Conservatives to change civil marriage law

[Machjo]

Conservatives to change civil marriage law - Canada - CBC News

It would seem to me that if we're to be a sovereign country, then marraiges performed in Canada ought to be legally valid in Canada regardless of their legal validity abroad.

Now just to be clear, I oppose same-sex marraige. However, to recognize gay marraige between Canadian citizens and not recognize it between Canadian residents who are not citizens is even worse.

If we are to recognize gay marriages in Canada, then we should recognize all such marriage.

 

[captain morgan]

Conservatives to change civil marriage law - Canada - CBC News

It would seem to me that if we're to be a sovereign country, then marraiges performed in Canada ought to be legally valid in Canada regardless of their legal validity abroad.

Canada is a sovereign nation and those marriages performed in Canada have force in Canada (according to the article in the OP).

However, to recognize gay marraige between Canadian citizens and not recognize it between Canadian residents who are not citizens is even worse.

Canada can not force their laws onto other nations.. The residents that are not citizens which you speak of are considered married in Canada but possibly not in the nation in which they hold citizenship.

 

[Machjo]

Canada is a sovereign nation and those marriages performed in Canada have force in Canada (according to the article in the OP).



Canada can not force their laws onto other nations.. The residents that are not citizens which you speak of are considered married in Canada but possibly not in the nation in which they hold citizenship.

That's how it is now and that's how it ought to be. The impression I'm getting though is that there's now discussion of saying that Canadian residents who are not citizens of Canada would no longer have their marraiges recognized in Canada if their marriages are not recognized abroad. Certainly a legal marraige done in Canada ought to be recognized within our own jurisdiction at least it would seem.

 

[Dixie Cup]

Read in the paper today that it was a "gap" in the legislation and that it will be fixed in the not too distant future.

 

[captain morgan]

That's how it is now and that's how it ought to be. The impression I'm getting though is that there's now discussion of saying that Canadian residents who are not citizens of Canada would no longer have their marraiges recognized in Canada if their marriages are not recognized abroad. Certainly a legal marraige done in Canada ought to be recognized within our own jurisdiction at least it would seem.

In my eyes, this is not entirely different (from a legal standpoint that is) from an 18 year old kid that comes from a US jurisdiction where the drinking age is 21 to Canada where the age might be 18... That kid is legal in Canada (to drink) but not back home.

They can still come to Canada and booze it up in the meantime, but that does not necessarily mean that they will be legal in their home State just 'cause Canada let them drink.

 

[CDNBear]

That's how it is now and that's how it ought to be. The impression I'm getting though is that there's now discussion of saying that Canadian residents who are not citizens of Canada would no longer have their marraiges recognized in Canada if their marriages are not recognized abroad. Certainly a legal marraige done in Canada ought to be recognized within our own jurisdiction at least it would seem.

No, it says that Canada can't grant a divorce to people who were never married.

If the were married in a jurisdiction where same sex marriage isn't recognized, they aren't legally married.

How does a court recognize something that doesn't exist?

 

[Liberalman]

In hindsight the civil union route would have been the best way to go.

 

[Machjo]

No, it says that Canada can't grant a divorce to people who were never married.

If the were married in a jurisdiction where same sex marriage isn't recognized, they aren't legally married.

How does a court recognize something that doesn't exist?

If they got married in Canada, then the marriage is legal in Canada.

I could agree with limiting marriage in Canada to residents only. And it's reasonable to limit divorce to residents only too. So, if a gay couple marries in Canada while residing in Canada, and then must divorce in another jurisdiction, well then they should have thought of that before marrying and then moving out.

 

[Niflmir]

If they got married in Canada, then the marriage is legal in Canada.

I could agree with limiting marriage in Canada to residents only. And it's reasonable to limit divorce to residents only too. So, if a gay couple marries in Canada while residing in Canada, and then must divorce in another jurisdiction, well then they should have thought of that before marrying and then moving out.

So now that I am living outside of Canada, I wouldn't be considered married anymore? Seems a bit extreme. It is quite reasonable to request that other countries recognize Canadian marriage, gay or otherwise. It goes like this:

If we are to recognize the marriages from other countries, and you better believe those countries want us to, then it is only fair that they recognize our marriages and treat them on equal footing with their own marriages. If they discriminate the validity of Canadian marriages in ways in which we consider immoral or improper, then why should we bother to do them the favor of recognizing their marriages in our country at all?

 

[CDNBear]

If they got married in Canada, then the marriage is legal in Canada.

I could agree with limiting marriage in Canada to residents only. And it's reasonable to limit divorce to residents only too. So, if a gay couple marries in Canada while residing in Canada, and then must divorce in another jurisdiction, well then they should have thought of that before marrying and then moving out.

But the article is talking about marriages in jurisdictions that do not recognize same sex marriage. If the union in that jurisdiction isn't viewed as legal, or exist in that context, then how is a Canadian court supposed to grant a divorce to something that doesn't exist?

 

[Dexter Sinister]

I suppose the real message is, if you want Canadian law to apply to you, it's best if you live in Canada, but I don't see anything underhanded in what the federal lawyers did. Every country has its own marriage laws and definitions that bind its own citizens within its borders, but when a marriage takes place in another country there's a set of common law rules called "conflict of laws" that come into play. The formal validity of the marriage is determined by the place where the marriage happens, but the "essential validity," as it's called, which involves among other things whether the people were eligible to get married at all, is determined by where they lived before they were married. Marriage is a civil contract, and if the partners involved were not eligible to enter into it at home, the contract is not valid there. Hardly a surprise, and there's no real controversy about it. It doesn't say anything about the legitimacy of marriages contracted in Canada by Canadians who are still in Canada, that's just a little hysteria.

 

[taxslave]

Seems like another much ado about nothing case. This can't possibly affect very many people. We have much more pressing issues for our government to deal with.

 

[DaSleeper]

Seems like another much ado about nothing case. This can't possibly affect very many people. We have much more pressing issues for our government to deal with.

Anything the press can spin against the Conservatives is news.:smile:

 

[Machjo]

So now that I am living outside of Canada, I wouldn't be considered married anymore? Seems a bit extreme. It is quite reasonable to request that other countries recognize Canadian marriage, gay or otherwise. It goes like this:

If we are to recognize the marriages from other countries, and you better believe those countries want us to, then it is only fair that they recognize our marriages and treat them on equal footing with their own marriages. If they discriminate the validity of Canadian marriages in ways in which we consider immoral or improper, then why should we bother to do them the favor of recognizing their marriages in our country at all?

It's up to the other country as a sovereign state to recognize your marriage if it wants to. As for gay marriage, I'd be all for Canada banning gay marraige in Canada while recognizing legal gay marriages from abroad. In Washington State for example, gay marriage is not allowed but gay marriages from Canada are still recognized. But in the end, it's their choice to do so.

I'd be for recognizing polygamous marriages from abroad too as long as we ban allowing such marriages from taking place in Canada.

But at the end of the day, each state decides which marraiges to recognize and which not to recognize.