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| Saskatchewan seeks ruling on marriage commissioner bill |
| Sexuality |
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The Saskatchewan government has asked the Court of Appeal to give its opinion on two legislative options that would exempt at least some marriage commissioners from “marrying” a same-sex couple if such a “marriage” is against their religious beliefs, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reported.
One option would grant all existing and future commissioners a blanket exemption. The other proposes exempting only those who were commissioners when Saskatchewan legalized same-sex “marriage” in 2004. The question the province’s highest court is being asked to answer, as a government news release stated, is “whether either or both would meet the requirements of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” Justice Minister Don Morgan said the legislation, when it is finally drafted, would protect the right of homosexuals to enter into a civil “marriage” and ensure they had access to commissioners willing to perform the ceremony. “But we also have [to protect the] rights of people that have deeply held religious beliefs,” Morgan told the StarPhoenix. “And if we can accommodate both sets of beliefs or both views within the Charter and within our administrative framework, that would be our preferred course.” Critics have accused the government of discrimination by attempting to deny one sector of society a public service that should be available to everyone. “I don’t think it’s sending a positive message about the government’s willingness to accept the rights of minorities as set out in the Charter,” said former NDP Justice Minister Frank Quennell. “The point is,” said a StarPhoenix editorial, “in a secular society that goes to great lengths to separate people’s personal religious beliefs from their performance of job duties in the public sphere, what Mr. Morgan is asking the court to do is reprehensible.” The decision to go this route follows a ruling in 2008 by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal. It found Regina marriage commissioner Orville Nichols guilty of violating the province’s human rights code for refusing to “marry” a same-sex couple as a matter of conscience. He was fined $2,500. The case is now before Court of Queen’s Bench. The government is also being sued by two other marriage commissioners over the lack of a religious exemption. Writing in the StarPhoenix, Prince Alberta lawyer Dale Blenner-Hassett, who represents them, said he supports the reference to the Court of Appeal. “The government is obligated to accommodate the marriage commissioners to the point of undue hardship,” he wrote. “It is obligated not to infringe on the commissioners’ freedom of religion and not to compel and coerce hard working, decent citizens and employees to act in ways contrary to their deepest held beliefs. . . ." |
