Federal Lawsuit Challenges Retroactive Payments of Pension Benefits to Same-Sex Couples

TORONTO, June 10, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Arguments began Thursday in a federal government appeal of a December ruling by the Ontario Superior Court, which ordered the retroactive payment of pension benefits to same-sex couples to 1985. The Ontario court order was the result of a $400-million lawsuit filed in 2001 by homosexual activists against the federal government seeking what they said were outstanding survivor benefits. Various homosexual couples demanded that benefits should be retroactive to 1985, rather than the original ruling that granted retroactive payments to surviving members of same-sex partnerships for partners who had died after January 1, 1998. The appeal is being heard by the Ontario Court of Appeal.  Federal government lawyer Paul Vickery argued that public consensus on the issue of pension benefits was not palpable until the mid to late 1990s. “There are very strong policy reasons why the courts should not attempt to view events of the past through modern-day eyes,” he argued, as reported by the Globe and Mail. “It would involve a distortion of the historical record.”  Although an original estimate said the benefits might affect over 10,000 people, new data suggests only 1,500 people, amounting to $80 million versus the original $400 million figure proposed.  Homosexual activists argue that retroactive payments should be back-dated to 1985, when the Supreme Court of Canada reinterpreted the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to recognize homosexuals as a distinct group.  The oral arguments are scheduled for two days this week, whereas a decision in the case is unlikely to be reached for several months.