Legal arguments filed in marriage case

The Interfaith Coalition on Marriage and Family on Jan. 30 filed its written legal arguments in its intervention in the Ontario Court of Appeal case of Halpern v. Canada. Last July, the Ontario Divisional Court declared constitutionally invalid the legal definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman because it violates the equality rights of gays and lesbians under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The declaration was suspended for a period of 24 months to allow the Parliament of Canada to legislate on this issue. The House of Commons Justice Committee is currently holding hearings on marriage. However, the case was also appealed to the Ontario Court of Appeal. The Interfaith Coalition includes Roman Catholics, evangelical Christians, Muslims and Sikhs. In its submission, the Interfaith Coalition made the following points:

1. For millennia, marriage has conferred a unique status of “husband and wife”. The religious basis for this unique status has been grounded in the interpretations of the holy scriptures of the primary religions of the Western and Asiatic world – Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
2. “Marriage” is deeply rooted in religious practice. The majority of marriages are solemnized by clergy as part of a religious ceremony. The Ontario Divisional Court erred by not properly considering the conflict between freedom of religion and the rights to equality of gays and lesbians.
3. “Marriage” is not a legal construct. It is a pre-existing societal and religious institution which has existed for millennia and has been recognized by legislation only recently.
4. Equality for gays and lesbians can be achieved through legal institutions other than marriage.
5. The Court should not fundamentally redefine “marriage”. This is an issue that properly should be addressed by Parliament through legislation.

The Interfaith Coalition made similar arguments as an intervener in a similar case heard Feb. 10–12 in the British Columbia Court of Appeals.

—Evangelical Fellowship of Canada