ReligiousObjections

Section 3 of the federal Civil Marriage Act recognizes that "officials of religious groups are free to refuse to perform marriages that are not in accordance with their religious beliefs." However, since the federal government does not have jurisdiction over the solemnization of marriage in a province or territory, it is questionable as to whether this particular section provides any protection to a person or organization who refused to perform a same-sex marriage on the grounds that his or her religion only recognized opposite-sex marriages. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms would most likely provide such protection, at least with respect to religious officials, but possibly not with respect to civil officials.

This page is part of the GayFinance series.