The Canadian
government ruled last week that same-sex couples married
outside Canada will now be fully recognized as spouses for
immigration purposes, removing one of the last
remnants of official discrimination against gay
couples in the country, The [Montreal] Gazette
reports.
A policy against
allowing this type of legal recognition was put in place
in June 2004 after Quebec became the third province to
legalize same-sex marriage. After same-sex marriage
became legal nationwide in 2005, the restrictions on
recognition of foreign same-sex marriages remained in
place.
The policy
recognized same-sex marriages for immigration purposes only
if the ceremony was performed in Canada and if at
least one of the partners was Canadian or a permanent
resident, according to the Gazette. "If you
were married outside Canada, you cannot apply to sponsor
your same-sex partner as a spouse," it stated.
The decision is
"an important victory," said Bill Siksay, a member of
parliament and critic of the previous policy. "It
really does affirm that Canada recognizes the legal
marriages of gay and lesbian couples in exactly the
same way as heterosexual couples." (The Advocate)