Another step toward equality

NDP MP Bill Siksay notes that while the Cons' (however half-hearted) attempt to turn back the clock on same-sex marriage in Canada failed last fall, the Cons were still doing their best to avoid recognizing similar marriages performed outside of Canada - that is, until today:

Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finley has informed the Standing Committee of Citizenship and Immigration that her department’s interim policy on same sex marriage, which did not recognize legal marriages performed in The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, South Africa, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States for immigration purposes, has been annulled. Last December, on a motion proposed by Siksay, the Standing Committee had called on the government to take this action.

“This is another important victory towards full equality of gay and lesbian Canadians”, noted Siksay. “The failure of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration to treat legal gay and lesbian marriages performed in jurisdictions outside Canada was clearly discriminatory.”

“Gay and lesbian couples legally married outside Canada will now be recognized as part of spousal, family class immigration sponsorship applications. This is good news for many gay and lesbian couples in Canada and for those who support the full equality of gay and lesbian Canadians,” concluded Siksay.

Of course, it's entirely likely that other similarly-discriminatory policies remain to be addressed. And the Cons can unfortunately be counted on to do as little as possible to remedy those policies without substantial pressure from other parties.

But it's still good news that even the Cons are no longer trying to defend discrimination based on foreign same-sex marriages. And today's success should only emphasize the fact that continued discrimination can indeed be eliminated if it receives enough attention.