It was only when I was putting the final touches on my report that I became aware of the Quebec draft of an Act (un avant-projet de loi) to which the Minister of Justice is seeking public reaction. The Bill would amend the Civil Code and other legislation to establish a civil union to provide same-sex couples with the opportunity to formalize their relationship and to receive the same advantages, rights and obligations as married people under provincial law. In 1999 the National Assembly had extended rights to common-law couples (conjoints de fait) and same sex couples have been able to adopt children since 1982.

The Bill provides homosexual couples with the same rights as heterosexual common-law couples. Amendments, for example, replace "his spouse" with "his or her married spouse or partner" and "spouses" with "married spouses or partners." Although it is difficult to determine the exact effect of the changes, it appears that a civil union can be solemnized by anyone who is now authorized to marry people. It is that person who will have to forward the prescribed form to the registrar who records marriages. To protect the clergy from doing something their conscience does not allow, there is a provision that no minister of religion is compelled to solemnize a civil union.

The civil union may be dissolved by a joint declaration executed before a notary, if the parties agree, or by a court if they do not. The court may, while dissolving a union, deal with the payment of support by one partner to the other, custody, the maintenance and education of the children and gifts made by one partner to the other while they lived together.

The rationale for taking this step, according to the Minister's (version francaise) release, is that the 1996 recensement (census) figures showed 20% of couples in Quebec, of which 3% are of the same sex, to be living common-law. The other reasons given are that the proposal respects the evolution of society and responds to needs expressed by the population.

I would be surprised if the Quebec statistics apply in Manitoba or that there would be general support for the establishment of a Civil Union in Manitoba at this time. My other concern with adopting the Quebec approach is that, in Manitoba, many opposite-sex common-law couples would still be excluded from the benefits that system extends. I certainly do not dismiss the Quebec approach out of hand. It contains a number of provisions that could well be applied to a registry system in Manitoba. It may also be an indication of changes yet to come.

Opinion on Common-Law Relationships of Hon. A.C Hamilton, Q.C. - Final Report Part IV) Existing Systems Which Record Common-Law Associations Quebec
Part IV) Vermont	Part IV) Europe
Opinion on Common-Law Relationships of Jennifer A. Cooper, Q.C. Volume 1 Volume 2 (proposed Statute Amendments) Opinion on Common-Law Relationships of Hon. A.C Hamilton, Q.C. Final Report