Garry Breitkreuz, M.P.
Yorkton-Melville		 News Release

For Immediate Delivery

May 29, 1998

LIBERALS LETTING UNELECTED JUDGES RE-DEFINE "SPOUSE" IN CANADIAN LAW

"Breitkreuz leads opposition to changes in definition of "spouse" in more than forty federal statutes."

Ottawa For two days in a row, Reform MPs have been asking the government what they’re going to do about the Rosenberg ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal which changes the definition of the term "spouse" in the federal Income Tax Act to include same-sex couples. "As usual the government is doing nothing and hoping Canadians won’t notice," said Garry Breitkreuz, M.P. for Yorkton-Melville.

Here’s an exchange between Breitkreuz and Justice Minister Anne McLellan from House of Commons Debates (Hansard - page 7280, Wednesday, May 27th):

Mr. Garry Breitkreuz (Yorkton-Melville, Ref.): Mr. Speaker, in the ruling of the Ontario court of appeal last month in the Rosenberg case, the judges changed the meaning of the term spouse in the federal Income Tax Act. Does the Justice Minister believe it is right for unelected judges to make changes like this, or should those changes be made by this parliament, by the elected representatives of the people of Canada?

Hon. Anne McLellan (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, while I know it is hard for the official opposition to accept this fact, under the Constitution of this country the judiciary has an important constitutional role to play. In the Rosenberg case the judiciary was doing what it was constitutionally obligated to do, interpret and apply the law.

Breitkreuz followed up his question the next day with the following statement in the House of Commons (Hansard - page 7349, Thursday, May 28th):

Mr. Garry Breitkreuz (Yorkton-Melville, Ref.): Mr. Speaker, unelected judges are changing the law and defying a rational decision made by parliament. They are not interpreting and applying the law as the Justice Minister claimed yesterday. The Rosenberg decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal will change the definition of spouse in the Income Tax Act to include same-sex couples. During the debate of Bill C-33 in the last parliament the government promised that this would never happen.

The Minister of Justice has a decision to make and doing nothing is not a decision. Will the Minister appeal the Rosenberg decision and ask the supreme court to respect the current definition of the term spouse in the many statutes passed by parliament, or will the Minister let MPs decide this important issue as the previous Minister of Justice promised?

Canadians are demanding that elected MPs should make our laws, not unelected judges. This decision will have far reaching implications for spousal and family benefits, will lead to the term spouse being redefined in more than 40 federal statutes and further undermine the institution of marriage and the traditional family in Canada.

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For more information please contact
The office of Garry Breitkreuz, M.P.:

Yorkton: (306) 782-3309

Ottawa: (613) 992-4394