Province

In February 1998, a law giving gay and lesbian couples the same rights and obligations as heterosexuals in the areas of child support, custody and access took effect [R1.1].

Previously:

In June 1997, Attorney-General, Ujjal Dosanjh introduced legislation to recognise gay couples as legal spouses for purposes of child custody, maintenance and access [R1.2].

Province

In July 2010, the government released its White Paper on Family Relations Act Reform proposing that couples who have lived together for two years, or less time if they are raising a child together, be treated the same as married couples [R1.1].

If a same-sex couple separates after cohabiting for at least two years, they can apply for financial support in the same way as married couples [R1.2].

Since 2001, same-sex partners in a conjugal relationship for at least one year have been required to declare themselves as common-law partners on their tax return [R1.2].

Courts & Tribunals

The B.C. Supreme Court will allow a $380-million class action lawsuit against the federal government by gays and lesbians for survivor benefits under the Canada Pension Plan [C2.1], [R2.1].

Province

In August 1996, the Province banned graduates of a Christian University from teaching in State run schools due to the institution's attitude to gay and lesbian sexuality [R2.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In December 2005, two lesbians in British Columbia continued to appeal a decision by the Human Rights Tribunal, seeking a finding of discrimination despite being awarded $2,000 in damages for the "humiliation" they suffered [R2.1].

In January 2003, BC Supreme Court Justice Allan Stewart quashed a BC Human Rights Tribunal ruling that North Vancouver school district had discriminated against Azmi Jubran based on his perceived sexual orientation when it failed to stop schoolmates who tormented and assaulted him [R2.2].

The homophobic taunts repeatedly hurled at the high school student can't be linked to discrimination based on sexual orientation because the victim was not homosexual, the judge ruled.

In March 2000, Walter Gray, the mayor of Kelowna, decided to eliminate all future proclamations by the city in response to a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision that deemed his elimination of the word "pride" from Gay and Lesbian Pride Day to be discriminatory [R2.3].

Courts & Tribunals

In December 2005, a transgender woman in Vancouver, Canada, who was expelled as a volunteer for the Vancouver Rape Relief Society lost her appeal of a decision overturning her human rights award [R1.1].

Previously:

In January 2004, the Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled that the Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter did not discriminate against Kimberley Nixon by refusing to let her volunteer because she used to be a man [R1.2].

In April 2003, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal ordered the British Columbia government to pay a transgendered man more than $125,000 (Cdn) for sex reassignment surgery on the ground that the health insurance plan discriminated against him and denied him a service customarily available to the public because of his sexuality, and was therefore a contravention of the Human Rights Code [R1.3].

In January 2002, Human Rights Commission was ordered to pay damages to a volunteer undergoing a sex change operation because it did not believe she was female enough to be a counselor at the center [R1.4].

In October 2000, the Human Rights Commission said that a person's driving record should not be used as a way to find out if they have had a sex change [R1.5].

In June 2000, the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that existing human rights laws against sex discrimination also cover transsexuals [R1.6].

In January 1999, the Human Rights Tribunal told B. J.'s Lounge to pay Tawni Sheridan C$2,000 (HK$10,200) for refusing to let her use the women's rest room in 1995. The bar has since cancelled its policy banning transsexuals from the women's facilities [R1.7].

Courts & Tribunals

In June 2009, BC Supreme Court Justice Doug Halfyard ordered payment of $15,000 to a gay couple following two years of homophobic abuse by neighbours who behaved in "malicious and intolerable" ways [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In May 2001, the Supreme Court said a private Christian university was within its rights to require students in its teacher-training program to refrain from homosexual activity [R1.1].

Province

If one partner dies without a will, the survivor is entitled to receive the same as a married spouse, which includes the first $65,000 of the value of the estate, any household furnishings, and the right to use the home for as long as they live. Residual assets are shared with any childrent [R1.1].

If one partner dies with a will but does not adequately provide for their same-sex partner, the survivor has the right to challenge the will under BC's Wills Variation Act [R1.1].

In December 2001, the gay lover of an elderly multi-millionaire lost a protracted legal battle over the department store heir's estate [R1.2].

In March 1999, Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh announced that government would move to grant same-sex couples the same rights heterosexuals have when a spouse dies [R1.3].

Courts & Tribunals

On 20 November 2006, in Peden v. Peden Estate [C2.3] and on 18 September 1984, in Patterson v. Lauritsen [C2.2], a parent disinherited or reduced the inheritance of a child because the parent did not approve of the child’s homosexuality. The court in each of these cases held that, in today’s society, homosexuality is not a factor that would justify a judicious parent disinheriting or limiting benefits to a child [R2.1].

Federal

See Federal - Marriage

On 28 July 2011, at Vancouver international Airport a Canadian official approached Karen-Marie and Andrina Perry, asking if they lived together and how they were related. The couple indicated they were married. The Canadian official then said the couple was required to fill out two forms and couldn’t go through US customs together [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

On 08 July 2003, the three-member Court of Appeal lifted the one-year delay affecting its ruling in favour of same-sex marriages in the light of the recent Ontario ruling. Accordingly, same-sex marriages are lawful in the province [C2.1], [R2.1].

In an earlier decision, the B.C. Court of Appeal amended the common law to define marriage as the union of "two persons to the exclusion of all others." The new definition was suspended until July 12, 2004 [R2.2].

To find out how to get married in British Columbia call 604-660-2937 or go to www.vs.gov.bc.ca/marriage/howto.html

Canadian law requires residency of one-year before a divorce may be obtained [R2.3].

In August 2006, a Canadian woman won a divorce after a Vancouver court conceded that her husband's affair with another man did in fact amount to adultery [R2.4].

Churches

In June 2002, Southwestern B.C. Anglican church leaders in the Diocese of New Westminster, which includes 80 parishes, voted 215 to 129 in favour of blessing same-sex unions [R3.1].

That makes New Westminster the first Canadian diocese, or a geographical region under the authority of a bishop, to formally authorize such a blessing.

The blessing would not be legally binding and diocese staff have previously said it would not closely resemble a marriage ceremony, which is a sacrament reserved by the Anglican Church of Canada for heterosexual couples.

In March 2003, the chief legal officer of the BC Anglican diocese of New Westminster has called for disciplinary action to be taken against Yukon Bishop Terrence Buckle who offered his services as a "flying bishop" to eight parishes in the Diocese of New Westminster that are opposed to their bishop's endorsement of blessing same-sex unions [R3.2].

Province

From 04 November 1996, gay and lesbian couples in British Columbia gained the same adoption rights as heterosexuals when amendments to the Adoption Act passed the provincial parliament in 1995 but were not proclaimed until 18 April 1996 [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In December 2002, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a British Columbia school board was wrong to have banned three books about same-sex parents [R2.1].

In August 2001, a BC human rights tribunal ruled that both members of same-sex couples were legally entitled to register as parents on a child's birth certificate [R2.2].

Courts & Tribunals

Same-sex couples were excluded from survivor benefits until a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada in May 1999 struck down Ontario's definition of spouse referring purely to heterosexual couples as unconstitutional [R1].

The BC Supreme Court will allow a $380-million class action lawsuit against the federal government by gays and lesbians for survivor benefits under the Canada Pension Plan [R1].