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{{Short description|2003 Canadian court case}}
{{Infobox court case
|name               = Halpern v Canada (AG)
|court              = [[Court of Appeal for Ontario]]
|full name          = Hedy Halpern and Colleen Rogers, Michael Leshner and Michael Stark, Aloysius Pittman and Thomas Allworth, Dawn Onishenko and Julie Erbland, Carolyn Rowe and Carolyn Moffatt, Barbara McDowall and Gail Donnelly, Alison Kemper and Joyce Barnett<br>v<br>Attorney General of Canada, The Attorney General of Ontario, and Novina Wong, The Clerk of the City of Toronto
|date decided       = {{start date|2003|06|10|df=}}
|citations          = 
|transcripts        = 
|judges             = [[Roy McMurtry]] [[Chief Justice of Ontario|C.J.O]], [[James C. MacPherson|James MacPherson]], [[Eileen E. Gillese|Eileen Gillese]] JJ.A.
|number of judges   = 3
|decision by        = 
|concurring         = 
|dissenting         = 
|concur/dissent     = 
|prior actions      = 
|appealed from      = [[Ontario Superior Court]]
|appealed to        = 
|subsequent actions = 
|related actions    = 
|opinions           = 
|keywords           = <!-- {{hlist | }} -->
|italic title       = 
}}
{{GR-C}}
{{italic title}}
'''''Halpern v Canada (AG)''''', [2003] O.J. No. 2268 is a June 10, 2003 decision of the [[Court of Appeal for Ontario]] in which the Court found that the [[common law]] definition of [[marriage]], which defined marriage as between one man and one woman, violated [[Section Fifteen of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|section 15]] of the [[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]].

==Background==
The roots of the case began in December 2000 at the [[Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto]], when pastor [[Brent Hawkes]] began issuing [[banns of marriage]]<ref>"Gay pastor 'called to lead people to freedom' ; Puts same-sex marriages on political agenda". ''[[Toronto Star]]'', December 17, 2000.</ref> in advance of performing wedding ceremonies for two same-sex couples—Kevin Bourassa and Joe Varnell, and Anne and Elaine Vautour—on January 14, 2001.<ref name=natpo>"Same-sex couples preparing to tie knot: Weddings tomorrow". ''[[National Post]]'', January 13, 2001.</ref> Because banns of marriage are accepted as a fully legal way to perform a marriage without the need for a city-issued [[marriage license]], but marriages performed under either process require certification by the provincial registrar, the banns created a legal vacuum that would force a court case.<ref name=natpo/>

Over the course of the year several other same-sex couples, among them Hedy Halpern and Colleen Rogers, and [[Michael Leshner and Michael Stark]], joined the court challenge, which began hearings at the [[Ontario Superior Court]] in November 2001.<ref>"Same-sex marriage challenge begins". ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', November 6, 2001.</ref>

==Superior Court ruling==
On July 12, 2002, the Superior Court ruled that marriage rights must be extended to same-sex couples, but it suspended the ruling for a period of two years to permit the [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario]] time to comply with the ruling through the legislative process.<ref>"Gay activists rejoice as Ontario ruling paves way for same-sex marriages". [[Canadian Press]], July 12, 2002.</ref> However, as the [[Constitution of Canada]] provides that the definition of marriage is under federal jurisdiction while only the implementation is left to the provinces,<ref>"Ontario weighs gay marriage options". ''[[Guelph Mercury]]'', July 17, 2002.</ref> the decision left the situation unclear until the government of [[Jean Chrétien]] announced on July 29 that they would appeal.<ref>"Feds to appeal Ontario same-sex court ruling". [[CTV News]], July 29, 2002.</ref>

==Court of Appeal==
The Ontario Court of Appeal handed down its ruling on June 10, 2003.<ref name=appeals>"Appeals court declares same-sex marriage protected: Two Ontario men become legally married". ''[[Sudbury Star]]'', June 11, 2003.</ref>

The unanimous Court found that the exclusion of same-sex couples was a clear violation of the ''Charter'' and moreover did not constitute a "reasonable infringement" under [[Section One of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|section 1]]. In this respect the judgment followed much of what had been ruled elsewhere.<ref name=appeals/>

The court also held that there was to be no suspension of the remedy as it applied to the general population, and that the new definition allowing same-sex couples to marry would take effect immediately.

==Results==
Leshner and Stark became the first gay couple to be issued a marriage license after the decision,<ref>"First same-sex wedding conducted after court win". ''[[Victoria Times-Colonist]]'', June 11, 2003.</ref> while Bourassa and Varnell and the Vautours became the first legally recognized same-sex marriages overall since their marriages were deemed legal as of the date of the original ceremonies.<ref name=appeals/> A few months later, however, Bourassa and Varnell were denied entry to the [[United States]] when travelling to attend a human rights conference, because the [[United States Customs]] agent refused to accept the validity of their marriage.<ref>"Gay couple denied U.S. entry". ''[[Prince George Citizen]]'', September 19, 2003.</ref>

In the next two years following the decision, courts in seven of Canada's other nine provinces and one of its three territories also legalized same-sex marriage in their jurisdictions before the [[Parliament of Canada]] passed the ''[[Civil Marriage Act]]'' in 2005.

''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', in choosing the "Nation Builders of the year," selected the judges involved in the case, namely Chief Justice [[Roy McMurtry]], [[Eileen E. Gillese|Eileen Gillese]] and James MacPherson,<ref>{{cite news |first=Erin |last=Anderssen |title=Doing Canada justice |journal=[[The Globe and Mail]] |date=December 13, 2003 |page=F.5 |url=http://www.mccarthyco.ca/documents/8.pdf}}</ref> while the Canadian edition of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' selected Stark and Leshner as its Canadian newsmakers of the year.<ref>"Gay couple named newsmaker". ''[[The Western Star (Corner Brook)|The Western Star]]'', December 22, 2003.</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of notable Canadian Courts of Appeal cases]]
*[[Same-sex marriage in Ontario]]
*[[Same-sex marriage in Canada]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal |last1=Decoste |first1=Frederick C. |title=The Halpern Transformation: Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Society, and the Limits of Liberal Law |journal=Alberta Law Review |date=2003 |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=619–642 |issn=1925-8356 |id=[https://canlii.ca/t/2d90 2003 CanLIIDocs 145]}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Huscroft |first1=Grant A. |author1-link=Grant Huscroft |title="Thank God We're Here": Judicial Exclusivity in Charter Interpretation and Its Consequences |journal=The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode's Annual Constitutional Cases Conference |date=2004 |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=241–267 |doi=10.60082/2563-8505.1065 |id=[https://canlii.ca/t/t2mj 2004 CanLIIDocs 444]|doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Lloyd |first1=Julie C. |title=Case Comment: Halpern v. Canada (A.G.) |journal=Alberta Law Review |date=2003 |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=643–655 |issn=1925-8356 |id=[https://canlii.ca/t/2d91 2003 CanLIIDocs 146]}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/decisions/2003/june/halpernC39172.htm Text of the ruling]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060921000555/http://www.egale.ca/index.asp?lang=E&menu=51&item=108 Summary of the decision from EGALE Canada]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060114140214/http://www.egale.ca/index.asp?lang=&menu=22&item=469 Summary of earlier ruling appealed in ''Halpern'']

{{italic title|all=yes|noerror}}

{{LGBT in Canada}}

[[Category:Section Fifteen Charter case law]]
[[Category:Canadian same-sex marriage case law]]
[[Category:2003 in LGBTQ history]]
[[Category:2003 in Canadian case law]]
[[Category:Same-sex union case law]]
[[Category:LGBTQ history in Ontario]]
[[Category:Court of Appeal for Ontario cases]]
[[Category:2003 in Ontario]]

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