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To: John Carragher who wrote (84671)	11/7/2004 9:51:52 PM
From: Neeka	Respond to of 793846

Saskatchewan court legalizes gay marriage By GRAEME SMITH UPDATED AT 9:50 PM EST Saturday, Nov 6, 2004 Advertisement Provincial authorities have the power to marry same-sex couples with or without permission from the courts or the federal government, a judge declared yesterday as she issued a decision legalizing gay marriage in Saskatchewan. Like most other provinces, Saskatchewan has consistently argued that it cannot rewrite marriage law because it falls under federal jurisdiction. But in a five-page decision that makes the province Canada's seventh jurisdiction to allow same-sex marriage, Madam Justice Donna Wilson of the Court of Queen's Bench said the province had other options. "The province did have a choice to act or wait for a decision from the court," Judge Wilson wrote, adding that the province could have referred the question to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal or could have instructed marriage licence issuers to simply start marrying same-sex couples. Gay-rights advocates celebrated the decision, not only because it allowed Lisa Stumborg, 36, and Erin Scriven, 29, to become the first gay couple with a Saskatchewan marriage licence yesterday morning. The decision also puts pressure on Alberta, New Brunswick, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories, and Newfoundland and Labrador, advocates say, because their governments are ignoring the findings of several courts in other provinces that have declared gay-marriage prohibitions unconstitutional. "The courts are saying, 'You're forcing these couples to come to court when they really shouldn't have to,' " said Laurie Aaron, director of advocacy for Égale, an activist group. In an interview, Saskatchewan Justice Minister Frank Quennell reiterated his position that the decision about same-sex marriage rests in Ottawa, where the Supreme Court of Canada is considering questions posed by the federal government about the issue. "More than one jurisdiction has taken the view that marriage, and the capacity to marry, is clearly set out as a federal responsibility in the BNA act," Mr. Quennell said, referring to the British North America Act of 1867 that describes federal and provincial responsibilities. "The province wouldn't take any position on the capacity to marry other than to say that it's a federal jurisdiction," Mr. Quennell added. That sentiment was echoed by governments in PEI and New Brunswick yesterday. "Our position is that we have no position," said Gary Toft, a spokesman for New Brunswick's Justice Department. "New Brunswick has no authority on this." But the Saskatchewan court isn't the first to suggest that provinces can step into the divisive debate over same-sex marriage if they so choose. A recent court decision criticized the Yukon government for not allowing same-sex marriage: "It had a choice," Judge Peter McIntyre wrote in July. Fresh from her visit to a marriage registration office in Saskatoon, Ms. Scriven said it's obvious why provinces would continue to maintain that their hands are tied. "I understand the logic," Ms. Scriven said. "Especially in a province like Saskatchewan it's an incredibly risky thing. They wanted it to appear like they were forced to do this." The province's Official Opposition Saskatchewan Party issued a press release yesterday, criticizing the government for allowing the challenge to pass through the court unopposed. Two gay couples launched a court action in Newfoundland this week, saying that the province's ban on same-sex marriages violates their constitutional rights. Advocates say they don't expect governments to block the challenges to marriage laws planned in the remaining provinces, except in Alberta, which has passed legislation defining marriage as exclusively heterosexual. "There's this trend across the country, but we might hit a brick wall on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border," said lawyer Gregory Walen, who led the Saskatchewan challenge theglobeandmail.com