On Our Terms by Laurie Bell

According to Laurie Bell (On Our Own Terms), “there is nothing in federal or provincial legislation permitting or prohibiting gays and lesbians to marry. However, in 1974 a gay couple tried to have their marriage legally recognized in the province of Manitoba (North vs. Matheson, 1974). The Judge relied on dictionary definitions and the encyclopedia. He ruled that marriage was understood to be between members of the opposite sex' (p. 11). Likewise, in the United States, marriage of same-sex partners is prohibited, according to the editors of the Harvard Law Review, (pp. 96- 101) and, despite social and legal evolution, 'courts and legislatures continually have refused to grant gay and lesbian couples family status” (p. 94 of Sexual Orientation and the Law, 1990; see also pp. 96-101).

By extension, many of the benefits granted heterosexual couples do not apply to same-sex couples: for instance, government benefits (Canada Pension Plan, War Veteran's Allowance, and so forth), old age security, provincial family and disability benefits, welfare allowance, workers' compensation, injury and death benefits, and inheritance rights (Bell, On Our Own Terms, pp. 8–9). Although homosexuality has been legal in Canada for almost two decades, it has not been socially, culturally, politically validated. For instance, it is still difficult to find public funding for lesbian or gay research or cultural and artistic events. Although in Ontario, since 1986, lesbians and gays are officially protected from discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, and services, only heterosexuality is validated by the state.

For example, a woman cohabitating with a male lover stands to lose her welfare benefits, whereas if she were living with her lesbian lover, her benefits would not be affected. This renders the lesbian option invisible. The improvements that have occurred recently include a number of provincially sponsored government employments that recognize same-sex lovers as legitimate for the purposes of benefits (medical, insurance, pension, and so forth).