things? It didnt even occur to me to ask if there are any circumstances under which this marriage could be nullified.
But Toronto lawyer Brenda Cossman says this shouldnt come as a shock to couples. Canadian divorce law hasnt changed.
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It appears like they are reopening same- marriage when the government promised they were not going to, says Cossman. I dont think they will. This will not affect the marriage rights of Canadians. This affects anyone who isnt Canadian. This was bound to happen.
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Public outrage promptedJustice Minister Rob Nicholson, in an interview withTheGlobe and Mail, to promise to begin looking at options to clarify the law so that marriages performed in Canada can be undone in Canada.
Through a series of court cases beginning in 2003, same- marriage gradually became legal in nine of the countrys 13 provinces and territories. In 2005, the Canadian Parliament passed legislation same- marriage legal nationwide.
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With so many people potentially affected, and so many unanswered questions, news of the story quickly spread on social media.
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Other countries that have legalized same- marriage currently include The Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Norway and South Africa.
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To get a divorce in Canada, under the divorce act, you must live in Canada for a year, she says. There is a one-year residency requirement, which applies to everybody. Theres no residency requirement to get married, but there is a residency requirement to get a divorce.
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Like thousands of other same- couples that have flocked to Canada to tie the knot, Serkin-Poole is now left with many unanswered questions and what if scenarios after recent reports that the federal government was not recognizing some same- marriages.
Challenging Divorce Laws in Canada