Courts & Tribunals

In January 2001, Justice Theo Wolder of the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton ruled that "the applicant’s transsexuality, in itself, without further evidence, would not constitute a material change in circumstances, nor would it be considered a negative factor in custody determination" [R1.2].

In July 1997, an Ontario court granted lesbian mother custody of her son and ordered her ex-lover, Margaret Buist, to make child-support payments. The ruling allows the woman to leave (sic) move to another state to take a job [R1.1].

Province

In October 1999, The Ontario government passed legislation complying with a Supreme Court of Canada decision that said laws that treat opposite-sex relationships differently from gay and lesbian relationships are unconstitutional. Same-sex partners now have the same rights and responsibilities in Ontario as common-law heterosexual couples [R1.1].

Cities & Towns:

In 1997, Kingston city council, voted to extend spousal benefits to gay employees [R2.1].

Courts & Tribunals

On 07 January 2013, Justice Ruth Mesbur in the Superior Court of Justice ruled in the divorce case of Wayne Hincks v. Gerardo Gallardo that it would be "impermissible discrimination" not to view their UK civil partnership, in exactly the same way as a fully married husband and wife [R3.10].

In June 2003, Justice Ellen Macdonald recently ordered the 47-year-old man, referred to as CR, to pay interim support to his alleged same-sex partner RR, 46, until the pair's dispute can be determined on a final basis at a trial [R3.9].

In August 2002, after a Treasury Board employee was refused leave for a committment ceremony her complaint of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation to the Human Rights Commission was referred to the Human Rights Tribunal [R3.8].

A similar complaint by a Nova Scotia man will be heard at the same time.

In May 2000, the Supreme Court has rejected an Ontario government request to review a landmark decision on gay rights [R3.7].

In September 1999, Ontario's provincial court judges received C$40,000 wage hikes and full homosexual spousal recognition for their benefit packages [R3.6].

On 20 May 1999, Canada's Supreme Court gave Ontario six months to amend its laws to allow same-sex couples, saying the province's definition of a spouse as a person of the opposite sex is unconstitutional [C3.5], [R3.4].

In May 1998, the Court of Appeal, rewrote a piece of the federal Income Tax Act 23 April to recognise same-sex couples [R3.3].

In December 1996, in a 2-1 ruling, the court of Appeal said family law must be applied equally to same- and opposite-sex couples, allowing gay men and lesbians to sue ex-partners for financial support in the same way as heterosexuals [R3.2].

In February 1996, Ontario Court General Division Justice Gloria Epstein rewrote that province's Family Law Act last month so its alimony and child-support provisions apply to gay and lesbian couples. Support obligations will arise when a couple has lived together for at least three years or the relationship has developed "some permanence" and resulted in children [R3.1].

Province

In 2002, the Ontario Human Rights Commission implemented a policy to accept complaints based on gender identity, although it had not been incorporated into law [R1.3].

In February 2000, jokes that demean gays and lesbians were defined as harassment under a new sexual orientation policy by the Ontario Human Rights Commission [R1.2].

On 16 December 1986, the provincial legislature passed Bill 7, an amendment to the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC) prohibiting discrimination against gay and lesbian people [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In May 2004, Superior Court Judge Russell Juriansz ruled that the mandatory submission of films and (gay) videos to the Ontario Film Review Board for its approval prior to their distribution and exhibition, infringe on the fundamental freedom of expression guaranteed by Canadian Constitution [R2.1].

Justice Juriansz stayed his ruling for one year to allow the Government to amend the law. If it does not, or decides in the next 30 days to appeal, the ruling will go into effect. [R2.1].

Courts & Tribunals

On 24 August 2011, lawyer Charles B. Wagner expressed the view that as in Canada today same-sex marriages are legal, it is therefore entirely possible that an Ontario court would set aside a provision in a Will that disinherited someone because of his/her sexual orientation, on the grounds that such disinheritance offended public policy [R1.4].

On 12 June 2003, Justice Ellen Macdonald ordered a 47-year-old man, referred to as CR [Collin Reaney], to pay interim support to his alleged same-sex partner RR [Robert Ross], 46, until the pair's dispute can be determined on a final basis at a trial [C1.3], [R1.2].

On 20 May 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled [in M. v. H.] that, for the purposes of support under the Family Law Act, a spouse includes " … either of two persons … ". The court ruled that limiting the definition of 'spouse' to heterosexual couples, for the purposes of support, was discriminatory and not justifiable [C1.1].

Province

On 09 October 2012, the Ontario Government Services website was reported to have notified that people no longer require full sex reassignment surgery to change birth certificate gender. All that is required in an application is a signed declaration and a note from a doctor or psychologist. The only caveats for changing a birth certificate is that the applicant must be 18 years of age. The cost for editing the designated gender is $37, plus the $25 or $35 fee for ordering the new birth certificate – either short form or long form [R1.5].

On 13 June 2012, the Human Rights Code was updated to add the terms "gender identity" and "gender expression" to prevent discrimination against transgender people upon receiving Royal Assent [R1.4].

On 10 May 2012, Bill 33 (Toby's Act) passed through the provincial legislature second reading and now goes to the Social Policy Committee before return to the legislature for a final vote [L1.3], [R1.2].

As at 18 December 2011, the government requires a medical letter confirming sexual reassignment surgery (SRS) before allowing a change of gender identity in a birth certificate [R1.1].

However: see 2. Court & Tribunals [C2.3], [R2.2]

Courts & Tribunals

On 11 April 2012, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal struck down a rule that required trans people to undergo “transexual surgery” in order to change the sex category on their birth certificate [C2.3], [R2.2].

In November 2002, the Ontario Human Rights Commission implemented a policy to accept complaints based on gender identity, although it had not been incorporated into law [R2.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In 1998, an Ontario man was reportedly convicted of hate crimes for an incident in which he distributed pamphlets about Islam outside a high school. In one of the pamphlets, defendant Mark Harding listed atrocities committed in the name of Islam in foreign lands to back his assertion that Canadians should be wary of local Muslims [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

On 08 September 2010, Justice C Aitken in the Ontario Supreme Court ruled that in not disclosing that he had sex with men, Kyle Freeman did commit negligent misrepresentation and was not shielded by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which does not apply to Canadian Blood Services [C1.1a], [C1.1b].

Province

On 06 May 2010, an Ottawa man living with HIV was arrested and charged with nine counts of aggravated sexual assault after another man contacted authorities to report he had contracted the virus from him [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

On 25 June 2012, the appeals from two men convicted of sexual assault because they did not disclose their HIV-positive status before having sex were delayed by the Ontario Court of Appeal as the legal test for conviction – which requires proof of “ a significant risk of serious bodily harm” – is under review by the Supreme Court of Canada [R2.3].

In 2009, an historic ruling found a Hamilton man, Johnson Aziga, guilty of first-degree murder, 10 counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of attempted aggravated sexual assault in the deaths of two women he failed to tell he was HIV-positive [R2.2].

In February 2008, Judge Jon-Jo Douglas demanded a witness who has Hepatitis C and is also HIV positive wear a facemask when giving evidence before him [R2.1].

Province

In September 1999, Attorney General James Flaherty said that members of the gay community will be prosecuted in future cases of public sex [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

On 27 May 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled 6–3 that the conviction of her partner for sexual assault by anal penetration with a dildo be restored in the case where a woman lost consciousness in an act of erotic asphyxiation, her consent being dependent upon consciousness. The Court majority rejected the concept of advance consent [C2.2], [R2.1].

Federal

See Federal - Marriage

Province

In June 2003, the City of Toronto issued North America's first full marriage licences to homosexual couples, after the Ontario Court of Appeal knocked down Canada's legal definition of marriage - the union of a man and a woman - as a violation of the country's Charter of Rights and Freedoms [R2.9].

In June 2003, according to the Toronto City Clerk and the provincial Registrar General, you do not have to be Canadian to get married in Ontario [R2.8]. Relevant forms can be downloaded on the Web - see full report.

Canadian law requires residency of one-year before a divorce may be obtained [R2.7].

In August 2002, a lesbian couple who received a marriage certificate from the Ontario provincial government may have the licence revoked because of media publicity. The couple was married by banns, a resurrection of an old tradition which doesn't require a licence from City Hall [R2.6].

In July 2001, the Ontario government marriage registrar refused to recognize two same-sex marriages performed by the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto [R2.5].

On 14 January 2001, a gay couple and a lesbian couple married at a ceremony Sunday at the Metropolitan Community Church in Toronto were legally married because the church published banns for the pairs, the church’s minister insists [R2.4].

In December 2000, the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) of Toronto hoped to perform the world's first gay and lesbian marriages the old-fashioned way: by "publishing the banns of marriage" [R2.3].

In May 2000, the City of Toronto is broke new ground in asking the courts to decide if it could grant marriage licences to same-sex couples [R2.2].

In March 2000, a Commons justice committee studying Ottawa's same-sex legislation voted to include the definition of marriage in the proposed legislation stating that: "For greater certainty, the amendments made by this act do not affect the meaning of the word 'marriage,' that is, the lawful union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others" [R2.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In October 2003, a five-member panel of Supreme Court judges unanimously rejected an appeal of the decision that legalized gay marriages in Ontario [R3.3].

On 12 July 2002, a three-judge Ontario Superior Court ruled that the Ontario government must recognize same-sex marriages under the law. Prohibiting gay couples from marrying is unconstitutional and violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, according to the court's unanimous decision. The Court has given Ontario two years to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples [R3.2].

In December 1996, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that the province's laws restricting the definition of marriage to only heterosexual couples was unconstitutional. The court also ruled that lesbian and gay partners have the same responsibilities towards each other as heterosexual common-law spouses. If the ruling were upheld by the Supreme Court, it would impose a form of marriage on every couple living together in a sexual relationship for more than three years regardless of the way the partners themselves define their roles [R3.1].

Province

Ontario allows same-sex couples to jointly adopt children [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In 2006, the Ontario Court of Appeal modernised the concept of the family by recognising a woman's right to be considered the third parent of her lesbian's partner's son, together with the child's biological parents [R2.1].

Courts & Tribunals

On 31 October 2012, Information and Privacy Commission adjudicator Stella Ball upheld the decision of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) to “deny access to the record” of the speech Laura Wolfson, a homosexual activist, gave to children during a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) assembly a year ago, saying she was “not convinced” that “compelling public interest in disclosure arises out a need to know what publicly funded school boards are teaching students” [R1.1].

Province

On 05 June 2012, the Accepting Schools Act (Bill 13) passed 65 to 36. The bill received Royal Assent 19 June 2012, making it clear that effective 01 September 2012 [L1.3], sexual assault, gender-based violence and incidents based on homophobia (transphobia or biphobia) will not be tolerated in the province's elementary and secondary schools. An amendment also removed schools' veto over allowing students to set up clubs called Gay Straight Alliances [R1.2].

On 30 November 2011, Bill 13, the “Accepting Schools Act” was introduced, which if passed into law, would give students who engage in homophobic smears or beat up their classmates every opportunity to rehabilitate themselves, with expulsion reserved for the most extreme cases. [R1.1].