An Act to Amend Ontario Statutes to Provide for the Equal Treatment of Persons in Spousal Relationships
Considered by
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative history
Bill title
167
Introduced by
Marion Boyd, Attorney General of Ontario
First reading
May 17, 1994
Second reading
June 9, 1994
Status: Not passed
The Equality Rights Statute Amendment Act,[1] (formally An Act to Amend Ontario Statutes to Provide for the Equal Treatment of Persons in Spousal Relationships), commonly known as Bill 167, was a proposed law in the Canadian province of Ontario, introduced by the government of Bob Rae in 1994, which would have provided cohabiting same-sex couples with rights and obligations mostly equal to those of opposite-sex couples in a common-law marriage by amending the definition of "spouse" in 79 provincial statutes. Despite the changes, the bill did not formally confer same-sex marriage rights in the province, as the definition of marriage in Canada is under federal jurisdiction; instead, the bill proposed a status similar to civil unions for same-sex couples, although it was not explicitly labelled as such since the term was not yet in widespread international use.[2]
The legislation was in part a response to a 1992 ruling by the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal in the case of Michael Leshner and Michael Stark,[3] which obligated the government to provide spousal benefits to same-sex partners of government employees.[4]
The bill was first introduced in the legislature on May 17, 1994, by Attorney General Marion Boyd.[5] The bill passed first reading by a recorded vote of 57 to 52.[6] Vocal opposition increased between first and second reading as public opposition to the bill began to mount so, in an attempt to salvage the bill on second reading, Boyd dropped controversial provisions such as adoption rights.[5] The move did not win any new support for the bill and it was defeated by a recorded vote of 68 to 59 on second reading on June 9, 1994.[7]
^Ruth Colker, American Law in the Age of Hypercapitalism: The Worker, the Family and the State. New York University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8147-1562-1.
^Cite error: The named reference rayside was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Homosexual rights, jobs main issues in by-election Tories attack Liberals, NDP over same-sex spousal benefits". The Globe and Mail, March 14, 1994.
^"Ontario won't appeal gay rights ruling; Group says there's no political will to end discrimination in provincial laws". Ottawa Citizen, September 29, 1992.
^ abWalberg, David (April 29, 2007). "Thanks Bob, for nothing". Xtra!. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
^"Official Records for 19 May 1994". House Documents. Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Archived from the original on 2017-10-13. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
^"Official Records for 9 June 1994". House Documents. Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Archived from the original on 2017-10-13. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
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