TORONTO, February 25, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – With the obscenely rapid, three-day introduction and passage of its same-sex “marriage” Bill 171, the Ontario government has advanced a revolutionary change in the way all laws and government programs and institutions refer to marriage and married persons. Everything referring to spouses must now be gender neutral.
No longer can a married couple be referred to as “husband and wife” or “man and woman”. The terms “Widow” and “widower” are also struck from government statutes. Attorney General Michael Bryant stated, on introducing the bill, “Currently, the statutes offend the Charter of Rights and Freedoms”.
Bryant continued, “The bill removes references to gender and gender-specific language from Ontario definitions of spousal terms and uses one term, ‘spouse’, to include opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples who are married or who live together in conjugal relationships outside of marriage.”
Considering the massive size and pervasiveness of government, this is certain to gradually lead to a general devaluation of marriage throughout the province – all for the purpose of imposing “equality” for that tiny number of same-sex couples that chooses to “marry”, taking advantage of activist judge imposed re-definition of marriage.
“Spouse” is redefined in the new law to concur with the re-definition of “marriage” imposed by activist judges, but not yet passed in the federal parliament, that now includes same-sex couples. A perusal of the bill shows substitutions for previously used spousal terms in numerous places throughout 73 Ontario Statutes as follows: “Widows”, widowers” replaced by “surviving spouses” “A person of the opposite sex” replaced by “a person” “Wives, husbands” replaced by “spouses” “Two persons of the opposite sex” replaced by “two persons” “The wife or husband” replaced by “spouse” “A husband or wife” replaced by “spouse” “The husband and wife” replaced by “the spouses” “A man and a woman” replaced by “two persons” “Husband and wife” replaced by “spouses” “Cohabited as man and wife” replaced by “cohabited as a married couple” “Same-sex partner” replaced by “spouse”
Following is the list of Statutes affected by the marriage redefinition language requirements: Absentees Act Accumulations Act Assessment Act Business Corporations Act Change of Name Act Charitable Institutions Act Child and Family Services Act Children’s Law Reform Act City of Toronto Act, 1997 (No. 2) Commercial Tenancies Act Compensation for Victims of Crime Act Consumer Reporting Act Conveyancing and Law of Property Act Co-operative Corporations Act Coroners Act Corporations Act Courts of Justice Act Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act, 1994 Declarations of Death Act, 2002 Domestic Violence Protection Act, 2000 Education Act Election Act Employment Standards Act, 2000 Estates Act Evidence Act Execution Act Family Law Act Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996 Fuel Tax Act Gasoline Tax Act Homes for the Aged and Rest Homes Act Human Rights Code Solemnization of marriage by religious officials Income Tax Act Independent Health Facilities Act Insurance Act Land Transfer Tax Act Legislative Assembly Act Loan and Trust Corporations Act Marriage Act Members’ Integrity Act, 1994 Mental Hospitals Act Mortgages Act MPPs Pension Act, 1996 Municipal Act, 2001 Municipal Conflict of Interest Act Municipal Health Services Act Northern Services Boards Act Nursing Homes Act Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997 Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 Ontario Home Ownership Savings Plan Act Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Act Ontario Works Act, 1997 Partnerships Act Pension Benefits Act Perpetuities Act Police Services Act Prohibiting Profiting from Recounting Crimes Act, 2002 Public Libraries Act Public Service Pension Act Retail Sales Tax Act SARS Assistance and Recovery Strategy Act, 2003 Securities Act Substitute Decisions Act, 1992 Succession Law Reform Act Tenant Protection Act, 1997 Tobacco Tax Act Toronto Islands Residential Community Stewardship Act, 1993 Trillium Gift of Life Network Act Trustee Act Victims’ Bill of Rights, 1995 Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997
See Ontario Passes Same-Sex Marriage Bill – All Party Collusion to Avoid Accountability Succeeds