2011 Saskatchewan Court Of Appeal Win

The Saskatchewan Court was victorious in advocating for equality when refusing changes to Saskatchewan’s Marriage Act. The proposed changes would have allowed provincially appointed marriage commissioners to refuse to perform civil marriages where it would conflict with their religious beliefs. The changes were proposed in response to objections by some commissioners to same-sex marriage, which became legal in Canada in 2005. The proposed changes were also broad enough to allow commissioners to refuse to perform marriages on other grounds, including objections to inter-faith and inter-racial unions.

CCLA intervened in this case to argue it is unconstitutional to allow discrimination in some instances based on sexual orientation. We argued the discrimination would risk creating a system of unequal access to basic government services. While we have always been, and remain, an advocate of freedom of religion, the core function of marriage commissioners is to preside over civil marriages, not religious ceremonies.

EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE EQUAL ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT SERVICES, REGARDLESS OF AN INDIVIDUAL’S RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.