Court Ruling
On September 24, 2004, Justice Heather Robertson of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruled that banning such marriages was unconstitutional and ordered the province to recognize same-sex unions.
Neither the federal nor the provincial governments opposed the ruling, continuing the trend set with the Yukon and Manitoba rulings. The Nova Scotia justice minister said, "We certainly did not want to waste taxpayers' money." However, Premier John Hamm did not say whether he supports same-sex marriage.
An odd proviso to the post-ruling status was that, until a formal change of the provincial Solemnization of Marriage Act, the Minister of Justice still required the terms "husband and wife" to be used by Justices of the Peace in any wedding. This stance by the Justice Department was categorized by some as heterosexist. Shortly afterwards, following warnings of further legal action by the couples' lawyer, the policy was changed to remove that requirement.
Read more about this topic: Same-sex Marriage In Nova Scotia
Famous quotes containing the words court and/or ruling:
“In the court of the movie Owner, none criticized, none doubted. And none dared speak of art. In the Owner’s mind art was a synonym for bankruptcy.... The movie Owners are the only troupe in the history of entertainment that has never been seduced by the adventure of the entertainment world.”
—Ben Hecht (1893–1964)
“Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workingmen of all countries, unite!”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)