Another Same-Sex First!

Lawyer says Toronto couple prepared to have Canada’s first same-sex divorce
TORONTO (CP) — A lesbian couple is seeking what one of their lawyers believes may be Canada’s first same-sex divorce, the Toronto Star reported Wednesday.
The women, known only as M.M. and J.H., tied the knot on June 18, 2003, one week after the Ontario Court of Appeal legalized same-sex marriage, but separated five days later.
They had been a couple for more than five years, said Julie Hannaford, a lawyer representing J.H.
“This is the first same-sex divorce case in Canada to our knowledge,” Martha McCarthy, a Toronto family lawyer, says in a divorce petition filed on behalf of M.M.
The petition, filed in the Superior Court of Justice last month, promises to add a new dimension to the prickly legal debate over same-sex marriage, which is heading to a hearing in the Supreme Court of Canada this fall.
While courts in three provinces and the Yukon have ruled that the freedom of gays and lesbians to marry is guaranteed by the Charter of Rights, the Divorce Act hasn’t been amended to apply to same-sex couples.
But M.M. and J.H. want the same divorce rights other couples have.
“Same-sex couples are entitled to the equal respect, recognition and benefit of the law, including all family-law rights and obligations guaranteed to heterosexual couples,” M.M. says in supporting court documents.
She and her lawyer are asking the court to grant the divorce and issue an order that the definition of “spouse” under the Divorce Act is unconstitutional and offensive to their equality rights under the Charter. The act defines “spouse” as “of a man or woman who are married to each other.”
M.M. cites separation and says there is no possibility of reconciliation. The couple signed a separation agreement on April 30. Other grounds for divorce in Canada are adultery and cruelty.
Lawyers for the federal government asked the court to defer the case until the Supreme Court rules on its reference involving the constitutionality of same-sex marriage. But Justice Ruth Mesbur set a strict schedule of trial-management conferences through the summer and listed the divorce motion for Sept. 13.
(Toronto Star)