Canada reverses same-sex marriage policy for foreigners
Sudden about-face prompts strong reactions online.
Canada has decided not to recognise same-sex marriage for foreign couples, The Globe and Mail reported.
The ruling was prompted by a divorce case involving a lesbian couple that wed in Toronto in 2005. The court told them they could not divorce because their marriage wasn’t recognised abroad in their places of residency. The couple resides in England and the U.S. state of Florida, where same-sex marriages are not legal. The newspaper reported that same-sex couples married in Canada now must adhere to a one-year residency requirement to be legally married.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed the newspaper’s report saying, “We have no intention of further re-opening or opening the case.”
Non-Canadians have been flocking to the country since 2004, when the government legalised gay marriage. The report says that of the 15,000 same-sex marriages that have taken place, about 5,000 involve foreign couples.
Watch our recent show “Is Canada moving to the right?” about Canada’s shift away from progressive policies.
These are some highlights of the conversation around the web: